The Rotary Club of Northbridge gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Northbridge Plaza
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Peter Grinter
March 1
Eleanor Chevor
March 3
Peter McNair
March 13
John Turner
March 19
Spouse Birthdays
Fran Garrett
March 2
Anniversaries
Helen Gulson
March 8
Join Date
Malcolm Lye
March 6, 2001
20 years
Alan Hession
March 8, 2016
5 years
Helen Gulson
March 8, 2016
5 years
Andrew Rennie
March 20, 2018
3 years
David Robertson
March 23, 2010
11 years
Sally O'Neill
March 25, 2003
18 years
Denise Woodward
March 27, 2018
3 years
Luke Keighery
March 27, 2018
3 years
Ros Virtue
March 28, 2006
15 years
Garth Carter
March 29, 2016
5 years
Club Meeting News for 16 March 2021
Welcome
President Kevin welcomed members, guest speaker Liz de Rome, and guests Maggie Shanahan and Sabina Allman.
Toast
PP Peter Antaw proposed a toast to the RC of Sydney which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. The second club formed in Australia (the first being Melbourne), the club over the years has supported the Society of Crippled Children, PCYC and their current "give every child a future" project aims to see over 100,000 children in the Pacific region vaccinated over the next 3 years against Rotavirus, Pneumococcal disease and Human Papillomavirus.
Announcements
Luke Keighery reminded members to join the Footy Tipping Competition which generates funds for the club the more people who are involved in it, so encourage friends and family to take part. The email you received from Luke will give you details of how to take part.
Peter Grinter reminded those involved in the Rostrum Voice of Youth that this will take place on Monday, 22 March at Cammeraygal. Be there at 4.15 pm. Contact Peter if you have any questions.
Paul Sullivan reminded members of the Rotary Golf Day to be held on Saturday, 10 April. Details will be sent via email. Paul thanked all those who have volunteered to help out on the day.
Sally O'Neill & Peter Russell advised members of Comedy for a Cause to be held on Thursday, 22 April at NGC. Please encourage friends and family to come along to what will be a fun evening. They are also in need of raffle prizes so please let them know if you can help in that area. Peter has been promoting the event and flyers are available for members to circulate in the community.
President Kevin advised that RCN had been presented with an award from ShelterBox for our support of their work.
The RC of North Ryde is holding a family e-Fun Run between 18-25 April 2021. If you wish to support their endeavour, you can do so at https://www.northryderotary.com/Stories/the-north-ryde-efun-run-for-mental-health-update-2-1.
Kim Wilkins reminded members of the upcoming bookstall on Sunday 21 March at Northbridge Plaza.
Guest Speaker - Liz de Rome - Taldumande
Noel Phelan introduced guest speaker Liz de Rome. Liz is the CEO of Taldumande which our club has been supporting for many years. Liz spent 15 years in publishing and over the past 5 years at Taldumande has had to seek and find grants to retain and recruit volunteers.
Liz said that Taldumande has been supporting, encouraging and empowering young people and their families for over 45 years. As with many people, 2020 was a very difficult year for Taldumande and its clients. They had 65 young people in their care, and supported many families. 92% of people met their goals and 92% had needs addressed.
Crisis refuge beginnings
Taldumande started as a crisis refuge in 1976 and has moved from that to building independence and resilience in their clients. They do get some state government funding but they still need to raise $500k a year to meet their needs and yet during Covid some 226 families had to be turned away.
As a 24/7 crisis centre their tasks are becoming harder with the amount drugs, alcohol and abuse happening. They work with Police, provide respite, they have a Beach Reach Program on the Northern Beaches amongst many other forms of support.
Education is Key
Education is key and one of their main aims is to re-engage kids to continue their education. Some 57 clients since 2017 have been supported by RC of Northbridge, and our SEES program which has provided laptops has been a very positive support towards this.
They also run a Family Restorative program for 12-15 year olds working with families and which receives no government funding. They had to turn away 50 families in February due to Covid.
Taldumande receives lots of 'in kind' donations, including the work of several Northbridge Rotarians over the years. Liz also talked about the projects that RCN has funded over the years.
There is to be a Gala Dinner at Luna Park on Friday, 14 May, details of which will be made available shortly.
Noel thanked Liz for her insight and details about what is happening at Taldumande. He said that people who do this job are very special people.
An now for a little bit of humour...
A Priest, a Vicar and a Rabbit were all called in to the Blood Bank to make a blood donation in an emergency. The Priest was asked by a nurse what blood type he was to which he replied 'Type A'. Asked the same question, the Vicar replied 'Type AB'. When the Rabbit was asked for his blood type he answered 'Type O', I guess.....
Email me if you don't get it .....
If anyone has any jokes or funny stories, feel free to send them to me for the humour section of the Bulletin!
Our next Northbridge Rotary Bookstall will be at the Plaza on Sunday 21st March, from 9 am to 5pm, and thereafter (hopefully) normally on the 3rd Sunday of each month.
Every year Rotary District 9685 – which includes Sydney’s Lower North Shore region - offers a post-graduate Global Grant Scholarship for US$30,000 for overseas study at a recognised university or institution.
Applications for a scholarship grant for 2021-22 are now open and are being sought from candidates with the following attributes:
A proven record of success in academic results or vocation
Commitment to a career in one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus
Demonstrated personal commitment to community service
Personal qualities to be a good ambassador for Rotary and Australia
Excellent leadership skills and potential
Well defined and realistic goals
Commitment to participate in Rotary activities and maintaining a strong relationship after the scholarship period.
Scholarship applications are sponsored by a Rotary Club in your district. For example, in District 9685, candidates can apply through the Rotary Club of Northbridge. This Club’s Rotary Foundation director, Valda Andrews, can be contacted via:
The Rotary Peace Fellowship is the premier educational program of The Rotary Foundation and supports Rotary’s mission to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace. It is intended for individuals who have chosen a career related to international relations, peace and conflict resolution; who have work experience in these areas and who have a commitment to community or international humanitarian service and working for peace. The following link contains additional information in relation to Rotary’s Peace Fellowships:
He’s not renowned for his cricketing prowess, nor is he an Oxford or Cambridge academic, but Northbridge’s Donald Landers is, indisputably, ‘our Don’.
A retired solicitor, Don and his wife Shirley are long time Northbridge residents who have served our community selflessly for many years.
On 15 December this year, Don was honoured at the Northbridge Rotary Club’s Christmas dinner with a special award, presented – as the photograph below shows – by Willoughby Mayor, Gail Giles-Gidney, with Northbridge Rotary President, Kevin Tattrie, hosting the event.
Don was also presented, at this dinner, with a letter from the NSW Premier and Member for Willoughby, Gladys Berejiklian, honouring Don’s “dedicated Service” to our community, through Rotary. At the bottom of her typed letter, the Premier stated, in her own handwriting:
“Don, your contribution to our community is beyond outstanding – thank you.”
Don Landers was a founding member of Northbridge Rotary Club in 1983. In 1990 he became a Trustee of the Club’s Benevolent Fund, overseeing charitable donations in excess of $230,000, involving a range of humanitarian projects and disaster appeals for the Club. This year he has relinquished his Benevolent fund Trustee role after 30 years of dedicated service.
Don is the perfect example of a hard and committed worker who has given and continues to give his time, energy and experience in the service of others. All who know him, value his wisdom, civic-mindedness, corporate contribution and wonderful sense of humour.
Don, the Rotary Club of Northbridge salutes you.
[Don and Shirley Landers (centre) posing with Northbridge Rotary President Kevin Tattrie (left) and Willoughby Mayor, Gail Giles-Gidney (right)]
The Covid-19 pandemic made fundraising and giving extremely difficult this year, but in the end Christmas won through.
After much hard work, Northbridge Rotary Club’s Sally O’Neill, her fundraising team and her army of Club ticket-sellers, pulled off a fundraising coup with their Christmas Raffle conducted during the course of December at Northbridge Plaza.
Thanks to the generosity of the Northbridge Plaza management – including its security team, local Northbridge and other businesses and shoppers attending the Plaza, the Rotary Club raised over $8,000. That money will be used for local and regional projects, particularly focussing on those recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 22 raffle prizes were drawn at the Plaza by Northbridge Rotary Club President, Kevin Tattrie, on Sunday 20 December, as the photograph below shows.
Congratulations to the following list of lucky prize-winners:
The Rotary club is now motivated to make its Christmas Raffle an annual event, together with its Tree of Joy which, as can be seen from the photograph below, produced a windfall of toys and other gifts for children who would otherwise go without this Christmas. Now, thanks to the Club’s Eleanor Chevor and her team, they too will experience the true joy of what this Season of Giving is all about.
Saturday 26 September shone a bright light over Northbridge. From first light they came bearing gifts of love – by car and on foot, trailing children, dogs and each other. The blue uniformed brigade of Northbridge Rotary was there to meet them – about 40 in all, bright eyed and Covid safe. From early morning the first shift was beginning to receive and unload a continuous flow of non-perishable food supplies, making sure the donors went away with a smile. Northbridge Rotary’s Community Food Drive was in full swing.
By mid-morning, the alcoves and stairs of St. Marks Anglican Church Memorial Hall in Malacoota Road were bulging with rows of food boxes and packed shopping bags. The pace ebbed and flowed as people trailed in and out. When the two charity collection vans from Taldumande Youth Services and StreetWork had departed fully laden late that afternoon, there was still a supply of food remaining and Oz Harvest obliged with a collection of the remaining donations the following morning.
In all, it is estimated the Northbridge and North Shore community contributed to over a tonne of non-perishable food supplies that filled over 100 boxes and 50 shopping bags – enough for 2,400 meals or sufficient to feed a needy family of four for 18 months.
Liz de Rome, Taldumande’s Grants, Community and Volunteers Officer summed the impact of this event up perfectly:
“I wanted to share that as we dropped off bags and boxes of food to our young people, they were so grateful for their generous parcel. This morning, one young girl nearly cried (and me) as she couldn’t believe her luck. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make ends meet this week. The generosity of the community and Northbridge Rotarians has helped fill the pantries of our young people and they’re so grateful.”
The final comment belongs to the Northbridge Rotary event organiser, Eleanor Chevor: “What a day!”
