At our last meeting PDG Julie Mason, Chair of the District 9800 Foundation Committee, enlightened members about The Rotary Foundation and all that it entails. Julie is an enthusiastic, longstanding member of Rotary and she presented her knowledge of the Foundation in an interesting manner. Masaya Endo, our Rotary Foundation Global Grant Scholar was present and he said he was very interested to hear all about the Foundation.
At this time of the year it is important to thank the members of the club’s committees for all their work during the year and which will continue into the new year.
PDG Julie Mason, right, spoke about the power of The Rotary Foundation, one of the most respected and awarded charities globally
Speaker: PDG Julie Mason Topic: Learning About The Rotary Foundation
At our last meeting, there was a good attendance to hear PDG and District 9800 Foundation Chair, Julie Mason provide an up-date and (for the newer members an introduction) to our charity, The Rotary Foundation. And following is her response to the visit to Glenferrie.
The Club Board met on 27 November to review a wide range of club matters, with several key motions carried. The Club agreed to sponsor Mark Ellis and Thelma Hutchison with $500 each for their ROCAN Ride to Convention fundraiser supporting ovarian cancer research. The resignation of Jerzy Ordega was accepted with regret, and Leave of Absence was approved for Peter Moore until February 28th.
Attendance figures for recent meetings prompted a frank discussion about ongoing low participation by some members. A series of steps will be taken, including follow-up by mentors, continued contact by the Almoner, and direct conversations with members whose meeting attendance falls below the required 50 percent.
The Rotary Club of Glenferrie has been served with notice that an image used in an edition of The Glenferrie Rotarian in April 2022 infringes the rights of the copyright holder. The image, which originally appeared in a Wikipedia article, was downloaded from the internet. Legal advice is that the club may be liable for a fee for use of the image amounting to approximately $2,600. Rotary Hawthorn suffered a similar fate recently.
The lesson is clear. Please DO NOT USE PHOTOS, CARTOONS, IMAGES or any copyright material in newsletter stories, web pages, social media posts or club emails unless you have the specific written approval of the copyright holder. To be safe do not download any images from the internet for use in club publications. Images, logos and artwork can be downloaded from Brand Centre in My Rotary - or you can make your own (try Canva or ChatGPT! - the header image for this story was generated by ChatGPT and it's ours!). Material generated by other Rotary clubs can also be used without paying copyright fees.
The offending image, and other potentially offending images, have been deleted from the club's database. Club Secretary Don Heath is currently in negotiations with the copyright holder regarding the matter.
This Christmas, the Committee has planned an action-packed Farmers Market for Saturday December 20th. Not only will we have all the favourite stallholders present, along with Felix, his musicians and a choir, but our book sale continues, giving patrons the ability to buy a nearly forgotten Christmas present very inexpensively, or even some books for themselves.
Joanne has sold nearly all of our Rotary Christmas cakes and puddings, so get in early.
Water will be pumped from an existing well to the newly installed elevated water storage tank using solar-powered pumps
The project to provide a reliable supply of running water to the children of Aladura Primary School in Buedu, Sierra Leone, is nearing completion. Construction of the water tower has now been finished, and plumbing installation to the school buildings is well under way.
This WASH project follows the successful construction of two VIP toilet blocks at the school in 2024. It is partly funded through a grant from the Australian Government - Australian Aid - and the Rotary Balwyn Centenary Grant program, and is being delivered by the Rotary Club of Glenferrie in partnership with the Rotary Club of Bo, Sierra Leone—truly uniting for good.
Wendy Cross and Christine McCann - delivering Christmas cheer, one hamper at a time
On December 8th, Alex, Jenny and I dropped off 40 Christmas hampers to Norman Gale at the Salvation Army in Camberwell. The Community Services committee put these hampers together for the Salvation Army to donate to people in need. Each committee member approached a local supermarket for a donation towards the hampers, and each member put four hampers together.
Familiar faces - mostly - weaving horticultural magic at the Camberwell Salvos
Fired up after our successful and fun Backyard Blitz at Munro Street (Housing Commission) and in a moment of enthusiasm (while directing a Cooking Class), I asked Norman Gale if he’d like us to improve their garden. His eyes lit up and he replied eagerly, “Would you?”
We stood at the window looking out. “This is meant to be the Garden Room,” he said as we looked out at the grey fence and dirt.
Jerzy, right, provided invaluable support to the Rotary Recycled Playground project
It is with sincere regret that we advise members that Jerzy Odega has tendered his resignation from the Rotary Club of Glenferrie, following a serious car accident earlier this year.
Members will have noticed Jerzy’s absence from meetings in the latter half of 2025. He had been granted Leave of Absence by the Board to return temporarily to Poland; however, the accident occurred shortly before his planned departure, and he was unable to make the trip. As Jerzy is no longer able to drive, attending club meetings has become too difficult.
The Club extends its warm thanks to Jerzy for his friendship and for his valued contribution to Rotary over the years. As a friend of the club, he will always be welcome at our events, and we wish him well with his recovery and in the years ahead.
Who doesn’t enjoy their first, second or third coffee every day, but what happens to your coffee grounds.
When coffee grounds end up in landfill, they release methane – a greenhouse gas 28x more potent than CO2.
Reground – a Melbourne based social enterprise works with cafes to collect coffee pucks and deliver the grounds free of charge to community and home gardeners.
Join us for the Multi-District Impact Summit in the vibrant regional city of Horsham, Victoria. This isn't just another conference; it's a powerful collaboration where Districts 9800, 9780 and 9510 will Unite for Good.
This year's summit brings together three districts to amplify our collective power and drive meaningful change. We'll be focusing on the incredible things we can achieve when we work together, sharing our successes, and planning our future impact. Check the flyer for information or click on: https://www.rotaryimpactsummit.org/
The Rotary Club of Glenferrie acknowledges the traditional owners as the custodians of this land, recognising their connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to Australia's First Peoples, and to their elders, past, present and future.
The Rotary Club of Glenferrie | PO Box 2134 | Hawthorn Vic 3122
