A Social Meeting, Skittles Fundraising and Fellowship and a successful Norwood Spar Food Drive....

 From the Pen of the President.....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

We had a lovely chatty, loud social meeting on Friday and I am sorry that it is not as much fun for those online – it does show us up as a group with vastly different ideas and ways of doing things – we should celebrate these differences. What a pleasure!! We have 6 new members for the first 6 months of the year!!

If you have read Rotary Africa for December, you will have read this: “…..donating to The Rotary Foundation is one of the most intelligent decisions you can make. You know that your gift will align with those values you hold dear and that it will be administered by your fellow Rotarians, who share those values. It is quite an understatement to say that in giving to Rotary, we also receive. ……” visiting Rotary Foundation projects around the world shows that the gift we get in return is priceless.

I did point out that we need to think with some speed about President and officers for the forthcoming year. There are clubs in the district that seem to successfully share the presidency between 2 or 3 members so that, for people who are working, it is not a burden they are hesitant to take on. We could do something similar?? Send me your thoughts.

This is a hectic time of year for a lot of people, the mere thought of holidays coming up, and being ready, puts people into panic mode. We have just 2 meetings left and the prospect of seeing each other on the 3^rd as well for a relaxing time of fellowship – I did say if Lorenzo shows up I will jump into the swimming pool (think I am safe on that one) – I may have said something similar about Tutty and his wife coming!!

Jennifer Jones asks each of us to “Imagine, a world that deserves our best where we get up each day knowing that we can make a difference.”

Keep it together…

Ann

 

Last Friday...

As it was the end of the month it heralded our usual social meeting, and after a few brief announcements the Zoom attendees signed off and the Wanderers lot enjoyed the pizza and the fellowship that goes with it.

However, Fellowship continued that evening when our Queen of Fundraising Sonja Hood organized a festive skittles evening where we managed to raise a healthy R6 900, which will go towards funding our projects.

The theme was decidedly festive as we were told to wear our best Christmas headgear.

 There were once again wonderful raffle prizes to be won and ticket sales exceeded all our expectations.

The competition was fierce between the green and the red team and judging by the noise levels and the laughter everyone had a marvelous time.

Generosity abounds at the second Food Drive at Norwood Spar...

On Saturday and Sunday the the Rosebank Rotary volunteers were once again astounded by the generosity awarded us by the Norwood Spar patrons when asked to add a non-perishable food item to their trolley which will go towards giving some much needed Christmas cheer to persons less fortunate than us.

Lyn Collocott reports: "The two people who made the most impression on me at Norwood yesterday: The worker who bought a drink and gave me his R4.70 change on the way out.

And the man who had no cash on him, disliked shopping and said to me: 'Grab a trolley, come into the shop, buy R300 worth of groceries and meet me at the entrance to the check-out tills and I'll pay with my card."

This Friday....

Will be the pen-ultimate meeting for 2022 and we will be inducting our 6th new member for the year, Brigid Booth. She has attended numerous meetings and is very excited to be officially welcomed into the Rosebank Rotary family. Her father was a Rotarian in Durban and her mother was a Rotary Ann, so Brigid is very familiar with what Rotary stands for.

Michelle von Benecke will also be given the opportunity of sharing her story with us. Looking forward to seeing you either in person or online. 

Our fifth induction for the year, a brief business meeting, Emma, our Rotary student pays us a visit and see who the Rotary Anns Club 100 winners are....

From the Pen of the President....

Dear Rotarians and friends,

 

Rotary’s online Learning Center launched in 2012. It started with a few interactive courses about a new grant model and has grown to hold almost a thousand courses in 23 languages. Its e-learning modules offer a convenient way to take courses when you want to and where you want to. Here are five reasons to encourage club members to visit the Learning Center:

1. To continue developing their professional skills. Members can create an individualized program of courses so they can practice their skills together and offer each other feedback. Create a list of favorite courses for your club for quick reference.
2. To learn about Rotary programs and policies. Members can build on what they already know and deepen their understanding.
3. To easily track their progress. Members can review all the courses they’ve taken by date. Check which courses they’ve completed and easily continue where they stopped in others.
4. To earn certificates and badges. Members earn a certificate of completion for every course they finish. Points and badges earned are posted on a leader board where they can compare progress with that of others in their district, zone, and around the world.
5. To upload materials for others. Learning topics allow you to share resources. Members participate in discussions and ask questions of others as they learn together.

To begin, go to rotary.org/learn and sign in to your My Rotary account.

 

Try it, if you have not done it before – you may just get hooked!!

Enjoy!!

 

Ann

 

 

Last Friday...

.... we kicked off the monthly business meeting with our 5th induction for the year.

Achillefs Chiotis has been attending meetings regularly as a visitor for quite some time and although he had not yet become a member he had nonetheless graciously volunteered his time at our Norwood Spar "Festive Cheer"  food collection last month.

Achillefs was born and raised in Stylida, Greece.

Achillefs is a teacher by profession, and has 36 years of teaching experience in his homeland as well as the Middle East and Africa. He became a permanent resident in South Africa in 2016 and  now owns “Easy Greek”, a company that provides online Greek language lessons, facilitates Foreign Investment in Greece, Translation services, Greek Dancing, Greek Cuisine, and Document Sourcing in Greece and Cyprus.

He is married to Dimitra Kriara and lives in Boksburg.

He is particularly interested in the environment and community service.

We wish Achillefs many happy years of Service and Fellowship with his new found Rotary family.

We were also delighted by the visit of our Exchange Student Emma Jordaan, member Michelle von Benecke's daughter, who arrived proudly dressed in her Rotary blazer.

Despite being in the midst of school exams she still managed to find the time to bake the most delectable biscuits which a number of our members had ordered from her.

Emma is an entrepreneur in the making.

The proceeds from her cookie sales are going towards her imminent trip to Germany and if anyone would like to support her endevours, please contact Michelle on 084 624 634 to place your orders.

This Friday....

Join us for our monthly Social Meeting at Wanderers or on Zoom.

The last one was great fun, because the Zoom attendees had a chance to socialize online, and hopefully did not feel too deprived at having missed out on the pizza.

Then....

Even if you are not attending in person, you are still able to contribute to this fundraising initiative by purchasing raffle tickets before the event or bringing a packet of marshmallows to Friday's meeting and Sybille will ensure that our fundraising Chair will receive them, who will pass them on to Stephan Ferreira who is planning the Mother of all Christmas parties for the 1200 odd children from Durban Deep, who he feeds tirelessly every Saturday come rain or shine.

Poet Ellen Tsidi Lugube - Maponga introduces her books and an Outreach to KZN giving the gift of Mobility....

From the Pen of the President....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

As RI President Jennifer Jones leads Rotary's official delegation to COP27 in Egypt, Rotarians are expanding their work and leading their communities in responsible stewardship of our planet, on which we all depend. There are so many resources available through Rotary, joining the ESRAG action group for example is a great start. I get the feeling that if we do nothing else, we should concentrate on the environment – there are lists of 100’s of ways each person can make a small difference in their own homes.

 

We have had so much beautiful rain – I hesitate to say ‘enough for now”. Take a walk in a green park, get stuck into your garden or pot plants and ENJOY the green, the sun and our lovely fresh air!!

Till next week.

 

 Ann Hope-Bailie

Last Friday...

...our Club was privileged to welcome self published poet and author Ellen Tsitsi Lugube-Maponga to the meeting, where she had the opportunity to introduce her two books Dear Self  - Feelings and Faith as well as Generations  -  For the Young, by the Old.

Ellen is originally from Zimbabwe and is married with two children. 

The subject matter of her talk dealt with regret. However, her take on regret is that it is not necessarily negative as it can be viewed as good mistakes that teach us lessons; they allow us to make better decisions based on our reflections. Looking back allows us to see what we value.

A few people can say they have no regrets. This does not mean they have none, at times it is because they are at peace with the decisions. Let us embrace the things we regret because they make us progress.

Life really is worth living amid all the good and not so good. When we establish the things we value we must now spend more time with intention to cherish them. Ellen understands the beauty and importance of living having experienced terrible abuse that led her to attempt to end her life. 

It is the little things around us prove to us that there is so much to be grateful for outside of ourselves. 

And further afield last weekend....

....Team Rotary, consisting of Costa Qually, Jean Bernardo, Sybille Essmann and Shirley Eustace accompanied Marilyn Bassin of Boikanyo and Vocational Services Awardee Ruth Stubbs of the Paige Foundation into rural Kwa Zulu Natal to fit 28 severely handicapped cerebral palsy children with much needed specialized wheel chairs. Two dedicated young comm serv Occupational Therapists from the Eshowe District Hospital and Nkandla Hospital, Savannah and Daniella, who singlehandedly run the OT departments, had hand-picked the children who they thought would benefit the most from this gift of mobility. Not only would it change the lives of these children, but also that of their mothers or "gogos" who care for them with great love and patience. Most children arrived on their mom's backs or in their arms, but left with huge smiles and a custom fitted set of wheels.

Every mother was also issued with 20kg of e-pap and a blanket. Shirley Eustace gave them instructions about the nutritional value of this wonder foodstuff and how to prepare it.

This Friday....

....Please join us either in person or via Zoom for the last Business meeting of the year.

 

Guest Speaker and Author Chriss Zas, the Cookie Challenge and Save the Date to Jingle and Mingle...

From the Pen of the President... 

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

Two points – the first one:

Jennifer Jones’ message in the most recent Rotary Africa was something I would like to reiterate.

“Not too long ago, Rotary members were expected to perform our acts of service quietly. I understood and appreciated the thought behind that - humility is a wonderful trait and we should continue to nurture it in other ways. But keeping Rotary to ourselves has a cost. And by sharing our Rotary moments, we are being generous with others and giving them an opportunity to understand the impact of Rotary. It brings to mind that wonderful aphorism: “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” So how do we make people feel Rotary? The best way is to share our Rotary moments. We have all had them - when the ordinary collides with the intention to create something extraordinary.”

Share your Rotary moments! At meetings, on the WhatsApp, on Facebook, with your families and friends.

 

The second one: You wanted a member directory – I still only have half of the information!! Only 56% of members have an email address on My Rotary – which means that those who have not updated their data on My Rotary do not get any correspondence from Rotary. Are we all serious??

 

‘Rainy days and Mondays’… they do tend to get one down, especially when they come on the same day!!

Hope you are having a good day.

Ann

Last Friday...

...We had a record number of Zoom attendees who wished to listen to our guest speaker and author Christian Zasalua, who goes by the pen name Chriss Zas. He  wished to introduce and tell us a little bit more about a book he wrote and published in 2019 - Labyrinth.

Chris was born and educated in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and he came to South Africa 10 years ago to study electrical engineering, but writing has always been is primary passion.

His book deals with leadership, confidence and unity (or lack thereof) on the African continent and hence the title of the book Labyrinth meaning  "an intricate combination of paths and passages in which it is difficult to find one's way or to reach the exit"

Chriss wanted to share the message of his book with us as he feels that Rotary's values are the embodiment of leadership, confidence and unity.

The Biscuit Challenge....

Also, last Friday member Michelle von Benecke brought bags of delectable cookies for us to sample, which her daughter Emma had baked, to the meeting at Wanderers,.

Emma has been chosen as a Rotary Exchange student and she will be heading off to the little-known town of Weisswasser, situated in the Eastern part of Germany, close to the Polish border and about 2 hours away from Berlin in the first week of January next year. 

 Emma has been baking up a storm and she has been selling her biscuits in order to assist with her Exchange next year. Sales have been brisk, and with great generosity she has donated R2 400 to the Club which will be added to our RI Polio contribution.

One must bear in mind that she has done this while preparing for her Matric exams.

Good luck Emma, you will make your mom and your Rotary family very proud.

Emma is taking orders at  R40 a bag for:

Oats Crunchies

Melting Moments

Shortbread

Chocolate Brownies

Iced Sugar Cookies

Jolly Jammers

and last but not least

Peanut Butter Cookies.

You are welcome to  place your orders with Michelle on 084 624 1634.

This Friday...

...we welcome another exciting guest speaker - Ellen Tsitsi Lugube-Maponga.

Save the Date....