Co-Presidents Report – 3rd May, 2024
This weeks’ meeting was again good fun, busy and engaging. It was nice to see our interstate member, Martin Ruffell, Zooming in as usual, with Rob Rosaia keeping him company for this week.
Our guest speaker, Emily Churchill, of La Trobe University, Bendigo, told us of the University’s Aspire program, which essentially rewards potential new students with a guaranteed place if they have participated in meaningful volunteering activities prior to commencing their studies. This unique programme has the potential to be life-changing for some would-be students; it also seeks to encourage graduates to remain in regional areas upon finishing their courses. More information will be provided by Jim Rolfe’s report later in this bulletin.
With his permission, we have included an inspiring email to Emily written by Stewart Annan, our Youth Director, thanking her for her presentation, looking at ways how Rotary may be able to support the Aspire program, and in turn, perhaps be supported by participants. Thank you very much, Stewart, for doing this, and we look forward to starting meaningful work in the near future with Emily in support of this excellent program.
We were also privileged to welcome two visitors from Malaysia, Special School teachers Felixia Fong and Tay Shyuan (Shyuan). The ladies are members of a group of 8 Malaysian teachers who are in our cluster area to study the Australian special school system. They had already spent 2 weeks in Echuca at the Echuca Twin Rivers Specialist School and are now part way through spending 2 weeks in Bendigo at the Bendigo Special Developmental School and Kalianna School. Graeme and Merrin Lynas are hosting them for their stay here, and our thanks go to them for their generosity and kindness in welcoming Felixia and Shyuan into their home. There will be a farewell lunch for the entire team to be held at the Rising Sun Hotel on Saturday, 11th May, at 12.30pm. Please let Ray know by Tuesday, 7th May, if you will be attending, to assist with catering arrangements.
Timor Leste Knitting Program. This important project continues to power on. On Tuesday, 4 bales of knitted goods were packed at Quality Wool for future shipment to the Maubisse district of Timor Leste. On Thursday, Ray accompanied Tom Dobeli and Gary Gunnell, both Past Presidents of Bendigo Rotary club, to the Donations In Kind (DIK) warehouse in Footscray, where the goods will be stored for the next few weeks until the next container of assorted supplies is ready to travel to Timor Leste. Phil Harris and Rob Rosaia had previously generously donated computers which were taken to the DIK warehouse on the day. Ray took a few photos of this wonderful facility in an attempt to give an idea of its size, but nothing beats an in-person visit to see how it operates. There will be an open day coming up on Saturday, 10th August, from 10am to 3pm, and if members are interested in the concept of DIK and how it operates, it’s well worth a visit to see Rotary In Action.
Baling up the knitting for Timor Leste at Quality Wool.
BY THE WAY – DOES ANYONE HAVE A LAPTOP OR TWO THAT IS SUPERFLUOUS TO THEIR NEEDS? DIK COULD REALLY USE A COUPLE OF EXTRA LAPTOPS FOR OFFICE USE, SO IF YOU HAVE ANY YOU DON’T REALLY NEED, PLEASE CONTACT RAY, (0417 502 349), AND THEY WILL BE TAKEN TO DIK.
Farewell dinner for Barbara Mitchell. The time is fast approaching when Barbara moves to Melbourne to be closer to her family. Last Friday, around 20 members and partners gathered for a very pleasant evening at the Emperor’s Dragon Restaurant at the Golden Dragon Museum to say almost goodbye to Barbara. We will see her a few more times before the end of this Rotary year, but we wanted to catch up with Barbara before time got away from us. Our thanks go to John Cannon for organizing this very enjoyable evening to acknowledge Barbara’s contribution to our club, and to wish her well for the future.
Invitation from Rochester Rotary Club
Rochester RC have invited us to their next meeting, on Thursday, 9th May, 6.15pm for 6.30pm start. Along with our club, Rochester sponsored a local young man, Jakob Gruner, to take part in the Rotary Youth Sailing Challenge, held recently in Port Philip Bay over 4 days. Jakob is a guest speaker for the evening and will tell of his experience and thoughts for the future as a result of participating in this character- and team-building program.
There will also be some members of the visiting Malaysian Specialist School teachers group present on the night. The official invitation is included in this bulletin. And, just to repeat, if members wish to go to the meeting, please let Adrian know by next Tuesday. It would be nice if we can get a carload or two of members to show support for Rochester RC. Please be at the home of Toni and Ray Carrington, 179 Wattle St, in time for a 5.15pm departure.
Co-presidents Ray Carrington and Adrian Schoo
