Greetings fellow Rotarians and Friends of Mornington Rotary Club. Hopefully all members have been enjoying the beautiful autumn days and perhaps even the spectacular night skies.
This image was taken by a friend in Somers.
President's Report
One of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of my role as president is to attend community functions. Last Friday, The Bays Hospital launched its Nurse & Midwifery Education fund to its nursing staff. This fund was set up almost a year ago with Mornington Rotary being the founding donor. Hospitals and nurses don’t have the resources to pay for additional training for staff and this was a key impetus in Mornington Rotary helping to establish the fund. Its first recipient was Justine Killen who completed a stoma therapy course. Currently, there are very few stoma therapists on the Mornington Peninsula and many patients have to rely on therapists from further afield – if they can get them.
Pam announced additional funding to the delight of The Bays Nurse Education administration team and nurses and doctors present.
Our club was well represented.
Pam Hall
Sponsors' Night
This immensely enjoyable evening was held in the upstairs room at the Mornington Hotel in order to accommodate over 40 members and visitors. Mornington Rotary Club is extremely grateful to all sponsors of the Art Show and other club events.
Ross Kilborn gave a truly outstanding presentation about the work done by Mornington Rotary Club since its inception in 1947, and we all felt so proud of those accomplishments. The ongoing work in the community to support schools and families, construction of community gardens and structures, working with the Community Support Centre, The Peninsula Trail and numerous other projects were highlighted. Ross's talk inspired many of our wonderful sponsors to talk briefly about their businesses and their appreciation of the work done by Rotary.
41 years later, it's time to give the sign at The Briars some TLC.
Peninsula Trail
A number of club members attended a meeting in the Shire Offices in Mornington on May 2 to hear about possible locations for the 'missing links' to this shared trail.
Council staff shared information and requested feedback from representatives of environmental groups, the Railway Society and other interested parties, and hopefully they will have time to give due consideration to this and consider alternatives presented. The location of bike and walking paths is of extreme importance to the safety of all and to the enjoyment of those using them.
Paul Wheelton, Bali Children Foundation
Paul and his wife Angela came to our meeting last Wednesday to tell us about their work in philanthropy over many years.
Education and health are the twin priorities for Wheelton Philanthropy which targets its support towards women and girls in those areas. Recognising the outsized impact of supporting women and girls was something Wheelton experienced firsthand through his longstanding charitable work in Bali.
“We could see that it was always the boys who were given the advantage of education—the girls were generally kept at home to do domestic labour. We’ve put a lot of work into the Bali Children Foundation over the years, and introduced an English program and computer skills and now we have 28 young girls who are attending university."
Follow the link below to see the list of amazing achievements of his working and philanthropic life and the awards received in recognition of this.
Unfortunately some technical issues with the sound system meant that the quietly-spoken Paul could not be heard easily so we relied heavily on the visual presentation and did not really do justice to Paul's efforts.
Something to ponder ???
Money is not the only commodity that is fun to give. We can give time, we can give our expertise, we can give our love, or simply give a smile. What does that cost? The point is, none of us can ever run out of something worthwhile to give.
