Welcome
President John opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.
Mark McGill - Variety Club
Mark has been CEO of Variety Club SA for 12 years. Prior to that he worked in a range of positions, here and interstate, mainly related to sponsorship, marketing and special projects with NFP organisations. For the past 30 years he has been a volunteer with and been employed by children's charities.
Mark showed a video featuring MarieCler who, with her siblings, was left parentless and homeless. A husband and wife came to their rescue but they had insufficient means to provide the level of assistance required. Variety came to the rescue with material support, enabled the outfitting of a garage for accommodation, and helped with the kids needs.
Variety is an international charity which was founded in Pittsburgh USA 97 years ago, helping an orphan find a home. It has been in Australia for 50 years, 40 in SA, with branches in all States and Territories.
There are 2 focii:
1. Positive change for children in need (disabled and disadvantaged)....all kids deserve a fair go and the ability to achieve
2. Generate millions of dollars to make this possible.
The other main order of business is to maximise the impact.
Since 1983, over $80m has been raised in SA. Budgets are set on the previous year's income....last year $5m was spent helping 43,009 children, with 200,000 assisted over the past 3 years. This year the budget is over $8m. Variety SA has been recognised as the best performing charity of the international Variety Group on 3 occasions. It caters for 55% of assisted kids across Australia.There is a staff of 11 and 160 volunteers, with the 13 volunteer committees providing the machinery. Included in the range of Variety activities for disabled children are provision of wheelchair accessible vehicles, prosthetic limbs, special IPads and social outings (including for special schools). The SA government is investing $1m per annum to improve school inclusiveness and make more accessible spaces at schools. Variety in Action....giving disadvantaged and disabled kids a whole lot of fun.....includes Zoo Days, Sports Days, Movie Days, Christmas Parties.
Variety acts as an umbrella fund raiser for other charities such as Kick Start for Kids and Operation Flinders. It's Grants Committee with a healthy mix of professionals makes decisions as to priorities from the long list of requests - ingredients now include food security, anti bullying and scholarships. Help is also being provided for disability assessment.....the $3000 cost is beyond the means of many families.
The Variety Bash, in its 36th year, raises over $2m pa. It takes a hell of a lot of organisation to move 350 vibrant participants around the State and beyond.....including as far as the Kimberleys. Other fund raising ventures include real estate investment and event hosting.There are 60 corporate partners. The Board meets monthly.
Mark thanked Unley Rotary for cremating snags for the annual Zoo visits.
He was applauded for his address.
Presidential announcements:
- The best gig in town, namely the Rotary District 9510 District Assembly, will be held on March 29 at the Observatory, 23 Hackney Rd, on 29 March......a must do for those who haven't been before, according to Rhonda and the editor! JP will provide further detail.
- Lindsay Davis of Magill Sunrise is compiling a list of sponsorships provided by each club to give a stronger indication of how effective we are as a group.
- Jerry has received plenty of Unley visitors in recent days - he and Briony have been appreciative
Spot
Chris Davis was disappointed that the outcome of the Teachers Awards had failed to make the quarterly Unley Life magazine due to lack of space. Valerie commented that we needed a calendar of our club events, a procedures manual for each, and an asset register
Finale
Money-man Brenton snared the filthy lucre and Ken the chockies
And the meeting closed on time...nicely done.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Rotary projects around the globe March 2025
By Brad Webber
United States
The Rotary Club of Wellington, Florida, went the distance by staging a military-style race in which competitors wore heavy backpacks filled with donated food items. More than 100 participants, including U.S. Army and Marine Corps representatives, stepped off on 10 November during the Veterans Day weekend food drive, says club member George Kinoshita. The club modeled the event on the military endurance training known as ruck marches that involve carrying weighted backpacks. The club requested a minimum of 8 pounds of food donations, but many runners hoisted nearly double that, filling their bags with canned beans and cranberries, boxes of stuffing, and other foodstuffs. The club later handed over the Thanksgiving meal staples to the town’s seasonally operated pantry. The Wellington High School Interact club conducted a 50-50 raffle, and members hoofed it or served as course guides.
Canada
Fourteen clubs in Ontario are participating in a District 7070 initiative to sew reusable menstrual pads for girls in the Dominican Republic led by Janet Thorsteinson, a member of the Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise. Among the most prolific is the Rotary Club of Campbellford. Since it introduced “Sewing with Janet nights” in September 2023, club members and friends have sewn more than 1,000 pads using sewing machines and fabric that Thorsteinson provided. Nearly two dozen people participate in each session. “The idea of allowing more members to be involved in an international project was very appealing,” says Rob Pope of the Campbellford club. Thorsteinson agrees. “Sewing events create opportunities for fellowship, creating a Rotary buzz and a draw for new members to get involved,” she says.
South Africa
You never know what kind of proposals will land in a club’s inbox, says Bev Frieslich, a past president of the Rotary Club of Cape of Good Hope. She and her club took to heart an email from a Ugandan Rotarian with an admittedly audacious ask: to help him spring a surprise marriage proposal on his significant other, Barbara Nyakato, while she was touring Cape Town. “When I thought of a romantic proposal to my dear girlfriend, Rotary was an obvious and automatic choice,” says Richard Kalungi. He and Nyakato are members of the Rotary Club of Kampala South. On 3 December, Frieslich brought Nyakato to Fish Hoek Beach under the guise of a club function. “Once she overcame her shock that Richard was there, she wept tears of joy and love,” says Frieslich, who helped Kalungi with the shopping, organized a dinner reception, arranged a professional photographer, and provided Kalungi with lodging for the escapade. “Whoever said Rotary is boring?” says Frieslich.
New Zealand
Members of the Rotary Club of Waikato Sunrise are flying high thanks to an annual hot-air balloon festival where they raise money and community awareness of Rotary. The 2025 Balloons Over Waikato event, slated for 18-22 March in the club’s hometown of Hamilton, will feature about two dozen balloons along with fireworks, music, amusement rides, and food tents, says Willemien Wennekers, a club member and past manager of the festivities. Rotarians serve as crowd ambassadors and help staff the information tent and VIP area. They also sell merchandise and run a “walk-through balloon” that’s inflated but moored flat along the grass, allowing visitors to walk inside, Wennekers says. The $5,800 raised by the club during the 2024 event was donated to True Colours Children’s Health Trust, another of the event’s charity partners.
Coffee Chat at Impressa, Unley Shopping Centre
10.30 am on the first Friday of the month is good for a chat with Rotary friends and a caffeine fix - Next one is Friday 4 April 2025
Upcoming Meetings
Tuesday 18 March 2025 6 for 6.30pm Castello's Cucina
Guest Speaker: Libby Robertson Experiences in the APY lands
Welcoming team: Paul Duke & Ken Haines
Tuesday 25 March 2025 6 for 6.30pm Castello's Cucina
Guest Speaker: SC Chris Mailley SA Police Officer of the Year 2025
Welcoming team: Paul Duke & Ken Haines
Apologies and Meeting Enquiries to: Secretary Greg McLeod on 0417 811 838 or email to secretary@unleyrotary.org.au
Venue Set-up Enquiries to: Bulletin Editor Stephen Baker on 0403 687 015
Saturday Thrift Shop Roster
Early Shift: 10.00am to 1.00pm Late Shift: 1.00pm to 4.00pm
Week 1: 5 April 2025
Early: Haydn Baillie & Wendy Andrews (Jerry Casburn) | Late: Robyn Carnachan & Leonie Kewen
Week 2: 12 April 2025
Early: Greg Mcleod & Wendy Andrews | Late: Virginia Cossid & Vera-Ann Stacy
Week 3: 15 March 2025
Early: David Middleton & Nathan White | Late: Vera Holt & Rhonda Hoare
Week 4: 22 March 2025
Early: Stephen Baker & Judi Corcoran | Late: Jason Booth & Vera-Ann Stacy
Week 5: 29 March 2025
Early: Bob Mullins & Wendy Andrews | Late: Virginia Cossid & Paul Duke
Rotarians, who are unable to attend as rostered, please arrange a swap or as a very last resort contact: Vivienne Wood 0408 819 630; e-mail: vwood@ozemail.com.au
Mitre 10 and Bunnings Barbeques
The Mitre 10 BBQs are the first and third Saturdays of each month. Morning shift 8.30am - 12 noon; afternoon shift 12.00 - 3.30pm, then clean-up.....next scheduled is Saturday 15 March 2025 but is being cancelled due to weather
ALL the Bunnings Mile End Barbeque shifts are from 8am to 5pm
Morning shift: 8.00am – 12.30pm | Afternoon shift: 12.30 – 5pm
We have been allocated the last Monday of each month, the next being Monday 31 March 2025
The Tale End.....
Life Saving......from the US of A
On a transatlantic flight, a plane passes through a severe storm. The turbulence is awful, and things go from bad to worse when one wing is struck by lightning. One woman in particular loses it. Screaming, she stands up in the front of the plane. 'I'm too young to die,' she wails.
Then she yells, 'Well, if I'm going to die, I want my last minutes on earth to be memorable! Is there anyone on this plane who can make me feel like a WOMAN?'
For a moment there is silence. Everyone has forgotten their own peril. They all stare, riveted, at the desperate woman in the front of the plane. Then a cowboy from Texas stands up in the rear of the plane. He is handsome: tall, well built, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He starts to walk slowly up the aisle, unbuttoning his shirt.
One button at a time........
No one moves..................
He removes his shirt................
Muscles ripple across his chest..........
She gasps....................
He whispers................
'' Iron this...then get me a beer."
Enticing odours
A new supermarket opened near my house.
It has an automatic water mister to keep the produce fresh. Just before it goes on, you hear the sound of distant thunder and the smell of fresh rain.
When you approach the milk cases, you hear cows mooing and experience the scent of fresh hay.
When you approach the egg case, you hear hens cluck and cackle, and the air is filled with the pleasing aroma of bacon and eggs frying.
The veggie department features the smell of fresh buttered corn.
I don't buy toilet paper there any more.
