In Gear. Next Meetings. Presidents Report. Serving the Community since 1985

Transcription

1 Serving the Community since 1985 In Gear R O T A R Y C L U B O F B E A U M A R I S W E E K L Y B U L L E T I N Number March 2018 Presidents Report We were back at Victoria Golf Club on Thursday evening, I hope everybody was satisfied with the room lay out and the quality of the meal. Mine was certainly very good. Our speaker was David Spitteler assisted by his wife Yvonne from The Asylum Seekers Centre in Dandenong. David gave us a very real insight into some of the issues facing asylum seekers and refugees and how his wholly volunteer organisation is able provide practical help. Thank you and well done to PE Heather for taking the President's reins for the meeting on International Women s Day. We were also joined by an international visitor, Liz Millman from the Rotary Club of Bangor, North Wales. Liz is planning to spend some time here in Victoria visiting family and friends and will be joining us at meeting whenever she can. Please say hello and make her welcome. She is also keen to foster links between organisations in our area and Beaumaris on Anglesey, North Wales (See separate article later in In Gear). We had some good news in the week; we were successful in obtaining a District Grant of $1,200 to go towards the purchase of clothing for the Nippers at Beaumaris Life Saving Club. This matches the amount that we have committed and will cover the purchase of 100 Rip Curl Rashies and subsequent printing with includes the Beaumaris Rotary logo on the back. I don t yet have anything new about the Multi District Conference scheduled for 15 th to 17 th February It will be at the Melbourne Convention Centre. The main conference program is on Saturday 16 th and the morning of 17 th February. The provisional cost is $225 with a discounted rate of $175 if you pay before the end of November. First time attendees will get a special rate of $125. There will be a gala dinner on the evening of 16 th February at the Convention Centre which will be a separate ticketed event. Prices are not yet available. Once I have more information I will ask for expressions of interest so we can get an idea of the numbers likely to attend and think about our logistics. The Farmers Market went well on Saturday despite the heat and a reduced number of vendors showing up. The gate receipts and BBQ income were both good and the raffle of the two cycle helmets painted by Amunda Gorey raised $465 which will go to the End Trachoma 2020 project (picture Page Next Meetings THURSDAY 15 MARCH SPEAKER: MARY/LEW RIMINGTON TOPIC: MORDIALLOC BEAUMARIS CONSERVATION LEAGUE CHAIR: CHRIS WERNER AV: BRIDGET HAGE CASH DESK: TBA & MARTIN FOTHERGILL THURSDAY 22 MARCH SPEAKER: JAN SIGLEY TOPIC: RECYCLED SOUND CHAIR: ANTONY NIXON AV: DAVID HONE CASH DESK: KERRIE GEARD & FRED HOFMANN THURSDAY 29 MARCH FELLOWSHIP TBA THURSDAY 5 APRIL SPEAKER: MELISSA KING TOPIC: PARKINSONS VICTORIA CHAIR: MALCOLM SAWLE AV: DAVID LEA CASH DESK: CHARMAINE JANSZ & BOB MCARTHUR Unless stated otherwise venue is Victoria Golf Club 6.30 for 7.00 Contents 1 Presidents Report 2/3 Notices / Photos 4 This Week s Speaker 5 Club Structure / Photo of Week

2 3). Thanks to everybody who helped out on Saturday especially given the heat. It was hard work. Martin, Peter, Jim and the BRSA team are continuing to work on the organisation of the Bayside Charity Golf Day to be held at Royal Melbourne in October. They have done a great job in finding sponsors and we have on board, Bayside Council, Jaguar/Landover, PKF and Brian Lowe. As the day is now double the size it used to be, we need to get more sponsorship. So if you know someone or an organisation that could be interested please let Martin know so the team can follow up. We will be helping out at the Beaumaris North Primary School s fete on 24 th March. This is the school where we hold our farmers market so it is important that that we support them. So far the offers of support have been short of what is needed. So please come along and give your support. Our speaker this week is Mary Rimington from the Mordialloc and Beaumaris Conservation League. The league is very focused on the health of our creeks, wetlands and coast. Mary will be assisted by her son Lew (Bendigo Bank). If you want a flavour of what they are about you can download a PDF of their latest excellent Coast & Creek booklet at: The booklet goes into the history, and the fauna and flora of our area, has suggested wetland and foreshore walks and a particularly interesting section on the Beaumaris Cliffs. I thoroughly recommend it. Enjoy your week. Yours in Rotary Chris The Beaumaris Connection At the last meeting, members of Beaumaris Rotary Club welcomed Rotarian Mrs Liz Millman (above) who is working with Beaumaris Town Council in Anglesey, North Wales, to revive links between Beaumaris and Beaumaris. Liz brought a Rotary Banner and good wishes from President Syd and the Rotarians from her Rotary Club of Bangor Gwynedd which covers the Beaumaris area. During the past few months Liz and colleagues from Learning Links International celebrated Australia Day with a Coffee Morning held at Beaumaris Town Hall, serving Australians treats: home made Lamingtons, ANZAC biscuits and Fairy Bread! The response was good and another event was held in February to set up Australia Links, see Liz had spent the afternoon with a contact in Beaumaris and started to explore and visited different organisations who may be interested to be involved with reviving the link. She is especially keen to meet anyone who was involved in the original link set up with Bayside City Council. The Sandringham and District Historical Society are interested and Liz will be at their Centre by Sandringham Library from 2-3pm on Thursday 15th March if anyone would like to call in and find out more. Liz hopes to be able to attend Beaumaris Rotary Club meetings over the next few months while she is staying with her daughter in Victoria and she can be contacted on or lizmillman@yahoo.co.uk. 237 Bay Road, Cheltenham VIC Page 2

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4 Speaker: David Spitteler Topic: Asylum Seekers Centre, Dandenong David Spitteler is the facilitator of the Asylum Centre and a Lay Pastoral Minister, he has Diplomas in Theology and Ministry. David immigrated from India in 1947 and spent 30 years working with Telstra before finding his retirement vocation. The Asylum Seekers Centre is a wholly voluntary (no paid staff) interdenominational Christian response to the needs of asylum seekers and refugees. It is currently staffed by 201volunteers consisting of 172from church groups and the community, 6 asylum seekers, and 3 students. The Centre is located at Jesus House Level 1 Hub Arcade, Dandenong 3175 The centre assists asylum seekers (On-shore applicants for refugee status) with food packs & Christmas/Easter gift vouchers. They also run a Free Op Shop to assist asylum seekers & refugees with items such as blankets, clothing, computers, crockery, cutlery, donnas, furniture, linen, sheets and towels. The Centre also refer clients to other agencies such as the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, Foundation for Survivors of Torture & Trauma, Lentarra Uniting Care, Legal Aid, Migrant & Refugee Centres, The Red Cross, Refugee & Immigration Legal Centre and Urban Neighbours of Hope. The Centre limits its scope to aiding asylum seekers in the Dandenong and Casey area due to resource limits. Since February 6th, 1997, the Centre has applied donations of about $720K to assist 4281 Asylum Seekers ((2,819 Male & 1,462 Female) from 69 countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Currently the Centre has 437 registered participants of whom 185 are children. 139 are Rohingyan Muslims. Most of the people they assist are fleeing persecution from their home country. Some of the people they have assisted now work in the centre supporting while others have created their own small-scale businesses. Some are highly qualified. Single asylum seekers receive $ per fortnight from Centrelink compared to a single Age Pensioner who receives $ The people attending the Centre are on a Temporary protection Visa What is a Temporary Protection Visas (TPV)? A Temporary Protection Visa (TPV) is one of two types of temporary protection visas available to those claiming asylum who come by boat. This is part of the Australian Government s current policy that people who come by boat and claim asylum should not be given permanent protection. The visa provides protection for three years (compared to the five years available under the Safe Haven Enterprise Visa). What is a Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV)? A Safe Haven Enterprise Visa (SHEV) is one of two types of temporary protection visas available to those claiming asylum who come by boat. This is part of the Australian Government s current policy that people who come by boat and claim asylum should not be given permanent protection. The visa provides protection for five years (compared to the three available under the TPV). Its main feature is that people who hold it must intend to work or study in a part of regional Australia. The SHEV does provide pathways to other types of visas but you needed a PhD in Bureaucracy to understand them let alone summarize them. To read more about Asylum Seeker issues from one side see: To see the other side see: David, wife Yvonne and John Manks; drawing the raffle. Page 4

5 RCOB Club Structure RCOB Board. President. President Elect. Hon Secretary. Hon Treasurer. Projects Director. Immediate PP. Independent Director. International. John Sime (Chair) Fred Hofmann Ken Mirams Robert McArthur Youth. Chris Martin (Chair) Jan Cooper Tony McKenna Vivienne Zoppolato Event Management. Jim O Brien Robert McArthur Antony Nixon District Service. Youth Services. Membership. Assistant Governor. New Beaumaris Gaol Chris D Arcy Heather Chisholm James Glenwright Richard Jones Roy Seager Malcolm Sawle Vivienne Zoppolato John Manks Ross Philips Clem Quick Lois Lindsay David Rushworth Bridget Hage Martin Fothergill Geoff Stringer Tony McKenna Trish Smyth Ken Mirams Club Service & Administration. Attendance & Dining. Heather Chisholm Foundation. John Manks Program. Lynda Doutch Membership. Adrian Culshaw Fellowship. Megan Glenwright Auditor. Tony Phillips Club Protection Officer. Ken Mirams Communications. David Lea Social Media. Kerry, Lynda & Trish Archivist. John Beaty Almoners. Lois Lindsay, Charmaine Jansz Marketing & PR Peter Flude Club Photographer. Max Darby Community. Chris Werner (Chair) Mary Cunnington Max Darby Martin Fothergill Kerry Geard Tony Phillips Roy Downes Mary Sealey John Beaty Richard Shermon Chris Mara Market Management. Vivienne Zoppolato (co-ordinator) Heather Chisolm Ken Mirams Greg Every Peter Flude Indigenous. David Hone (Chair) Heather D Arcy (Trachoma) The foreboding frontage of the new Beaumaris Gaol where Welsh convicts committed of petty crimes were held for transportation to Australia. Photo by Rotarian Liz Millman Page 5