A very Icy Wednesday and thanks to all the braved the chilly conditions, the coldest since 1996 (no we’re not jealous of all your northern or international travellers much).
It was great to welcome Rotarians Geoff Adcock from Eaglehawk and Larrie Winzar, President of the Bendigo at our meeting. Larrie brought with her a special invitation to the 90th Birthday celebrations for the Bendigo Rotary club on 22 August at the Capital Theatre. Cost is $65 per head and further details should be attached. Bendigo is the 8th oldest club in Australia and the club that charted our wonderful club. Let’s get there in force.
We had an invite from Bendigo South for their 30th July meeting which will feature John Brumby, who will give his take in the State of Victoria looking back and forward, the meeting will be at the Foundry and the cost is $30 per head (see attached)
It was great to have or guest speakers from Weeroona College, students Imogen and Taylor along with their teacher Gary Schroeder to talk to us about their Advance Program class, a government school incentive to encourage students to engage into supporting community efforts and activities.
Gary outlined the history of the program which run over the past six and a half years. Four of those were in partnership with the Victoria Police which provided an open ended variety of community projects for the students. That funding ended and they have been working hard to find community projects for the students and have partnered with other organizations to promote student community interaction and upskill students’ qualifications, including food handling and first aid certification The group is an elective for year 9 and 10 students at the college this year there are 21 students in the class and they work in class on projects and work in their own time before, during and after school to deliver.
Imogen and Taylor then gave a terrific presentation and spoke of some of the projects the class has participated in over the years including
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developing computer skills with elderly citizens,
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Supporting primary School reading programs, sports days and school holiday programs
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Fundraising for groups such Anti-Cancer Programs, World Vision, Blue Ribbon Day
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Recycling project at CFA championships in Bendigo
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Conservation programs and awareness raising
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Supporting the College breakfast program.
They spoke about the a trip to Fiji in 2013 where students raised funds to help restore a church that was damaged by a cyclone in 2012. Fundraising over $6000 to supply floor tiles for the Church and monies for paint and gardening activities. They stayed at a backpackers traveling daily to the work site to engage in daily projects. They spent one week in Fiji not only working but immersing in the Fijian culture.
This year’s class following the success of the 2013 trip, decided they would return to FIJI and with the help of a Bendigo based Fijian family they identified a project to help a small village, Natalau to establish a Village Kindergarten. Eighteen of the students have elected to travel to Fiji departing on November 29th to 5th December. They will stay in the village hall and work with the local community to set up the Kindergarten.
This is a big project with students sourcing donations and supplies for the Kindergarten which will be sent over prior to their arrival in November in a part container. There are many costs associated with this project not least the individual costs per student to travel with airfares around $1000 each (mostly met by parents where they can afford to) , all but 1 requiring a passport, travel insurance, land transfers, accommodation/food, local supplies, and support for a local Fiji. They also need to raise $1500 for part shipping container costs.
On August 1st the students with other student group will run a car boot/stall fundraiser at the College. This will involve using the College parking lot for cars, setting up stalls for business houses to sell and advertise goods/services, BBQs, etc. This will run from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Rotarians are welcome to take a car or come along and purchase.
They are also planning a Trivia Night to be held later this year at the College. These events along with raffles, chocolate sales, BBQs, and several other promotions will be key factors in raising funds for this project.
You could sense the commitment of the girls to the work they do and the enthusiasm and professionalism they share within the class. They are great ambassadors for the program and for youth of the region. The impact of the program will continue well past the student’s time at the school.
We presented the students with a certificate for a 2 day 1 night camp at camp getaway to be used to help them prepare for their FIJI trip. Thanks to Camp Getaway and Ken for arranging a special 25% of the rack rate.
I look forward to seeing the relationship with the school and the advance class develop over time and encourage Rotarians to support the fundraising initiatives where they can.
Paul
