Rotary International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced an extension of their existing fundraising partnership that could generate up to US$525 million in new money for polio eradication as the global effort to end this crippling disease enters its critical endgame phase.
Under the new agreement, announced before an audience of more than 20,000 Rotary members from 160 countries gathered in Lisbon for the humanitarian group’s annual convention, the Gates Foundation will match 2 for 1 every new dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication up to $35 million per year through 2018!
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING ROTARY AND LEVERAGING YOUR GENEROSITY!
President Phil's Message
Habits are the comfy slippers that we all like to wear
We have a problem with our paper delivery at home. Since we put in a new fence and garden the Age has been responsible for destroying a number of plants. The “deliverer”, to use the Fairfax euphemism, manages to loft the missile over the fence every time. On the weekend this plastic wrapped projectile carries great destructive force. I contacted Fairfax and they promised to talk with the responsible newsagent and correct the aim of our inconsiderate chucker. Days went by and still the barrage continued. So I took matters into my own hands and made up a very clear sign. Any reasonable person would see this sign and realize that the driveway was the place for touchdown. Right? Wrong, the onslaught continued with the appropriate follow up by yours truly.
To my dismay I was informed that the deliverer only needs to deliver the paper “to the property” and Fairfax has no control over where on the property. So I continued with the sign and emails and lo and behold today (Friday) we had delivery to the driveway.
Like all of us the deliverer had a habit of doing a task a particular way and he took a lot of time to change this habit.
Within our club we are being asked to make changes that some find difficult, annoying, but necessary to equip us for the future. All of us like the “comfy slippers” of doing things as they have always been done. A case in point is the attendance emails we all get. It has been a slow process to educate and help members to get this system working so that Ivan gets accurate numbers for meals. Thanks for your help and willingness to do things a different way. New slippers are great when you give them time to wear in.
Max Campbell is President of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria (FNCV) and an expert on terrestrial invertebrates. He is also an accomplished photographer and microscopist and had plenty of fascinating photos to illustrate his talk.
Max defines diversity as the variety of all living organisms. He explained that due to the heavy use of fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides, man has unconsciously changed the previously balanced ecosystems that had existed for millennia. He cited the examples of how frogs and many species of insects are vanishing. He also reminded us of the unintended consequences of the introduction of Cane Toads and European Carp.
Special Olympics Australia ran a 'mini walk-a-thon' at the Bill Seward East Burwood Athletics Track last Sunday. Ben & Susan Stennett, Gaby Knaeple, Judith Eadon, Bob Davis and John Lynch assisted with collecting sponsorship money and issuing receipts. About 30 athletes walked around the track at various times.
Wendy and I decided to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary yesterday in Rotorua. Such a beautiful place and so is Lake Taupo. Attached are some photos and also a congratulatory card from our PM. A couple of weeks earlier we had a family celebration with all our children and grandchildren at a AirBnB at the Gold Coast. Cheers.
We are invited to the Gala Cocktail Party Launch of the Whitehorse Art Show (formerly known as The Box Hill Art Show). This event replaces the dinner they had for many years and is an innovation of the new Director Geoff Iles .
They would really appreciate us supporting this event – and the Art Show, of course. The cost of attending the cocktail party is only $30 and as well as entertainment on the night and the grand opening by Frederick Cubbins’s granddaughter Penny McColm, there is the Awards ceremony. Quality finger food and drinks will be served.
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Like all of us the deliverer had a habit of doing a task a particular way and he took a lot of time to change this habit.
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