Pres Kam opened the Zoom Meeting with 24 Members present and gave a special welcome to Graeme Coates, one of our new Honorary Members. He then passed to Alan Roberts for a potted history of the former Rotary Club of Dandenong.
The Club held its first Meeting on 29 March 1935 at the Royal Hotel, with Rotary Founder, Paul Harris, present, indeed a special honour, before being Chartered on 3 July 1935.
Alan then detailed the histories of the various Trusts set up over the years, their original purposes and the background to the amalgamation of four of the Trusts. Now there are two Trusts:
- The Taylor Oldham Buckland Scott Trust (TOBS Trust), and
- The Ken Oldmeadow Memorial Trust (KOM Trust).
The KOM Trust’s purpose is solely to provide for contributions to Rotary Foundation. The TOBS Trust has fairly broad purposes, providing a degree of flexibility in the use of funds.
Currently, the combined capital of the Trusts is approximately $200,000, most of which has been placed with RMBL Investments and is secured by mortgages, jointly with other investors. Ideally, the capital should be used to generate income, which can be used for charitable purposes. The Trusts are administered by Trustees, all of whom are Members of the Club.
The Club’s property in Endeavour Hills and the Trusts provide a solid annual income to fund many of the Club’s Projects. Together, they are a tribute to the foresight and generosity of Members past.
(The Club is also indebted to Alan Roberts for all the legal work he has undertaken, pro bono, to bring the current structure about. Ed.)
Vocational Tour – Disaster Aid/ Smart Aid Headquarters
Brian Ashworth then took us on a guided virtual tour
DA/SA spends $250,000 on aid each year. It would be less if there was not a lot of volunteer help, the paid staff being two “very part timers”. Overheads are only $40,000, almost half of which is rent.
DA is not a Club Project, as such, being a completely separate organisation, which is chaired by Peter Faulkner. It is one of a number of separate organisations around the World operating under the DA name. The Club has no legal obligation to DA, but recognises it as an organisation well worth being aligned with and has committed to provide substantial financial support over the next year, at least.
In 2018, DA won a number of awards against some 2,300 other organisations around the World. It won awards for Best Sustainable Project – Australia, Top 10 in the World and Top 5 in water.
As Brian walked us around the premises, he showed us the administration, the store and the demonstration areas. The store contained shipments destined for Bhutan, where, working with the Government, DA is close to completing the amazing project of providing safe drinking water to every school!!!
Measured benefits are an 8% improvement in general health and a similar reduction in illnesses. All of this is achieved at a cost to the local community of $1 per person per year!
All components of the water filters are sourced in Australia, where they are also assembled. Where possible, all other materials are sourced at the installation site, providing financial benefits to local communities.
We congratulated Brian on an excellent tour, under Covid 19 restrictions.