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Welcome to The Rotary Club of Northbridge
Northbridge
We meet Tuesdays at 6:00 PM
Northbridge Golf Club
Sailors Bay Road,
Northbridge, NSW 2063
Australia
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Please send apologies to Helen Gulson before 10:30am each Monday at helen.gulson@ozemail.com.au
Club Service Duty Roster
Club Service Duty Roster
Speakers
Sep 08, 2020
Club Committees Night
Sep 15, 2020
Charity Car Rally
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Upcoming Events
NORTHBRIDGE ROTARY COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE
Sep 26, 2020
 
Golf for a Cause
Oct 03, 2020
 
View entire list
 
The Rotary Club of Northbridge gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Northbridge Plaza
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Garth Carter
September 8
 
Barry Anderson
September 16
 
Therese Stubbs
September 23
 
Spouse Birthdays
Shush Landers
September 14
 
Therese Stubbs
September 23
 
Join Date
Noel Phelan
September 6, 2011
9 years
 
Peter Antaw
September 13, 1988
32 years
 
Therese Stubbs
September 21, 2009
11 years
 
John Garrett
September 26, 2006
14 years
 
ClubRunner Mobile
Club Meeting News
 
Welcome
 
President Kevin welcomed all members and guest speaker Dr Bill Ketelbey.
 
Toast
David Robertson proposed a toast to the RC of Bellingen.
 
Announcements
 
President Kevin updated the meeting on the status of the upcoming Rotary Food Drive on 26 September. Posters and advertising material has been printed and will be delivered to letterboxes in Northbridge in the next couple of weeks. $1000 has been donated to the cause by Northbridge Plaza.
 
All the food items donated will be collected and distributed by Oz Harvest including to Taldumunde and StreetWorks. A roster will be organized shortly for the assistance required on the day.
 
The opening of the Kiah Pavilion is now scheduled for Thursday, 3 September, if anyone is interested in attending.
Guest Speaker - Dr Bill Ketelbey - Alzheimer's Disease Research
 
PP John Turner introduced guest speaker Dr Bill Ketelbey, CEO & Managing Director of Actinogen Medical and who is a healthcare, biotech and pharmaceutical industry professional, with more than 30 years’ experience in the sector.
 
Dr. Ketelbey specializes in the area of therapeutic treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s affects 70% of the population in one form or another. Alzheimer’s and dementia have always been around but there just appears to be more cases these days due to people living longer as a result of improved health care. The biggest risk factor of developing Alzheimer’s is Age. By 80 years of age, 35% of people will have it, 50% at 95 and nearly 100% for those over 100. It is doubling every 20 years and its cost to the community is massive. There is no cure and it cannot be prevented, but it can be treated. A definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s can only be made post mortem by examining the brain.
 
Drug therapies are available if a diagnosis of cognitive impairment is made early enough, though this only slows progression of the disease. The funding for the development of drugs for Alzheimer’s is through academia, philanthropy, government grants and biotech & pharma companies. Generally it takes 15 years to develop a drug before it is available on the shelves and can cost $1B. Dr Ketelbey spoke about the causes of the disease - amyloid build-up in the brain and raised cortisol levels in the blood. In particular there is a strong correlation between raised cortisol levels and the development and progression of Alzheimer’s. Cortisol is a common hormone produced in times of physical and mental stress which is normal, but if it remains elevated, as it can tend to do in individuals with other diseases such as diabetes, depression and schizophrenia, there is a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Cortisol levels are also known to rise naturally with normal ageing resulting in cognitive decline. Actinogen Medical is in the trial phase of developing Xanamem, a drug aimed at blocking the production of cortisol.  
 
I think the most important piece of information Dr Ketelbey gave us is the importance of our cardiovascular health in slowing the progress of developing Alzheimer’s and how important it is to ensure we do what’s necessary to keep healthy.
 
John thanked Dr Ketelbey for his talk and for opening our eyes to the causes and treatment of Alzheimer’s.
Helen Gulson
 
DID YOU KNOW
In the past couple of years the Club has started to donate money to Mary’s House, North Sydney. Mary’s House is the business face of North Shore Women’s Benevolent Association Limited, a duly registered charity with Public Benevolent Institution status with the ATO that was established by the Roman Catholic Church and has a special relationship with the Mater Hospital. Mary’s House is a domestic violence refuge in North Sydney at an undisclosed location. It is one of only two such refuges on the North Shore and opened its doors in 2015. The other refuge operates in the Ku-ring-gai LGA. The Association presently requires a minimum of $700,000 a year to maintain its services, receives no Government funding whatsoever and relies solely on corporate, charitable and public donations.
YOU CAN READ MORE IN THE CLUB HISTORY https://tinyurl.com/rcnclubhistory
 
 
                                                                  
 
If anyone has any jokes or funny stories, feel free to send them to me for the humour section of the Bulletin! We certainly need a little humour in our lives at the moment!!! Email them to helen.gulson@ozemail.com.au
 
Stories
Rotary and its GPEI Partners Celebrate Eradication of Wild Polio in Africa
 
 
The World Health Organization (WHO) on 25 August announced that transmission of the wild poliovirus has officially been stopped in all 47 countries of its African region. This is a historic and vital step toward global eradication of polio, which is Rotary’s top priority.
 
After decades of hard won gains in the region, Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — WHO, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance — are proclaiming the milestone an achievement in public health. They offer it as proof that strong commitment, coordination, and perseverance can rid the world of polio.
The certification that the African region is free of wild poliovirus comes after the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) conducted thorough field verifications that confirmed no new cases and analyzed documentation of polio surveillance, immunization, and laboratory capacity by Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and South Sudan. The commission had already accepted the documentation of the other 43 countries in the region.
The last cases of polio caused by the wild virus in the African region were recorded in Nigeria’s northern state of Borno in August 2016, after two years with no cases. Conflict, along with challenges in reaching mobile populations, had hampered efforts to immunize children there.
 
Now that the African region is free of wild poliovirus, five of WHO’s six regions, representing more than 90 percent of the world’s population, are now free of the disease. Polio caused by the wild virus is still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean region.
 
The African region’s wild polio-free certification was celebrated during a livestream event. Speakers included Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Bill Gates, Rotary International President Holger Knaack, Nigeria PolioPlus chair Dr. Tunji Funsho, and representatives of other GPEI partners. The celebration was followed by a press conference.
In the program, Knaack spoke about people needing good news during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “The challenges ahead are formidable,” Knaack said. “That’s why we must recognize this great achievement and commend all the people who played important roles in reaching this milestone. It took tremendous effort over many years.”
 
An achievement decades in the making
Not detecting any wild poliovirus in Africa is in stark contrast to the situation in 1996, when 75,000 children there were paralyzed by the disease. That year, at a meeting of the Organization of African Unity in Cameroon, African heads of state committed to eradicating the disease from the continent.
To bolster the effort, also in 1996, Rotary, its GPEI partners, and South African President Nelson Mandela launched the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign. Using soccer matches and celebrity endorsements, the campaign raised awareness of polio and helped more than 30 African countries to hold their first National Immunization Days. Mandela’s call to action helped mobilize leaders across the continent to increase their efforts to reach every child with polio vaccine.
 
 
Children in Cote d’Ivoire receive oral polio vaccines during an immunization campaign.
 
Since 1996, countless Rotary members from across Africa and around the world have raised funds, immunized children, and promoted vaccinations, enabling the GPEI to respond to and stop polio outbreaks. More than 9 billion doses of oral polio vaccine have been provided throughout the region, preventing an estimated 1.8 million cases of paralysis. Each year, about 2 million volunteers help vaccinate 220 million children against polio multiple times in the African region.
Rotary members have contributed nearly $890 million toward polio eradication efforts in the African region. The funds have allowed Rotary to issue PolioPlus grants to fund polio surveillance, transportation, awareness campaigns, and National Immunization Days.
Dr. Tunji Funsho, chair of Rotary’s Nigeria PolioPlus committee, noted Rotarians’ tremendous contributions to polio eradication efforts in Africa: “From raising funds and immunizing children, to providing ‘polio plusses,’ such as soap and health kits, Rotary members have shown resilience and steadfast dedication to our top priority of ending polio.”
Rotary members have helped build extensive polio infrastructure that has been used to respond to COVID-19 and, in 2014, the Ebola crisis, as well as to protect communities from yellow fever and bird flu.
Challenges still ahead
The GPEI’s challenge now is to eradicate wild poliovirus in the two countries where the disease has never been stopped: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Additionally, routine immunization in Africa must also be strengthened to keep the wild poliovirus from returning and to protect children against circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus, which is rare but continues to infect people in parts of the African region.
To eradicate polio, multiple high-quality immunization campaigns must continue to be given priority. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s necessary to keep children vaccinated against polio while also protecting health workers from COVID-19 and making sure they don’t contribute to its transmission.
Global health officials and experts say that sustained fundraising and advocacy are still crucial, not only to protect gains in Africa, but to reach the ultimate goal of a world without polio. Rotary members still have a critical role to play in keeping the African region free of wild poliovirus and eliminating the virus in the two countries where polio remains endemic.
As Knaack said, “This is a big step in our journey to a polio-free world, but the fight is not over yet. We still need the support of our Rotary members, donors, and heroic effort of health care workers to finish the job.”
Visit endpolio.org to learn more and donate.
 
Published by Rotary International. 25-Aug-2020
Read more...
Northbridge Rotary Community Food Drive to Help the Needy & Homeless
Northbridge Rotary Provides Local and Overseas Disaster Assistance
Local and international humanitarian disasters have become the new norm and the Rotary Club of Northbridge has been involved in assisting wherever possible. Recently COVID-19 has received the bulk of media attention. Before that it was the eastern seaboard drought and bushfires. Then, in April, Cyclone Harold devastated parts of Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga.
 
COVID-19 has considerably reduced Northbridge Rotary’s 2020 fundraising capability, including cancellation of its major fundraiser, the annual fireworks. Prior to this, the Club had raised $29,580 to aid those areas in NSW affected by the bushfires and drought.
 
With some of its remaining funds, the Club has committed $22,500 towards building a Community Pavilion at Kiah on the NSW south coast and repairing gardens around the Boomerang Centre in severely fire-damaged Mogo near Batemans Bay.
 
The Kiah Pavilion was completed 25th July and an official opening is planned for 8 August and we hope some members of Northbridge will be able to attend.
There is a story on the Rotary Club of Merimbula website if you would like to take a look please click on the link below.
 
 
 
Internationally, the Club has been asked to assist in the fight against COVID-19 by the Rotary Club of Kathmandu in Nepal.
Covid-19 cases have increased significantly in Nepal since late May with tens of thousands of migrant workers returning home from India and Nepal commencing a phased reopening in mid-June. 
 
With the assistance of other local Rotary Clubs, Northbridge Rotary has been able to donate $10,000 to help with the purchase of PPE equipment for medical staff, installing hand washing stations in strategic locations and supplying food for orphanages and others in need, as the photo(s)on this page illustrate.
 
Peter Russell
Publicity Director
    
Read more...
Report on two Rotary Bushfire Appeal Projects
 
3 weeks ago Sally, Valda and I along with 2 friends took a 5 day road trip down the south coast to support local communities and at the same time checked out the two projects that our Rotary Club has supported, namely at Mogo and Kiah.
 
The Mogo project near Batemans Bay   Sally, Valda and I met with representatives from the Batemans Bay Rotary Club and visited the Boomerang Indigenous Centre where our Club had agreed to partially fund to the tune of $5,100 a landscaping project, which involved the tidying up of a landscaped area and replanting.
 
Mogo had been devastated by the fires with several buildings lost and it was interesting that the Batemans Bay RC were very involved with restoration by operating a Hub in Mogo, where counselling services are available as well as computers available for use by the local community.
 
The Kiah Pavillion project   Whilst our group was in Bega I drove south to Merimbula to meet up with representatives of the Merimbula RC who drove me south past Eden to the little village of Kiah to see the pavilion  project where our Club has contributed $22,500 in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Bega, Merimbula and Pambula.
 
The concrete slab has now been poured and the structural steel is now being manufactured.
 
After the inspection I returned to Merimbula and participated in their face to face Changeover Dinner where our contribution to the Kiah project was gratefully acknowledged, knowing that Rotary Clubs working together can make a difference.
 
Thank you to everyone in our community who contributed generously towards our Northbridge Shopping Centre bucket appeals, BBQs' fund raising and other activities.
 
Peter McNair
Dine In for a Cause Raised Funds to help the Vulnerable in our Community
Our traditional Rotary Club fund raising activities have been halted in recent months by the social isolation restrictions to prevent the spread of the COVID19 virus.
Members of the club have come up with a few innovative ideas to raise funds to help the needy in our community.
 
On the 4th July the club ran “Dine-in for a Cause” fund raising event.
 
The Dine-in for a Cause event was attended by 32, mainly Rotarians, over 4 Host homes. It included a Quiz and a Silent Auction, raising $1,425 all up, with the funds going to Phoenix House, a charity located at Crows Nest over the last 30 years, providing early intervention and support services to the most vulnerable and challenged young people living in Northern Sydney.
 
In total $2,000 was raised from our recent Dine-in for a Cause fundraiser - to Phoenix House and has been gratefully received.
Northbridge Rotary Zooms on Through COVID19 Restrictions
During the COVID19 public and social gathering restrictions Northbridge Rotary Club continued meeting using Zoom remote online meeting tool.
 
The photo shows members participating at a meeting only a few weeks ago – at hopefully our last Zoom meeting. 
 
On Tuesday 14 July we transitioned back into our regular club meeting at the Northbridge Golf Club, with all the necessary social distancing rules being implemented.  We can only hope this is a time of renewal not just for ourselves but for everyone who has had to manage their life in social isolation in recent months.
 
THE 4 - WAY TEST of the things we say or do

1). Is it the TRUTH?

2). Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3). Will it build GOODWILL & BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4). Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?