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Upcoming Events
Club Changeover
St James Anglican Church
Jul 05, 2022
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Board Meeting
Hilton Laminating (Johns factory)
Jul 07, 2022
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
What is planned for 2022/2023 Night
Dandenong Club
Jul 12, 2022
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Brand New Day Mowing Roster - Phil and Peter
Brand New Day
Jul 16, 2022
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
 
NO ROTARY
Jul 19, 2022
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Regionalization Pilot
Dandenong Club
Jul 26, 2022
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Cornerstone Meal Service
Cornerstone
Jul 28, 2022
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
 
Board Meeting
Disaster Aid
Aug 03, 2022
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Brand New Day Mowing Roster - Alan K & Anthony
Brand New Day
Aug 06, 2022
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
 
Club Assembly
Dandenong Club
Aug 09, 2022
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
 
View entire list
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
John Angwin
June 6
 
Hans Van Dyk
June 12
 
Kam Pow
June 26
 
Ashton Ashokkumar
June 30
 
Brian Ashworth
July 3
 
Anthony Brown
July 6
 
Lynn Tam
July 11
 
Colin Byron
July 18
 
Cherie Ramsay
July 26
 
Spouse Birthdays
Jane Peters
June 8
 
Wil Pater
July 20
 
Anniversaries
Graeme Peters
Jane Peters
June 10
 
Graeme Coates
Marlene Coates
July 31
 
Join Date
Alan Roberts
June 1, 1981
41 years
 
Neil Fullard
June 1, 1989
33 years
 
Ben Keller
June 7, 2011
11 years
 
Kam Pow
June 7, 2016
6 years
 
Alan Kamerling
June 10, 1999
23 years
 
Graeme Peters
June 10, 2011
11 years
 
Brian Ashworth
June 18, 2017
5 years
 
Margaret Gunton
June 23, 2009
13 years
 
Graeme Coates
July 1, 1972
50 years
 
Paul Morris
July 1, 1991
31 years
 
Terry Valentine
July 1, 2002
20 years
 
Joe Iellamo
July 9, 2002
20 years
 
Bruce J. Fletcher
July 14, 1980
42 years
 
Club Information
Greater Dandenong and Endeavour Hills
Tuesdays
Dandenong Club
1579 Heatherton Road
Dandenong North, VIC 3175
Australia
1st & 3rd Tuesdays of month 6pm for 6.30pm start
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News
Next Meeting Oct 13th - Lift the Lid
    
 

Hello fellow Rotarians,
  You can help Australian Rotary Health's to Lift the Lid on Mental Illness.                                                                         
  We are hosting a Hat Day event at our next Zoom meeting on the 13th October at 7pm.
  We will hear about Teammed Nepal, having a visiting UK Rotarian and a short video from ARH.
 
  100% of the money raised during this year's Hat Day campaign goes directly to research helping the one in Australians affected by depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and many other illnesses.
  Attached is information to consider.
  Join in with a glass or bottle of whatever!
  The cost is $10 with your most decorative or outlandish hat. You could be in the running for a wonderful prize!
                                                    If you elect to not wear a hat as it may mess up your hair then it will cost you $20.
                                                    Get Involved!   
Read more...
Behind the Badge - Con Meehan
Born in 1946 as a “welcome home airman” baby, the first of three children, I lived for a short time in Prahran before the family moved into a new Housing Commission house in East Hampton.
I went to primary school at St Mary’s Hampton. In 1957, a few months before I was to start secondary school at De La Salle Malvern, my father, a man with a violent, alcoholic past, rewarded me by deserting us, leaving us in extreme poverty.
In 1965, I started my first job with a large Chartered Accounting firm, now known as PWC Coopers, where I worked as a Share Auditor, studying (not very conscientiously!) accountancy by night. In November of that year, I met Cheryl at the popular dance venue, 431, in St Kilda Road.
In 1968, I was called up for National Service. After a medical, which consisted mainly of a gentleman, to whom I was not the least attracted, grasping my balls and asking me to cough, something I didn’t even do in my most private moments, I boarded a bus for Puckapunyal, my home for 10 weeks. Due to a high-carb diet and a lot of physical exercise, I went from a 10 st 7lb weakling to an 11st 3lb weakling, with a high level of fitness! There, I saw a number of idiots made into men and the experience left me with a strong belief in National Service for everyone. We developed a tremendous “esprit de corps”.
I was proud to be an important part of a 4 x 400m relay-winning team.
I then moved to Balcombe for my corps training as an Operator Keyboard & Radio. I gained a typing speed of 45 wpm and could type direct from morse code to English, a skill now completely lost. There, I was part of the football team, training twice a week and playing twice a week, mid-week in a military comp and, on Saturdays, in the Nepean League, where we were beaten in the Grand Final by Red Hill, a team with a few professionals. It was my favourite sporting year.
I then moved to Simpson Barracks, Watsonia, currently in the news for several reasons. I also changed football clubs, going to my future brother in law’s club, Cheltenham Assumption. All round, this was a very enjoyable year, and not just because I broke my leg at football and was relieved from parade ground duties for over 10 weeks!
In 1970, I returned to PWC and married Cheryl. We produced four beautiful children who have each produced two children and we moved to Brandon Park. I moved into Audit and recommenced accountancy studies by night at the old Prahran CAE, eventually hauling myself over the line as a qualified accountant.
1971 was my first year of community service, joining the footy club committee. Apart from a year off, in 1972, I have been on a committee of some sort ever since.
In 1973, I moved from PWC to my brother in law’s Practice, D G Rees & Associates, in South Melbourne, where I quickly became a Partner, all in the “glory days” of the tax-deductible lunch!
In 1976, annoyed at the way football clubs ignored women, I founded a highly successful netball team within my Club, completely changing the culture of the Club for the better.
A year later, I founded the Waverley Advanced Gymnastics Club, to pick up higher level gymnasts discarded by the Community Centre. The Club has become one of the largest and most successful in Australia, producing Olympic and World Championships gymnasts, something I am very proud of, because it required a huge leap of faith and strong leadership.
In 1981, we moved to Wheelers Hill, our home for 27 years.
In 1991, I retired from football, at the age of 43, which proves you can play forever if you play at a low enough level! I continued to play cricket. In all, I played 500 games of football and 200 games of cricket, serving throughout on the respective committees.  I commenced flying lessons, the start of a 20 year love affair (with flying!) and flew my own aeroplane to such places as Lake Mungo, Broken Hill, Kangaroo Island, Flinders Ranges, Merimbula and all over Victoria and southern NSW.
Having experienced extreme poverty and family violence first hand, I had always had a desire that, when I was in a position to do so, I would give back to the community and people less fortunate than myself, so, when, in 1993 PP Garry Byrne asked me to join Rotary, it was an easy sale for him! I have been President twice and have been awarded a PHF and Sapphire, awards I value above all others. I have loved my time in Rotary. By 2022, I will have chalked up 51 years of involvement in one community organisation or another, the last 50 being continuous. It is a hackneyed phrase, but I have got out more than I have put in.
In February 1994, I parted company with my former Practice and started my own Practice in Carnegie. I was proud to be told by the ATO that my Practice was rated in the top 5% in Melbourne and I worked hard to keep up the standard.
In 2008, we moved to Sandhurst, where I jog and play golf regularly, and we love the environment and lifestyle. We have seen a fair bit of the World, my favourite countries being Norway, Scotland, SW England, the European rivers and South America.
We have also seen much of Australia, our favourites being Katherine Gorge, Kakadu, Kalbarri, Kata Juta and Litchfield, but there are many other amazing spots in our great country too.
There is much more to my life than this, but for that you will have to wait for the autobiography I am writing, with a provisional title of “A Cure For Insomnia”!
Read more...
Stories
Con's Meeting Report Oct 6th
 
Pres Kam opened the Zoom Meeting and introduced our Guest Speaker, PDG Janne Speirs, who updated us on the aid delivery in the wake of the Gippsland fires.
Janne provided a number of stats on the fires, eg:
125 houses destroyed at Mallacoota
Significant breeding stock losses – causes a ripple effect
5 lives lost
Houses, silos and significant fencing lost
85% of Sarsfield destroyed.
 
Then Covid 19 hit, to compound the problems.
Janne outlined the work of the East Gippsland Fire Committee. So far, storage containers, vouchers, fodder and hay, clothing and whitegoods, furniture and fencing materials have been given out. Several renovated caravans have also been provided for accommodation while people rebuild.
Janne said there had been an amazing world-wide financial response. RI normally only provides Global Grants to Third World countries, but made a rare exception for the Gippsland Fires, providing a total of $A 450,000.
Janne has a thorough grasp of the situation and her talk was as informative as it was lively!
 
Colin spoke of his End Polio Now walk, advising that he already has 20 sponsors!
Terry reported on progress with the Cornerstone Garden Bed Project. He was meeting with Council next week. A water tank and pump had been donated. He hopes that, via the Church, tradies will donate their services and is looking for other donations.
Terry also advised Janne that Neil Fullard has a warehouse of quality building supplies which, if not sold, could be made available as relief to people in East Gippsland.
 
Leanne showed photos of Christian, the totally blind boy, who Leanne taught to swim and Terry chauffeured to lessons, jumping off a boat and swimming at Broome, before hosing the boat down. (A wonderful story and thanks to Leanne and Terry for all the time and effort put into Christian. It must be very satisfying. Ed.)
 
Mental Health Fact Sheet
MENTAL HEALTH FACT SHEET How many people experience mental illness? • Almost one in five Australians (20%) will experience a mental illness in a 12-month period. • Nearly half (45%) of the population will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives. • At least one third of young people have had an episode of mental illness by the time they are 25 years old. • Mental illnesses are the third leading cause of disability burden in Australia. • Anyone can develop a mental illness and no one is immune to mental health problems. What are the most common mental illnesses? • Anxiety disorders affect around 14% of the adult population every year. • Depression affects around 6% of the adult population every year. • The remainder are affected by substance abuse disorders, psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia, personality disorders, and other conditions. Many people have more than one diagnosis. What are the chances of recovering from mental illness? Most people with mental illness recover well and are able to lead fulfilling lives in the community when they receive appropriate ongoing treatment and support. However, only about half of those affected actually receive treatment. The majority of people who develop anxiety disorders and depression improve over time with appropriate treatment and support. What can we do to improve these outcomes? We believe continuing to create public awareness to break down stigma and raising funds for mental health research is a positive step to improving these outcomes. Lift the Lid on Mental Illness is an initiative of Australian Rotary Health, one of the largest non-government funders of mental health research in Australia. You can help raise money for Lift the Lid during Mental Health Month (October) by hosting a Hat Day event, setting up Lift the Lid awareness stands in your local area.
Next Meeting Oct 13th - Lift the Lid
    
 

Hello fellow Rotarians,
  You can help Australian Rotary Health's to Lift the Lid on Mental Illness.                                                                         
  We are hosting a Hat Day event at our next Zoom meeting on the 13th October at 7pm.
  We will hear about Teammed Nepal, having a visiting UK Rotarian and a short video from ARH.
 
  100% of the money raised during this year's Hat Day campaign goes directly to research helping the one in Australians affected by depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and many other illnesses.
  Attached is information to consider.
  Join in with a glass or bottle of whatever!
  The cost is $10 with your most decorative or outlandish hat. You could be in the running for a wonderful prize!
                                                    If you elect to not wear a hat as it may mess up your hair then it will cost you $20.
                                                    Get Involved!   
Kam says You can make a Difference
 I thought I just like to bring you up to date with what is happening to the club projects/activities and proposed donations. Peter Buck has done a great job using the Rotary 2020/2021 Projects Timeline Spreadsheet that he developed last year to keep track of all club project activities. The use of traffic light system on project status gives an immediate visual to project that may need attention. As Peter said, during Covid-19 lockdown, the traffic light system has indicated the club still managed to do a fair bit of project and communities activities despite of the lockdown. Well done!
 
If you look at the spreadsheet carefully, you will notice there are many opportunities for members to involve in project/activities that they are passionate about and would like to put up their hand to help. I would strongly encourage you to talk to the project leaders to get involved. This is your club and getting involved to “making a difference” is why we joined Rotary!
 
Peter has also included a section on proposed donations that were approved by the board on the same spreadsheet for easy reference.
 
The Board had approved the Rotary Citation Goals for the club and these goals will be entered in My Rotary soon to track our club performance going forward. We have selected 16 out of 25 goals and if we can achieve 13 goals, our club will receive a Rotary Citation certificate from Rotary International . The goals are realistic and achievable and I am confident that as a club, we can achieve them and receive a Rotary Citation from RI in the Centennial Year!
 
Friend of Rotary - Melinda Bell
I am very pleased to inform you that the nominations for Melinda (Mel) Bell for both Friends of Rotary and the RORP Liaison Officer for RORP had been approved at the Board meeting on 29th Sep.  Mel is the daughter of Con and Cheryl. Like his father, Mel is community minded  and processes qualities of enthusiasm and intelligence and as Con said  Mel will be a real acquisition to the club.
 
Mel is involved with Con in the club international Ella School Borewell project in Sri Lanka of which a District grant of $2200 had recently been approved for this project. She is also exploring possibility of sending a playground to this  school. The Rotary Oversea Recycled Playgrounds(RORP) is a great project for our club to be involved . Wayne Jenkins mentioned during his RORP presentation recently that there are 3 playgrounds in the Greater Dandenong area that will be up for replacements soon and good for the RORP project. The Council is keen to work with Rotary on RORP program so that these recycled playgrounds equipment can be sent to a third world countries like Sri Lanka for used by the local school and communities. A win for the environment!
 
Mel as Liaison officer for RORP will work closely with the Council officer and Wayne to manage the project. Terry Valentine and Graeme Peters have put up their hands to help  the project as they have past experience in playgroup installations and management. If any of our club members would like to be involved in this RORP project, please contact Mel.
 
 
 
 
Con's Meeting Report Sept 22nd
 
Pres Kam kicked off the Meeting, with 31 people all Zooming in, and immediately threw to our Guest Speaker, Nicky Turner, New Communities Liaison Officer South Metropolitan Victoria Police.
Born in New Zealand, Nicky came to Melbourne in 2017. She worked with Australia Post, joined the SES and worked on the Kerang floods.
In her current role, Nicky works with many ethnic groups. She started at St James, where she met Leanne and Colin, and where she helps rough sleepers with food parcels and giving out warm jackets. Some of the points she made were:
  • She deals with men’s groups with family violence.
  • Afghans – You can’t just tell the women that, in Australia, no-one can do bad to you.
  • Tries to engage the African Community in soccer (so do we! Ed.)
  • Outreach Group – Put together by Pacific Islander and African Communities. Walks around each Thursday and Friday talking to kids. Kids need to feel included. They need to be taught to behave. 20 – 30 playing sport. The try not to fine youth, instead asking for their compliance. Impresses on them t hat they have a right to feel safe to trust the police (something they can’t do in their homelands) and call for help, if needed.
  • Cyber Security program.
  • Catchphrase – No money… Plenty of time.
In response to questions, Nicky advised:
  • Her beat goes from Port Melbourne to Portsea to Pakenham!!!
  • There are only five regions in the State.
  • Most of her time is spent in Dandenong, Pakenham and Cardinia.
  • The media over-represents the African Community in crime. There are less than 200 offenders, mostly 18 – 19 year olds.
  • The Afghans have issues – Religion, family violence and a lack of trust.
  • 200 Afghan families moved into Pakenham recently.
  • She is based at Dandenong but also works from home.
 Paul Morris then spoke about the Endeavour Hills Men’s Shed.
 
The Men’s Shed was initiated in 2017 by The City of Casey and the Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills. Part of their vision is to contribute to society and social connection. They promote healthy eating and nutrition and improving physical wellbeing with exercise.
The Shed has 42 Members with a proposed cap of 100. Seven Members are also Rotarians from our Club. It is a Registered Charity and will have DGR status by October. John Grennan, Neil Bennett and he are on the Committee.
The Men’s Shed was initiated in 2017 by The City of Casey and the Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills. Part of their vision is to contribute to society and social connection. They promote healthy eating and nutrition and improving physical wellbeing with exercise.
The Shed has 42 Members with a proposed cap of 100. Seven Members are also Rotarians from our Club. It is a Registered Charity and will have DGR status by October. John Grennan, Neil Bennett and he are on the Committee.
They do their own fundraising and receive support from our Club and from Grants. Some of the Projects they have done or are doing are:
  • Making furniture for schools and kindergartens.
  • Maintaining outdoor furniture and paths – Churchill Park and Cardinia Reservoir.
  • DAA – Making smaller demonstration SkyHydrant units.
  • Demonstrating the correct use of tools.
  • Repairing bikes and computers.
  • Building raised veggie gardens at End Hills Police Station (suspended to Covid 19).
Other activities include music, cycling, walking and cooking and workplace visits.
They have a long lease on the new shed and, after installing their machinery, will operate seven days a week. They will also provide vocational training.
They will continue their relationship with the Club and are interested in doing joint Projects, Terry immediately taking him up on that, with the Cornerstone Project in mind! Peter offered his spare tools (of which he has enough to stock a Bunnings Store! Ed.)
Read more...
Leanne's Community Service Update
 

Mental Health: 

 

Headspace: Christina Molina (Clinical Lead) and the Headspace team have been extremely busy since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic. Below is Christina’s report: 

  • Headspace continues to offer phone and video counselling, as well as limited face to face appointments which are offered to young people who are struggling with the extended lockdown. 

  • We are seeing a large number of young people who are struggling with remote learning (losing motivation), increased social isolation, year 11 and 12 stress and what the future will look like (education/employment access), and unfortunately, family violence. 

  • We continue to host a range of services online including Social Groups for young people. Options for Young People to speak to a peer worker to create a social connection. Our Peer worker Maria is also providing online forums and groups via Facebook for parents to connect into. 

  • Our GP clinics continue to be busy with young people concerned about their health due to the pandemic – this has allowed us to provide greater health literacy to young people. 

  • Our wait times to provide service to young people is between 1 – 2 weeks.   

 

Our Rotary Mental Health Virtual Forum has been put on hold until things begin to settle and at which time further contact will be made with Greg de Moore. 

LIFT THE LID on Mental Health:  Tuesday 13th October - a flyer will be emailed to all members as soon as we have set plans for the event. 

 

We have fortunately been able to provide aid to the disadvantaged community in Greater Dandenong during the lockdown. Details below. 

 

SPRINGVALE BENEVOLENT SOCIETY: 

 Joe Rechichi has reported that he is extremely relieved that SBS are doing very well, rather than being confronted by a disastrous situation which he was expecting. 

He reported that they currently have around 60 families on their books and are working on delivering food packages to families on a 3-week roster i.e. 20 families per week. 

Joe is very diligent and cautious with the screening of new clients to ensure the help required is genuine.   

He is very pleased that many of the families are registered with Centrelink and therefore have been receiving financial support.  This enables him to focus on those who are most desperate and with no income. 

 Joe was offered financial support from our club, however he said that they are currently coping but his biggest worry is Christmas.  He has been assured that our Club will provide support at Christmas, just as we did last year. 

Springvale Benevolent Society Charity details: 

Contact: Joe Rechichi (President) 
 Address:  1 Lightwood Rd Springvale VIC 3171 

Charity Size:  

Small 

Who the charity helps:  

Families 

Financially disadvantaged people 

Migrants, refugees or asylum seekers 

People at risk of homelessness/ people experiencing homelessness 

People with chronic illness (including terminal illness) 

People with disabilities 

Pre/post release offenders and/or their families 

Unemployed persons 

Victims of crime (including family violence) 

Date established:  

1961 

Summary of activities: 

They provide emergency relief in the Greater Dandenong Area in the form of provision of emergency relief services including but not limited to food vouchers, food items, clothes, blankets and other household items (e.g. kitchen utensils) as they become available to SBS.  

They are one of, if not, the only charity in the area that conducts house visits which allow them to help clients who are unable to access transport.  

Referring of clients to other non-profit or government services which may be of assistance to them (e.g. financial planning services, translators to assist with paperwork or forms, free meal providers) 

 

 

CORNERSTONE:  

As most of you will be aware, Cornerstone have put their meal service on hold and are providing food packages to those in need.  Over the past month they distributed 760 food packages to families in Greater Dandenong on Tuesdays & Fridays. 

Using some of the funds donated by our members, we were able to do an online shop with Coles Endeavour Hills last week, this provided many items that Cornerstone were in short supply of. 

The order was collected from Coles by Naomi on Friday morning.  Member donations of 4 bags of groceries were delivered to Naomi last week also. 

 

St. James Anglican Church - Dandenong. 

The Monday lunch 'take-away' meal service is going extremely well with between 70 & 90 meals provided each week. 

Colin & Leanne have been able to assist Graeme Peters and his amazing group of volunteers with this service. 

 
 

SWAGS:  Four swags have been donated to St.James to be given to anyone sleeping rough. One of the swags had been provided to a person in need just a few days after they arrived.  Thanks to Phillip Thurgood for organising the order and delivery. 

 

EMERALD BAKERY FUNDRAISING Pie/Cake Drive:   

Order forms will be emailed to members at the end of next week. We encourage all members to ask friends and family to support this fundraiser which will assist with funds for the ‘Meals for the Disadvantaged’ Project. 

Leanne will follow up with Emerald Bakery regarding a delivery date, prior to sending out the order forms. 
 
Read more...
Con's Meeting Report Sept 1st
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.
Council Grant Approved

Dear Mr Phillip Thurgood ,

Congratulations! I’m happy to advise at Council’s meeting held Monday 14 September that the application listed below was successfully endorsed for funding.

Program: CSGP: Community Development 

Application Number: CSGPCD20-1-058 

Organisation: Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong Inc 

Project Title: Cornerstone Garden Project for the Homeless 

Details relating to the grant agreement and next steps will be shared within the coming weeks.

I look forward to working with your organisation as you deliver outcomes that benefit the health and wellbeing of our community.

Kind regards,

 Thi Thavonesouk

Community Development Funding Officer

Community Funding Team - City of Greater Dandenong

Work: 03 8571 5272

PO Box 200 Dandenong Vic 3175

www.greaterdandenong.com

Next Meeting Tuesday 22nd 7pm
We have a packed program this Tuesday starting at 7pm with a talk by New Emerging Communities Liason Officer Nicky Turner  speaking about Southern Metro Region Vic Police.
Then a talk by Paul Morris about Endeavour Hills Mens' Shed.
We hear a Behind the Badge talk by Leanne Byron.
Then a Behind the Badge talk by Hans Van Dyke.
A Sargent session by Ken MacDonald follows before
A report by President Kam and an open discussion.
Meeting due to close at 8:15pm.
Cornerstone Gazette August 2020
Twice each week, our friends at Ali Fresh and M & G Fresh donate fresh fruit and vegetables from their stalls at Dandenong Market. Along with some beautiful produce supplied by Dandenong Council, this has meant we can provide delicious and healthy fresh produce along with non-perishable goods. For low income families and individuals, access to such a wide range of fresh produce has provided a valuable nutritional boost to the food parcels from Cornerstone.
Hi friends,
 
Well we are certainly all becoming accustomed to frequent change! Like many organisations and workplaces, Cornerstone has had to adapt our programs and processes in order to keep our community and team as safe as possible while we go through these stage 4 restrictions. This has meant suspending our community meal programs, and ramping up our food parcel service, along with finding new and creative ways to care for people and nurture community.
One of the biggest changes we have seen is the demographic of people contacting us for assistance. Many international students, asylum seeker families and low-income families have been reaching out for support. As we brace ourselves for the long-term impact of local job losses and the reduction of Job Keeper and Job Seeker payments, we anticipate that we are only going to get busier.
One way that we are seeking assistance at the moment is through in-kind support. .
Thank you again for your support. The donations, prayers and encouragement of each of you is invaluable. I pray that you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy as we navigate these challenging times.
 
Blessings,
 
Naomi Paterson
CEO, Cornerstone Contact Centre
Cornerstone Dinner Service Serves Up Success
Good evening all,

Wow, what a great start we had to our monthly meal service at Cornerstone!
My sincere thanks go to our generous members who donated money to
provide the funds to purchase the meals, our fantastic team of
volunteers, Kam, Martin, Graeme & Hans and of course Frank & his team
at Charcoal Chicken/Flounders Fish & Chips Endeavour Hills.
I'd also like to thank those of you who have volunteered to be on our
Roster for the meal service.  The roster will be sent out one week
prior to each meal service.

The 46 meals provided last night were very generous in size, excellent
quality and well packed in containers which kept the food warm.
Frank gave us fantastic value for money and donated the gravy and 2
slabs of water. He also delivered the order personally to Cornerstone.
It is really nice to think we were able to support a local business
during these extremely difficult times.

I'm pretty sure that all in attendance would agree that we left
Cornerstone feeling very satisfied that we were able to provide a warm
and nutritious meal to those in need, who may have otherwise gone
hungry that night.
The meal provided consisted of Chicken, chips, peas, carrots & gravy
or a Vegetarian Souvlaki with chips, home-made cupcakes & a snack size
kit-kat for dessert, along with fresh fruit & a drink.

The recipients of the delicious meals were delighted and thankful,
they were also very impressively 'social distancing'.

We still have some funds in the charity account to help cover the next
meal service.  I’ll start sending out letters to local businesses over
the next week or so, in the hope of getting some donations or
discounts for items to assist with keeping our costs for the meal
service down.
If any of you have any contacts, please let me know.  I have a letter
of support from Naomi at Cornerstone which we are able to use when
seeking donations.

It is fantastic to have such a supportive, enthusiastic club and to be
out there in the community making a difference to the lives of those
in need.

On a final note, if you're looking for a great take-away meal, please
check out Frank's business.  Whether it be the Charcoal chicken, fish
& chips, burgers, souvlaki or salads, they are by far the best in the
area.

Please check out the photos from last Thursday night.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Kind regards,

Leanne Byron
Community Chair
Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong and Endeavour Hills
 
 
 
Read more...
New Rotary Welcomes New President
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The newly merged Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong Endeavour Hills welcomed their new President Kam Pow in an enthusiastic meeting last Tuesday night. Here is Kam's acceptance Speech.
Good Evening.  Fellow Rotarians, District Governor, Mark Humphries and partner Linda, Past District Governor, Ken MacDonald and partner Margaret, Past Assistant District Governor, Alan Collier, OAM and partner Vicki and my family, Christine and Emily who are here and via Zoom from Adelaide, my son, Vincent, daughter in law, Clara and granddaughter, Everly and a special guest, Dr Raymond Au to witness this very special Rotary Changeover. Thank you very much to all of you who are physically present tonight and Rotarians via Zoom at this historical Changeover in this unprecedented time of Covid-19 restriction.
I joined Rotary 4 years ago as I wanted to serve the community and tonight I am very honoured and humbled to be inaugurated as the President of the recently merged Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong and Endeavour Hills with 40 members in the club. As President, there are many responsibilities and challenges to lead a successful club. I am sure I can count on my team of directors and every members of the newly merged club to help, support, guide and advise me to make this Rotary Centenary year a success for all of us to remember.
I want to thank the two Immediate Past Presidents Dr Anthony Brown of RC Greater Dandenong and Martin Pater from Endeavour Hills and their respective teams for the great work that they have done. They have set the ground work for me to continue to take the club to greater height. I hope I can fulfil this very important role entrusted to me by all the members as their Club President.
This is an unprecedented and challenging time during to Covid-19 restriction. It has presented us with many challenges and also opportunities for us to do things differently. The Chinese word for Danger is made up of two characters “Wai Chi” which translates to danger and opportunity. The danger part is Covid -19 is a very serious health issue to mankind and the opportunity part is for us to think of doing things differently to adapt and change. Tonight is a very good example of adopting technology to connect all our members at one place to witness using the hybrid model of zoom meeting and face to face for some members at the Changeover
The Opportunity part of the Chinese word for Danger is also the RI President Holger Knacks’s theme of “Rotary opens opportunities” We have opportunity to do things differently and we should all put on our thinking caps and come up with great ideas to make our club a success for potential members to join Rotary.
Next year is the Rotary Centenary year in Australia. As a club, we should celebrate this very important milestone. Our club is working with the City of Greater Dandenong to install a Rotary Centenary Wheel at a park in Dandenong. We have a planned community project to provide shelter and a community vegetable and fruit garden for Cornerstone for the homeless and disadvantaged communities in the Dandenong area. Thanks to a team of dedicated Rotarians especially Terry Valentine’s project management expertise, we were able to, within a short time frame, submitted a community grant application of $10k to the Dandenong  City council for this project. We are optimistic that we can get the grant at the end of September to kick start this project to benefit the disadvantaged community that Cornerstone services.
The recent short surveys conducted by Colin for both the clubs revealed about 70% of the respondents wanted to involve in community projects. We are in the process to finalise the logistics to start in late July, a once a month meal service at Cornerstone for the homeless and disadvantaged communities. Leanne, who is the Community Chair will require helps from all members to run this program. Her team will also be talking to other community groups to assess their needs for our club to provide services to them.
The uncertain time calls for different and creative way to raise fund for the club to do more service projects. It will be a challenge to raise fund from traditional way like Bunning BBQs at this time. Some major fund raising events are planned for next year like, the Chinese New Year Celebration Dinner, Holden Car Show, and Golf Day. Leanne has also come up with ideas of online fund raising for mental health. All fund raising activities will allow our club to provide more services to the local and International community. I will be appointing a Sponsorship Officer for the club to further increase our fund raising activities e.g. getting corporate sponsors. If any of the members especially from the former RC Endeavour Hills is interested in this position, please let me know.
This Rotary year, I am planning to have less meeting and more services. There will be 2 hybrid meetings a month via Zoom and physical meeting when it is possible. Of the 2 meetings, one will be with an invited guest speaker to speak on topic of interest to the members. At least one service to community a month like meal service at Cornerstone and a social event per month for new experience, fun and fellowship for all members.
There will be 5 committees for the club namely: Club Administration (Cherie Ramsay), Membership (John Peck), Public Image (Colin Byron), Service Projects (Peter Buck) and Rotary Foundation (Con Meehan). The respective committee and subcommittee will have other members helping to carry out their role and responsibility to achieve the desired goals of the club. I strongly encourage all members to talk to the Chairperson of the respective committee to get involved.  In this way, our members can play an active part to make our club one of the successful Rotary clubs in District 9820.
Membership is very important for Rotary. With Rotary memberships in decline, we need to actively look out for potential members in the community and invite them to join our club. I will be working closely with John and other members to address the challenges of increasing membership for our club in the coming year.
I am a firm believer of lifelong learning. I will be appointing a training coordinator to coordinate trainings for members and future leaders of the club. I am amazed at the amount of training materials at the My Rotary learning centre website. You can access all these training material to improve your knowledge. Please sign up to my Rotary to enrol in courses that you are interested in as they are free.
Strategic planning for an organisation like the Rotary club is very important. We need to set goals and track the result to measure the health and success of the club. We need to develop a strategic plan for the coming 5 years to address the needs of the community. Setting goals in Rotary Central so that we can track them. As a team, we will get board approval to select at least 13 out of 25 gaols towards 2020-2021 Rotary Citation. It will be a good achievement for the club to receive the Rotary citation to recognise the hard work of the members who have contributed to the success of the club.
Finally, Rotarians are people of action. Rotary changes life and makes a difference. Rotary opens opportunity and Rotary services above self. I am very excited to lead the club as your President for 2020/2021. I know there are many challenges ahead during this unprecedented time of Covid-19. With all the help from our members, I have no doubt that we can make it a fun, enjoyable year. I want to thank my family for their encouragement and support in my Rotary journey to make a small difference to the community.
Once again, Thank you very much for your attendance via Zoom and in person at this historical hybrid Rotary Changeover and it means a lot to me. Stay safe and healthy.
 I will now present the Rotary Theme “Rotary Opens opportunities” Pin to my team of board of directors.
  1. Martin Pater- Vice President and Immediate Past President , RC Endeavour Hills
  2. Phil Thurgood – Secretary
  3. Joe Iellamo – Treasurer
  4. Dr Anthony Brown --Immediate Past President, RC Greater Dandenong
  5. Peter Buck—President Elect, Service Projects and Vocational Chair
  6. Colin Byron –International and Public Image Chair
  7. Leanne Byron -- Community Chair
  8. Alan Collier—Youth Service Chair
  9. Con Meehan – Rotary Foundation Chair
  10. John Peck – Membership Chair
  11. Cherie Ramsay—Club Administration Chair   
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