Did you know that children's playgrounds can be recycled? I didn't - until I spoke to a Rotarian from RC Flemington at the Multi-District Conference. This excellent Rotarian is one of 4 in his club running a project which works as follows:
The club becomes aware of a playground which is being upgraded in a school, kindergarten, municipal park, or similar in their area
A quote is submitted to the relevant body for removal of the play equipment - usually around $500.
The various pieces of play equipment are photographed in situ, and then each component of each item - slide, swing, roundabout, monkey bars - is given a number using a computer program
Rotarians with appropriate skills and equipment move in to dissasemble the playground, physically numbering each piece with the number designated on the photo
The disassembled items are then loaded onto a borrowed truck or trailer, and sent to DIK
DIK dispatches the playground (using the $500 to cover shipment costs) to a community in need in either Sri Lanka or Timor L'Este, where a local Rotary club puts it all back together again.
Children who have never known the joy of a playground can now slide and swing, and laugh and learn skills, on equipment that would otherwise have gone to landfill in Melbourne.
It never ceases to amaze me how ingenious Rotarians are, in coming up with ideas on not only how to help improve the lives of kids in need, but how to be environmentally friendly at the same time.
Learning about this project was one of my highlights of the Showcase at the Conference - and evidence of the value of bringing multiple districts together. RC Flemington is in District 9800.
It is my hope that our club will be able to assist in this project - more details on Wednesday night.
Bronwyn Roberts is a humour professional (not a comedian) with a passion for helping people find the joy gave an incredibly entertaining, enlightening and moving talk on the value of laughter.
Bronwyn helps people find joy in difficult times, works a lot in palliative care.
But on a broader scale she told us that researchers at the University of Maryland have found (by accident while studying post cardiac patients) that 15 minutes of laughter each day improved cardiac health and other psychological benefits.
From the 12th-16th of March the directors and a number of District Champions for EndTrachoma2020 will be traveling to Alice Springs (at their own expense) to attend the Indigenous Eye Health Conference , a meeting of the Australian Trachoma Alliance , and the opening of one of our community laundry projects. The Community day will help raise the profile of Rotary, help spread the public health message and be an opportunity for more community consultation.
NewGen Rotary is running a Do Business Better evening which is directed towards new and small business owners in our area. This event is being held on Tuesday 5 March at Club Kilsyth from 7pm - 9pm with Danielle Storey as our MC.
Join us at the premier event celebrating International Women's Day in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
The theme is "Women of Diversity - Success Against the Odds" and our expert speakers and MC will ensure that we are challenged, charmed and entertained! It will be a fun event with a delicious breakfast, lots of friendly banter and the ever-popular raffle.
Our event last year was a great success - so don't miss out - bring a friend or book a table and CELEBRATE! Men are welcome, of course.
Importantly, it's all for a good cause - this year, with your help, we are aiming to raise $10,000 for Dream Stitches, a local charity that assists migrant and refugee women.
Event details are: Date: Wednesday, 6th March 2019. Breakfast starts at 7:15am - please arrive by 7am. Venue: Box Hill Town Hall, 1022 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill. Easy public transport and plenty of parking nearby.
Ticket Pricing: Adult tickets are $65 - but only $55 with an early bird booking - ends on Tuesday 12th Feb Corporate tables are available, as well as concessional VCE/Uni student tickets.
Click HERE for more information and to book your ticket!
President Janette and I would like to let you know that the Rotary Club of Nunawading Changeover will be held on Saturday June 29th 2019 in the Upton Room at Box Hill RSL.
On 16 January 2019, the Rotary International President Elect Mark Daniel Maloney announced the theme for 2019/2020 Rotary year to incoming District Governors.
