Grant mentioned that, in completing the information required for a Rotary Citation, he was reminded of the wide variety of activities in which Werribee Rotary has been involved to "connect the world". In response to Grant's presentation, Past President Brian Ahmed said, during his 12 months as President, the club was very active in initiating and supporting many local and international projects. Brian said he was proud to accept the award on behalf of the club.

VAS BECOMES FIRST NEW MEMBER TO BE INDUCTED VIRTUALLY

The club is proud to welcome its newest member, Vas Samaltanos, who was inducted during our club's virtual anniversary meeting on Tuesday 18th August.

Vas has a genuine interest in helping others and a willingness to get involved in hands–on activities within the local community. He sees Rotary as a means to achieve his goals. He believes our club offers exactly what he wants in his life today.

He has a keen interest in cycling and has expressed interest in participating in future ROCAN fundraising rides. He has also indicated that he will take time off, occasionally, from his busy job as a Software Development Manager, to assist with the mid-week Bunnings BBQ’s.

Welcome Vas.

IMAGINATION LIBRARY SUPPORTS LOCAL CHILDREN

The Imagination Library is the brain-child of Dolly Parton and was founded in 1995. It provides children with free home delivered books and literacy resources each month, from birth until their 5th birthday.

The goal of the program is to help children - especially those in disadvantaged communities - gain the skills they need to start school ready to read learn and succeed in life.

The local community-based program is offered by United Way Australia and funded by Werribee Rotary.

We are delighted to be able to support 21 Wyndham families from the Karen, South Sudanese, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities.

DOING OUR BIT TO CONTAIN COVID19

The club has initiated a project to support the community during the Coronavirus epidemic by manufacturing face masks for distribution to people in the Wyndham area. Through two generous donations, we were able to purchase some of the scarce supplies of fabric and elastic.

Rotarians, partners and friends of Rotary, better known as the Cut Giggle and Sew group, have been involved in cutting and sewing up a storm. The first 70 masks have been delivered to Uniting Wyndham for distribution to their clients but we still have a way to go to meet our aim of 500 masks. We would welcome more sewers to assist if they have any spare time.

Despite the fact that the team is working in isolation due to the Covid19 lockdown, they are still engaging with each other and embracing the opportunity to help others through this difficult time.

NEW ROTARY YEAR, NEW CLUB PRESIDENT

Pictured above is 2019-20 President Brian Ahmed (left) handing over the reins of office to our new President Michael Redding. Normally, this changeover event would take place at a dinner function in June. However, due to the pandemic restrictions, the process was completed during an online meeting session.

Prior to the handover, Brian summarised his year by highlighting some of our major achievements including:

The Imagine Library Program (which was a joint grant project)
Scholarship to Gordon Tafe
Bushfire relief - via Blazeaid
Bingo
Bunnings BBQ's
WERN (Western Emergency Relief Network)
Breakfast Club
Cut, Giggle & Sew
Beyond Blue Cup
Golf Day
Support to Rotary Foundation
Operation angel - relief packs for bushfire workers
Interact Club at Wyndham College
Vanuatu School Project
Tamarind Chicken Shed in Uganda
Sinna Mentor Dance Group

Brian said he was proud to have been given the honour of leading the club. Despite the challenges of having to resort to online meetings for the past 4 months, he said it was still a productive year for our club. He thanked the Board, the members and their partners for supporting him.

President Michael is keen to keep the club on a similar track but recognises that there will be some challenges until the virus restrictions are lifted. One of Michael's key changes will be that every member will have the opportunity to choose a project that they want to support for the year, rather than the traditional approach of establishing committees to run projects.

Michael wants our major project for the year to be the Beyond Blue Cup which will involve a football match between two local junior sides. The aim is to support youth mental health.

CLUB MEETINGS GO VIRTUAL

Our club normally meets at a regular venue every Tuesday evening. However, with stay-at-home and social distancing rules in place, we have now reverted to conducting our meetings online.

While the attendance for the first few meetings has been lower than expected, we are hoping it will grow as the less technologically-minded members become acquainted with the virtual concept.

One of the benefits of these online meetings is that we can invite guest speakers who may be located anywhere in the world. In a recent meeting, our guest speaker was Chris Ochaya and his wife Sarah from Uganda. Chris was sponsored by our club several years ago to spend 3 months in Australia to learn various farming techniques. Since returning to Uganda, he has established the Tamarind Community Farm which is aimed at supporting many families in the region. Werribee Rotary and several agricultural businesses in Australia have been instrumental in providing funds and expertise for some of the projects which include building a bore water system, constructing a goat shelter and a chicken shed.

During the meeting, Chris gave members an update on the status of the various projects. He also talked about the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on his country.

In the future, we will invite some of our past Rotary exchange students from Japan and Brazil to speak about life in their respective countries.

CREATING RELIEF KITS FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS

Members and friends of our club recently responded to the urgent call from President Kitty of the Rotary Club of Laverton Point Cook to help create relief packs containing items for distribution to the brave firefighters and evacuees who were involved in the devastating bushfires in south-east Australia.

Sixty people of all ages worked feverishly from midday to 8pm to prepare the kits which contained essential items. Each pack even included a face washer with the words "Thank you" embroidered on it.

The items were generously supplied by local businesses, community groups and families. Some children were even moved to donate their pocket money as a means of expressing their support, particularly for the loss and injury of so many native animals.

While the team was exhausted at the end of the process, they felt extremely satisfied that they had contributed in a positive way.

Click here to view some photos of the successful day.