The Rotary Club of Keilor AGM last Tuesday was opened at 6.50pm and immediately adjourned to 7.20pm to allow additional members to attend.

Unfortunately at our meeting last week we were unable to have a guest speaker. which allowed time for reports before the AGM.

 

Norm Draper & John Dean reported on the progress of the Christmas bags appeal. The Aberfeldie Bowls Club has been booked for 6.30 pm on 15^th December to pack the bags, unfortunately we are 8 Rotary bags short for this year. If you have a spare Rotary bag please advise Norm Draper.

 

Glenda Bryson gave a brief report on the District 9800 AGM and discussions she has had with Bunnings in preparation for our return to the Sausage Sizzle on the 12^th December.

 

David Whiting produced 200 leaflets advertising our club for distribution in the Keilor area.

 

President David Whiting resumed the  AGM at 7.20 pm .

We had  17 members present on Zoom. The meeting went quickly and concluded at 7.27 pm.

Significant outcomes of the meeting were, the financial report, and President’s report for the 2019-20 year were accepted and PP Harold Simpson was elected unopposed as President-Elect and will be President the 2021-2022 Rotary Year. Dr Leon Lewi nominated for a board position, possibly the Membership Chair to assist Harold in his year.

D.I.K. now have 8,000 pairs of new footwear in their Store, that we know will make many people happy, but it’s up to our Clubs to find the people who need each particular pair of shoes.

Over the years we have developed an excellent relationship with Global Hand, an organization that encourages recycling reusable goods and links potential donations, with people who need them.  The organizations who want the goods, state their case, how the goods will be distributed and why they should be chosen.  Our track record in the goods we have pitched for is excellent.

Our bid was selected by Croc’s and after five van loads, we now have 8,000 pairs of new shoes, in around 500 cartons in a range of colours and sizes – Male, Female and Children.   The goods have to be given to people in need in Australia for free.

We need to compliment good corporate citizens like Croc’s, who make the effort to recycle surplus material and make it available for people in need.

After a considerable effort by the DIK Volunteers the rough sort, is complete.  The result is around 40 pallets containing an average of 200 pairs of shoes. We think there is around 50 different styles in different colours and sizes.  We have a full list of what we have received, but no way of identifying in detail what is in each carton.

 

 

Very few shoes are in individual cartons.  Some are in the original bulk cartons; at a glance you can see that all of the shoes are the same type, but not the number or the size.  Many are the same type, but not in the original carton, so the label on the carton may not match the contents.  Some are mixed cartons.  Even trying to establish if some styles are male or female is a guess

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The Store is not designed for the feet coming to the shoes and the distribution needs to take place off site.  The volunteers in the Store will do what they can to indicate what is in a pallet, but the individual cartons won’t be opened for people to inspect when being collected.  The shoes only available in pallet loads.

Rotarians are creative and we are confident that you will find a way to get the shoes to their new owners.  We know that Clubs will only give them to deserving people.  DIK does not need the full recipient details, but we are obliged to give the donors an indication of where the shoes have gone. 

DIK does not wish to interfere with how each Club handles the distribution, but we would like to know you have thought it through. 

One idea is for Clubs to combine their efforts and share a display and distribution outlet.   The greater the range available, the easier distribution will be.

This is a great opportunity to help some of the people who are struggling at the moment.  It will be a great boost for the people who receive them and for the people handing them out.

How Clubs want to handle this is up to them.  Our focus is on “Doing good in the world” and some Clubs may see this as a Comminity, DIK or Recycling Project. The recipients wont know the difference.

 

If our Club is interested please contact David Dippie marketing@rotarydik.org

 

 

It's now official! Rtn. Jennifer Jones, member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada will become RI President for 2022-23. She will become the first woman to hold that office in Rotary's 115 years of History. Jennifer Jones says she sees Rotary’s Action Plan as a catalyst for increasing Rotary’s impact.

 

The collar that Jennifer will wear is significant as it represents Jennifer's tribute to a woman who enabled Jennifer to break through the glass ceiling that is Rotary.      Jennifer was selected on merit and her work as a Rotarian and deserves our congratulations.  It is also fitting that our 9800 District Governor in 2022-2023 will be another woman  DGN Amanda Wendt from Rotary Club Melbourne