Last year, twenty-five (25) projects were approved for District Grant funding and eighteen (18) scholarships for $1000 each were given to clubs for use by Year 11 - 12 students. This year we will have USD70,000 (i.e. AUD99,000) in our Block Grant to fund District Grants such as these.

However, so far in the first half of this Rotary year, applications for grants have been surprisingly low. Only two District Grants totaling AUD5000 have been approved and thirteen (13) scholarships have been awarded. 

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Rotary Club of Keilor with support from:

• Essendon North Rotary Club
• Essendon Rotary Club  
• Footscray Rotary Club
• Keilor East Rotary Club.
• Airport West Uniting Church  
• Weda Partners
• Rotarians and friends of Rotary

Raised $3150 for the Rotary Project “Supporting Doctors, Nurses And Health Care Staff to show support during this time of crises, by offering a coffee to say “THANK YOU”

By the fantastic Graeme Thompson

In November, Rotary Club of Footscray hosted two zoom meeting with special guests, Lindsey Leigh Hobson and Catherine Cumming.

With qualifications in Life Coaching and NLP, Lindsey Leigh Hobson has coached Millennials and Gen-Zs to create a life filled with purpose and passion that they love. She also brings her experience as a Marketing Manager to this session, including more recently for a Melbourne Recruitment Agency sourcing premium talent for renowned Australia companies. Now, an Emerging Leader Expert as well as an Emerging Leader herself, Lindsey showed the Club members on how to not only gain more younger members, but how to harness their potential and engage them long-term for the good of the club as well.

By Rodney Johnstone

Hello all, an important update for Tommy Quick and his epic ride to the 4 most extreme points on mainland Australia (West (done); South, East and North).  He has sadly been hit by a car and is in hospital in Adelaide with a broken pelvis and right femur.  Incredibly lucky to still be alive.  Tommy has another fight on his hands to get through surgery today and then a long road to recovery.   If you want to support Tommy and the team through this terrible event please donate to their 4-points Australia account – details below.  They could really use some loving at the moment and a show of support no matter how big or small.   Check out the story link below and then consider what you can do to support this incredible bloke – and his folks – to bounce back again. Tommy was over 3,500kms into his 9,000km ride on his recumbent tricycle to promote stroke awareness and social inclusion.      

Read in 9news.com.au: https://apple.news/A5WFOn2sTRtWJp-G_xGSxLg

EFT DETAILS

ACCOUNT NAME: AUSTRALIAN4POINTS INC

BENDIGO BANK, MOONEE PONDS

BSB: 633-000

ACCOUNT No: 18-309-8748

Use Reference – Footscray Rotary – so he knows we are supporting them. 

This account is based on any balance left after legitimate 4points expenses to be donated to The Stroke Foundation.

By Mary Engert

As Rotarian’s we work tirelessly for the good of others. Now’s the time to show we care more than ever.

COVID-19 is affecting everyone, not only here but also around the world. We are relying on our Front Line Medical and Emergency Workers to keep us healthy, saving the lives of you and me, our loved ones and the HUMAN RACE.

Let’s dig deep, pull our resources together and start donating those cups of coffee to these Fantastic Warriors looking after us in our time of need.

If you would like to participate in this very worthy cause, we have done all the groundwork to make it happen.

By Rodney Johnstone

Here is an update for Tommy Quick and his epic ride across Australia to create awareness about Stroke and inclusion

Footscray Rotary has a target to raise $1,000 in support of Tommy’s efforts for The Stroke Foundation.  

Click on this link to donate.  

https://www.fundraise4stroke.org.au/fundraisers/rotarycluboffootscray/the-4-points-australia 

Distance ridden – 2,493 km (across SA and WA)

Current location – Tommy is nearing Coolgardie, WA. 

Visit Tommy and get updates at:   www.the4pints.org

Or follow his video posts on Instagram.

Dear Fellow Rotarians

With the technological help of my daughter Celia I seek your support for my current fundraising focus. At 83 years young I am undertaking a new venture to raise money and awareness for Parkinson's, a disease which I suffer from personally and hope to help via awareness and research. 

Some of you may remember last year, I participated in the 27 for Parkinson's challenge where I walked for 27 days (while in lockdown) and raised great funds with many of you supporting me. This year, I am proud to have been asked to be an ambassador for Parkinson's Victoria and hope to do my utmost to support the cause.  

By Rodney Johnstone

Community Bike Hub Inc. was featured in Channel 9 Postcards on August 29^th when Shane Crawford dropped in to do a story on the Bike Hub and our activities with volunteers fixing bikes for refugees and locals in need.  Hub manager James Black was interviewed as was Andy Moutray-Read talking up the joint project between Rotary Footscray and Community Bank Seddon. Shane was very relaxed and chatted with all of the team and thinks the doggies are going well too. The bike he had was actually his and he had it reviewed by James before heading up the river trails to do more stories about the river and the Boathouse in Aberfeldie. It was also a soft launch of our new logo on T-shirts that went to air on the program.  Our new web page is also up and running if members want to check out our site visit www.communitybikehub.com.au   

The District Foundation Committee is once again inviting District 9800 clubs to participate in the Year 11-12 Scholarship Program.

Ten Year 11-12 Scholarship Grants will be made available this year for clubs to offer to local schools for the 2022-2023 school years. The grant of $1,000 will match your club’s contribution of $1,000 to provide the scholarship over the two-year period.

https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/stories/year-11-12-scholarship-grants-available-from-october-1st/

Using Rotary’s friendly website (www.rotarywalkwithus.org), you can register to walk, set your distance and fundraising goals. Alternatively, you can donate to someone who is walking.

For the walkers the total distance you have set for the month is accumulated over the entire month of October. So, you can walk when, where and with whom you want in a COVID safe way.

Each walk is logged on the website along with all donations. It’s easy. Register to walk and donate at www.rotarywalkwithus.org  

https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/stories/rotary-walk-with-us-to-end-polio/

Presidential Initiatives

The following are the Rotary International’s Initiatives Overview

• Empowering Girls

• Grow Rotary – Each One, Bring One

• Rotary Days of Service

• Areas of Focus Presidential Conferences

https://my.rotary.org/en/news-media/office-president/presidential-initiatives

In recognition of the significance of the 100 years of Rotary in Australia, Rotary Keilor decided to distribute the funds in its Keilor Community Trust to several projects. The Trust had been established in 1985 with some of the profits from a successful Melbourne Airport Open Day and over the following years had funded many projects. 

https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/stories/rotary-keilor-donates-100k-from-trust-to-celebrate-our-centenary/

By Gus Garnsworthy, Rotary Altona

The Rotary Clubs of Altona, Williamstown and Yarraville combined to improve student access to a playground facility at Williamstown North Primary School, in particular a Cubby House.

A current student and his sister, who will attend next year, are both confined to wheel chairs as part of their treatment for Perthes Disease.

Particular focus for the project was to improve access for students with mobility issues. It is envisaged that all students will benefit from the Cubby House upgrade. Find more 

http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50232/Stories/local-rotary-clubs-make-a-cubby-house-wheelchair-accessible

Tommy Quick has started his epic journey from SA/WA border town. As Rodney reports, due to Covid border restrictions he cannot get into WA yet. He will be continuing his exceptional journey through SA and Victoria then head north and cover WA last, if he can get into there by that time. For those of us who attended Tommy’s presentation in our meeting couple of months ago would remember, Tommy has embarked on a 9000kms challenge of cycling to the 4 points of Australia to promote social inclusion and increase stroke awareness. He is raising money to help stroke survivors and improve stroke victim services.

As of 25^th August, Tommy had completed 968kms over 17days of riding! Find out more and cheer for Tommy - https://www.the4points.org/

You can individually donate via the Footscray Rotary team page at this link.  

https://www.fundraise4stroke.org.au/fundraisers/rotarycluboffootscray/the-4-points-australia

By John Granger

History and culture have weaved wondrous paths in Fitzroy. Football club photographs at the North Fitzroy Arms Hotel provide insights of the old town showing flint-eyed teams of serious, tough men with laser-parted oiled hair. The 1944 premiership team was Fitzroy’s last and, nearly 80 years on the team’s remnants reside in Brisbane.

District 9800’s ‘Innovation During COVID’ Award Recipient

Each year Rotary Castlemaine’s national Truck Show brings over 200 trucks (and lots of spectators) to the Mount Alexander Shire and raises in excess of $40,000 for a range of community projects and local charities. With COVID-19 restrictions, the 32nd annual Truck Show scheduled for 28-29 November 2020 had to be reimagined.

By Past District Governor Julie Mason AM

It is always delightful to welcome new members to Wyndham Rotary – new members bring new project ideas. And so it was that we found out about an opportunity to make a difference in India.

The new project was to prevent avoidable blindness across all age groups, with beneficiaries located in remote villages in India that had no access to primary or tertiary eye care. This project motivated Wyndham Rotary for the first time to apply for an International Grant from The Rotary Foundation.

https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/stories/blindness-prevention-in-india/

By Fabienne Nichola

A group of Rotary Clubs have been invited to collaborate and create an 8-kilometre Melbourne Pollinator Corridor (MPC) from the Botanical Gardens to Port Melbourne. This initiative is inspired by Emma Cutting who has led a street garden project in the very densely populated urban area of South Melbourne. For more details see the The Heart Gardening website and Emma’s Instagram page.

By Henry Drury

Things happen on riverbanks. On Monday 8 June 1835, John Batman wrote in his journal “…that I am glad to state about 6 miles up found the river all good water and very deep. (sic) This will be the place for a village”.

That river was of course the Yarra and the village, Melbourne. Unsurprisingly, the south side of the river became South Melbourne and supported the young city with breweries, engineering works and food processing while shipping utilised the newly constructed docks and warehouses.

https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/stories/southbank-rotary/

Come and join in for its official opening on 5^th June!

In edition 22 of Networker, we brought you the story of the collaboration between well-known artist and author, Anthony Breslin, and Rotary Caulfield on an inspiring R100 community project involving the creation of a mural on the 50-meter-long black wall on the corner of Murrumbeena Road and Railway Parade, Murrumbeena.

This visual gift to the community is now complete.

A District 9800 Recognition Award Project for Vocational Service

In partnership with Young Change Agents (a NFP social enterprise), Rotary Brighton late last year hosted an opportunity for 58 young women aged 12–18 years to participate in The Bayside Academy of Enterprising Girls, an immersive workshop experience to learn social entrepreneurship skills.

By Henry Drury

Push on through the gentrifying eastern end of Victoria Street, Richmond, until by crossing the Yarra River you are immediately in the leafy surrounds of the long-time gentrified suburb of Kew. Fashionable Kew in London is in the Royal Borough of Richmond and so, when in 1851 early settler Nicholas Fenwick purchased his Crown allotment across the river from Richmond, what else would you name your new estate but Kew?

Since the mid-1850s Kew has seen steady and in the main elegant residential development, including such mansions as Wren House (now part of Xavier College Junior School) and the even grander Italianate Raheen (‘little fort’ in Irish Gaelic) sited on Studley Park Road. Beginning life as a brewer’s residence, it was for many years the home of the Catholic archbishop before acquisition by the Pratt family as their stately Melbourne dwelling.

By Rotarian Tony Hart, PHF

Men’s Sheds are community based, non-profit, non-commercial, non-political and non-religious organisations accessible to all men. Their primary activity is the provision of a safe and friendly environment where men are able to work on meaningful projects at their own pace in the company of other men. A major objective is to advance the wellbeing and health of their members.

Returning to lockdown has been a stark reminder of what a privilege it has been to be able to visit clubs in person over recent months. I have been so impressed with the resilience and optimism Rotarians have shown in what has been a pretty difficult year. Nevertheless, it is important that we continue to care for one another and understand that Rotary membership does not come with a defined amount of input to the Rotary cause. 

Most of us would say that we joined Rotary because we wanted to give back to, as well as become more connected with our communities. When we became members, we found that not only did we have the first two opportunities, but we also developed or improved a range of new skills, developed as people, had exposure to, and hands-on involvement with inspiring projects both locally and overseas, met new people and built incredible friendships. Outside of our immediate clubs, there is a larger organisation that also gives us new learning experiences and opportunities to expand our horizons.

The Rotary Club of Essendon and Caroline Chisholm Society have had a long-term and successful partnership since 2007. Over those years Rotary Essendon has assisted the Society to provide support to mothers and families in need with food and warm clothing, access to safe and stable accommodation and other support services. This support has helped those families to live in a safe and nurturing environment. Rotary Essendon has sourced and provided many valuable items over this time, such as a car, computers, clothing and other necessities.