2019-20 Annual Report of the Rotary Club of Moreland

Our Rotary Year

JUNE 2020

Annual Report of the Rotary Club of Moreland

Featuring (among lots of other things): LIFTING THE LID ON YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH We held another forum to better understand the mental health issues of young people and explore what we can do about it

RECOGNISING OUR LOCAL POLICE How we recognise the great work by our local police

EXPLORING OUR LOCAL ENVIRONMENT Another successful walk on the Merri Creek revealed more about its amazing restoration as well as its historical significance

President Brian reflects on his year and we introduce our new President David

2020-21 Rotary International President Holger Knaack

Rotary International President-elect Holger Knaack is encouraging Rotarians to seize the many opportunities Rotary offers to enrich their lives and the communities they serve. Knaack, a member of the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany, revealed the 2020-21 presidential theme, Rotary Opens Opportunities, to incoming district governors at the Rotary International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA, on 20 January.

“We need to stop thinking of new members as people we can mark down as statistics and then forget about,” Knaack said. “Every new member changes us a little bit.

That person brings a new perspective, new experiences.

We need to embrace this constant renewal. We will grow stronger as we learn from new members.”

Knaack pointed to Rotary’s Action Plan as a compass that can guide clubs as they evolve. He recommended that every club have a strategic plan meeting at least Rotary isn’t just a club for people to join, but rather “an once a year. At that meeting, clubs should ask where they invitation to endless opportunities,” said Knaack, who becomes president on 1 July. He emphasized that Rotary want to be in five years and how they can bring more creates pathways for members to improve their lives and value to their members. the lives of those they help through service Knaack also wants to see more women in leadership projects. roles and see Rotaractors play an integral role in how new clubs are formed and run.

“We believe that our acts of service, big and small, create opportunities for people who need our help,” He encouraged district leaders to create new club models Knaack said. He added that Rotary creates leadership and rethink what it means to be in Rotary, and allow opportunities and gives members the chance to travel the world to put their service ideas into action and make young people to be the architects of these new clubs. lifelong connections. “Everything we do opens another “We have to be open to new approaches, and creating unique clubs for younger people is just part of the opportunity for someone, somewhere,” said Knaack. solution,” said Knaack. “Let Rotaractors decide what kind of Rotary experience works best for them. These Changing for the future Knaack also urged members to young people are bright, energetic, and they get things embrace change so Rotary can expand and thrive. done.”

Rather than setting a specific target for increasing the number of members, Knaack said he’s asking clubs and In stressing the need for Rotary members to embrace districts to think about how to grow in a sustainable and change, Knaack noted that time won’t slow down for organic way. He wants clubs to focus on keeping current Rotary: “We will not let rapid change defeat us. We will members engaged and adding new members who are the capture this moment to grow Rotary, making it stronger, more adaptable, and even more aligned with our core right fit for their club values.”

Photo: RI President Holger Knaack (second from right) with Susanne Knaack and District Governor Bruce Anderson and Marilyn Anderson (Image courtesy of RI)

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

Image: Rotary International Text: Rotary International

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2019-20 Club President Brian Bennett's Report A Youth Mental Health Working Party resulted and we have had an amazing coup in getting relevant agencies and community leaders including Moreland Council to come together and discuss issues and improvements to mental health services for young people in Moreland.

We are also very proud of the great contribution of our members’ support for activities in our District and beyond such Bushfire Recovery Committee, the Shine on Awards, the District Police Awards, District legal advice and Australian Rotary Health much of this despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Brian inducting our newest member, Elly Gardner

Another Rotary year has passed and I have concluded my second term as President. It has been an interesting year especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has turned everything upside down since March. We are no longer able to meet in person but thankfully we are able to use Zoom and have held our Wednesday morning meetings without fail since then. Attendance has been excellent and we have been able to host our guest speakers as well as welcome quite a number of guests. Nothing beats getting together in person though and we look forward to starting our breakfasts again at the Sorrento Bar before too long.

Despite all this, our club has had a number of achievements during the year. We welcomed a new member in Elly Gardner. Elly brings a lot of experience working in the community and has already proved to be a valuable support for a number of our programs. We were also really delighted to welcome back a former Club President Richard McCarthy as a member. We made two honorary member awards as well, to Helen Bailey, a former very active member who had too leave us to look after her elderly mother and aunt and to John Awler of the Sorrento Bar who has been our wonderful host providing us with wonderful breakfasts for our meetings every Wednesday until the pandemic struck.

We are a small, active and welcoming club valued for our ongoing community contribution. We held our second Youth Mental Health Q & A forum in 2019 to hear from a diverse group of young people from Moreland about their mental health issues and what they would like to see done for young people and mental health system. services

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

Moreland has also lent its support to the SmileHigh and Community Leadership Nepal Foundations which underpin dental and community development programs in Nepal and we have also continued to build relationships with our local schools.

We proudly sponsored our own police award this year too and we were thrilled to make an award to Sergeant Anthony Combridge of Moreland Police for his great work in our local community.

Our fund raising has been mainly via Bunnings Sausage Sizzles but these stopped with the onset of the pandemic and we are still not sure of their future as yet.

Our club was also delighted to offer support to Brunswick resident Michael Chew's application for a Rotary Peace Fellowship and even more delighted when we heard that Michael had been offrered a fellowship. There are highly sought after so a really impressive effort by Michael.

We were also incorporated during the year and our thanks go to Nino Galgano for so ably steering us through that process.

We continue to produce a regular bulletin which has won a district award.

I thank all those club members who have given substantial time to club activities and have given me a lot of support during my year. I don’t want to single out individual members as everyone really puts in but I should especially thank Rosemary as Secretary and John as Treasurer as well as Silvana as Board minute taker for keeping the wheels of club administration turning so well.

I wish incoming President David, our members and our supporters all the very best for the coming year.

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Introducing our 2020-21 President, David Redfearn OAM This all depends of course on the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic which has disrupted so many of our activities including our weekly meetings.

David receiving a banner from the Rotary Club of La Vallette in Malta

It is an extraordinary privilege to once again hold a leadership role in our small but dynamic club. I have been a proud member of Moreland for nearly 14 years and have seen changes both in Rotary and in our club but at our core is always our energy, our accessibility and our dedication to that fundamental value of Rotary, Service Above Self.

I live in the inner North of Melbourne and have been active in community for many years but Rotary is pretty hard to beat for friendship, energy and opening opportunities.

Moreland has that in spades!

We come into our new Rotary year with a number of achievements and I would really like to build on these. Last year’s theme was around Rotary connecting the world and we did a great job connecting to our local community through the Youth Mental Health initiative, liaising with local schools, holding our own police award to recognise the great work in the community of one of our local officers and nominating a terrific young local for Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA). We should certainly build on these during 2020-21 but we should also always be on the look out for ways our club can play a greater role in our local community especially with our younger citizens.

We also explored our local environment by going on a third walk around the Merri Creek and I look forward to planning another one of these as well as looking at ways in which we can give practical support to other creek activities.

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

We are often praised for punching well above our weight.

Our club has remained effective despite a small but very stable membership. I wouldn’t want us to become large and unwieldy either but I would still love to encourage a greater and more diverse membership that reflects our local community, a goal for us to strive for. We can do this by being welcoming as we always are but also actively reaching out to our community and to our networks. Our theme for 2020-21 is about Rotary opening opportunities and RI President Knaack has thrown us the challenge not to just strive for numbers but instead to find members that are a good fit so let’s do it!

We are a club that has also been very involved at a higher level in Rotary and our District participation is evidence of this. Community Service, Australian Rotary Health, Bushfire Recovery District Legal Officer and the Peter Toomey Community Police Awards are responsibilities we are taking on this year. The Shine on Awards which recognise volunteer work by people with disabilities are also a wider Rotary program where we have been quite influential and I hope we can support a worthwhile nominee there this year.

The most important thing though is for us all to feel fulfilled as members of Rotary and also to enjoy ourselves.

We have a wonderfully talented team in Moreland which brings many skills and connections. I welcome any ideas from our members and would also like to find ways of maintaining our social activities pandemic permitting of course.

Well done to Brian for a great year as Club President and thank you all for your support. I look forward to a really rewarding Rotary Year.

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Youth and Education Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA): Christopher's story

Moreland & Coburg Rotary Clubs proudly sponsored an impressive young man from Brunswick, Christopher Natoli, to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) Conference in November last year.

Christopher identifies as being on the spectrum and at the time of the Conference was in the last semester of his Bachelor of Education studies, with one more placement to go. Christopher had struggled with placements in the past as he worked best one-on-one, in particular assisting in the learning of children and young people with disabilities.

His professional ambition is to work within a special education setting.

A close friend and former RYLArian encouraged Christopher to consider RYLA, which could assist in gaining confidence to alleviate anxiety in managing large group situations. The difference in the before and after Conference presentation to our Club was astounding.

Paraphrasing Christopher’s words - having the courage to leave Plato’s cave has now given him a tool box of strategies to help him succeed in his future career path.

He was indebted to the sponsorship support from both Moreland and Coburg Rotary.

If you have a young person from the Moreland area between the ages of 19 and 30 who you think would benefit by attending RYLA, you can email Silvana De Pretto (Youth Chair) from Moreland Rotary on: silvanadepretto@bigpond.com ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

Coburg High School Autism Programme

The club has been engaged with the Coburg HS School Wellbeing unit over the past 12 months to develop a plan to fund their highly successful Autism program.

The specific need identified is to ensure funding of the externally facilitated ICan Program for which we have recommended establishing a business case to secure funding for a period of 3 to 5 years. As part of this advice we have proposed a number of funding options, including grants and public fundraising. We have also advised on the key components of a business case that would enhance the prospects of raising funds, by focusing on the benefits, a budget and timeline.

Our most recent discussions have been delayed because of the COVID crisis however we expect to complete this program by the end of 2021.

Scholarships Our club continues to award scholarships to worthy students at Mercy College Coburg and Penleigh Essendon Grammar School (Mark Galgano Youth Achievement Award).

Hopefully our support can strengthen our Club’s relationships with our local schools.

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Youth and Education (continued) After completion of another successful forum it was resolved to establish an ongoing Moreland Youth Mental Health Working Group withrepresentatives from a wide range of organisations and chaired by Moreland Rotary.

Moreland Youth Mental Health Forum After organising a highly successful Q and A Forum on World Mental Health day in October 2018 with Merri Health, based on listening to Moreland based service providers, Moreland Rotary took on leadership along with Moreland Council on a follow up forum in 2019 which focused on listening to young people from the greater Moreland area. Moreland Rotary has taken on an independent facilitative role with this work by connecting a range of stakeholders.

Plans for a Round Table forum of Stakeholder leaders has had to be cancelled with the COVID crisis, however planning for a reschedule has commenced with a date of August or September most likely. In the meantime the Working Group has been meeting on a regular basis during the COVID pandemic, providing a helpful exchange of information for various participants including local high schools Moreland Council and various youth support organisations

Community and environment Merri Creek Walk One of our club’s priorities is to better understand our local natural environment. For the last three years, in place of our Australia Day Breakfast, we have gathered on Australia Day at key locations on the Merri Creek for a guided walk to learn about the history and the restoration of the creek as well as enjoy the natural environment In 2020 we chose the confluence of the Merri Creek and the Yarra River starting on the trail in Clifton Hill and looking at features such as the Rotunda Wetland, the Merri Creek Maze, Dights Falls, the confluence and the beautiful Koori Garden on the Yarra Bend Park side of the Merri Creek near the confluence. We also admired the restoration work on this part of the creek which, through volunteer and professional labour, has created remarkable bushland on both banks and has hidden the scars of the basalt quarrying that took place there in the 19th century. All this has been of great benefit to both humans and the many other species that have come to inhabit this once degraded area.

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

It was a superb summer day thankfully free of the bushfire smoke that had blanketed much of Victoria over the summer period. Moreland Rotarians, their families and friends of our club such as Fiona Patten MP and Christopher Natoli, our RYLA participant, took part in the walk and enjoyed a well earned coffee in Clifton Hill afterwards.

We look forward to future events such as this in the 2020-21 Rotary year if the restrictions for the pandemic are removed.

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Australian Rotary Health (ARH)

Bunnings BBQ

Moreland Rotary organized a fundraising BBQ for Australian Rotary Health at the Bunning’s Coburg store during Mental Health Week.

Club members also ran a mental health awareness display throughout the day, engaging customers in discussion and gaining donations as they waited for their sausages.

Indigenous Health Scholarships Students learn the alphabet in the open-air school structure.

A Ride to Conference Rosemary and Michael Freeman, participated in the district Ride to Conference, a six day 558 km circuit from Albury. For the seventh year Australian Rotary Health - mental health research and an Indigenous Health medical student - was the beneficiary.

More than $15,000 was raised by the participating 27 riders and support crew.

Thank you Moreland Rotary for your continued sponsorship of this event.

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

Moreland Rotary have partnered with Coburg, Pascoe Vale, Preston and Strathmore Rotary clubs to sponsor a second ARH Indigenous Health Scholar. In 2019 Indigenous Health Scholar recipient Tala Mitchell completed her masters in Public Health at Melbourne University and in 2020 Lani Harris began the second year of a Nursing degree at Deakin University, as our sponsored Indigenous Scholar.

NIcole Hill, ARH PhD candidate Nicole Hill, an ARH PhD candidate at Orygen, the Centre for Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne has assisted Moreland Rotary throughout the year. Nicole’s research involves understanding the suicide risk and its prevention in young people. Nicole supported the club at the Bunning’s BBQ and provided valuable expertise at the Youth Mental Health Forum. Nicole also presented her research findings to the club at a weekly zoom meeting.

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International and District SmileHigh Foundation Club Member Trevor Moyle is a joint founder ((2007) and executive chair of SmileHigh and has led initiatives during the year including; joint community Oral Health programmes with partner Kathmandu University Dhulikhel Hospital; launch of a visiting specialist programme with an 8 day teaching and a surgical program involving two leading Melbourne based Oral facial surgeons and Kathmandu University and SmileHigh. Unfortunately this had to be postponed due to the COVID pandemic· Plans for a series of webinars from Australia are being planned for Nepali Practitioners and students.

Community Leadership Nepal (CLN) Trevor established CLN in 2017 and has gathered a strong network of resources through boards in both Australia and Nepal. During the current year some good progress was made with CLN foundation projects. Manechauka Sustainable Agriculture Education Programme was supported with $11,000 of funding for Stage 1 to help establish a working farm for students.

Ghyangphedi Community Development Project has been focused on Stage 1 involving Women’s and Girls Empowerment with the establishment of Hostel and Empowerment Centre for 32 girls who would otherwise have difficulty accessing education, and vulnerable to trafficking.

For this stage CLN is working closely with US charity Global Orphan Prevention who are funding the construction of the facility which is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

District/Multi District involvement Rosemary Freeman is the District 9790 Community Service Chair, District 9790 Australian Rotary Health Representative and is on the Bushfire Recovery Committee. Nino Galgano is ta District Legal Officer. David Redfearn is coordinator of the District 9790 Peter Toomey Community Police Awards.

At a multi district level, Brian Bennett is on the Shine On Awards committee.

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

Police Awards We presented our inaugural Community Police Officer of the Year Award to Senior Sergeant Anthony (Tony) Combridge with a plaque and a perpetual shield to display at Fawkner Police Station.

Tony is a resident of Moreland and feels very connected to our area and this helps in reaching out to our very diverse community. A better connected community places less demand on police. Tony referred to our recent work on mental health as an area which had been long neglected.

He thanked our club for its recognition and said that he was always available to talk to us especially on issues in which he had particular expertise such as missing persons and motorcycle gangs.

Rotary Peace Fellowship

We were delighted to hear that Brunswick resident Dr Michael Chew was awarded a Rotary Peace Fellowship for 2020 in Bangkok.

Michael is a photographer and was awarded his PhD at Monash University based on projects in Bangladesh and China running workshops to help young people in urban communities develop photography skills and tell stories about their local area especially on environmental issues. He also wishes to set up contact with young people in Melbourne to help develop a mutual understanding of issues facing both communities.

Unfortunately the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of 2020 fellowships and Michael is now planning to start in 2021.

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Raising money|Spending our money|Communications|Club membership Membership

We inducted Elly Gardner during the year who has added considerably to our group with youth enthusiasm and passion for community work and it was also wonderful to welcome back former member Richard (Dick) McCarthy. Recruiting new members is a challenge however there are some good prospects emerging for the coming year. John at the Sorrento Café was awarded honorary membership for his support for our club.

Club Service Highlights for the year included: an interesting array of speakers for its weekly meetings, which have transitioned well into the Zoom environment during the COVID crisis, an enjoyable changeover dinner held at the Brunswick Masonic Hall in July, a Sunday Brunch at the Boot Café in August to catch up with Helen and Jo and a pre Xmas dinner at the Post office Hotel.

Bunnings Sausage Sizzles We continued to run barbecues at Bunnings Warehouse in Gaffney Street, Coburg. These have been ably organised

by John Hoffmann, Jo Connellan and Silvana De Pretto and supported by club members, their families and friends. They are fun occasions and have revealed hidden talents within our team whether it is cooking sausages, slicing onions, collecting money or spruiking to passers by. The funds raised go to towards supporting local projects. These unfortunately were interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic but we hope we can resume these as soon as possible

Donations to other organisations Whittlesea Men's Shed Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA ) Contribution Zaidee's Rainbow Foundation Mercy College Award to Juanita Mususu-Zambrano and Jessie Nguyen PEGS Mark Galgano Youth Achievement Award End Polio Now Operation Cleft Australian Rotary Health - Lift the Lid District Governor partner project: ROTEX District donation for school packs- upper Murray bushfires Australian Rotary Health - Indigenous scholars Youth Projects Ltd The Rotary Foundation TOTAL-$12,112.40

Incorporation

Communication Letting our community know what we do as well as keeping club members up date is vital for our club. We publish an award winning weekly newsletter, The Morelander, and have a presence on Facebook and Twitter. Nothing beats personal contact though so we use our rich networks to constantly keep in touch with the local and wider community.

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

We were incorporated in 2019 as recommended by our Rotary District and Rotary International.

This offers greater protection for our club and we are now ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND INCORPORATED from 13 August 201 incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012. Club member Nino Galgano very ably steered our club through this important process.

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Our Guest speakersÂ

Trevor Moyle Mandy Gosetti Coburg High School Staff Munir Abdella Fiona Patten MP Silvana De Pretto District Governor Brian Peters Rosemary Freeman Inspector Brian Matthews and Acting Sergeant Jeff Bell Councillor Mark Riley Ben Rodgers Criag Ondarchie MP Rev Ron Rosinsky Tim Read MP Richard McCarthy Bruce McEwen Christoper Natoli David Redfearn Elly Gardner Melanie Raymond OAM Michael Chew Madhuri Maskey Nicole Hill Dr Kerry Mack John Williams Elly Gardner Barry Hahn, Nuray Jarkan and Liam Walsh Thomas Bailey Don Burrowes Wendy Casper Ben Rodgers

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

Community Leadership Nepal I'm Still learning Inc Coburg High School Autism Program National Zakat Foundation Member for Northern Metropolitan Region Living Ethics Community, Umbria, Italy District Governor's visit Rotary Club of Moreland Victoria Police, Moreland District Deputy Mayor of Moreland Inner North Community Foundation Member for Northern Metropolitan Region Coburg Uniting Church Member for Brunswick Bushfires and their management Operation Cleft RYLA participant Merri Creek Walk Behind the Badge Chair of Youth Projects Rotary Peace Fellow Brotherhood of St Laurence Australian Rotary Health PhD Scholar Bundoora Psychiatrist Principal, Moreland Primary School Moreland City Council Moreland City Council Honours Student in Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne Walking the Kokoda Track Youth Projects Inner North Community Foundation

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Rotary Leadership 2019-20 Rotary International: President: District Governor: Brian Peters Rotary Club of Albury West Assistant Governor: Emma Davis, Rotary Club of Strathmore Rotary Club President: Brian Bennett (Judy)

Club Service Roles 2019-20 President President Elect Secretary Treasurer Club Service Community Service Vocational Service International Service Assistant Secretary Membership Club Administration Public Relations Rotary Foundation Public Relations and New Generations Rotary Foundation and Australian Rotary Health Bulletin Club History Valued members

Brian Benett David Redfearn Rosemary Freeman John Hoffmann Trevor Moyle Brian Bennett Russell Stuckey Trevor Moyle Silvana De Pretto Trevor Moyle Nino Galgano Silvana De Pretto Rosemary Freeman Silvana De Pretto Rosemary Freeman David Redfearn OAM Nino Galgano Jo Connellan, Robby Choucair, Richard McCarthy, Elly Gardner Honorary Members The Hon. Kelvin Thomson, Helen Bailey, John Awler

{Chartered 14 August 1996 - Sponsor Club Coburg Rotary Club} Designed using Canva - www.canva.com

ROTARY CLUB OF MORELAND ANNUAL REPORT

Images by David Redfearn and logos from rotary.org. Other images supplied by Brian Bennett, Rosemary Freeman, Trevor Moyle, Elaine Price and Russell Stuckey

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Would you like to be inspired?

Then come along and meet us! Become part of us! Join our club!

Simply call us on: 0448 852 747 or email us on: moreland@rotary9790.org.au and join us for breakfast one Wednesday morning!