Trivia night numbers are growing and so is the sense of anticipation. The fundraising team has organised some really nice prizes and silent raffle items for your consideration on the night, thanks to some generous donors. The tables are filling up but it's not too late to snag an empty seat, however. The link is here.
Last week we heard from Shane Jay, founder of Safe Roads for Us, a road safety education program which aims to stop accidents before they happen. He turned a bad decision and outcome into a choice to help stop others from making similar mistakes, which is incredibly inspiring.
This Wednesday we'll all hear from our next President, Shia Smart, about her vision for the 2026-27 Rotary year for Nunawading.
If you have a memory of Bob Allardice you'd like to share with me, please do. We'll be taking some time at Changeover to remember Bob, one year on, and the profound effect he had on the Club, its members and the project that was so important to him.
As always, we have our regular Blackburn Lake Sanctuary working bees, Bunnings sausage sizzles and the Whitehorse Farmers Market. And of course there's the Umbrella Dementia Cafe catering provision. I found out only recently that my neighbour just down the street is a volunteer there. He started attending as a carer, so he knows just how much it means for both the people with dementia and their loved ones. That he saw the value and made that decision is an indication of just how valuable and meaningful the project is to the people who attend.
I'll see you on Wednesday. If you're not coming PLEASE send through your proxy vote on the club rules and by-laws.
Shane Jay addressed the Club about his organisation that he founded, Safe Roads For Us.
Shane was in the prime of his youth when, on a fateful day he was involved in a car crash. Though he escaped with minor injuries, another human being lost his life.
He could not ever imagine the pain caused to that family. This event changed everything for him, his family and loved ones. Since the incident, he have been passionate about making a difference by speaking and sharing his story to help others make better choices for over a decade.
Shane has participated often in the Rydasegment “Crash Investigators” telling secondary school students about the trauma.
The playgroup pictured above was “harvested” in Eltham North by our Rotary Overseas Recycled Playgrounds (RORP) team in March 2025. It was dismantled carefully and every single part was labelled and colour-coded. It was stored at Arena Gardens in Kilsyth and, along with 12 other playgrounds was loaded into a 40-foot container, shipped to Sri Lanka in December 2025.
On 15th May this year, this playground was re-installed by Rotary Clubs in Colombo, Sri Lanka. You will see in the photos below that it has a new lease of life, bringing pleasure to hundreds more school children.
Ethan Newnham is a worthy recipient of a Rotary Global Grant Scholarshipfunded by the Rotary Foundation. He has completed his Masters degree at Oxford and is now working towards his PhD. PDG Bob Laslett arranged the funding and hosting by local Rotarians. As his mentor, Bob has kept in constant touch with Ethann during his time overseas. Here is his latest message:
That's fantastic news that the final report for the Global Grant has been submitted.
It's been brilliant over here at Oxford. I had my first big result a few weeks ago, so now I'm hunkering down doing all of my controls to convince even the most sceptical reviewer! I've been off crutches for a while now, thank goodness, although not quite well enough to go to trampolining. The summer is indeed on its way and I'll be heading out with some friends for our first river swim of the season later this week :)
Please pass on my thanks to everyone at the Rotary Club. There's never a day I don't feel grateful for the support of Rotary. I went to see some of this years' scholars speak a few weeks ago which was lots of fun. Rotarians Richard, Julian and his wife Sue continue to be beautiful people looking after me, even though they are officially off the hook!
There is more information about Ethan's work at Oxford here.
I noticed that there were quite a few Rotarians on screen who were there to round out their Rotary knowledge. From my own experience, it took me four years to get the Rotary "picture" and District Assembly played a big part in that. So on that note, I thought it was a good opportunity to create some guides that will make your roles easier to understand and perform. There is also a calendar guide for each one. They could also be used to show perspective leaders what is involved in each role so they won't be too worried if they take it on. Anyone can see them.
Here are the guide links. (I only made them yesterday, so if you find a broken link, please let me know)
96 Holland Road
