Greetings to Rotarians and Friends of the Mornington Rotary Club. This is a big issue of our Bulletin, as there's so much good news to share. Enjoy! ANZAC Day Ken, Ted, Yvonne and Julia On April 24, Mornington Secondary College provided an excellent Anzac commemoration to acknowledge those who have served our nation in war, conflict, and peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. The Police Pipe Band, the School Drum and Flag Corps, and the presence of so many local politicians, councillors and leaders in the community added to the sense of the importance of this occasion. School captains, Bridie and Molly, spoke about the history of the Anzac tradition, and Principal Linda Stanton particularly highlighted the stories of Jim Martin, the youngest Anzac who enlisted in the AIF at the age of 14, and John Simpson Kirkpatrick, known as "the man with the donkey". Simpson helped rescue injured soldiers for 4 weeks at ANZAC Cove before he was killed. Lest We Forget Guest Speaker April 24th Our guest speaker, Ally Bruce, gave an enthusiastic and inspiring look at BAM Arts Inc, a provider of creative and performing arts for disabled people of all ages. Ally, the Creative and Artistic Director, outlined the development of the organisation after the need for a program tailored to the needs of people with special needs was identified. Founder, Lisa Murphy, set up a dance class for her son Buster, who was born with Down syndrome. Lisa had found it very difficult to find a class that catered for him and his friends, so she took it upon herself to start something just for them. There are now over 80 students with a range of disabilities participating. Take a minute or two to look at this truly inspirational video made after Delta Goodrem requested that BAM make a video of students performing to a song that was yet to be released. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsddOyo2AaI BAM Arts classes are funded through the NDIS program but they need to cover other costs. Fundraising for stage lighting for their many performances and student training programs is underway now. Peninsula Trail - news from Ross Kilborn Our Council has now started public consultation about the Peninsula Trail. There is an online session on the entire trail Monday 29 at 10am. The session that is likely to interest you most about Moorooduc to Mornington and Mt.Martha is at 5pm this Thurs, May 2 ,at the Council Mornington offices. We encourage you to attend. We fully support the development of the Peninsula Trail, but not just as a path. We would like to see and be involved in the planting of indigenous vegetation right along it. We are currently finalising a project with Council to start this by planting trees along the section of the old railway easement, near the Bays Hospital. We also want to be involved with the beautification of, and provision of facilities at the Mornington Station area. Already 15,000 people a year come here on the train and there is very little to encourage them to stay or connect to Mornington. More details - talk to Ross on 0412171666 An invitation from District - Lunch with RI President Gordon McInally and/or breakfast with Prof. Patrick McGorry. Rotary International President R. Gordon R. McInally encourages Rotary members to make mental health a priority. Rotary has a unique ability to connect people and cultures, giving hope and receiving it through acts of kindness. Now is the time to expand this culture of care — both within Rotary and in the world at large. Providing care in such a way benefits not only the communities we live in and work with, but also our members as they take part in addressing mental health. Research shows that performing acts of kindness is the most effective way to protect our own sense of well-being Professor Patrick McGorry is a leading international researcher, clinician and advocate for the youth mental health reform agenda. He was Australian of the Year in 2010. Professor McGorry is also a founding board member of headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation. He believes that early intervention offers the greatest hope for recovery and therefore takes every opportunity to educate the community to recognise the early signs of mental illness, without stigmatising or discriminating. At this week's meeting we have many of our club sponsors attending, so please try to come along but notify Julia if you will not be present as we have a limit on our space in the Stratton Room. |