Mayfield Better Block and our GREAT BIG GARAGE SALE. Went off very well for everyone but not without a lot of work before hand!! Getting the goods to sell, sorting, pricing and taking them to site. The temptation to NOT go home with more than they brought was too much for some members!! The Waratah Mens Shed did a great job of building a speakers deck from pallets on the green space in Victoria Street and Jessica Miller did a lovely job of painting it in happy Mayfield colours. The bird mural replaced the dead green wall the Club had water blasted and cleaned up. Local businesses had popup stalls in the carpark, The mosque ran a tea stall, there was Afghani food, Bahkti Tree chanted , the Dance academy tapped and hot-footed it and the musician kep us entertained. Rita Dixon is the Mayfield Business Association coordinator and she "busted a gut", as did some others, to get the show rounded up and pointed in the right direction despite many twists and turns from various authorities and last minute demands and changes. Mayfield came out a winner. The proceeds from this and online sales from a big pack of stamp and medalllion sets, given to us by a collector whose chucked in collecting and gave us a HEAP of sets, will go into the fund for rego insurance and maintenance of our graffiti removal trailer for the coming year.
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Saturday April 9th we had a social fundraiser to support the maintenance and insurance costs of our graffiti removal trailer - DURBAN DELIGHTS - with Zulu, Indian and Afrikaans traditional foods. The members were shown how to eat a Bunny, a small loaf of bread cut in half, hollowed out and filled with a totally delicious lamb curry. Sosaties plus boerewors from the Beresfield Butcher, Samp Beans and Chakala (mildly spicy vegetables), Koeksisters and South African wines too. We made Party hats imitating Zulu wedding hats (Isichole) for the girls and the boys had african themed bandannas. The hats were a joint effort between three crafty members and were wonders of cardboard, glue , staples and fabric. Weather was perfect. At one stage we were a bit worried because there were two butchers and a treasurer overseeing the Braai (BBQ). Lovely fun night.  President Margaret HEAPS!!. First we have Durban Delights on April 9th. A fundraising night of South African themed decor and food such as Boerewors, Koeksisters, Bunny Chow, Samp with Beans and Chakalaka, Melk Tart, Malva Pudding, and South African wine and beer. $30 a head. Hostess Julia has a birthday two days later so this is a surrogate celebration for that too. Limit is 40 people. Funds go to pay for insurance and maintenance on our graffiti removal trailer. Reading Cinemas Charlestown on Wednesday April 13th curtain up at 6pm is the Film Night for polio Plus with "Eddie the Eagle" as the feature - tickets $20 from Howard Bridgman 49502325.  Come to the dinner and get a Zulu Wedding Hat for the girls (small group of members are making them - lots of cardboard, glue and staples involved but the final fabric cover makes a fine hat) and for the boys ? well they will have to make do with an african animal themed head band.    The picture above is one of our wonderful "Friends of Newcastle Enterprise" calling for more onions at a BBQ where we were supporting the Mayfield Scouts !! As Rotarians we voluntarily offer community service - it's what we do - "service above self". We know that there are many people in our local community giving worthwhile service to other people, to our environment or to a cause, service for which they don't receive a financial reward and won't usually get noticed and publicly applauded in the myriad of small to large ceremonies which happen each year. Being noticed and doing the noticing is a mutual thing and is a Thank You to both in that social transaction. Who are we talking about? In a business an employer or a colleague might know that an employee is fundraising for a specific community cause - nothing to do with the work they do for the business but it recognises the person for "going above and beyond". A registered volunteer at any of the regular community groups and organsiations might do just that bit more. In a school a parent or friend of that school is making a difference. The question to ask is "If that person didn't do what they do would anyone miss out and would he or she be missed" . There are no hard and fast rules but you will know someone worthy of a pat on the back and be able to put it down in your own words. RCNE would REALLY love to hear from you so nominate someone you've noticed doing good in the community. You can download the forms here in
Pdf form here Flyer Information Nomination form Supporting information or in Micosoft Word form here Flyer Information Nomination form Supporting information  First meeting of the year was a social gathering at The Stag Mayfield. Great food, stormy weather outside, happy and chatty inside.  No formal business on March 1st - it will be Jeremy and his videos and story of his rather epic ride. Anyone wanting a meal or a drink - BYO from Wests' Bistro and bars Australia Day - Tuesday January 26th. Meet at 11 am at Stockton on the grass somewhere near the ferry terminal. Look out for the trailer, gazebo and flags. BYO chair(s), drinks, food. There will be a marquee for shade, BBQ plate to cook on, sausages remaining from the Bunnings BBQ ( they've been frozen) and other food to share. Nothing strenuous today, sit and watch the ships glide by.
There has been so much happening in the last couple of weeks. Implementing the Club renewal through the Strategic Planning process will start on January 5th when we meet at the Stag and Hunter for a social meeting. In calendar year 2016 we will phase in the fornightly "formal" meeting interspersed with projects and social nights - the "something on every week not everybody has to be there every week" for greater flexibility and diversity. There will be one top notch Guest Speaker a month when we will actively invite non-Rotarians to come. Diana and Julia attended the Islington Public School presentation where Principal Matthew was able to announce that the Community Building Partnership's grant the Club applied for was successful. The front playground will be refreshed, repaired and repainted. Karina, our newest member, was voted onto the Board at the Annual Meeting on December 1st. Some of the long-serving Board members decided to NOT stand - leaving space for renewal and new ideas and energy.  Karina being inducted by President Margaret. Karina was a member of the Group Study Exchange team which went to Germany in June 2015 and has been an enthusiastic participant in Club projects since her return.
 After our regular meetings the remaining sliced fruit from our Coffee and Cakes afters is packed up by Trish and Pat Moore and taken next day to their niece's school, http://www.hillsboro-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/._ The children just LOVE getting the fruit, look forward to it each week and have shown their appreciation with some very sweetly rhymned and illustrated art works. These are just a sample. Makes your heart sing doesn't it.  On Sunday 29th November we fulfilled a special request. MightyMax had an outing to Jesmond with Max the Rotary Wonder Dog and his bestie Bella as quality control to clean a very big very red wall of tags. Boy!! Red is a lovely colour but it took four coats to clear any signs of the black tags underneath.  Apologies to all the other nice folk who appeared in Tim Crakanthorp's Community newsletter but we photo-shopped out OUR picture at the launch of MightyMax for a non-selfie boast.  Our end of year and Christmas celebration at Damien's place is coming up very soon.  We have put in an application for a Foundation grant to partner with RC Downtown LA to put tanks, toilets and hand-washing basins in schools in the Migori area in western Kenya with RC of Suni Migori. This will be part of Stage 3 of a Global Grant series. Annual meeting happening on Tuesday December 1st - competition for places on the Board is a healthy sign. Strategic Planning as a result of our Visioning will give us clear direction for the next couple of years - the coming calendar and Rotary years are looking like good places to be. Karina was a GSE team member to Germany and has been an enthusiastic participant in Club activities since she returned in August. As a new member she will have $500 at her disposal as seed money for a project of her choice. It is a delight to have her fresh face, new ideas and energy in the mix.
 Joel and Trish share a joke at the World Festival of Magic at West's City on Tuesday November 10th. This is our major event for the year and this year's was up to the usual standard. Magician and Showman Michael Boyd and his hugely talented crew made the audiences at noon and at 6pm gasp and jump and look on open-mouthed. Jeton managed to get three cups balanced on his head after flipping them up from his foot - a feat of balance and strength and coordination. Big smiles from children and adults alike as they left the theatre - many children waving light sabre souvenirs. Enterprise can't express its gratitude to the businesses of Newcastle and Maitland who bought the tickets and then donated them to disdvantaged, disabled and low-income groups and individuals. In the audience in the morning was Islington Public School. Friday 13th was not an unlucky day because we were at their School Assembly to bring the pictures of children in Migori , Kenya, who will benefit from the fundraising the children did in 2014. They saw a need for children overseas who did not have clean water to drink and wanted to do something about it. They set about fundraising and with the help of Newcastle Enterprise their $2000 has been expanded greatly. Schools in the area of Suni Migori in western Kenya have rainwater tanks, new toilets and hand basins. Less sickness with clean hands, clean water on tap means no reliance on polluted creeks or even no water to drink during the day - a simple thought and acting on it triggered a powerful action. It was just delightful to watch the students and see them presenting their class projects - lovely school with greatv teachers - hard-working everyday heroes all.  Here they are on their Harmony Day earlier in the year  Graffiti removal day October 18th 2015. Hard slog, very worth-while community service, right in the heart of Mayfield. The Public Relations Director in any Rotary club has a lot to do. What is effective PR?? It isn't just dumping nice stories and pictures about Rotary and what your own Club does in the community into the media (traditional print or Social). Doing that won't bring scads of non-Rotarians banging on your door to become a member. There are sometimes unrealistic expectations that getting media attention is direct easy means of recruiting new members. The good news story is only the beginning, it is building the relationships which can follow which count.
By telling honest, real-time stories about your Club you are building a picture, demonstrating your credibility and committment to your Community, building relationships of trust. Very likely you are introducing people who are totally unaware of Rotary in the world to what we as members see as hugely important. It is to us, not to them, they have plenty going on in their lives. Having spent some time recently in the company of a number of young people under 30 years of age - SHOCK!! None, repeat NONE, had heard the word Rotary. Older people have an "aura" around the word Rotary of "doing good" but no clear idea about what or why or how. From a potential membership point of view they don't know how they could fit in. Where do you start? Locally, right in the geographic centre of your Club's activities. RCNE has the World Festival of Magic which brings the name "Rotary Club of Newcastle Enterprise" into focus for businesses and to the members of the public who receive the show tickets businesses have paid for. The now two year old graffiti removal project in collaboration with the Mayfield Business Association is a hands-on demonstration of our committment to a very local area - Mayfield and its immediate surrounds. There is much more that we do but the reality is that building trust, credibility and a reputation for doing good takes a while. Our good name is not won cheaply. Everyone we meet, everyone we greet. PR is what we are doing. |
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