Special evening meeting with guests from Team Sports for All
Tim Moran was our chairperson for this evening’s club meeting at Cilantro. Glenda and Neville joined the meeting via Zoom. Leonie Ryan, Gary Ramage and Sarah Bennett also joined in.
PRESIDENT MARGARET REPORT
Pres Margaret outlined some important date changes for advertised club meetings with the following updates:
Wed 7/9 – Club Forum
Wed 14/9 – DG visit from Ken Miller
Sat 10/12 – Club end of year event in Packer Park, Carnegie – further details will be provided as they come to hand
Wed 14/9 – DG visit from Ken Miller
Sat 10/12 – Club end of year event in Packer Park, Carnegie – further details will be provided as they come to hand
Rotary Club of Monash – is raising funds to purchase a wheel chair with accessible van to assist a young 5 year old suffering a rare and debilitating disease. President Margaret is collecting donations for anyone wishing to contribute, large or small, and will pass them onto R.C. Monash.
PHF PRESENTATION
Linda performed a thoughtful PHF presentation to Chris Dobbs, our club’s financial auditor and a former member of the R.C. of Moorleigh Moorabbin. Club members may recall Chris’s contribution at the Bentleigh Market when rostered, however his largest contribution to our club has been the annual audit of the club financial accounts performed with care and diligence since 2010, and free of charge to the club. The PHF was presented in recognition of his long association with the club, providing sage advice offered with kindness, which has been much appreciated by the board and club treasurers.
GUEST SPEAKERS – Cameron and Fiona from Team Sports for All
Tim introduced our guest speakers Cameron and Fiona from Team Sports for All that has been operating since 2011 and which recently obtained a government grant for $350,000 to promote their programs and encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in team sports. Their focus is to support and improve the lives of young people who would normally be denied the advantage of playing sport – particularly team sports outside school curriculums. It is shown participation in team sports improves physical and mental health, social connection and community engagement and self-esteem, and helps reduce the sense of social isolation, poorer health and education outcomes for young people coming from disadvantaged and lower socio-economic backgrounds. It also reduces the rates of juvenile delinquency, drug use and involvement in criminal activity – sporting clubs provide marginalized youths a chance to be part of a good gang – not a bad gang. Team Sports For All work with local councils, sporting clubs, schools and community service organisations within the Bayside, Kingston and Peninsula area. They assist families experiencing financial hardship; due to their situation they cannot afford to pay for the costs involved in community team sport. Many families are found to be welfare dependent, on one income with low job security, live in government housing, some with drug and alcohol dependency issues or escaping family violence and struggling financially where having additional funds to participate in club sports is not financially feasible. Through referrals, Team Sport 4 All meet the families, connect them with a club and team, pay for the fees and provide ongoing support to encourage long term participation. Team Sports 4 All currently has 260 youths in their program supported by 45 – 50 volunteers who are assigned to a youth (or youths) and make regular contact to keep them engaged and encourage ongoing participation. A wholistic approach is used to think of the family as a whole unit with the added benefits of social inclusion and community engagement. The average annual cost for each youth is $500. A short video was shown where participants in the program provided an insight to the benefits provided and the difference the program has made in their lives – all were glowing and very appreciative of the opportunities provided by Team Sports 4 All. Team Sports 4 All was initially a program of the Rotary Club of Brighton in 2011 with a grant for working with young people, and it maintains a strong connection with Rotary. Tim is very passionate in promoting Team Sports 4 All which is seeking more volunteers whose role is to meet the family and be the connection between the family and the program. Time commitment averages 4-5 hours per month but does not involve transportation – this is arranged within the sporting club to encourage inclusion and community engagement. The demographic for volunteers ranges from a 21 year old being the youngest through to people in retirement. Sports range from individual sports to team sports with an emphasis team sports provides the most social benefits, however, the sport selected relies on the personal preference of the participant. Some participants stay on to become part of the program as volunteers to enable others to participate in team sports what would ordinarily through poor financial circumstances be denied the opportunity. Tim is promoting a Mental Health Expo in the City of Kingston on 28 September 10am-2pm, and plans to include Team Sports for All. He encourages club members to attend the Expo and also encourages club members to be volunteers of the program.
INTERACT CLUB – Samantha
Samantha reminded everyone of the Interact Club at McKinnon Secondary College which our club was instrumental in chartering a few short years ago. The Interact Club has 100 members currently, and meets fortnightly with approximately 40 attending each time. Sam and Tim M plan to attend their next meeting to check on their current activities – they have 2 or 3 activities per team ranging across members from Year 7 to Year 12.
The Interact Club is running a sausage sizzle fund raiser on Friday 9/9 at the school, and seeking a few volunteers to attend from 10:30am – 1:30pm. They are also seeking a donation of $250 to cover the expense of the sausages.
The Interact Club is running a sausage sizzle fund raiser on Friday 9/9 at the school, and seeking a few volunteers to attend from 10:30am – 1:30pm. They are also seeking a donation of $250 to cover the expense of the sausages.
VALE – Dr Richard Reynolds – former member of R.C. Moorabbin Central
Tony R advised members of the sad passing of Dr Richard Reynolds (91), a former member of R.C. Moorabbin Central – that dates to prior to the merge of clubs Moorabbin Central and Bentleigh. Older members may recall Dr Reynolds shared a medical practice with Dr Jeffrey Shapiro – another former member of R.C. Moorabbin Central. Vale Dr Richard Reynolds.
MELBOURNE BUSINESS AWARDS – Larry
Larry plans to attend the Melbourne Business Awards meeting on Thursday 1/9 - it will be their last dinner. Larry will provide an update on their activities at next week’s club meeting.
ROSTERS – the upcoming market roster was announced.
MEETING CLOSE - President Margaret thanked Fiona and Cameron, our guest speakers, congratulated Chris Dobbs for his PHF and thanked all the guests who attended - a wonderful evening at Cilantro with excellent food and presentation. The meeting was closed with the current Rotary theme - Imagine Rotary.
