Community Service Activities 2002-2003

The Community Service Committee has the great satisfaction of assisting the local community in many ways. From the many expressions of gratitude the Club has received as a result, show that this Committee and the Club has a high profile within the local community.

Christmas Carols at the Rotunda
The main project for the Community Services Committee was, with the assistance of the Unley Council, to organise and fund ($1600) Christmas Carols at the Rotunda. A great job was done - Matt Abraham was compere, the Goodwood Primary School provided the choir and the Perth Eastern Hills Concert Band provided the music. The Club will again take the lead role in the organizing of this event next year.

Paint Your Heart Out
The Committee organized the painting of the RSL Hall and the Rotary Rotunda (the cost of paint was around $300). Assistance was also given to a fellow Rotarian with yard maintenance while he was ill.

Senior Citizens Support
Drivers and helpers were organized to deliver senior citizens to the annual Sunday Concert. The Club also funded afternoon tea for this event. Club Members again assisted the Unley Council at the Australia Day Citizenship Ceremony by running a BBQ together with the Mitcham Club.

Local Government Connections
Relations with the Unley Council continue to be very positive and mutually beneficial. Our Honorary Member, Mayor Michael Keenan hosted a cocktail party to thank the Club for our support for the local community. Deputy Mayor, Rotarian Robert Birnie and newly elected Rotarian Joan Reed, will continue to assist the linkages to grow and prosper.

Donations to local charities included:

• Teen Challenge ($1000 plus weekend breakfast volunteer kitchen staff)
• Guide Dogs for the Blind ($1500)
• Australian Rotary Health Research Fund ($2000)
• Salvation Army Christmas Hampers ($1000)
• Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal ($700 as a $1 for $1 top up to Unley Rotarians' contribution). Members also assisted with door knocking around the suburbs.
• 150 Christmas Cakes for Meals on Wheels ($500).
• Orana, Australian Cranio-Facial Foundation, Flinders Medical Centre, Helping Hand, Aged Care (each $250)
• The Mary Potter Foundation, Burnleigh Nursing Home and Childhood Diabetes were also supported.

Entertainment Books
Committee Chairman Gary also convinced many in the Club to buy Entertainment Books which are not only excellent value at $55, but also provide $11 each to the Club for every one sold.

Bali Memorial Peace Garden
The Club contributed $5500 to a major project initiated by the Unley Council (who also provided excellent organizational and design skills) to construct a Peace Garden at the corner of Trimmer Terrace and Frederick Street in memory of those who lost their lives or were severely affected by the Bali bombing outrage. Club members were particularly saddened by the event, particularly due to its impact on the local Unley community. The Club is proud to be associated with the Council, the local Balinese community and the Sturt Football Club in the construction and dedication of this memorial.

Trees for Life
Unley Rotarians grew a variety of trees to revegetate degraded land along the Murray River near Wellington. An extraordinarily enjoyable weekend was spent by our Rotarians in tree planting, wining and dining. This is planned as a long term project for Unley Rotary and we look forward to future years as we develop greener fingers, grow more, plant more and have more and more trees survive as we learn from experience.

Indigenous Health Scholarship Program
Last, but certainly not least, the Committee provided $2500 to the Indigenous Health Scholarship Program which is helping support an indigenous student through medical school - a project which has much enthusiastic Club support.

Vocational & Youth Service Activities 2002-2003

Police Officer of the Year Award
A highlight of this Rotary year was the 25th year of the South Australia Police Officer of the Year Award (awarded to Senior Constable Michael Thunig from Lucindale). An exhibit was organized and a stand occupied at the Police Expo to promote our Club and the Police Officer of the Year. This went very well and will probably be repeated next year.

Vocational Visits
Club members and their guests went on two very enjoyable and informative vocational visits, accompanied by meals, to a Hindu Temple and the Bureau of Meteorology.

Employment and the Internet
A project "Employment and the Internet", initiated by the Unley Library Service was supported at a cost of $1000. The Unley Library did a sound job of management and produced a comprehensive report on the project's implementation. This project was a contender for the District 9520 New Vocational Project Award.

Shell Livewire Project
Following a presentation to a Club meeting on the Shell Livewire Project, three Rotarians agreed to act as mentors to young entrepreneurs to help them develop business plans for their proposals.

Many youth support projects were assisted. These included:

• Two students to RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award), at a cost of $600, who gave great feedback to our Club on their experience.
• Three disadvantaged students were supported ($360) to attend RYWELL (Rotary Youth Wellbeing).
• Two Urrbrae High School Students attended the Bookmark Biosphere Reserve workshop on Calperum Station near Renmark ($480).
• Three students were sponsored to the Siemens Science Experience ($720).
• A donation was given to the Service to Youth Council ($100).
• Five students and two leaders were funded for the TocH Easter Camp at Victor Harbor ($420).
• Two Port Adelaide Primary School children were sponsored to the YMCA Kangaroo Island Summer Camp ($80).
• Two students were funded to attend the Redcliff Youth Forum on the "Health of the River System" ($150).
• Five students applied to attend the National Youth Science Forums in Canberra. Two were recommended to District (at a total cost of $1570 if both are accepted).
• One young person is scheduled to attend the EDS IT Careers Forum in July.
  

International Service 2002-2003

Rotary Exchange Students
Long term youth exchange students are supported via this Committee. Our very popular South African student returned home during the year and the Club now looks forward to a new exchange student's arrival from Finland. Our previous outgoing exchange student returned home from Belgium and the Club looks forward to her relating her experiences next year. Our current outgoing exchange student is now in France and reports to be enjoying the experience immensely.

One of the highlights of our South African student's stay with us in Adelaide was her organization of Club Members to cook a huge variety of food for a special South African night. The menu included Bobotie, Frikkadels, Umngqusho, Boerewors and Gestoofde Soetpatats. The evening went very successfully apart from the miserable attempt by Rotarians to sing the South African National Anthem, partly due to Members' lack of fluency in Swahili, Afrikaans and several other African languages.

Rescuing Children from Slavery
The Unley and Norwich St. Edmunds (UK) Clubs joined together again to support an overseas charity. This time it was via a $2000 contribution to help educate and rehabilitate young people rescued from child servitude in India.

Support for Bali Bombing Victims
$2000 was provided via the Red Cross for Balinese people affected by the bombing outrage.

Polio Plus
$2000 to Rotary International for the very successful Polio Plus campaign which aims to complete the eradication of polio from the world by 2005.

Overseas Specialist Surgical Association of Australia
The Club has provided enthusiastic management and financial support for the Overseas Specialist Surgical Association of Australia (OSSAA) during the year. This has comprised assistance with incorporation of the Association, two Unley Rotarians as Committee Members and donations totaling $4000.

The Association undertakes reconstructive surgery and associated training to people in East Timor and eastern Indonesia. A number of South Australian and interstate surgeons, nurses and anesthetists freely volunteer their time and undertake regular visits a number of times each year. They have operated on many hundreds of patients with disabilities and deformities such as cleft pallets, burns, contractures, trauma, leprosy and congenital affects. In previous years, Tom Tirrell and Geoff Howland have also volunteered their time and expertise to travel overseas and assist ASEA-Rehab (the forerunner of OSSAA).

Other support included:

• Two portable desalinators for the Solomons ($600)
• Insecticide-treated anti malarial nets ($500)
• Support for children from Mauritius needing surgery in Australia ($500)
• Purchase of school desks in PNG ($500)
• Wheelchairs for PNG Paraplegics ($500)
• The Fred Hollows Foundation ($500)
• Tibetan Delek Hospice
• Ethiopian Fistula Hospital for women ($500)
• Funding via Blind Mission International for 120 cataract operations ($1140)
• Support was also provided by collecting books from Concordia College for Rotary's 'Donation in Kind' for Pacific Island Schools.
  

Club Service Activities 2002-2003

Fellowship Activities:

• Visits together with partners to restaurants;
• Trees for Life planting weekend at Wellington;
• Painting of the Unley RSL Hall and Unley Memorial Gardens Rotunda;
• Breakfast Christmas meeting with the Mitcham and Hyde Park Clubs;
• Annual bowls evening against Mitcham Club (which we unaccountably lost, again);
• Christmas dinner at the Colonial;
• A joint meeting with our "daughter" the Murray Bridge Club at the German Arms in Hahndorf;
• A visit to our Club by members of our "Mother", The Rotary Club of Adelaide; and
• A number of Rotarians attended the District 9520 Conference in the Barossa Valley and the Rotary International Conference in Brisbane.

Program - Members enjoyed a well balanced array of guest speakers at dinner meetings encompassing a wide variety of interesting topics.

Fundraising - The Thrift Shop again proved to be a viable fund raiser with nett takings of over $41,000 for the year. Minor fund raising came in from the weekly wine raffle, lucky squares raffle and the sale of Entertainment Books and Rotary Christmas cakes and puddings.