Alan Hession & David Robertson Reserves: (Barry Anderson & Paul Sullivan)
Speakers & topic:
David Nicholls - What is Freemasonry
Rotary Club Meeting 3rd July 2018
Welcome
President Ranald welcomed all club members, and guest Graham Foxcroft.
Toast
Paul Sullivan gave a toast to the Rotary Clubs of Tamworth. There are six clubs in Tamworth – Tamworth which was chartered in 1932, Tamworth First Light in 1990, Tamworth Sunrise in 2009, Tamworth West in 1956 and Tamworth North and Tamworth on Peel.
Announcements
Paul Sullivan advised about the opening of a new Lifeline office in Naremburn this week.
Eleanor Chevor informed us that the NSW Blood Bank is very short of O Negative blood so please consider making a donation, particularly if you are O Negative.
President Ranald advised that the Bunnings BBQ raised $1650 last Saturday and thanked everyone who contributed to such a successful day.
Committee Meetings
The Visioning Project will be the club’s focus for the next 3-5 years and it is vital that everyone contributes to it. Sally O’Neill and John Turner are driving the Vision Project and John gave a presentation about the main topics resulting from the visioning night held last February. John will help to facilitate in achieving the goals set.
The meeting broke into committee groups to discuss each committee’s plans for the coming year.
Paul Sullivan auctioned a bottle of wine from his wine cellar which raised $60. Paul was also the Sergeant for the evening who extracted loose change from the membership.
I am honoured to advise you ShelterBox has been nominated for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, the winner to be announced in October. Whatever the result, this is an amazing nomination and we are truly honoured. The nomination reflects the incredible work done by the ShelterBox staff and volunteers around the world, and to those who have supported us, especially the many Rotary Clubs and Rotarians.
The nomination is also an implicit recognition of the partnership between ShelterBox and Rotary International. Two great organisations combining their efforts to provide disaster aid wherever it may be required across our world. I am reminded that last year we helped 32,000 households, or 160,000 people, who had lost everything through conflict or natural disaster. We responded to world events 24 times in the year and deployed aid to 20 different countries. Rotary groups around the world helped us provide vulnerable people with emergency shelter and aid in almost all of the countries we have worked in affected by natural disaster. In 2017, we also surpassed the highest number of days ever deployed in one year. This includes 84 ShelterBox Response Team volunteers who deployed for a total of 1,530 days. That’s an average volunteer deployment of 18 days each.
I never underestimate the impact of the support of Rotary International, Rotary Clubs and individual Rotarian has to ShelterBox in achieving our goal of no family without shelter.
As we continue to pursue our goal, we thank each and every one of you for the support given, and make an impassioned plea for that support to continue into the future. As individual organisations we can make a difference in the world; as a partnership we can do even more.
Through the commitment of our supporters, ShelterBox can provide emergency shelter and tools for families robbed of their homes by conflict and natural disaster.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge - through our various events and via generous donations received from members of the community, has been able to provide equivalent to 57 ShelterBoxes at the cost of $1000 each to ShelterBox Australia since 2007.
Each of these boxes is given a number which can then be linked to its ultimate deployment in disaster areas around the world.
Below is a list which shows box number, related disaster and deployment location of 48 of the Shelterboxes that have been deployed by Rotary Club of Northbridge.
ShelterBox (https://www.shelterboxaustralia.com.au/about/) will have a display at the Northbridge Rotary Community Fireworks Event on May 12th, 2018. Come along, have a look, and consider a donation to this worthy cause.
THE ROTARY CLUB OF NORTHBRIDGE DONATIONS TO SHELTERBOX – BOXES PURCHASED
A record crowd estimated at more than 4,000 attended Northbridge Rotary's Community Fireworks 30th Anniversary Spectacular on Northbridge Oval on May 13.
The event was a great success, according to the organizer, Rotarian Rob Coote. “We were lucky with near perfect weather and it was a great night for families who attended the evening,” Rob said. “The fireworks were spectacular, there was varied musical entertainment from local school bands plus exciting rides for the many happy children in attendance.
“We had about 120 Rotary Club members, spouses and Friends of Rotary helping on the night,” Rob said.
The spectators included North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman, Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Willoughby Mayor Gail Giles-Gidney. The Mayor welcomed the huge crowd and thanked Rotarians, volunteers and sponsors for making the huge community event so successful.
The event raised a surplus of more than $40,000 (net of expenses), which will be used to support local and overseas charities.
In this regard the Board of the Club at its May meeting resolved to award 100% of the surplus to organizations in greatest need. These included StreetWork (a local youth charity ) to assist in purchasing a new community vehicle ,the Rural Fire Service, children and women’s emergency accommodation, Rotary’s Polio Eradication programme, The Rotary Foundation, medical research into the causes and treatment of dementia and high need overseas charities in East Timor and Nepal (water delivery infrastructure and schools..)
Rotary President Paul Sullivan expressed the Club’s appreciation to Northbridge Plaza (managed by AMP Capital) as the primary sponsor of the event and the new co-sponsor Commonwealth Bank.
The invaluable assistance and support of all our other sponsors and supporters were also much appreciated. These included – Willoughby Council, Westpac Banking Corporation, Anytime Fitness, Ray White Real Estate, Coates Hire, Northbridge Hotel, Borusso’s Pizza and Pasta, Willoughby Leisure Centre, Backvintage Wines, Just Cuts Northbridge, Northbridge Physiotherapy, and Castlecrag Montessori School.
Also, the event would not have been the success that it was without the support of all those other entities who provided prizes for our Raffle, that helped us raise much-needed funds for our charities. These included – Bridge Climb, Simon & Johnson, Taronga Zoo, National Maritime Museum, Luna Park Sydney, HarbourView Restaurant and the Northbridge Golf Club.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge thanks, all sponsors and supporters for their tremendous support.
Northbridge Rotary Club has helped to build a new school in a remote area of Nepal which was devastated by a massive earthquake in 2015. Part of the funding for the project was raised by the club through the generosity of Northbridge residents.
The new school building at Bhakanje village, high in the Himalayas at 2,386 metres, was opened for use in February 2018. At the opening, the villagers of Bhakanje, the school’s teachers and students, and the two managers of Himalayan Project in Nepal expressed their gratitude to the community of Northbridge for their humanitarian support to this devastated community. A brass wall plaque was fixed to the building reading:
The reconstruction of this building in 2016‐17 is funded by Rotary Club of Northbridge, Sydney, Australia and the people of Northbridge in cooperation with Rotary Club of Kathmandu and Himalayan Project Nepal 2017.
The new school building has a total of four classrooms, one being a nursery for small children. The stronger, longer-lasting building replaces the original school building which was mainly destroyed by the 7.7 force earthquake. The new building’s brick walls and truss roof are of earthquake-resistant design. The walls are lined with wooden panels to help insulate school students from the cold.
The new Bhakanje school is said to be one of the most beautiful and functional schools in that region of Nepal.
Rotary Club of Northbridge managed the reconstruction from October 2016 until February 2018 in cooperation with Rotary Club of Kathmandu, Himalayan Project Denmark and Himalayan Project Nepal.
The Rotary Foundation has won the prestigious award for Outstanding Foundation at the 2017 conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals in San Francisco. The conference drew more than 3,400 senior fundraising professionals from 33 countries.
The annual award honours organisations that show philanthropic commitment and leadership through financial support, innovation, encouragement of others, and involvement in public affairs.
AFP’s judges cited Rotary’s comprehensive campaign to eradicate polio as a major driver of the selection.
They also mentioned that Rotary applies a methodical, purposeful approach to support a wide variety of international causes, from providing clean water to educating the next generation of peace professionals.
Rotary Foundation Chair-elect Paul Netzel accepted the award on Rotary's behalf. “With the generous support of our members and partners, we’ve taken on some of the toughest humanitarian challenges in the world, none more so than the devastating disease of polio,” said Netzel. “We will defeat polio and it will be a landmark achievement for global public health.”
“This award helps to spread our belief that service to humankind truly changes our world and, for that reason, it is the greatest work of life,” Netzel said.
The Rotary Club of Northbridge and many of its members contribute generously to The Rotary Foundation each year.