President Marion Report

Thank you to everyone involved in the successful Australia Day Breakfast held last Thursday. This is one of our major fundraising events and an excellent way advertise our presence in Onkaparinga. Our strong partnership with the city of Onkaparinga benefits both of us. Our volunteer hours on that day only were 118.5, not including Sea Scouts volunteer hours and preparation time. Thank you Dini especially for our Australia Day Special pictorial Newsletter about this event.

Our Beach Gates fundraiser has also ended for 2022-2023 and is another partnership with the Southern Football League that benefits the club both in fundraising and exposure to the public. We offered 244 volunteer hours and will soon know how much money we raised. Thank you to participating members.

Rotary’s ‘End Polio Now’ campaign has been running for 35 years and the latest figures show that There has not been a new case of wild polio virus type 1 infections since last September. Last year in the entire world, there were 30 confirmed cases, The last case of wild polio type 3 was in 2012 and type 2 in 2015. Clubs and individuals are being asked to join the Polio Plus Society with a donation to help rid the world of the debilitating disease.

The Rotary Foundation is receiving donations and it is currently opening two temporary funds, the Ukraine Response Fund and the Pakistan flood response fund. These will be open until June 2023 and any monies remaining after dispersement will go to their general disaster response fund.

Australian Rotary Health has a new facts booklet that can be read either in print or on line. This lists all the research grants, their funding partnerships and scholarships, in fact all their currents information in one handy booklet.

The South Adelaide Football Club is finalising details of our signage to go on the fence around the oval as part of our silver partnership agreement.

The Rotary Convention in Melbourne is sharing information via its newsletter about the Melbourne arts scene, tours, breakout sessions and special invitation only events during the convention.

With the passing of the SA legislation on Assisted Dying today, it is timely that the local group ‘Compassionate Communities’ are holding a discussion on death, dying, grief and bereavement at ‘Death Cafes’ as part of Healthy cities Onkaparinga and the SA Department of Health. See me for details.

One of the aims of our Mother’s Day Community raffle is to return funds to local community groups and last year alone, $4300 was returned to these Clubs. Several thousands more were received by our club for other community projects. This year sales will also benefit local clubs and 13 groups have already committed to sell tickets as a fundraiser for their club. We have in the past made financial support for Indigenous Nursing , The Purple Bus Dialysis project and recently the fire and flood relief interstate. It is not unusual for this club to support communities outside of our local area for the greater good of the Australian community at large.

Our partnership with RFDS, a high profile organisation, will attract ticket buyers to our raffle and I feel sure we will have no difficulty raising the funds promised to this excellent organisation. Each dollar raised assists the RFDS as it is ‘not for profit’ and relies on donations to bridge the gap between government funding and operational needs. Thousands of small donations pay for the very expensive operating costs of an ‘at call’ flying ambulance service that has the operating area the size of western Europe. The funds that this raffle will provide to the RFDS could in all likelihood save the life of someone in the ‘remote community’ that is outback Australia.

If members are concerned about selling raffle tickets, and I understand that some members may feel raffles are a form of gambling, or members have neither time nor inclination to sell tickets, please return your unsold books to the club promptly so others can sell them. Ours is a voluntary organisation.

RCMV Board members are elected to make decisions for the club, including those of fundraising and distribution of those funds. Members can nominate for a board position, see Tracy to become part of her board in 2023- 2024, members can attend meetings as an observer, peruse the minutes of board meetings and discuss concerns with the appropriate Director. Indeed, a short discussion will often clear misunderstandings and give valid reasons for board decisions. Director’s meetings at the end of this meeting are the ideal time to do this. Or indeed during any Directors first meetings of the month.

The Region 8 pilot project looking into the best way to govern Rotary in this region is asking for members to be part of their working group. Any member that has a passion for a different form of governance is welcome to share their ideas with this working group.

And lastly, Terry is looking for a couple of willing helpers to remove a hospital bed and mattress and large wheelchair to RARE on a covered trailer in the near future. Please contact him for details if you are available.

 

Phil reported that he has at least one, maybe two, young people to take part in the Rotary Youth Sailing Challenge journey to Melbourne.

The RYPEN Sunraisia committee come looking for sceins of rope which were duly dispatched.

Phil reminded all of the Fun, Funds and Activities workshop on the 1st of March which he will facilitate. So bring your ideas!

 

Susan shared the fact that the electoral commission is looking for people who can work at the referendum, whenever that will be held. If you are interested please contact the South Australian electoral commission.

Susan is also collecting towels, rugs etc for women's shelters. 

 

Raffle ticket selling opportunities:

 

 

Meeting closed   

Next meeting at SAFC on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 5.45 to order your meals,