G’day All!
What fun we have when visitors grace us with their presence at our meetings! We had a few partners pop in for a visit last week and our very special Rotary friend, Sue Gregory, came to accept a $1000 donation from our club on behalf of the Australian Himalayan Foundation. It was a bit unfortunate that some of our newer members weren’t there to meet Sue and hear the background story of the Foundation, our connection with it and the amazing work that it does. Amongst other things, including teaching teachers, it facilitates sponsorships. For $250 one can sponsor a child in the area near Mt Everest, to attend school with all the necessary uniform, books, school bag etc and that child will receive a nutritious school lunch every day for a year. Putting that into perspective, JUST a new blazer for our kiddos at St Margaret’s costs $239…
I attended the quarterly District Presidents’ Meeting a couple of Fridays ago. It’s a great opportunity to hear what other clubs are up to, as well as be inspired to continue with our club goals (amongst other things!). Membership seems to be the trickiest of my goals! We know how fabulous Rotary is - and in particular how awesome our Club is - and yet we seem to find it difficult to share that with other people. No doubt our friends hear us talking about the projects we’re working on, the events we attend and the causes we support and yet we can’t get them to join our endeavours. Or can we?? Have you asked them? Have you told them Rotary is more than dinner on a Tuesday (although that for me is a bonus!! Lol!)? Have you shared enthusiasm and passion? Please do! Ask them to attend a function (Cocktails would be a great starting point) and let them see the fun side of Rotary! Let’s see how we go!
Have you heard of a Rotary Action Group??
Are you a member of such a group??
If so, I’d love to hear from you! I discovered these groups whilst perusing rotary.org. it is seriously amazing what there is out there!!! I encourage you to follow the link to explore the existing groups.
www.my.rotary.org/en/take-action/empower-leaders/join-rotarian-action-group
“Rotarian Action Groups are international groups of Rotarians, family members, program participants, and alumni who are experts in a particular field or passionate about topics such as economic development, peace, addiction prevention, the environment, or water.
Rotarian Action Groups give members opportunities to engage in service activities and network with likeminded members around the world.”
WASRAG (Water And Sanitation Rotary Action Group) is just one example. We had a guest speaker come to talk about toilets in schools a while back…Paul??…anyway, he is a passionate member of this group.
Anyway! If you get a chance to peruse the Rotary website, you’ll be amazed at what there is “out there!” In the meantime, we’ll continue to focus on our own events and do our best to contribute to the overall ideals of Rotary….Service Above Self.
Have a bonza week!!
Conundrum for this edition: how many connections can you make within our community this week?
Catherine xx
