Dannevirke Rotary - connecting their community

Dannevirke Rotary was well-advanced in organising their Spring Festival when I visited last night.  They are coordinating a range of weekly events and attractions during October.  There are a diverse range of events and attractions, from exotic sheep shearing to a parade and arts and crafts exhibitions.

It is great to see such a diverse range of community groups being coordinated under the Rotary banner with sponsorships from local businesses, including the local New World supermarket which is owned and operated by Rotary President Garry Hasler and Bridget.

DG Martin and President Garry

They are listening to the needs of their community and are planning to provide two bus shelters for inter-city and school travellers. There are many other projects they are working on or planning, including the next stage of a walkway.

Dannevirke Rotarians have also adapted their Club meetings to suit members' needs and provide diversity.  Each month they have one evening business meeting, one breakfast meeting, two evening meetings with speakers and if there is a fifth Tuesday in the month they will have a social event.

Upper Hutt Rotary - vibrant as a result of changing to meet the needs of their members and community

President Rob Rangi inducts Angela

For several years Upper Hutt Rotary's membership stayed about the same, then in the past few months it has increased by more than a quarter.  Another new member was inducted this evening when I visited and two potential members were visiting.  What is driving this extraordinary success?

Upper Hutt Rotarians are inviting potential members along and attracting new members because they know they have an attractive product.  They are changing to meet the needs of their community. One part of renewing the Club was ensuring that everything they do is fun and enjoyable. Another part is a modern, flexible venue - I had a choice of three healthy meal options.

They have some great projects that have been going many years and which the community looks forward to, such as the trolley derby and the annual fireworks display - which has been going for 47 years - and they are very strong supporters of youth.  They have also supported wells in India and a hospital in Bolivia - to name just a few projects.

What captured my interest are the exciting ideas that Upper Hutt Rotary has for its community and for fundraising.  They are identifying needs in their community and working to address them.  I will leave it up to them to announce these.  The MenzShed has huge potential with members already having met several community needs.

Upper Hutt Rotary is one to watch as a Club that has turned itself around and has a strong impetus to achieve even more.

Kaukau Rotary - creating a new Club that meets the needs of members and their community

This week in Khandallah I visited our newest Rotary Club of Kaukau, which was chartered in June.  Most members are new Rotarians and in these early formative months they are creating a Club that meets the needs of their members and their community.

With a diverse and younger demographic than many Clubs in our District, they have developed meeting times and a format that suit their members.  They have one formal meeting and one social meeting a month at 7 pm on a Wednesday evening, which provides for time after work to attend to children and other activities before the meeting.  The absence of a meal lowers the cost for members in terms of time and money, putting a real focus on bringing members together to discuss community and social activities.

President Russell Law leads the business session.

They are flexible and adaptable, so ad hoc meetings will occur around particular projects.  The evening I visited, a meeting had been held of the projects committee and ideas were shared and welcomed at the subsequent formal meeting.  After the formal meeting, several members went to the very nice community restaurant/bar around the corner.  So a few members really attended three different meetings in one evening.    Later that evening ideas were being shared on their Facebook page and suggestions being sought through comments or private messaging.

Already Kaukau Rotarians are putting the fun into both fundraising and community service.

Waikanae Rotary - 50 years of helping their community but remaining modern with an attractive website and a new, inviting venue

President Gary McElhinney receives Rotary International's
Certificate recognising 50 years of Waikanae Rotary
serving its communities

It was my great pleasure to hand to the Rotary Club of Waikanae a certificate from Rotary International recognising their 50 years of service.

Waikanae Rotary are are particularly strong supporters of youth programmes - RYLA, RYPEN, Australia New Zealand Matched Twin Exchange, the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum, New Zealand Business Week and reading in schools.

They access the J R McKenzie Trust to help young people and they also provide tertiary scholarships to help students in their first year at a tertiary institution.

AG Chris Garrett, Rotarians and guests enjoy the evening

Waikanae Rotary have been successful in sponsoring a young doctor for a global grant scholarship to the prestigious London School of Tropical Medicine and we will hear more from her over the next couple of years as she takes up and completes her study.  We are sure many people in developing countries will benefit from this use of The Rotary Foundation's funds to improve the lives of others.  

Waikanae Rotary has moved in to a modern, new venue and have a great website, which they are revamping after a few years of operation, and have a great relationship with local media that helps build their public image.  This is a Club that recognises that technology changes and that we need to be constantly changing.  These are just some of the elements that are helping the Club attract new members.

Congratulations Waikanae Rotarians on half a century of service to your communities.

Hutt City Rotary - their communities' "besties" both locally and overseas

President Sue Avison and DG Martin

Earlier this year Denise and I went to the 2016 Shapeshifter biennial sculpture exhibition which Hutt City Rotary puts a huge amount of work into.  In the DomPost Dowse Art Museum Director Courtney Johnston described Hutt City Rotarians as "my besties.  The work you do in the community just blows me away".  We have to agree.

When we visited Hutt City Rotary we heard about so many activities.  Local projects have included the fire sculptures, work on the Hutt River Trail, water fountains for the Great Harbour Way, and literacy in prisons.

Hutt City is a strong supporter of youth and have great relationships with two local primary schools and Hutt Valley High School.  They have just received a Rotary Foundation District Grant to support a technology forum to expand potential educational and employment opportunities for young people.  They have also just taken on running of the RYLA programme for the next three years.  They also support RYPEN, Science in Schools, dictionaries in schools and many other youth programmes.  

DG Martin, with Hutt City Rotarians - District Treasurer
Linton Adams & District Youth Protection Liaison Officer John Grigg

They have experimented with their lunchtime offerings, moving to a lighter lunch during the daylight saving period.  Relevant activities and meetings that meet members' needs have helped Hutt City Rotary attract and induct several new members recently.

Hutt City's international projects are diverse, including funding a coconut oil press in the Solomon Islands, life jackets for Africa, medical and educational support in Ethiopia and Debbie Mair's most recent work with orphaned elephants in Borneo with the Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species - these are just a few and they are developing more.