Welcome to this week's edition of the Gateway Bulletin!
We're here to provide you with the latest updates, events, and stories from our Rotary community. Whether it's new initiatives, upcoming meetings, or opportunities to get involved, we'll ensure you're kept informed and up to date.
Our Facebook page is also an excellent way to stay updated on our club's activities. If you haven't connected yet, click here to follow.
The Musings of Socrates
470-399BC
Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.
We cannot live better than in seeking to become better.
Our Club held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, 26th November 2024.
The meeting provided an opportunity to review the year’s achievements, discuss plans for the future, and conduct necessary club business. Key highlights included updates from committee chairs, financial reports, and the election of office bearers for the coming year.
Thank you to all members who attended and contributed to the discussions. Your active participation ensures our club continues to thrive and make a meaningful impact in our community.
For those interested in reviewing the details, a draft of the minutes is available for download below:
DISTRICT 9815 CONNECTIONS
Episode 5, November 2024
This month, we're in Rosebud, home to the Rotary Club of Rosebud-Rye, highlighting their incredible Rotary Warehouse Op Shop. This community hub is open seven days a week, funds impactful local projects, and provides a great meeting space.
November is Rotary Foundation Month, a time to celebrate the Foundation’s role in advancing global understanding, goodwill, and peace. District 9815 has made fantastic contributions, raising $40,000 for Leanne’s Partner Project supporting the Monash Children’s Cancer Centre!
Key Updates
Membership Growth: 41 new members district-wide!
Youth Impact: Our 22nd Interact Club will be inducted at Balcombe Grammar.
Service Abroad: Rotaractors from Peninsula Rotaract Club are tackling projects in Nepal, including a Fred Hollows Eye Camp, a mural, and more.
Innovative Clubs: New satellite and cause-based clubs are underway, including a Rotaract Club on Bass Coast and one supporting veterans and frontline workers.
Watch the full episode to learn more about our district's incredible work and celebrate the successes of this Rotary year. Let’s continue making a difference together!
Great news! For those who inquired about recorded sessions of our recent ClubRunner training, they’re now available for you to access. Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your ClubRunner skills!
Important: These recordings are only available until December 14th, so be sure to watch or download them before then.
Training Sessions:
Beginner ClubRunner Training Focus: District version for Club Members and Executives Watch Recording Passcode: 2PaEqkT
Intermediate ClubRunner Training Focus: Club version for Club Members and Executives Watch Recording Passcode: 4@+?n!s$
Advanced ClubRunner Training Focus: Club version for Administrators, Website Designers, and Public Image Chairs Watch Recording Passcode: 1!iT90eA
How to Download:
To keep a permanent copy of these sessions, open the recording and click the ‘Download’ link in the top-right corner of the page.
Training Slides:
Attached below are the slide decks from each training session for your reference:
Take advantage of these resources to make the most out of your ClubRunner experience!
Support Community Projects Enter the Thermomix Raffle
The Rotary Club of Casey is running an exciting fundraiser, and they would love your support!
They’re holding a raffle for a Thermomix—a highly sought-after kitchen appliance valued at $3,000 that could transform the way you cook and eat. With only 200 tickets available, you’ll want to act fast!
All profits from this raffle will be directed towards community projects.
If you’re interested, please click the link above to purchase a ticket and join in supporting this fantastic cause!
DISTRICT EVENTS
Inaugural District 9815 Conference 8 - 30 March 2025
The Inaugural District 9815 Conference will be held in Bendigo from 28 to 30 March 2025. Partners, family, friends, potential members, supporters, and alumni are welcome.
Individual session details and costs are outlined on the booking site.
Please check out the menu on the left-hand side for useful links including FAQs, Accommodation, Tourist Information, Exclusive Winery Tour details, and Committee information.
We look forward to collaborating and celebrating with you in Bendigo.
The Annual Ride for Medical Research 2025
The next annual “Ride For Medical Research” will take place March 16 - 21, 2025, celebrating 40 years of fundraising. Having now raised over $1.32 million for Australian Rotary Health, we look forward to pushing this to over $ 1.4 million in the near future.
This will be the first ride organised under the banner of D9815.
Registration for this popular fundraising event will open in November 2024, with strictly limited places, so get in early to secure your place. (Cost for riders is $998.00, support crew/drivers $800.00)
For early bird registration, please pre-register your interest, in either riding or driving, please send an email to Stephen Spiers: - jsthecrest3154@outlook.com
(Registration will open approximately 2 weeks prior November for those who have pre-registered.)
Join us for the “Ruby Ramble” 2025, Baddaginnie to Benalla.
Approximately 580km over 6 days
Day 1: Baddaginnie - Wangaratta -76km
Day 2: Wangaratta-Chiltern-Rutherglen Loop-98km
Day 3: Wangaratta-Yackandandah-Myrtleford Loop – 125km
Day 4: Wangaratta-Yarrawonga Loop - 115km
Day 5: Wangaratta-Milawa-Eldorado Loop - 100km
Day 6: Wangaratta-Glenrowan-Benalla - 64km
(Distances subject to change due to road/traffic conditions.)
The ride this year will be centered around the greater Wangaratta region, taking in many of the towns in the area. See the website for more information and registration details: - https://rotaryrideforresearch.raisely.com
If you can’t make it why not consider joining in with the Mad March Cycle challenge which will run in conjunction. Details of this will be released closer to the date. https://madmarchcyclechallenge.raisely.com/
Please note, we are also seeking support drivers for the ride, if interested please see the website for contact details Stephen Spiers on: - 0411 675 330 (Cost for Support crew is $800.00)
Begun in 2021 as a way of helping to raise funds for Australian Rotary Health during Covid-19 lockdowns, it continues now as a compliment to the annual bike ride.
In the spirit of supporting healthy minds, bodies and communities, it allows anyone to take part in a manner that suits them anywhere in the world. (In fact, over the last 4 years we have had people join in from not only other parts of Australia, but also America, India, Indonesia and South Africa).
Participants can challenge the riders on the Annual Ride and see if they can cover 580km over the month of March, the Annual ride participants have to do it in 6 days, or they can choose their own form of exercise and set their own goals.
It is Free to join in, although not compulsory, all we ask is that participants try and raise some funds, via sponsorship, for Australian Rotary Health. The typical goal participants set is $200 and all donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible.
All funds raised go direct to Australian Rotary Health.
So go on, challenge yourself, your Club and friends, join in the fun and Make A Differfence, to not only your health, help Australian Rotary Health make a difference to everyones health.
One of Rotary’s greatest strengths is the ability of our members to come together to create lasting change, and The Rotary Foundation helps us transform dreams of change into reality.
From eradicating polio to building peace, much of the work we do around the world would not be possible without our continued support of our Foundation.
The cause of peace is especially important to me, and one of the most effective ways we build peace is our Rotary Peace Fellowship — a product of The Rotary Foundation. The program helps current and aspiring peace and development professionals around the world learn how to prevent and how to end conflict.
Thanks to a $15.5 million gift from the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, we can continue supporting peacebuilders in more regions with the next Rotary Peace Center, at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul.
Opening yet another peace center is a monumental achievement that we will celebrate at the 2025 Rotary Presidential Peace Conference in Istanbul.
The three-day conference 20-22 February will highlight the many ways our family of Rotary advocates for peace. Keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions will allow us to share ideas about building peace and foster meaningful conversations about promoting peace everywhere.
Registration for the Presidential Peace Conference is open. I hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it, our Foundation offers so many ways to change the world for the better. November is Rotary Foundation Month, a great time to get to know your Foundation better and pursue causes that appeal to you.
Global grants support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary’s areas of focus. By working together to respond to pressing community needs, clubs and districts strengthen their global partnerships.
District grants fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in your community and in communities abroad. Each district chooses which activities it will fund with these grants.
Our Foundation can even help you support our wonderful youth programs, including Rotary Youth Exchange, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, and Interact.
Your gifts to our Foundation also make Programs of Scale possible. These are long-term projects that seek to solve otherwise intractable problems.
To ensure these good works continue beyond our lifetimes, it is up to us to reach our ambitious Rotary Endowment goal of $2.025 billion by 30 June 2025.
The Magic of Rotary does not appear out of nowhere. We create the magic with every new member inducted, every project completed, and every dollar donated to our Foundation.
Please join me in supporting The Rotary Foundation, and together, we will change the world for the better.
Register for the 2025 Rotary Presidential Peace Conference at rotary.org/istanbul25.
YOU ARE HERE: Zanzibar, Tanzania
GREETING: Habari yako
BLUE ECONOMY: Fishing is a way of life in Zanzibar, an archipelago off the coast of East Africa. In the village of Nungwi (pictured here), fishers haul in their catch after a night at sea. The village is a center of shipbuilding known for the dhow, a traditional sailing boat found throughout the Indian Ocean rim. Many people depend on fishing for food, says Augustine Mwombeki, a Rotary member from the main island.
SPICE ISLANDS: Zanzibar’s tropical climate and fertile soil produce valuable spices, including cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, that have drawn traders here for centuries.
NO WORRIES: Zanzibar’s people, a blend of African, Arab, Persian, and Indian cultures, are known for their hospitality and easygoing nature, Mwombeki says. That’s perhaps best captured in the Kiswahili phrases hakuna matata (no worries) and pole pole (take it slow), he adds.
THE CLUB: Chartered in 2005, the Rotary Club of Zanzibar Stonetown has 15 members.
From Rotary Magazine
From the ruins
More than a year after powerful earthquakes hit Turkey, Rotary’s relief efforts remain for many a path out of the wreckage.
Attendance and Participation: Regularly attend club meetings and participate actively in club activities and projects.
Service Projects: Engage in community service projects, both locally and internationally, aimed at addressing humanitarian needs, promoting goodwill, and fostering peace.
Fundraising: Contribute to fundraising efforts that support Rotary's service projects and charitable activities.
Vocational Expertise: Share their professional skills and expertise to benefit others within the club and in service projects.
Ethical Standards: Adhere to high ethical standards in their personal and professional lives, reflecting Rotary's commitment to integrity and ethical behavior.
Networking and Fellowship: Build relationships and network with other Rotarians and community leaders, fostering goodwill and understanding.
Membership Growth: Support efforts to grow Rotary's membership and extend invitations to prospective members who embody Rotary's ideals.
Rotary Foundation: Contribute financially to the Rotary Foundation, which funds international scholarships, humanitarian projects, and other charitable efforts.
Public Image: Promote Rotary's mission and achievements within the community and advocate for Rotary's values and initiatives.
Leadership: Serve in leadership roles within the club or district, providing guidance and direction to advance Rotary's goals.
Overall, Rotarians are dedicated to making a positive impact in their communities and the world at large through service, fellowship, and ethical leadership.
All members are invited to contribute to our newsletter.
If you have an interesting article or some great pictures, please share them with us by Thursday so we can include them in Friday's edition.
Send all articles and notifications to our Editor, David Langworthy, at david@bevmarks.com.au.
The next annual “Ride For Medical Research” will take place March 16 - 21, 2025, celebrating 40 years of fundraising. Having now raised over $1.32 million for Australian Rotary Health, we look forward to pushing this to over $ 1.4 million in the near future.
Begun in 2021 as a way of helping to raise funds for Australian Rotary Health during Covid-19 lockdowns, it continues now as a compliment to the annual bike ride.
