Mia - someone you'll be hearing more about !

Sometimes you meet people who just blow you away with their enthusiasm for life and their optimism, achievements and motivation to give everything they've got to the community. And so it was on Friday morning when we heard from Mia Seefeld - Gorman. Mia spok eto the club about her achievements at Chancellor, her remedial reading leadership, her musical and debating achievements, and how her Dad's recent diagnosis had impacted on her outlook on life. It was clear to those who me Mia that her drive to give more through education would stand her in good stead as she progressed through her life.
 
This is one young lady we'll be hearing a lot more about in years to come. The future is in good hands with people like Mia about. 
 

Next Weeks speaker - Sam Parker - Mens Mental Health 

 
Your club has always been a great suportter of Mental Healh, combining with Mooloolaba Rotary on the "Walk for Mental Health" and other Rotary initiatives. So next Friday we're going to hear from Sam Parker n the "Grrab Life by the Balls" project. This initiative complements the RUOK? and Black Dog and other programs out there to address mental health issues.
 
If you read Honorary member Ashley Robinson's weekend article the Sunshine Coast Daily the weekend, you'll know that Ashley has been talking about how suicide is a bigger killer than road accidents and its about time there was a big effort to bring that statistic, with all the back stories and grief that it contains. 
 
So we welcome Sam and his group and look forward to an interesting discussion on this blight on the community. 
 
 
 
 
 
Sam and his group have done a great job in getting their message out. Check out their website. https://www.grablifebytheballs.com.au 
 

Date Claimer - Working Bee at Rotary Care Garden 

Friday / Saturday

 
In Ashley's article he mentioned that he not a big fan of sitting down and discussing his feelings with other mates in a group setting, and that what works for him is to exercise. Another way I've found helps to lift my mood is to reach out and help others.
 
If either of these approaches appeals to you, we have got just the activity for YOU?
 
On Friday after the breakfast meeting we're heading down to Landsborough for a working bee at our Rotary Crisis Care Home Garden for a few hours to finish off the project with some garden beds and general landscaping. It's also likely to require a few hours on Saturady. So if you can give a few hours to help those who need a helping hand you'll be more than welcome. 
 
 
 
 
A few people have asked "What are we going to do after the garden is officially opened on the 12th July?"...we'll the plan is to try another Cluster Project, but this time one a bit closer to the main participating clubs (Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast Central, Buderim, Maroochydore and Alex.) so if you have any ideas on what LARGE projects Rotary could assist the community with, then let Mike know. (By large we mean $100,000 type projects in terms of resources needed to "make a difference".
 

Date Claimer - Solstice Swim for White Ribbon Sunday 7th July  

 
Our 3rd annual Solstice Swim is on Sunday 7th July, and if you saw the Sunshine Coast Daily front page you'd know that our celebrity swimmer (Sam Penny) is taking part with his son. Sam is aiming to cross the English Channel - twice) and has been busy promoting the swim on Facebook. So we're looking for volunteers on The Saturday 6th July afternoon, to prepare registrations, tents, Arch and swim bags for an early start on Sunday 7th July with 4 swim legs. The 500m kids, the 1km, 3km, and 5km swim. 
 
 
We've had great support from teh Alex SLSC is making this swim happen every year, and Rebecca Grisman from the Campaign Group, and our very own Tanya have been busy promoting the event on social media. So even if you are not swimming, and are unable to volunteer, please come along and show your support for the fantastic White Ribbon organisation on the Sunshine Coast.
 

Date Claimer - Change over Dinner

 
Our change over dinner is on Wednesday 3rd July at Alex SLSC. The new President will be Tony Freeman. As well as having an extensive history in Rotary, helping out all sorts of causes, Tony is also a keen photographer. Here is a latest shot from Friday..
 
 

Rotary - Who knew?

 
Wendy reminded us on Friday that there are some surprising aspects to Rotary. Who knoew for example that there is a Rotary group for House swapping ?...at least I think its only the house, although some other suggestions come to mind (Ed.) ...and it was a surprise to some (but not all) that theer is a Rotary Wine Appreciation society? Find them at www.Rotary.Org.
 

Did you know Rotary Volunteers were worth $800M?

 

That Rotary members log a lot of volunteer hours should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the organization. But a new report just released by Johns Hopkins University provides a powerful look at the impact of all those volunteer hours.

The special report prepared for Rotary International by the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies found that Rotary members had volunteered a total of 5.8 million hours within a four-week survey period. Extrapolating those results over an entire year, the report gave a conservative estimate of nearly 47 million hours of volunteer effort generated by Rotary members in a typical year.

The report then analyzed the economic impact of all those hours and estimated the value conservatively at $850 million a year, if communities had to pay for the services that Rotary volunteers provide.

Rotary, with the help of Johns Hopkins University, is the first global service organization to conduct an empirical analysis of its volunteer’s impact using an internationally sanctioned definition of volunteer work. The authors of the report noted in their conclusion that at each stop, the analysis had chosen the most conservative estimates.

“This makes the results reported here all the more remarkable,” the authors noted. “Translated into economic terms, Rotary is annually generating a scale of social and economic problem-solving effort that is worth nearly nine times more than it costs the organization to produce.”

Rotary General Secretary John Hewko said the figure doesn't even include the in-kind contributions and the money that Rotary clubs and the Rotary Foundation raise every year. In addition, the figure doesn’t include the volunteer work of the many relatives and friends of Rotary that members often involve in a project, or that of members of Rotaract, Interact, or the Community Corps, that would easily double the estimate of Rotary’s economic impact.

 

Date Claimer - Surf Show and Shine  22- 24th November

 
It's on again at the Mooloolaba school oval!. Last year we had over 5,000 visitors, > 100 Kombi's and raised $20,000 for the community through our fantastic Kombi and Surf Board show. This year, we're holding the event later in the year to spread the load on the club volunteers.
 
Also at theSunshine Coast Council have been encouraging us to extend the event to Saturday and Sunday and we'll be investigating that possibility later. 
 
Meanwhile we're already receiving enquiries, so keep this weekend free in your calendar.