The Rotary Club of Northbridge gratefully acknowledges the generous sponsorship of Northbridge Plaza
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Ranald Stewart
April 8
Joanne Coleman
April 17
Bob Farrar
April 19
Bob Edwards
April 29
Mike Cocks
April 29
Spouse Birthdays
Jan Duggin
April 3
Audrey Hodgson
April 10
Anniversaries
Peter Grinter
Di Grinter
April 25
Bob Farrar
Christine Altmeier
April 28
Join Date
Peter Russell
April 9, 2019
1 year
Peter Grinter
April 19, 1988
32 years
Anthony Clifford
April 24, 2007
13 years
Jon Gidney
April 26, 2016
4 years
President's Message
Malcolm Lye
After our first general meeting of members by Zoom on April 7, we sent a survey to members about future general meetings. About two-thirds of the club completed the survey and on April 16, the Board reviewed the results.
Responders were unanimous in support for continuing Club meetings using Zoom. There was a fair consensus that meetings should be fortnightly at first, moving to weekly meetings if the demand is there and if the organisers can manage. The next meeting is scheduled for 21 April, starting at 6:15pm. Most felt that the content of meetings should remain simple initially and develop over time. The Board agreed to purchase a Zoom license for the Club, which would be available for all club meetings.
Several responders pointed out that members normally spent more than $30 at each dinner meeting and suggested that the members who attend the Zoom meetings should pay a fee. The Board decided to ask members to pay $25 each month into the Charities Account, all the proceeds to go to the Health Staff Appreciation Group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/3095936597298769/) which provides support to health workers at hospitals. The payment would be voluntary.
Lastly, I think the next challenge for the club is to find one or two fundraising projects to support selected charities and to give us all a sense of purpose during these difficult times. Please help Sally identify ways to fund raise now that all our conventional ways are gone.
Keep well!
Malcolm
Club News
Welcome to another edition of our Club Bulletin during these unprecedented times in our club's history.
Fighting COVID-19 in Nepal
At its meeting on April 16, the Board approved a new project to donate funds to Rotary Club of Kathmandu for the purchase of PPE equipment for medical staff and food support for the needy in Nepal. In his report to the Board, Luke Keighery said that $2199 for Nepal remained in the club’s accounts. An anonymous donor had contributed a further $801 for a total of $3000. He is hopeful that a District Grant will provide an additional $3000 bringing the potential to support Rotary Club of Kathmandu’s project to the tune of $6000. Well done, Luke!
Help for Fiji
During April, David Robertson visited Fiji to take medical supplies kindly donated by Doctours and eye glasses donated by Northbridge Eyecare Plus. David will visit hospitals that our club has supported in the past to ascertain whether there are any other requirements with which our club can assist.
New Book Club!
Kim Wilkins has started work on forming a new virtual book club within our Rotary Club. The club would be based on Zoom videoconferencing. Because libraries are closed, members of the book club would each read a book of their choice and comment on it to the other members during a Zoom meeting. Already, Kim has seven members interested, so let him know if you would like to join.
Thank you
During the week Bob Edwards received an email from Mary Lou Bennett, following the death on 21 March of her husband Russell. Russell Bennett was one of the club’s first members and was an active member until February 2006. Below is Mary Lou’s message:
Dear Rotary Friends,
Chris, Amy and I wish to thank you for the very beautiful floral arrangement sent in memory of Russell.
Russell enjoyed so much about Rotary - the fellowship and the enduring friendships made; seeing projects undertaken and completed; making the fairy floss for the fireworks.
Rotary added a richness and a sense of purpose to his life.
Warm regards
Mary Lou
Online Concerts & other Entertainment
John Turner let us know that the Sydney Opera House is programming online concerts for free. Some can be viewed on demand, and others will be available online at set times. So check out what might pique your interest at https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/digital/season.html .
Rotary has been a leader in early detection of bowel cancer since 1982 when the first program of Bowelscan, now known as BowelCare, was introduced by the Rotary Club of Lismore. Our District was soon to follow with the program in our District being administered by the Rotary Club of East Gosford. Our Club also joined the program many years ago, participation merely involving a couple of members to distribute the kits to the pharmacies in our area and ultimately collecting the completed specimens and funds and forwarding them to the organisers. We will never know how many members of the local community have been saved from the trials of bowel cancer by their participation in the program through our efforts, but your correspondent can attest that the simple test involved detected his cancer in time.
The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.
Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which the husband absentmindedly wears his wife’s nightgown.
Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle, olive-flavoured mouthwash.
Flatulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
Pokemon, a Rastafarian proctologist.
Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
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
The Rotary Club of Northbridge is offering a Peace Scholarship in 2020-21
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.
These links explain the scholarships and where they are offered.
Due to COVID19 Virus Safety Restrictions this event has been cancelled until further notice
Looking for something different to do in Northbridge?
Get in the groove with the local band, Laneway 91. Enjoy the evening with popular music, catch up with friends over delicious food and a drink, and help Rotary raise money for rural communities in need.
Dave Banks (left), President, Nambucca Rotary Club presenting a cheque to a member of the community.
Photo caption:
L-R: John Turner, Marko Delatovic, Nick Hillyard and Peter Grinter.
Rotary President, Peter Grinter, presents cheque to Nick Hillyard for BlazeAid at the Charity Fundraiser at Northbridge Golf Club on 24 January.
Over the recent months our nation has been beset by numerous disasters on a national level. As you are no doubt aware your local Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Northbridge, has approached you to assist us in raising funds to help alleviate, in some way, the suffering occasioned to our fellow Australians. We, the members of the Club, have been blown away by the response and generosity of the members of our local community to our requests.
In October last year we conducted a bucket appeal at the Plaza for funds for the relief of drought-stricken farmers and we raised an amount just shy of $20,000.00. This was followed the next month with another bucket appeal at the Plaza to raise funds for victims of the bushfires then devastating the mid north coast of New South Wales which raised just under $16,000.00. Two months later we were back again asking for money for the victims of the fires then raging down the South Coast and nearly $26,000.00 to date has been raised. This is a grand total of some $61,500.00.
In dealing with funds raised by means of these appeals when, quite often, there are national appeals being conducted to raise substantial funds for the same cause, we have found that while the needs of the individual victims of the particular disaster are being helped financially by those national appeals, quite often community amenities are destroyed. However, the repair or replacement of those amenities which would greatly assist the devastated community achieving some return to normality do not qualify for assistance and literally fall through the cracks. To overcome this problem, we try to work with the local Rotary Club in that area and direct funds to helping restore those amenities and allowing the local community to rebuild as an interacting community.
In the middle of all this we conducted our regular annual ‘Tree of Joy’ at the Plaza to solicit Christmas presents for The Smith Family’s Annual Toy and Book Appeal for underprivileged children. This appeal resulted in our collecting enough presents to fill 24 waist-high, 75 litre, self-standing green plastic garden bags. Another magnificent effort by the local Community.
We, the members of the Rotary Club of Northbridge, wish to gratefully acknowledge the generosity of our Northbridge Community and to place on record our sincere thanks and gratitude for the material and financial assistance you have provided so readily when asked by us.
Where does the money go?
“Two people cried as they were so overwhelmed by Rotary generosity”
Karin Eurell
In typical Rotary fashion, we partner with another Rotary Club that is located close to the disaster zone. In this case, we connected with the Nambucca Rotary Club and the $15,000 raised from our first bucket appeal has been distributed already to where it is badly needed.
Nambucca Council provided Rotary with contact details of the 38 people who registered for Council assistance as they had lost their home in the bush fire.
The 38 names and phone numbers were allocated to 6 Rotarians to call and present them with a cheque for $300.
The President of Nambucca Rotary told us: “I have called 6 people so far, two cried as they were so overwhelmed by Rotary generosity.”
A further $1,400 is being donated to Out of the Ashes for porta loos –for people who have lost their home and are living in a tent.
The balance of $2, 200 will go to BlazeAid to assist farmers in the area by providing fencing materials which will be purchased locally.
Photo captions: The educators opened the box with mannequin torso at Christmas, and they were thrilled. It is the first clinical equipment that the hospital education team own themselves. Thanks so much 😊🙏Marg
A cry for assistance is certainly not uncommon in developing countries, especially when it concerns medical equipment. Northbridge Rotary Club heard the cry through two of its members Liz Grey and Ros Virtue, and immediately took up the challenge of fulfilling the needs of one of our closest neighbors, East Timor.
At Dili National Hospital, there are currently 12 Clinical Nurse Educators of which two are midwives. This year they became recognised as the first Timorese Clinical Nurse Educators at the Hospital to teach new nurses, midwives and student nurses on the wards.
Margaret McDonald-Ashe, a Nurse Educator for St John of God Nursing Development Program in Timor-Leste said “There is no budget allocation available for teaching equipment at the Hospital or the rural hospitals. We need assistance to carry on this really important work”
Past President Derek Matz ( Northbridge Rotary Club ) said “we managed to purchase or obtain via donation the vital pieces of equipment that were requested – mainly 2 adult and 2 child mannequins, a laptop and projector, stethoscopes, thermometers, 12 oxygen saturation monitors, a defibrillator with 10 batteries, bandages, medical tape and much more.”
“We can now continue the fantastic work the educators are doing, and even take on a few more people to move into the rural areas and train them as well.”
Margaret couldn’t thank Northbridge Rotary Club enough along with all the people who donated the equipment.
Children from the Wellington district enjoying their day out at the Dubbo Zoo with BBQ lunch.
Rotarians in Action:
Members of Northbridge and Wellington NSW at the Dubbo Zoo
Photo: Cheetah, Dubbo Zoo
The Rotary Clubs of Northbridge (Sydney) and Wellington (NSW) have embarked on a joint project to support the families of drought-affected communities in Western NSW. There are 744 primary school kids from the Wellington District and they are all being treated to a day at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo including a BBQ lunch.
The project is being run over a 7-week period. Rotarians from Northbridge are driving there to connect with their fellow Rotarians in Wellington and to jointly run the BBQ. Northbridge President, Peter Antaw, said that of the families: “The children are suffering as well, most of them don’t understand the financial and extreme pressures that their parents are going through.” The families are anxious about their future but there is also much determination to keep their communities alive.
Australia is experiencing one of its most severe droughts on record, with areas in NSW facing the prospect of running out of water by mid-2020.
The Burrendong dam is now at 4.5% capacity and dwindling rapidly.
The crisis is severely impacting the Wellington area and so special treats like a visit to the zoo is just not possible for many locals and their families.
3000 muesli bars, supplied free by Nestles, as well as 744 sausage sandwiches and a cold drink will be given to the children of the district which includes regional small towns such as Geurie, Mumbil, Stuart Town and Euchareena.
The joint project was launched on 11th September and Channel 7 Prime TV attended the Zoo to film the event. ABC Morning Radio interviewed the Presidents. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their day with most of them citing the Cheetahs and Meer Cats as their favorites.
Ben Shields (Mayor of Dubbo Regional) and Daryl Thompson (Headmaster of Wellington Primary) also attended the launch. They both congratulated the Rotary Clubs for identifying children as the hidden victims of the drought. President Greg Hart of Wellington Rotary also thanked Northbridge Rotary and the Rotary Australia Benevolent Society for their very generous contributions to the project, and for driving up from Sydney to help at the BBQ’s. Without Northbridge, Wellington would not have taken on this project.
