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Care Outreach Christmas donation - well done everyone

The club welcomed old friends Bill and Melissa at our last meeting and it was great to see them arrive in the "old" donated 4WD and receive a great bunch of Christmas gift donations.

We received an update from Bill, and it's always great to hear of the work that Care outreach volunteers do in the community, even if some of the stories are very sad. As Bill said, the main thing is to show that someone cares and that you are there to listen.

Bill related a story before Care Outreach was started where he visited a cattle property 200Km off the main road, and the folks on the property had seen no-one for 2 YEARS....and thats a small snapshot of what Care Outreach means to folks outback.

Unfortunately the mental health problems are still there and we heard of 3 recent suicides.

So well done Care Outreach and the club is honoured and humble to maintain our friendship with such a great organisation.

Treasurer Wendy donated $600 on behalf of the club and a further $450 was donated directly from the very generous members at the meeting. That will all go to a great cause, and of course you can make direct donations on the Care Outreach Website. https://careoutreach.com.au/

and here's some words from President Tony from Melissa....any additional gifts can be taken to the Care Outreach office, Opp Shop and warehouse at 35 Dacmar Rd, Coolum (in the industrial area off the Coolum Yandina Rd).

At the moment they are concentrating on their Christmas in the Bush programme and will accept Christmas gifts; just remember to identify anything as being from Alex Rotary. (They are not accepting gifts of general merchandise and clothing at the moment.) If anything extra is brought to Rotary next week, I will take it to Care Outreach.

If you’re visiting them, spare a few minutes to check out their Opp Shop! You would be surprised at some of the household and technology items as well as some furniture and garden tools that they have for sale at very reasonable prices.

Brightwater - Graeme goes for a jaunt

Graeme did us all proud last week when he went to the recycle centre (aka "The dump") and spied a whole bunch of bikes that he thought would be ideal for the Bikie Brightwater Project as it will be now known as.

No sooner had Graeme mentioned this to Steve at Brightwater and he was there at the centre to receive them and drive off in the van to Brightwater School. Perfect timing all round as the school was looking for 6 bikes to open the project and now has enough to get the project off the ground.

It's early days, and we're not sure how the project will go, the club has done well with donations, stands, tools etc., and stands ready to help keep it going. A special mention to our mate Les Walsh, from our old satellite club who also offered to help out. Thanks Les, we'll be in touch if / when we have the next call out.

Steve with the bikes. If you look really really closely, I think that is media tart President Elect Geoff in the front seat.

Skye's visitors

Here's Norbert and Sigrid, with their exchange student, Past President Skye.

Skye's "host" parents arrived from Germany last Friday for a visit. They will be doing lots of exploring whilst on the Sunshine Coast before they head over to NZ to see one of their other past exchange students. Skye had an "Open Haus" for everyone to come on meet Norbert and Sigrid Reichhold.

Bunnings BBQ..another invite to BBQ and raise community fund...but guess when?

A BIG thanks to Maroochydore Bunnings for putting Alex Rotary back on the BBQ volunteers pool, so soon after our efforts last month. And wouldn't you know it, our number came up again...and in a bit of a shock..it's on Christmas Eve.

So not sure how we'll go for volunteers, but I'm sure everyone who can will help and will put their shoulder to the wheel. President Tony has offered to make up some mulled wine, (not sure Bunnings is licensed?) and maybe a Santa.

I'm sure the club will come up with a good cause for the BBQ proceeds ....but whatever community cause it's for.... It will be very welcome at this time of year.

Open Day at Young Parents Centre - Dateclaimer for you

To celebrate the recent renovations at the Young Parents centre an Open Day is being held on Monday 20th November.

The club will be running a BBQ for the guests between 11.30 and 1pm, and you're all invited!

Message from Tanya..

"We are excited to invite you to the Young Parents Support Program OPEN DAY.

This event will be a fantastic opportunity to learn more about our program, connect with other workers in our sector and appreciate the hard work that has recently gone into refreshing our space.
You will have an opportunity to meet our team of dedicated and caring professionals who run the program, and enjoy a sausage sizzle run by the local Alexandra Headlands Rotary Club.

We look forward to seeing you there."

Club Summer Project - thoughts?

A couple of weeks ago a call went out to members for ideas on a Summer Project for your club. It could be a community event, or a makeover for a local community, a fundraiser for a Sunny Coast group who do not receive external funding or whatever your passion is to help with. So keep those thinking caps on and let folks know what you think would be a good thing for your club to do. One member has replied thus far. Thank you DW.

Meanwhile President Tony has written to the Mooloolaba State School to enquire if there's any possibility we could hold "The Surf Show and Shine" event in their oval again (with restrictions).

Unfortunately our use of the school oval turned out to be impossible, as has our reach out to the Alex Community Centre..so keep thinking..

Why Your weekly fine matters

This article shows why your weekly fines matters, and those coins (or better still, small notes) all combine to make a difference.

Our erstwhile treasurer Wendy, collects those couple of dollars from members and the club (thats you) donates them to the Rotary Foundation. They all add up.

For the 15th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating – four stars – from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.

The Foundation earned the recognition for adhering to sector best practices and executing its mission in a financially efficient way, demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.

“We are delighted to provide the Rotary Foundation with third-party accreditation that validates their operational excellence,” said Michael Thatcher, President and CEO of Charity Navigator. “The Four-Star Rating is the highest possible rating an organization can achieve. We are eager to see the good work that Rotary is able to accomplish in the years ahead.”

Charity Navigator assesses nonprofit performance based on four key indicators, including the impact of the charity’s program relative to cost; the organization’s governance and financial health including its transparency, efficiency, and sustainability; a charity’s leadership capacity, strategic development, and ability to adapt to internal and external changes; and its overall culture and connectedness to its constituents and the communities they serve.

Vocational Education Regional Group

BIG shout out to everyone who volunteered to help out with the Maroochydore High School request for folks to come in and talk to the non-academic class who finish up on the 17th Nov. The school has decided to start of small so there will only be one session, and out Honorary member Ashley was first to respond and will talk to the school on Friday.

Ashley is a great community supporter of all kinds of groups, but having heard him talk a few times about kids development, I know that this is something that Ashley is very passionate about.

Rotary District News

CLICK on the image to get your of Rotary news around the district..

Want to help future STEM leaders in the community?

Rotary are putting a call out for volunteers to help with the amazing National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) which your club has sent Sunny Coast kids to for ages. Here's some of the correspondence. If you are interested, contact the secretary RCAHsecretary@gmail.com

Rotary is a Founding Partner of the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF), and every year Rotarians join our program as volunteers to support the program.

We are really excited to be able to move back to our residential NYSF Year 12 Program in January 2024, and we need your help to ensure that our students have the most amazing time!

The NYSF is seeking interest from volunteers who would like to share their time with the staff and students during the NYSF Year 12 Program in January 2024.

Volunteers with the NYSF derive a great sense of fulfilment and satisfaction from their work and NYSF is certainly very much enhanced by their generous efforts. You will get to meet and spend time with the next generation of STEM experts, while visiting some of Australia's most cutting edge STEM facilities.

Every January six to eight Rotary volunteers spend their time with us committing to:

Supporting the NYSF Staff and our Student Staff by being the part of the supervisory team, and
Providing pastoral care and first aid to the students.

You can read a position description for this volunteer role by clicking on this link.

If you would like to discuss this opportunity, here is the list of Rotary NYSF District Chairs who work closely with NYSF.

To find out more about the NYSF and what we do for our STEM students, please visit our website.

To Express your Interest to volunteer with us at the NYSF January Year 12 program and to let us know what dates you are available, please click on this button. Applications close on 15 November.

Can you support a student in need?

January's NYSF participants may still approach your Rotary Club with requests for funding. Students have until 1 November 2023 to pay their program invoice. Thank you to all Clubs who are supporting students!