Thank you everyone for your time and effort that we have put into the last few weeks in planning what the club will be doing and involved with in the next 12 months. I hope to have a Strategic Plan completed soon and after discussion with the Board distribute the plan to our members.
We currently have a couple of projects, initiated by Bob Selinger OAM, nearing completion. The first is the installation of a Buddy Bench at North Ryde Public School. The planned installation of the bench is for Thursday 25 July 2024. We are still waiting to hear from the school about a suitable time. The second project that Bob has been working on is the installation of a DVSafePhone collection box at Cox’s Road Mall. This program is for the collection of old working mobile phones that can be repurposed and given free as an essential lifeline to domestic violence sufferers.
Since Bob started looking into this our club member, Rob Wilkinson, who is a Director of the North Ryde RSL Club, has spoken to the club about having the RSL club involved with programs supporting victims of domestic violence. Last Friday, 12 July, the RSL club had a speaker from Leora, Esha Oberoi, a victim of domestic violence herself, speak about an app that they have developed to assist victims of domestic violence. The RSL club will also be a safe place for people to go to.
Another project that Bob was also involved with recently was the ‘Teen Trade for Kids’ program run by Bunnings to involve high school students with some skills training. Bob had heard about this happening through the Rotary Club of Nowra and their local Bunnings store. Bob contacted Desi Mulder, the Activities Organiser at Bunnings Gladesville, to ask if we could be involved in the same program. Desi was just about to contact us as she had just received information from Bunnings Head Office about having local schools involved. Bob was able to arrange with Ryde Secondary College, who we have a strong relationship with, for 5 of their students to take part in the 4 weeks training course. Over the 4 weeks the students made a cutting board out of wood and graduated on Thursday 4 July. They were given a certificate by Bunnings for the completion of their course and took the cutting board and the tools that they had used in its construction, donated by Bunnings, with them.
Also, on Thursday 4 July we had the first planning meeting for the 2024 Carols on the Common with the Rotary Club of Macquarie Park. The Carols this year will be on Sunday 15 December. Please look out for information regarding the Carols and requests for help on the day. From the setup in the morning, during the event and the pull down at the end of the day. Please keep Sunday 15 December free, we will need your help.