The Power of Basic Education and Literacy: How Rotary is Paving the Way
September resonates with a theme that is close to many hearts – Basic Education and Literacy, a cornerstone initiative of Rotary International. In a rapidly evolving world, the significance of education and literacy cannot be overstated. The ripple effects of these fundamentals not only empower individuals but also uplift entire communities.
Lending Your Hand to the Cause
Want to be a beacon of change? There are ample avenues to contribute to Rotary's mission:
Make a difference with your donations to The Rotary Foundation, furthering global projects.
Invest your time and expertise in local Rotary club endeavors.
Advocate for the significance of education and literacy within your community, sparking a wider conversation.
President Tim Orrell
Secretary
Shirley Stratton
Treasurer
Graham Evans
Hosted by Past President Roger Sowry
Guests: Dominic Barrington Prowse (speaker), Dennis Jackson
Ross Jordan
Opening thought:
Doing a little bit every day works better than trying to do everything at once.
Parting thought:
Many men and women go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
Raffle winner: Steph Dyhrberg
Dinner menu: Cauliflower and blue cheese soup followed by chicken satay with rice, green veges and seasonal salad
Dugald
Ian
Tony
Notices
Stand-in President Roger
2 past Members of our Club have sadly died in the past week. Dennis “Swampy” Marsh, a Past President, and Michael Leggett, Past District Governor. Attendees stood for a minute's silence.
Ronald McDonald House cooking
Ronald McDonald House cooking duty on 27 October is up on ClubRunner for people to sign up. We encourage new Members to have a go - it's a wonderful experience.
Expenses claim process
If you incur any expenses on behalf of the Club, there is now a standardised form to claim reimbursement. The forms are kept behind the bar and are on ClubRunner: please fill out the form and attach a receipt to give to our Treasurer, Graham. This ensures efficiency and accountability.
International convention 2027
The 2027 Rotary International Convention will be held in Barcelona in late June. Registrations are now open:
You should have received a save-the-date for Charter Night on 15 October. This is a celebration of the date of the Club's inception and is a dressy, special occasion. Partners are very welcome; please register them by 12 October.
Tawa Oktoberfest
President Tim, Chris Eales, Paul, Murray and Steph attended Tawa's Oktoberfest event on Tuesday night. Attendees were treated to an array of German food, very large beers and an oompah brass band. Tawa was grateful to our Club for supporting their event and it was a great opportunity to mingle with other Rotarians.
Golf Tournament
12 November is the date of the Club's charity golf match. It requires a team effort to run it, but many hands make light work of it. Tasks will be on ClubRunner - please sign up to help out. Please consider sponsoring a hole or donating an auction prize.
Club Xmas party
The Christmas party will be at Southwards on 10 December. It will be a fabulous night, with a dress-up theme to be advised. Partners are most welcome, and we collect gift vouchers for Kāpiti Women's Centre to distribute.
Rotary Foundation Fundraising Dinner 2 November
Come enjoy a delicious meal and a conversation with Past International President and Chair-Elect of the Foundation, Gordon McInally and wife Heather. $90 a ticket. Starts at 5.30pm at the Wellington Club, 88 The Terrace. Theme: Kilts and tartan, or black and gold.
Final push for a few stickers to get another knife. Please drop any stickers in Linda's mailbox.
Please note the date of 1 November for the Women's Expo and pop in, even for 10 minutes, in Rotary attire to chat to people.
Tony
ClubRunner developed a wee glitch last week and dropped in a duty for everyone to set up on Charter Night. Just ignore it and we will hopefully get it sorted.
Dugald
Taveuni Fundraiser Quiz Night reminder
Eastern Hutt Club hosted a very fun quiz night on Friday to raise money for the dental trip to Taveuni. Gary spoke eloquently about the mission. 2 teams attended from our Club. Fact If I Know (Sue Taylor and daughter Caitlin, Gary & Di, Murray & Steph) came 2nd, ahead of Dugald, Lyn and Chris's lot. Gary and Steph (who were clearly not the designated drivers) managed to successfully bid for matching coffee machines. The evening was a great success and raised some much-needed funds for the trip.
If you want to make a donation to the Taveuni project, you can let Graham know and it can be deducted from your account and receipted.
Ross
The trailer raffle is selling well, so please keep signing up for shifts. If you have committed to a shift but can't attend, please phone Ross or put a message in the WhatsApp group to arrange a substitute.
Please wear a Rotary shirt if you have one. Newbies should sign up with an experienced Member to show them the ropes. Ross has sent out an email with step-by-step instructions for signing up for a shift. Partners and other whānau are welcome to help.
Members are also allocated 6 books to sell (or purchase) and can request more if they are able to sell to their friends and family. Please ensure you return the stubs and money to Derek and put the sold book stubs in numerical order to make the reconciliation easier.
If any Bulletin subscribers would like to buy tickets, email Steph (dyhrbergsa@gmail.com) and we can sort you out. $10 for a book of 6.
Ian
Lucky Lotto
All the numbers have been sold. Winners get some money, and $400 is donated to End Polio Now. Good luck!
Oktoberfest, Tawa Bowling Club
The band was awesome
DG Brent and DG Elect Chris
Prost!
Ross
5 minute speaker: Ross Jordan
Bucket list fishing trip
Ross told us about a recent Club Vista fishing trip out around Kāpiti Island. He found it fascinating and the scenery was wonderful. There was some good fishing to be had.
Guest speaker
Euon
Roger, Dominic & Euon
Dominic
Gazza
Dominic loves this photo of him on Onesie Day
The current knife set
Guest speaker: Dominic Barrington Prowse
Wellington Free Ambulance - a century of free care
Euon Murrell introduced Dominic, the Fundraising Adviser for Wellington Free Ambulance. Tommy' s Real Estate is a major sponsor of Wellington Free. Last year, the service took 255,000 calls and dispatched crews to over 53,000 emergency calls.
Dominic expressed the organisation's gratitude to Tommy's, and Rotary for our donations and providing appeal day collectors. The recent Onesie Appeal Week collected a record $300k.
Next year marks the centenary of the establishment of Wellington Free Ambulance by Sir Charles Norwood. The then Mayor of Wellington was horrified to find a man lying injured in the street because he couldn't afford an ambulance to take him to hospital. An ongoing relationship with the family endures to today, with Sir Charles' grandson Wayne Norwood the still active and passionate Patron.
As well as ambulances to speed patients to local hospitals, the services have expanded to include patient transfers that move 48,500 patients per annum, telehealth triaging and event ambo medic services. The Clinical Medical Advisers provide a 24/7 triage service by phone, keeping thousands of people out of ambulances and/or ED beds. Crews patrol Courtenay Place with Police on Friday and Saturday nights, patching up injured, over-refreshed folks and getting them home safely or off to hospital.
All of the services have resulted in a decent reduction in ambulance trips, but there has been a significant increase in calls.
WFA trains people to do CPR, installs AEDs in the community and now has an ingenious robo chair that can get people up on their feet after a fall, minimising strains for staff and skin tears for the patient. There are 22 emergency callouts per day in Kāpiti.
Wellington Free is a beloved icon and a brilliant brand. They have to raise $9 million per year, as emergency callouts cost on average $650. Partnerships with organisations like Tommy's, Rotary, Lions and Z Energy help keep them in business, fueled up, fed and caffeinated.
Several Members talked about their gratitude to Wellington Free Ambulance for their terrific service, including Malcolm Leeming, who generously donated the value of a callout on the night.
