Be proud members as we continue to change lives and make an amazing difference to our areas and communities. The Rotary family (Interact, Rotaract and Rotary) have never been more relevant or needed more by our communities. Our change to remain relevant in our second century is underway. PDG John and Gillian laid the foundation, then Marilyn Stevens (District Governor Elect), Wayne Gordon (District Governor Nominee) and I agreed and have implemented or are leading change as part of a three multi-year strategy (2021/24).
Firstly, the key has been to change the model to empowered Area Governors (rather than subordinate Assistant Governors), looking after a geographic area. This model is really gaining traction and will position us well for pending Rotary International changes.
We are very fortunate to have twelve experienced Area Governors embracing their new roles:
Taranaki: Kay Kendall
Whanganui: Graeme Prince
Rangitikei: Ray Sisley
Manawatu: Venky Kannan
Hutt
Sue Avison & Michelle Simpson
Tararua: Dianna Mancer
Kapiti & Horowhenua: Jocelyn Hogg
Waiarapa: Alan Butler
Wellington
David Shackleton, Helen Algar & Kathryn Beattie
Three months into a dynamic year Rotary year, with COVID impacting on all of us, it is no surprise to me to see our Area Governors making a huge difference. This empowerment is important as Wayne may be the last District Governor for D9940 and the focus may turn to Area Governors or Section Leaders motivating and leading their area.
There are three overlapping streams of work that will influence the future of Rotary in New Zealand. I am covering these on my network and club visits (Please keep inviting me to both). Clubs the centre of Rotary will get to have a say on our future.
Regionalisation
A Rotary International project where Zone 8 (Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific) may be the global pilot from as early as 2024. This could see an elected Zone Council in Australia; the District layer disappearing and replaced by Section Leaders (Area Leaders).
Re-Districting
This year D9970 (top South Island) and D9980 (lower half South Island) are forming D9999 by 30 June 2022 making the South Island one district. Rotary International have asked what we now wanted to do with the four North Island Districts and the Pacific. We have been requested to develop a plan by 30 June 2022, as there are options.
Rotary NZ National Coordination
Taking the opportunity provided by both Regionalisation and Redistricting there is the opportunity to strengthen Rotary NZ National Coordination.
To help provide District continuity through any change decisions - Marilyn, Wayne and I are delighted to report that Adrian Gregory, District Executive Secretary and President Rotary Club Otaki and Graham Evans, District Executive Treasurer have agreed to provide multi-year stability. Both work tirelessly for the District, while providing forward looking sage advice and constantly shape outcomes for the future of Rotary NZ. Graham may have provided a national level solution to any clubs that may not meet RI or the new NZ Incorporated Societies Act Guidelines for clubs. More on this in my next column.
Some notes in brief from my ongoing network and club visits (Banner courtesy of Marilyn which summarises our Rotary impacts):
Online District Directory: Adrian has spent time getting this right and will release it soon.
Insurances: District insurances cover Clubs and Trusts. From 1 January Youth activities will be covered. From 1 July five districts will have same cover. (Any questions to Graham).
District Levies: These are guided by Graham, we worked hard to keep them the same at $63.00.
The Rotary Foundation as our charity of Choice has a huge impact in our communities. Eight Clubs received District Grants this year, including 1 in Taranaki (New Plymouth North) to implement a computer-based reading program at Marfell School. The other successful District Grant projects include developing young leaders (RYLA), helping migrant children learn English, meeting basic clothing and healthcare needs for children in lower socio-economic areas, and improving a hospice.
Please keep support the Rotary Foundation, by Clubs giving of $100 per member to the Annual Fund and encourage members / individuals to give and become Centurion club members, then we can do more. Invite Martin Garcia or one of the Foundation team to talk to your club.
Our District-Backed projects of:
Polio Plus;
Rotary Give Every Child a Future;
The Wellington Region Children’s Health Trust;
The Rotary Trees Trust (to plant million trees), AND
Our new country-wide project The One Million Masks Project
are all making a real difference, while still needing your support if you or your clubs can.
End Polio Now.
"Ride The Train for Polio" has been delayed due to a engine problem but will be up and running soon and the aim is to continue with the event next year on the 27th of February.
The Taranaki Ride the Train on 14 Nov 21 is all go.
The World Polio Day sausage sizzle is also still set to go on 11 Nov at the Wellington Railway Station.
Kāhore taku toa i te toa takitahi, he toa takitini - we cannot succeed without the support of those around us.
Noho ora mai
Mark
As District Governor Mark Wheeler has highlighted above it has never been a more exciting time to be a member of Rotary especially with the great range of projects that are happening across the District.
4 in particular focus for this edition of the District Bulletin are:
The One Million Masks Project.
The Children's Health Trust.
End Polio Now.
Give Every Child A Future.
COVID-19 and its various strains will be here for a while. Masks will help stop the spread of the disease.
The One Million Masks project is a brand new Rotary NZ Project working to donate 1,000,000 masks to those in need in vulnerable NZ communities and the Pacific.
This project is the first major strategic partnership Rotary has had with a business. Together with Lanaco - who's experience and filtration systems have been used in NASA space crafts and who's masks equipped the New Zealand Olympic teams - this charitable project will ensure our whanau and friends are protected from the Delta strain and any future strains that come here.
THESE AREN'T JUST ANY MASKS. These are state-of-the art masks manufactured here in New Zealand using wool-based state of the art filter technology offering the highest performance and protection while ensuring easy breathing.
Developed to align with World Health Organisation guidelines these masks provide three essential masking elements to address Delta: Fit, filtration and breathability: achieving practical particle removal at N95 level whilst being comfortable to wear and easy to breathe through.
So How Do You Get Involved?
This project is one week from formally launching and our elves (read the Public Image Chair) are currently working our website and the website for Rotary New Zealand to be up an running for it. When we are ready communications will be sent out to let people know how they can get involved.
Who is working on this Project?
We have three co-leads on this project, one administrator and one advisor and all of them are interestingly enough from the 9940 District.
Our Co-Leads Venky Kannan, Adrienne Murray and Andrew Mahoney are working hard in the background to ensure that we are from a logistics, financial and compliance background ready to go.
Supporting this we have Richard Stephen from RozOps and Pat Waite who is providing us guidance and support in some of the more technical areas.
When Can I Hear More On This Project?
By Friday next week we hope to be up and running across 9940 and the country.
The Rotary 9940 Children's Health Trust
The Rotary 9940 Children's Health Trust is another project that you are all familiar with that has been continuing to do its good work in the background.
6 months ago this group was launched and as of today - as a District - we are only $50,000 away from its $400,000 goal of helping to equip and build up the whanau rooms at the new Wellington Regional Children's Hospital.
The Rotary 9940 Children's Health Trust is very lucky to have its own websitedonated by the District and built by two volunteers: Will Scott-Rodriguez and Andrew Mahoney
Over the next three months, the Wellington Regional Children's Health Trust will be working hard to get as close as they can to the $400,000 goal. If you are interested in assisting, donating or running a project to raise funds for the Trust and for building the whanau rooms at the hospital please click below.
Please keep an eye out this week for a message from the Rotary 9940 Children's Health Trust on how you can get involved helping them to make their target funding.
Our District-based team for End Polio Now are working hard to raise funds to continue our effort internationally to stamp out Polio throughout the world. With only two countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) with Wild Polio left, we are very close to striking it out.
The fantastic team lead by Chris Tchernegovski are gearing up for the next few months.
On "Ride The Train for Polio" this has been delayed due to an engine problem but will be up and running soon and the aim is to continue with the event next year on the 27th of February more to come on this in next few months
The Taranaki Ride the Train on the 14th Nov 2021 is all set to go ahead!
The World Polio Day sausage sizzle is also still set to go on 11 Nov at the Wellington Railway Station.
The vital need for this vaccination programme was certainly shown - the July roll-out coincided with an outbreak of rotavirus in Samoa.
Read about some of the wide ranging fundraising efforts. These have received support from all parts of the world. .
Our Rotary Foundation’s mission is to help Rotarians contribute to world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving people’s health, supporting education, and alleviating poverty.
Each year Clubs in our District apply for District Grants, which are usually for amounts from $1,000 to $5,000, where the Foundation matches Club funds on a 1:1 basis. These are projects which have an immediate impact in our communities, with funds being spent in the 2021-22 Rotary Year.
This year the Rotary Foundation allocated US$20,479 (about NZ$29,285) to our District to ensure successful applications can meet a wide range of needs in our communities. Seventeen applications were received from 13 of the 48 Clubs in our District.
Foundation District Grant Projects
The 8 successful applications met the key criteria of supporting the Foundation’s mission and involving active participation from Rotarians. A Committee consisting of DG Mark Wheeler, District Foundation Chair Martin Garcia and District Grants Chair Adrienne Murray decided, on the basis of the Foundation’s criteria, to allocate funds to the following Clubs and projects.
Awapuni
Rotarians working with a new Kiwi Club for children who are new to New Zealand and who in most cases are refugees.
Hutt City
Contribution to the cost of training for young leaders through the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) programme implemented by Rotarians.
Kāpiti
Rotarians working with Rotarians in the Suva Rotary Club to provide clean drinking water for children through water tanks for the Fiji Gospel School for the Deaf.
Levin
Rotarians providing children with pyjamas and toothbrushes/ toothpaste along with hygiene skills for parents in low-socio-economic areas through the Skills4Living Horowhenua District programme.
New Plymouth North
Rotarians in the classroom and on the Board implementing the Lexia Reading Education Program, a computer-based reading program, to improve literacy in a low-decile school.
Plimmerton
Rotarians working with Awatea Kindergarten and Moira Gallagher Kindergarten to source and supplying clothing for children in early childhood education.
Porirua
Rotarians working with Ngāti Toa iwi and a landscaper to develop a tranquility garden for a relatively new hospice - Te Whare Ranui - servicing communities from Khandallah through to Pukerua Bay.
Wellington South
Rotarians developing and implementing a literacy programme for children in South Wellington schools for whom English is a second language.
In making these decisions, the Committee was aware that applications for funds far exceeded the amount available, but in particular that a high level of Rotarian participation is desirable in advancing the Foundation’s mission and that the Foundation does not allow funds to be used for fundraising activities or to be spent on operating, administrative, or indirect program expenses of another organization.
Contingency Funds are Available
Our District also applied for contingency funds of US$3,939. So if your Club is aware of a need that has arisen since the District Grants Round (which closed on 31 May) please discuss this with our District Grants Chair, Adrienne Murrayamconsultingnz@gmail.com
Contributions to the Annual Fund are Vital
Please remember that the amount available for District Grants for Clubs in our District consists of 25 per cent of contributions from Clubs and individuals in our District to the Annual Fund three years prior. So this year’s grants were made possible by your contributions in 2018-19. The amount available next year will be less than this year, because of lower giving in 2019-20. It is vital that contributions this year increase so that we will have more funds available for District Grants in 2024-25.
Congratulations to four Clubs who achieved a Presidential Citation in 2020-21!
I am very excited to announce that during the last Rotary year our District had our best ‘Citation’ year for some time!
Huge congratulations go to the Rotary Clubs of Inglewood, Mt Victoria, Kapiti and Porirua for achieving this great acknowledgement of commitment to Rotary.
It is particularly notable in that, with the exception of the Rotary Club of Kapiti, these Clubs are relatively small Clubs. Despite their size though, they are absolutely punching above their weight and achieving much within their communities while providing a stimulating, enriching and enjoyable experience for their members.
I hope all Clubs this year have already gone into Rotary Club Central and selected the goals they plan to focus on.
Rotary, Rotaract, or Interact clubs can earn a Rotary Citation for achieving goals that strengthen Rotary and your club. Goals include increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in your community.
Rotary clubs that achieve the goals listed in the citation brochure by the end of the Rotary year will earn a citation. All activities need to be completed, reported, and reflected in the Rotary database by 30 June.
Citation goals for 2021-22 can be found in Rotary Club Central. To achieve the Rotary Citation, review the 25 available goals, select at least 13, achieve those goals, then report your achievement in Rotary Club Central. This flexibility allows clubs to choose the goals that are most relevant and achievable.
In addition, many goals will be self-reported by marking “achieved” in Rotary Club Central.
To achieve the citation:
• Go to Rotary Club Central
• Review the 25 available goals
• Select at least 13 goals (or more than 50% of the available goals)
• Achieve those goals
• Report achievement in Rotary Club Central. Once you are in Rotary Club Central, navigate to the Goal Centre, select the year, and click on the All tab to see the goals.
Make a commitment to this is your next Board meeting!
Gillian Jones DG 2020-21.
Innovative Young Minds Programme Report
In the first week of the July school holidays, nearly 40 young women from 24 high schools across the Greater Wellington Region took part in Innovative Young Minds’ six-day residential programme.
After a week of seeing incredible opportunities available in science and technology first-hand, these young women have taken their first step towards becoming New Zealand’s next generation of innovators and industry leaders.
Thank you so much for your generous support of IYM Residential 2021. Without dedicated supporters such as yourselves, IYM simply wouldn’t be able to offer this life-changing experience. I’m delighted to be able to share our IYM Residential 2021 Programme Report so you can read firsthand about how your contribution to the programme has impacted the lives of these young women.
You can read the magazine-style versionHEREand there is a PDF copy attached to this email.
Once again, thank you so much for your support and we look forward to working with you in 2022!
Ngā mihi,
Julie Newland
Programme Manager
Innovative Young Minds
We have some great training up for our members and our Clubs gearing to go! Have a look, join in and get involved!
Saturday 2nd October
10:00-11:30am
Building a LinkedIn Page; upload logos and use hashtags to mention Rotary and its members.
Get acquainted with using Club Runner for creating web content and loading documents. District ICT Chair: Brent Gerrard will make it easy for you to understand.
This session is inclusive to all levels of learners.
Get acquainted with using Club Runner for creating a bulletin and sending it out to members. District ICT Chair: Brent Gerrard will make it easy for you to understand.
This session is inclusive to all levels of learners.
In this article I would like to explore the mitigation of risk when dealing with youth and, by extension, with vulnerable persons.
Rotary International regards the protection of Children and Youth as of prime importance. Reams of paper can be accessed; to mention three, the RI Code of Practice, Rotary New Zealand World Community Service Policy, and NZQA Code of Practice 2016. Policy statements abound.
As Rotarians, our contact with Children and Youth falls into two categories. We mostly have casual contact. This occurs in short term bursts, reading assistance at a school, a one-day tree planting project, a BBQ fundraiser for the Scouts. The risk associated with these activities is not great but it is not nonexistent.
We are also involved in activities that involve longer contact. RYPEN over a weekend, RYLA, IYM etc. over a week, and RYE over a full year are examples. Some of these activities are contracted out to other providers. They must have a risk and crisis management plans, be Police vetted and it is your duty to ensure that they are compliant with ROTARY policy.
There are four main avenues that help minimise risk when planning events that involve children and youths.
There should be a Risk Management Plan in place. This was covered briefly in the previous Bulletin.
The Club should have a Crisis Management Plan for each activity. There are good templates available on My Rotary. Rotary.org>Login>[search for]Crisis Management Plan
All club members who have contact with young people should be Police Vetted. For short term casual contacts, Clean Slate Vetting is appropriate. For overnight and longer-term contact Exception Vetting is mandatory (RI Code of Policies 41.050.18)
Know who to contact when stuff hits the heat pump.
35th Anniversary of Caravan Club
Back in 1986, three past Presidents of the Rotary club of Tawa were having a convivial drink one Saturday night along with their wives and chatting (as you do) about the state of the Nation.
PP Keith Lee, PP Glyn Patchett and PP Bill Russell had one thing in common besides Rotary. They all owned caravans. Glyn the most senior of the three had been caravanning for years when his children were growing up, Keith and Bill had just recently bought one and were novices, but after a few practice runs were ready for anything to prove they were competent.
Discussion centred around where to go and who else had a van that they could invite to come along and join in. Various suggestions were tossed around, with the final one being let’s start a Rotary Caravan Club. Striking while the iron was hot and full of enthusiasm they telephoned later that evening, the then District Governor the late Fred Burns.
What are the objectives of this group asked D G Fred ?
"Fellowship" said Keith
"Fellowship" said Glyn
"Fellowship" said Bill
Permission granted said DG Fred, and so Dist. 9940 Caravan Club was born, with the first Rally being held on Nov 6th 1986 at Howard Booth Memorial Park in Carterton.
Thanks to the Rotary Club of Carterton and the efforts of PDG Alastair Orsborn, that rally was an outstanding success, and it was resolved to continue on.
Over the 35 years of its existence, the club has visited most camping grounds in the Wellington/ Wairarapa / Manawatu/ Wanganui region. Travelled as far North as New Plymouth and as far east as Hawkes Bay. Usually, 3 or 4 rallies a year or when something special is on.
The club is founded on democratic principles, no formalities and no formal procedures except for the awarding a wooden spoon to the chief stirrer.
To celebrate 35 years of its existence, the club will be having a special rally in Carterton (where it all started) on November 12th /13th/ 14th . Again, and thanks to PDG Alastair Orsborn (now a recycled President 2nd time around) the Rotary Club of Carterton is supporting us.
All past members and any new Rotarian with a caravan or Motorhome are very welcome. Even if you don’t have a caravan, there is accommodation at the camp that can be booked, and some retirees do just that to keep their contacts going.
If you have a Caravan, Motor Home or are just interested in joining the group then get in touch with the organiser(s) and find out what’s on.
