Rotary Matters

What does it take to be President of a Rotary Club? We meet Tim Shea, retiring as President of Turramurra Rotary Club and learn why he joined, his challenges on assuming office, lessons learned and thoughts on the ongoing reason why the World Needs Rotary.

Rotarian James Cunningham from Melbourne provides remote communities with pop up cinema systems bringing isolated communities together to share a meal and experience a movie. Does wonders for the morale of those in regional areas afflicted by the hardships of drought, bush fire, floods and the pressure of surviving difficult times. A generous example of service above self.

Rotary in Australia began 100 years ago. To commemorate the occasion and to encourage greater public awareness of the wide range of causes and achievements by Rotarians, Peter Brown from Caboolture in Queensland is driving all over Australia in a 1991 Holden Commodore Station Wagon. The car is painted a bright canary yellow and is adorned with Rotary branding, raising eyebrows wherever it goes and...

One in a hundred people have an autism spectrum disorder. It occurs in all racial, ethnic and social groups and is four times more likely to affect boys than girls. Many people with ASD may be over or under sensitive to sight, touch, smell, sound, temperature and pain.  Because of these sensory imbalances they often experience overwhelming anxiety, frustration and confusion when faced with th...

Despite the surge in electronic book publishing there remains an ongoing thirst for the printed page, the tactile and tangible experience you can only get from paper and board. Lifeline hosts a massive annual Book Fair 1-4 July at Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga, in Sydney with over 110,000 titles. We meet Michael Cleary who tells us all about it and how the books are culled, collected, cleaned, pr...

https://soundcloud.com/.../rotary-recognises... Chances are you'll know a woman who is doing something remarkable and inspirational...but probably shuns the limelight. The Rotary Inspirational Womens' Awards are designed to identify and salute  women who are going over and above the call putting service above self. We meet Rae-Anne Medforth, Chair of RIWA and Sue Hayward, a Past District Gove...

What is the biggest mental health concern facing young people today? It used to be drugs and alcohol but is now stress and anxiety followed by body image. Tackling this with great effect is KYDS, the Kuring gai Youth Development Service, now collaborating with other agencies across Sydney's upper north shore, offering face to face and tele health options. We meet Helen Jarvis, Chair of KYDS who te...

Do we ever stop to think what it must be like to be the police officer, the ambulance officer or the firey confronting a life threatening situation, often with fatal consequences? Well RESCA does. The Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards salutes emergency service personnel across seven agencies who have gone over and beyond the call displaying courage and leadership in and out of the work en...

H Y William Chan is a remarkable young Australian architect, an urbanist and design strategist with a passion to create resilient and inclusive places. A Global Grant from Rotary enabled him to study in Milan and fine tune his ideas about the social outcomes of architecture and the need for community challenges and perspectives to be considered from the outset. Keep an eye on him!

Belrose Rotary Club recently announced winners of their Pride of Workmanship Awards. We meet Rhonda Hayes who manages the philanthropy program for her employer, and Francisco Cafferena whose company Sprout Stack pioneers indoor agriculture growing delicious salads and vegetables in a climate controlled facility in Brookvale. Could this be the way of agriculture in the future? www.sproutstack.co

From the 1820s for 120 years more than 500 large wooden ships were constructed on Brisbane Water, just an hour north of Sydney. This maritime history is commemorated on 2 May with the Shipbuilders Heritage Walk, an initiative of Kincumber Rotary Club. We meet Peter Rea who expands on the history and some of the famous ships built there. Peter explains the background to the Walk, the attractions al...

Proper menstrual health management is a universal human right, a critical component of gender equity and one that is vital to women and girls in reaching their full potential. We meet Australian farmer, the inspirational Allan Waldon who is determined to provide over 5000 hygiene kits to girls in remote Nepal, an area where just  a few years ago he was instrumental in rebuilding a village sch...

Where do men go when they experience distress or a sense of helplessness? Mentoring Men is a registered Australian charity providing free life mentoring programs for all men regardless of their background or beliefs. We meet John Milham who explains how the process works, who benefits and how Mentoring Men fills in the gaps left by other mental health agencies, drawing on the power of the "camp fi...

Electric bikes are taking the cycling world by storm. Riders can now tackle hills which were previously inaccessible. They are fun to ride, relatively inexpensive to own and to run. There are E bikes to suit all styles of cycling...road, mountain, cargo, cruiser and more. We meet Jake Southall whose company Sydney Electric Bikes is a sponsor of the Rotary owned Bobbin Head Cycle Classic..aka The B...

Hornsby BMW a car dealership on Sydney's upper north shore are sponsors of the Bobbin Head Cycle Classic, annual community bike ride with over 2000 riders, organised by four Rotary Clubs. A major fundraiser for Lifeline. Ian Stuart asks Mikki Weinand, Marketing, Product and Lifestyle Manager about tyre pressures, the right fuel to use, the purpose of the Eco button and his thoughts on the advent o...

The media keeps reminding us that Australia faces a shortage of young people willing to pursue study and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. But to thrive we must harness our smarts, exploit our curiosity, open our minds and take nothing for granted. And that's what scientists do. Today we focus on a remarkable program the National Youth Science Forum, now running annually, nati...

The Eye Clinic at Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney treats a range of complex conditions including cancers, glaucoma, retinal disease, vision loss and more. But they lacked a vital piece of equipment, a diagnostic eye imaging device enabling the detection of changes in children's vision including the progression and regression of tumours. Rotary came to the rescue! We meet Head Orthoptist Kat...

Sydney school girl Zoe Evans went to Santiago Chile in early 2020 with Rotary Youth Exchange. Within weeks Chile went into Covid lock down giving Zoe an unusual but nonetheless successful  and rewarding year coping with restrictions and attending school remotely. Despite this she managed to do some local travel, learned local customs., made good friends and mastered the Spanish language. An i...

Shelterbags are durable, protective sleeping bags, light, waterproof and warm. A perfect solution for Australia's homeless and rough sleepers. We meet Mary Crammond  President of Terrigal Rotary Club who originally planned to make them here using volunteers and donated fabrics. But that was a day dream. In South Africa where millions are unemployed they can be made for only $40. Mary tells us...

Sea levels rise, temperatures rise the polar ice caps recede and storms lash our coastlines. Climate change is all around us. Today we meet Jeremy Wright convenor of the Rotary Climate and Peace webinars, a creative initiative to put the spotlight onto the issues and what can be done about them. Jeremy introduces his expert panel who deal with this at a free webinar, Tuesday 16 February. We also l...

Giraffe in a Hospital? Nepean Hospital on the outskirts of Sydney serving a large geographical area  has a busy but under resourced emergency department. Medical equipment however can be expensive which prompted local ED nurse Carolyn Fitzpatrick to raise funds to purchase two essential items....a giraffe shaped resuscitation device and a hand held retinal camera. Total cost approx $50,000. S...

How do young people find a career that suits them? What do they know about the world of work? In a unique program the Rotarians from Belrose host a bunch of students from Peak Hill School, in rural New South Wales for a five day experience in Sydney, visiting the main sights but importantly they also get an inside look at commerce, manufacturing and service industries. Later in the year, Rotarians...

How do you stage a public performance of Christmas Carols in the days of Covid 19? We meet Roseanna Gallo the Musical Director of Carols on the Common, an annual event hosted by the Rotary Clubs of Macquarie Park and North Ryde (in Sydney)  who explains how they will present the event in 2020, via a curated concert, skilfully put together and accessible from 7 pm, 13 December, on Facebook. &n...

Jan Pryor an Australian high school teacher was working quietly behind the scenes setting up a Learning Centre for orphaned children in Nepal. This led her to set up the Didi Foundation to empower women by providing the tools, education and encouragement towards self sufficiency. Jan was in Nepal when the earthquake struck bringing  widespread  devastation and  loss of life. She tel...

ShelterBox an international  relief agency provides shelter to communities following natural disasters in countries like the Philippines, Haiti, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cameroon, India and Syria. Aid provided includes tents, mosquito nets, cooking equipment, sleeping mats, solar lights, water filters, food and basic tools. Hard enough at the best of times but made much more difficult in over crowd...