A Business Meeting with a lot of content, Club 100 monthly winners announced, A visit to the Sensory Garden in the Delta, and an appeal for assistance.....

 From the Pen of the President.....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

We have so much to be grateful for – and yet we spend a lot of time complaining and going on about silly issues we can do nothing about!!

We belong to a world renowned, world class organisation which brings people together to use their talent and time to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. We should not be joining those who complain, we do not have time. Let’s go out there and be the people of action we say we are!!

I am going to be sending out the Club’s goals this week on email and would love to hear from members, ahead of the Club Assembly on the 19^th August, what you think. Our goals are what we are measured on, we need to feel proud of what we achieve.

Let’s see what we can do..

See you next week.

Ann

Last Friday....

...the meeting room was abuzz and attendance (in person and on Zoom) was the best it has been since lockdown.

It was our monthly Business meeting where the various committee chairs had a chance to report back what the club has been getting up to in the previous month and what the plans are for the year ahead.

It is the first month of the Rotary year, so there have been a few changes in leadership and committee members, so activities will gain momentum as we go along.

Report backs in a nutshell:

John Symons remains Club treasurer and holds the purse strings.

• The annual budget has been put forward but will be finalized at Club Assembly.
• Still to be ratified at Club Assembly on the 19th of August, but club subscriptions to remain at R2000 for the year, payable as a lumpsum or in installments. Please let John know how you would like to pay.
• In total R74 000 came into the coffers for our annual blanket drive, and most blankets have now been disbursed.

David Bradshaw remains responsible for Membership and is our club almoner:

• We lost four members in the previous year, due to circumstances beyond our control, but so far we have inducted Michelle von Benecke and we are looking forward to welcoming Prof Shelley Schmollgruber and Vivienne Brokken as members, both no strangers to our club, as they have always helped with the nomination of the Lester Connock Award candidates. They have attended a couple of meetings already and hopefully we will be able to induct them in the near future.
• David, as club almoner makes sure that he regularly contacts people like Bernard Neuhaus, James Byrne, Judy Powell, Carol Lawrence and Roger Lloyd and it was lovely to welcome Yvonne Franklin to last week's meeting.

President Ann presents our newest member Michelle von Benecke with the Rotary Charge

IPP Costa Qually is taking over the Rotary International Foundation chair

and President Ann has also made him Executive Secretary, as well as head of tech, so that our hybrid meetings run smoothly.

Feedback about the quality of the hybrid meetings by Zoom attendees would be appreciated.

• Please let Costa know about any potential Grant projects.
• Inhouse RLI (Rotary Leadership Institute) training is planned for all interested club members in the near future.

Sybille Essmann will remain  chair of the Community and Vocational Services committee.

• Our club will be taking over the Khensani Collection EcoBrick project from the Rotary Club of Randburg as they do not have the capacity. Khensani is planning on building additional classrooms with EcoBricks and we are very excited to be part of this monumental project.
• We are also looking forward to further collaboration with Stephan Ferreira from Charity Begins with Me, who so tirelessly works to uplift children in the Durban Deep informal community.

Lyn Collocott remains responsible for the Environment portfolio.

Paul Chinn and Babette Gallard, Eco- Warriors and members of The Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn in collaboration with numerous other community forums are planning the mother of all river clean-ups, and being People of Action we call on all our members, family and friends to volunteer their time to help make a difference.

Lyn met with the organizers and on behalf of our club expressed our willingness to be part of this project and  we have been allocated a portion of the Braamfontein Spruit in Delta Park from the blue pedestrian bridge (Delta Cafe) up to the Conrad Drive bridge (close to the Fresh Earth coffee shop).

Lenore Terblanche has agreed to take on the International Portfolio.

• She has chaired her first committee meeting and for the year ahead they would like to try and get smaller projects off the ground, with the emphasis being on Health and Wellness. 
• They would like to identify a children's hospital ward that might need upgrading. 
• They would also like to further investigate the bio-degradable sanitary pad project and will soldier on with the cervical cancer project.
• Club involvement with the Rotary Family Health Days taking place 12th, 13th and 14th October.

The Youth Portfolio will once again be chaired by Jean Bernardo

• The Highlands North Highschool Interact Club is up and running. They received 25 plus 20 blankets from us to hand out at an orphanage and an old age home that they support.
• The Youth Senior Leadership Course has been confirmed for the 14th - 16th October.
• District has approved three Rotary Exchange students. One of them is Emma, Michele von Benecke's daughter who will be going to Germany next year. Some of us will have met her as well as Tsjamo Nyato who attended President Ann's induction party. As the young man will need financial assistance to make his dream to go to France come true a number of smaller fundraisers will be organized in the next few months.
• The 2022 Careers Day is taking place at the Holy Family College this Saturday the 30th July. About 200 - 300 learners from various schools in Johannesburg have been invited to attend.

Sonja Hood remains our Fundraising Queen

Another fun quiz fundraiser will take place on Wednesday the 25th of October. The venue is confirmed, our quiz master Larry has been booked and Sonja is making an appeal to all members to assist with donation of raffle prizes.

Public Image will fall into Rosebank Ramble editor Sybille's domain.

• It has been decided to terminate our website and rather concentrate on improving our Facebook image. 
• It is a work in progress.

Follow-up Visit to the Waterwise and Sensory Garden in Delta Park...

This past Sunday Lyn Collocott and a few of her environment committee took a stroll through the Waterwise and Sensory Garden which we, with the help of willing volunteers, cleaned in April this year. We identified three areas that need attention:

1) Strip and paint the metal railings of the bridge.

This would entail quite a bit of material and hard labour.

2) Clean the metal signposts.

With a bit of warm soapy water and a bit of elbow grease these signposts could be easily transformed back to their original glory. There are seven or eight of them.

3) Filling the empty planters with water-wise plants.

Most of us would be able to find suitable succulents in our own gardens that we could transplant into these containers.

We have earmarked Sunday the 28th of August to gather members and willing volunteers to spend a day beautifying a valuable part of our city. 

Save the date!

An Appeal for Help....

The rector of St Francis in Parkview has forwarded this appeal to us to see whether we could assist in any way.