On Monday evening (28th) about half of the club joined in for a zoom meeting. I understand there may have been a few others who had trouble connecting and we will need in future to ensure we overcome any technical issues. Our guest speaker was Margaret Fitzgerald who is the General Manager of the “Gut Foundation” and she gave us an interesting and sometimes confronting update on gut health and challenges in this part of the world. The key takeaway for me was to know your own normal.
I updated those on the call about recent director decisions. These include that we are not meeting face to face in March (not indoors anyway) and presently our next planned gathering is another zoom meeting on March 28. We may get an outdoors gathering organized before then but this is still work in progress and any decision will be advised by email to everyone.
The directors are watching what other clubs are doing and of course watching how Omicron moves through our community before making any decision about reconnecting in our normal meeting structure. Our main focus is to keep everyone safe!!!
Fin and Alan updated us on good progress with clearing and preparing Rotary Point for planting more native trees. Originally this was to have been a project that would have been run alongside the District Conference but with that event being cancelled the Club has decided to keep going. Funding is organized and with one more session the site will be ready for our planned April planting. This is an important project for our club and it meets our environmental goals and will help create a special place in our community for generations to come.
The board also agreed to fund a second Emergency Response Kit (ERK) which means we have two of these already released in Tonga. The community supported our collection outside New World with enough funds for one ERK, and a small start on a second, so the directors agreed to top that up and release the two.
As agreed earlier President Elect Bernie and President Nominee Richard have joined me along with three from the Lions Club to form a committee to assess community projects and their suitability for funding from the surplus raised from Lot 47. This subcommittee is charged with seeking and sorting applications and then they will pass their recommendations onto their respective clubs for sign off. If any of you are approached by any interested party please contact Bernie, Richard or myself to help with the application process.
These are challenging days and the new normal seems to be uncertainty around most things as rules seem to be changing at a speed which, I suspect, only some can keep up with. It is important we use our network to look out for each other but also our community and neighbours.
Great progress is being made at Rotary Point, in preparation for the tree planting day on the 23rd of April. Several working bees, as this photo depicts are making a huge difference to clearing the site.
Cromwell Rotary and Cromwell Lions are looking at a joint effort to help with the Tonga aid appeal.
Please watch for more details along the lines of what the Lions have already suggested, that is:
Put appropriate pantry items aside for collection - we will advise when the container is in town and a drop off point
Provide some funding to help fill the container, we have approached our suppliers (Trents, Bidfood, Kaans etc.) for the Caravans and they are willing to provide food etc. at cost and delivered free to Cromwell. Lions haven't agreed on a figure yet but I will be proposing at least $2,000. Does sort of depend on how much we get from the community.
Any assistance with crates i.e., similar to the ones used in wineries and orchards for the items i.e., we will fill the crate and then use a forklift to put in the container. Hoping there are some damaged ones out there we can use.
The team at NRG In Invercargill are proposing a novel fundraiser and say, "we often see Rotary Wine fundraisers, then we came up with the idea💡! Why not have a beer fundraiser!!
We have approached a brewery in Dunedin who has been hit hard by Covid-19 and we would like to introduce craft beers to many of our district’s members.
We are currently expecting a slab (12 x 440ml cans) to cost $100 with the profits going towards Give Every Child a Future. A worthwhile charity giving children in developing nations across the pacific vaccinations to preventable disease".
Please get in touch with them at nrginvercargill@gmail.com if you are interested in taking this further.
In response to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, The Rotary Foundation has created a channel for members to contribute funds to support relief efforts.