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Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Olena Morhun fled with three of her children and made her way to Puławy, Poland. There they were welcomed by Krystyna Wilczyńska-Ciemięga, one of many Rotary members who have opened their homes to refugees.

Rotary Projects Around the Globe - October 2022

Learn how Rotary clubs are taking action in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and New Zealand.

A new weapon against polio

A modified vaccine offers hope that eradication is closer than ever.

Register now for World Polio Day 2022

Register now for World Polio Day 2022World Polio Day 2022 and Beyond: A healthier future for mothers and children, will be held virtually and in-person on 21-22 October in Geneva, Switzerland. The event will highlight the status of polio eradication and address the

Mobile clinic delivers free healthcare for Wisconsin’s underserved communities

Rotary clubs in District 6250 (Wisconsin and Minnesota, USA) have donated a mobile clinic to St. Clare Health Mission, a community organization in La Crosse, Wisconsin, that provides primary and specialty health care services at no cost for those without access to insurance.

Alex Rotary Fees
What does Rotary cost? Our full members pay $150 every 6 months to support Rotary International (RI) causes. The only other cost is club breakfast, which can cost between $5 - $12 at the Alex Surf Club. 
 
In return you get to hear great speakers, meet like minded good citizens, find out what's going on around the world and local communities. By being part of a Rotary club you get involved in community and youth projects, some of them fundraising. Proceeds from fundraising are donated to  community causes suggested by the members. Some years we have donated  >$25,000 to local community. 
 
Friends of Alex, who are basically folks who volunteer to help out or attend very occasional Rotary meetings, pay $20 pa.
 
On joining, there will be a one-off cost for a personalised club shirt and badge. 
Alex Rotary WorkLife Coaching Program 
 
Rotary helping you transition to work
Here is a link to the complete WorkLife booklet developed by Alex Rotary as a mentoring guide to anyone starting work for the first time. (Also not a bad read for anyone going back into the workforce who would like a bit of inspiration and advice. 
 
We've also found that local businesses use it as a friendly support for their employees to help discussions along on the importance of work, (and how to be happy at work while making the boss happy!!)
 
 
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Blue Card Connections
Club Executives & Directors
President
Skye Miller
Secretary
Valerie Saunders
Treasurer
Wendy Gilson
Membership
Peter Deane
Thank you to our great Surf Show and Shine Sponsors
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We walked for Polio awareness 

Polio Walk - Thank you all  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Not entireley sure whats going on here..something about starting bell for the walk...
..and a note from the prescient Joy..
 

A lovely Day to Participate in a Walk For Polio at LA Balsa Park

Sunday the 14th of August saw The Rotary Club of Alexandra headland engage in a successful Walk For Polio at LA balsa Park , at Point Cartwright. It was a brilliant day with representatives from The Rotary Club of Maleny; The Rotary Club of Caloundra Pacific; The Rotary Club of Brisbane; and the Rotary club of Alexandra Headland  join together  with members of the local community groups,  with the purpose of raising awareness about the affects of Polio and the need to raise some funds, to eliminate this devastating disease, that targets children under the age of five. Our thanks also to the Rotary club of Nambour who gave a most generous donation in support of the Rotary Club of Alexandra’s  Headland’s Walk for Polio.

With some experienced Heart Foundation walkers and a Sports physiologist from the University of the sunshine coast, the walkers set off at a comfortable pace on the wide council path to the end of the breakwater wall.

A lot of interest was generated by costumed walkers one of whom was a Santa Claus.

Dogs came well attired by their owners with colourful collars or a knitted coat. One gorgeous toddler came in a bright yellow jump suit. There were prizes galore for many of the participants. Excitement was the order of the day especially when Santa Claus was spotted by the board riders. 

It was a day which lent itself to making friends and creating bonds with Rotarians from different clubs. 

It was lovely to see families spend time with their children in brilliant Sunshine with spectacular scenery , 

The Rotary club of Alexandra Headland sends out a voter of thanks for the visiting Rotarians from a variety of clubs and hope this event won’t be the last we all get to meet again.

Thanks also go out to the visitors who attended this walk  who  represent our local community.

A vote of thanks goes out to the high proportion of Alex Headland Rotarians who came together and set up for this event in the early hours of Sunday morning, to ensure a great day was had by all. 

Lastly thanks go out to President Skye and Past President Wendy who without their help this walk would not be able to occur.

It was a bonus to have at our walk the District Chair of Rotary Foundation for Polio-  Bruce McNaught, who himself is a survivor of polio. Also thanks to Sue Mackenzie who is  president of New Farm .Sue is also a polio survivor and is on the Board of Polio Australia.

Joy

Transition to work help now at Burnside

Alex Rotary Mock Interviews, Resume help and work coaching now at Burnside

 
 
 
Steve, Larney, Liana, Jack and Michelle with High School Student 
 
Alex rotary have had a keen interest in helping kids transition onto work, and have been part of the regular Maroochydore High School Interviews for many years now and are always willing to help out the future of Australia.
 
We're delighted to have been invited by The Smith Family and Burnside State High School to continue the tradition in August when we've been invited to help the senior students at Burnside in this area.  This will be the first time that we've gone to Burnside and we're excited. We're also looking for potential volunteers to help out on the day with some light coaching on interview skills and resume evaluations from a potential employer perspective. 
 
Here's what they've been saying about Rotarians passing on their experience at Maroochydore State High School..
 
"The annual Mock Interviews for Maroochydore State High School year 10 students not only form an integral part of their curriculum, they provide an excellent opportunity for Students to have a practice run at a Job Interview with “strangers” in our community so the actually get to feel some nerves, but more importantly, they gain valuable life experience in what it will be like when they actually apply for that job of their dreams.
 
The local Rotary Cluster on the Sunshine Coast always proudly supports this event and it’s one I am very glad to be involved with, pulling together between 20 to 25 Volunteers each year to work our way through the cohort. The legendary Morning Tea is a big drawcard for those that have had the pleasure of tucking in and the School usually provides a token of their appreciation with a box of chocolates and a certificate for each Volunteer. The most rewarding part? Knowing we have helped today’s youth towards a successful careers and meeting some of the truly talented up and coming youngsters who you just know are really going places in this world."
 
If you have an interest in this area, and are available in early August please let the club secretary know on RCAHsecretary@gmail.com
Solstice Swim Progress

 

Solstice Swim Results

Hi folks, well we said it wasn't a race, but I know many of you wantto know how you went, so here are the results....and just to say a BIG THANKYOU to all our swimmers...thanks to YOU we have raised about $15,000 (TBC) for our amazing Sunshine Coast Charities. The bigger ROTARY organisation will match dollar for dollar whatever we put in for special projects, so that will REALLY make a difference to a young persons life. Thanks so MUCH.
 
 
ROMAC - The stories

ROMAC - The stories 

Tony reminded us on Friday why the club has been a long term sponsor of ROMAC and some of the personal stories that he has seen in his 30 years of Rotary. Stories mostly of children who lives have drastically changed for the better after horrific birth defects, injuries and disease. 
The great Rotarians who donate their skills free to the pacific region are often not seen or celebrated. We'd like to acknowledge all the health professionals, general surgeons, GP's, Maxillofacial surgery specialists, Anaesthetists, helicopter pilots, etc. etc. and all members and community workers who volunteer for such a worthwhile cause.  
Our Programs and Causes
At Rotary we want to have fun while "making a difference" to our communities, locally and internationally.
 
However, we're a "can do" organisation..and if you have a cause or program that you want some help with, why not get in touch and we'll see what we can do?
 
The events that we run and support allow the club to raise money to support some of the many good causes in the community. All of Rotary donations and fund raising go to the community. All Rotarians are volunteers and give freely of their time. Club expenses are kept to a minimum, and the main Rotary Foundation is one of the top 5 Charities in the world in terms of its effectiveness, with the administration costs far, far, lower than many better known charities. 
 
  • Surf Show and Shine - Celebrating the Coast while helping the outback. We always need volunteers to help run this annual community event.
 
  • SunnyCoast Solstice Swim - Supporting our Young Veterans and other Rotarian community causes. It's getting bigger every year. 
 
  • Worklife Program - Rotarians are generally business people who are passionate about giving back. So its only natural that when they see businesses complain that the young are not "work ready", and they see overloaded school curriculums, and stressed out kids going into the workforce that they want to help. So Alex Rotary has been delivering and promoting a program to help first time workers transition to work, in a practical and positive way. Already we've been to high schools on the Sunshine Coast , Rotaract at USC and IFYS community worker work start programs. 
 
  • Golf Day - Last year we hosted a charity golf day to raise funds for Sunshine Coast helicopter rescue - an initiative started by Rotary here on the Sunshine Coast. 
 
  • Christmas at Alex - Every year we host a BBQ at Christmas at Alex, to raise funds for our local battlers at Christmas.
 
  • Christmas Hampers - Last year we gave 400 hampers to the Carers of Children to give a helping hand over Christmas
 
  • Mooloolaba Triathalon - we're delighted to help the organisers host this event that attracts thousands to the coast
 
  • Mooloolaba Ironman - For many years Rotarians have managed the gear tent for this great event
 
  • Clean Up Australia Day - every year we organise a BBQ for our volunteers who help clean up the coastline around beautiful Alexandra Headland
 
Read more...
Mark Hunter - Disability advocate extraordinaire

Disability – Death  -- Determination 

Mark is an advocate in supporting those in need. Through a water-skiing accident in early 20’s he became a tetraplegic and through determination recovered but has spent his adult life in a wheel chair. (Prior to the accident he was a State Champion water skier).

The wheelchair did not stop a successful teaching career, ending up Principal of various Qld country and city primary schools before retiring a few years back. But there were challenges … like the principal’s professional development programme being held in the Polo Club in Brisbane where there was only access via stairs. After three years at the same venue, he challenged Qld Education and won …. They now run the development programme in a disability access venue!

He also challenged Qld Police Service after being treated badly by a young police officer. He told us, he was self-represented against Senior Barristers and won the QCAT case!

Following retirement and during his mother’s end of life experience at Hopewell Hospice, he became a volunteer which led to a full-time job as CEO.  Through his determination he managed the hospice and made all “clients” feel comfortable. He even ran “Death Café” discussion groups to allow the hospice clients and their families to open the discussion to ensure greater understanding of what they had generally been through and how they could face their future without fear.

Mark mentored many young kids when life threw the challenges and continued mentoring his friends through Toastmasters. In Toastmasters he faced challenges with determination and ultimately became the World Champion of Public Speaking – a contest that starts with 30,000 Toastmasters at a club level and eventually ends at the World Championship!

Mark continues to share his dynamic speaking skills at events around the world; he also mentors many people around the world who aim to follow similar footsteps (or wheel marks).

While facing challenges of life and Education Qld, he was also the Chair of Disabilities Qld to ensure others in similar situations have successes! 

Mark Hunter shared his stories openly and courageously with us.

Urban Angels revisited

Peter Hall and mates come to visit

Dave Woodrow introduced his old mate Peter Hall …. Dave met Peter, Howard George  and others through Maroochydore Rotary and have been personal and Rotary Friends for 30 years about!.
Peter discovered that Urban Angels and Birgit were making meals for the homeless in inadequate conditions, so he acquired a commercial property and fitted it out with a commercial kitchen --- rumoured to be about $500,000 worth!!!  Peter does not seek publicity on the donation or his support and its great to see Brigit again and keeping up her amazing community work that truly "makes a difference."
 
 
Urban Angels provide about 10,000 meals a month to those in need …. And one of their offshoots is they run the kitchen at the IFYS Hub down at the stadium. They have three chefs  and ro0tate them to provide a variety of meals ….. including vegan and vegetarian.   They have even convinced some of their charges to try the vegetarian meals and their clients found they were good and in many cases now look for them as a preference!!!
 
Their neighbour at Maroochydore is Men’s Shed and Men’s Shed grow a whole bunch of fresh herbs, spices and vegies for them.
 
Alex Rotary know Birgit because she ran the Urban Angels café in Newspaper Place Maroochydore and the club went there at least twice for a vocational visit and breakfast and also a breakfast when we visited Push Productions and Paul Morton in November 2017). For the nostalgic readers..here's some pics from not so long ago..
Birgit has agreed that we should come up to Urban Angels for breakfast meeting and vocational visit …. Her comment was give me a few weeks to organise it. This is whats in store if our last visit is anything to go by...

Urban Angels Community Program explained..

 
Helping our Surf Show and Shine beneficiaries
At Alex Rotary we act local to make a difference. While we support all sorts of causes, we particularly want to help local volunteers who may not have access to the big funding that is available from governments and the like.
 
We think that's more effective for a small club like ours, for 2 reasons:
 
1.  Most important, these local volunteers need to know that they are valued. They need to know that they are appreciated and not alone. Their efforts are amazing, and can be relentless and exhausting. We want to help.
 
2. Its more effective. The funds go directly to the volunteers running the cause, and they decide how to best use the funds. 
 
So it you can help our beneficiaries from the Surf Show and Shine please go to these links.
 
 
 
Community Projects
ROMAC Trivia Quiz
 

This year the club are putting two teams into the ROMAC Trivia Quiz. Regular readers will be aware of the glorious history of the club in this event. (??)