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.
Remember way back when Joy organised the Blue Illusion fashion show and fundraiser for iPads for outback kids??
Well, after much perseverance by Joy and a couple of member donated iPads, and some help from friends and sponsors.... we're delighted to let you know that the iPads have arrived (Yeah!) and will now be put to use for project work by the outback kids. Good on you Joy.
Ruby Care Project is on hold
We've come to a bit of a hold up on the Ruby Care project, where we were looking forward to helping with a garden for the community, but we want to still do some hands on gardening work. It's good therapy (apparently). So we'll start investigations into the Intergenerational Garden that was suggested from the Shepperton Rotary presentation.
Walk for Polio
We're planning a walk for polio later in the year along the beautiful Sunshine Coast promenade, and thinking of wheeling out the Rotary BBQ trailer for the occasion. Stay tuned for more info.
Also on teh subject of the BBQ trailer, we're investigating running a BBQ fundraiser at a Sunshine Coast polling both. There's been a suggestion that all proceeds should go to the Scottish Independent Party, which is being considered by the Board.
Club donates $500 to ROMAC and $250 to Urban Angels
The club has made two donations this week, one to ROMAC - a great program helping disfigured kids in the pacific island, and teh club (thats you) has also made a donation to Brigit and the amazing team at Urban Angels.
Pride of Workmanship Award
Date for event set as September 17th at Alexandra Headland Surf Club. There will be more information coming out in the next few weeks, but basically this is an Australia wide program whereby a local business / employer gets to nominate one of their staff as "exceptional" and they will be recognised by the employer and Rotary via "Pride of Workmanship" award dinner at Alex SLSC. There is no cost to the business, its all about recognising and encouraging special employees in the workplace.
More details in next newsletter.
Social Activity
There will be a Barbeque picnic at Cotton Tree near the Boatshed on May 29th 12.00. Portable BBQ. Sausages and bread to be provided by club. BYO chairs, drinks and picnic food. All welcome.
Vocational Education Meeting
The club will have 2 representatives at the Maroochydore SHS VERG meeting on 26th May. Looking forward to re-acquanting ourselves with the amazing work that goes on at Maroochydore High School by Liaina and her team helping the students transition to the workplace.
Buddy Meetings
Michelle is organising another round of "buddy meetings" for members to get to know each other better in a social setting for the months ahead. Check your email for details.
Returning Treasurer and philosopher / hypnotist Bob Lane recounted some of his experiences while running a Resort / tourist Dive operation in PNG and it was fascinating. At one point a few of the audience were wondering where Bob was going with his observations about women in the public bar (?) but Bob had clearly a love of PNG, not withstanding some of the heartbreaking stories coming from Bob's observations of the outcomes from some of the villagers superstitions and the like.
The club was delighted to be able to catch up again with Brigit and the team at Urban Angels in Marcoochydore since they moved to their new premises.
Unfortunately Brigit was unable to be there, but we had a great time and were a bit spoilt by an amazing breakfast and looked after by Lee and the amazing volunteers. Brigit sent through this note to the club...
"I am so disappointed to have missed the breakfast this morning. Your support means a lot to me and I was so looking forward to catching up with you and your colleagues. My husband and I think we had a virus of some sort…not Covid! Whilst I am feeling much better today, I thought it was prudent not to risk spreading something about the place.
Peter Hall has also asked me to pass on his appreciation for your support of Urban Angels. He would have liked to attend this morning’s event as well but he unfortunately has Covid.
Had I been there this morning, one of the things I would have shared with you, is Peter’s future plan for the Service Street space.
You would be aware of Peter’s engineering, design and project management background. This along with his endless capacity to think ahead as well as consider the needs of our team and the overall goals we seek to fulfil, have seen him come up with a plan for building a food safe area on the mezzanine. Peter has designed a space where we can do all the packaging and labelling of our food. The plans include a dumbwaiter which will be installed downstairs in the foyer to transport the cooked food upstairs for packing. We currently do both the prep and the packaging downstairs and we can only do one of these tasks at a time. The new space will enable us to produce more food and improve our efficiency. Down the track, we hope to mechanise some of our packaging processes and create a saleable range of meals…the new space upstairs will be invaluable for that. We used to run a social enterprise catering business which came to an end due to Covid (no more big functions!) and have since been thinking of alternative ways to create a new revenue source. We are currently researching starting up a subscription meal delivery service which would require us to mechanise our packaging somewhat. There are already several people who receive our meals because they are delicious, nutritious, convenient etc. and in return, they provide us with donations. We are unable to “sell” our meals as the packaging is not tamper proof and our labels require Nutrition Information Panels which involves an onerous process. Given that our product is already valued in this way, we thought it was a good place to start looking at building a new business. You see therefore, how Peter is always thinking ahead!"
..and finally if you happen to have a rather luxuriant moustache...here's the recommended PPE.
Dinner registrations closed - but you can still buy tickets online for this great program.
The Rotary and University Community Fund dinner is on this Wednesday, but just to say that if you are not coming, you can still purchase raffle tickets online and contribute to this great cause of supporting our local researchers in their studies. There's been some great recipients in the past who have gone on to make some amazing contributions in their chosen fields, so here's the link if you wish to help and maybe win a prize or two.
Thanks to Eve, Alex Rotary has approached Rotary District to help out with life saving in Uganda
The club was delighted to be approached by Eve Fraser, who has a passion for life saving in Uganda, specifically in the Lake Victoria district, where she has many close contacts. Eve is currently a member of the Brisbane club Rotary, although she lives in Alex Headland.
So we've got behind the application and if successful it will leave a legacy of knowledge and skills in the region, that will save many lives now and in the future.
The project involves a team of expert trainers delivering a range of CPR, First Aid, rescue and fire safety training to 50 first responders in the Lake Victoria District of Uganda. Activities are consistent with the Australian standard for first aid, bronze medallion and lifeguard training. One thing thats not included (yet) is oxy viva and defibrillator training. Instead Eve and the team have placed more emphasis on the key elements of getting to the casualty, removing them from the water, correct assessment and applying first aid.
Here we see training around water incidents/ Developing rescue and recovery skills of the first responders to assist those affected by near drowning experience.
And of course it will lead to improving fitness and knowledge for those living on and around water together with improved knowledge & correct use of rescue equipment.
All with the goal of reduced preventable deaths by drowning.
Good on you Eve, and thanks for thinking of Alex Rotary. . Always happy to help.
This year you can enter as an individual or get a few mates and enter as a team.
And this year we'll have some novelty prizes to add a more fun to the event.
We cannot guarantee that the 5km swim will have a photo finish like last year, but we can guarantee great weather and lots of fun, and that you'll be helping Rotary and Alex SLSC support some great local Sunshine Coast Community groups.
Steve has some details on how you can support Ukraine via Rotary, and this article gives you some more information on the organisation sending medical aid to war victims..
Rotarians unite to send medical aid to Ukraine
Rotary members in North America, Argentina, and Europe are collaborating with a U.S.-based association of Ukrainian health care workers to collect and ship more than 100 tons of critical medical supplies to Ukraine. The effort was built off of connections Marga Hewko, president of the Rotary Club of Chicago, had forged with the Ukrainian medical community in Chicago. Rotary clubs have pooled their resources to secure donations from equipment manufacturers and purchase supplies which are then flown over to Europe for distribution within Ukraine. Read how Rotary’s network has been providing support to Ukraine.
On Friday Tony and John followed up on how the club may be able to help with The Smith Family and their youth programs. So in ZOOM meeting (what else?) with Marlo we found out that there are two programs where we may be able to help. The first one is "Straight Talk" which is much along the lines of the mock interviews and WorkLife programs where adults and kids sit down and have chats about work and work experiences, opportunities, difficulties and "things you really need to know about work".
We've given a list of 12 Rotarians who have about 400 years of work experience behind them to The Smith Family and are willing to help out with this program of coaching kids on the work environment.
The other program John spoke about is the WorkInspiration and Reach Out program (WIRO) and we found out more about this in the ZOOM meeting. It involves selected kids jumping on a bus and going around a few industries / workplaces and seeing what goes on "behind the scenes" and all sorts of jobs that perhaps the kids were not aware of. On the Sunshine Coast this involves visits to Structural engineers, Logistics organisations, Electrical supply organisations, Insurers, and Property developers.
The club is perhaps not so geared for this, but now that we know what its all about, keep an eye open for any businesses who are community minded and who would be happy (With Smith Family and Rotary help) to organise a 2 hour visit from a selected 10 - 20 kids who would benefit from some exposure to different workplaces - it may change someone's life.
The club heard from Mag at Shepperton South on how they had taken to heart the BBC program about mixing kindergarten kids and old folks.
They asked the kindergarten kids what they liked about visiting their grandparents at the local old folks home. Answer? "Nothing". So they decided to do something about that and set about building a play area for young and old.
At recent board meeting the club decided to investigate it further, and will look to take it up as a project in this year, subject to more research and planning.
So here's some pics of how the Shepperton Rotary approached the task and what they achieved.
Brilliant. Stay tuned for more developments.
Click on image to go to the links
Scientifically proven to be funny....
Q. What did the biologist wear to impress his date?
A. Designer genes
Q. What type of fish is made out of 2 sodium atoms?
A. 2 Na
Q. What is the quickest way to determine the sex of a chromosome?
A. Pull down its genes.
Q. What kind of tree can be placed into your hand?
A. A palm tree
Q. Why are chemists excellent for solving problems?
A. They have all the solutions.
Q. Why should you never trust atoms?
A. They make up everything!
Q. What do you call it when a biologist takes a photo of himself?
Enter from the beach side, next to Coffee kiosk. Magnificent morning views of sun rising over the pacific*
(Technically its the earth rotating and falling. Ed)
. Always happy to help. 
