Page 1 - Rotary Matters - September 2021

September 2021 DG Newsletter
Dear fellow Rotarians, partners and friends of Rotary,

Well, time has gone by very quickly and we are already 2 months into the new Rotary
year. With restrictions easing, clubs have been able to return to most of their regular
meetings and projects, although gatherings are still limited and we still have a few
functions being cancelled. We are also conscious of the clubs in our District that are in other states that
are still facing varied levels of lock-down. We think of those clubs in Alice Springs but more particularly the
clubs that are being severely impacted in New South Wales and Victoria. I would encourage clubs in these
regions to maintain contact with their members and utilize the technologies that have become available
over the last 18 months to continue meeting where possible. I am sure that we are all looking forward to
a time when restrictions are over and we can safely return to normal activities across the whole district.

Jenny and I have just attended the last of the Changeovers
that were moved because of restrictions. As mentioned in
last month’s edition, Jenny and I started our official visits
on the 2nd August and so far we have completed 15 club
visits. We have 69 Rotary clubs and 5 Rotaract clubs still to
go, but who’s counting.

We have enjoyed the visits we have made so far and it has
been a great experience. We have visited clubs near and
far and there has been a common thread throughout all the visits and that is Rotary fellowship and
commitment to serving the community. Although membership continues to be an issue for Rotary, it has
been encouraging to note that regardless of size, clubs are still making an impact on their communities.

September is Basic Education and Literacy month. There are many opportunities to support this initiative in
the community and overseas. One example of this is Jenny’s partner project which is to support AllKids.

The purpose of AllKids is to ensure that all children in the Ream Commune
Cambodia have access to Education by eliminating the barriers that prevent
children from attending school. They also offer Early years education and
school-based Education from year 1 to International Standard year 12. Jenny will be presenting information
about this project as we visit clubs. AllKids is a RAWCS project and information is available online.

Although the Rotary calendar has a different focus each month, membership must still remain an
important focus for us moving forward. Last month I shared some of RI President Shekhar’s goals,
many of which focused around increasing our membership and strengthening the
impact Rotary has on the community. It has been encouraging to see the clubs have
been engaging with these goals and ideas and incorporating them into their clubs
strategic plans.

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