Another exciting week in the club - see the Stories section below to recap.
Separately, I spoke on Tuesday morning about COVID-19 (coronavirus).
We are following the advice of the Ministry of Health and recommend members do the same.
Meetings and other club functions are continuing and we will actively monitor the situation to ascertain whether anything needs to change in that regard.
If you are feeling unwell, please do not attend club or other functions and follow Ministry of Health advice on actions required. Also, please do not attend club or other functions if you have been to any country except those listed on the Government's Category 2 list in the past 14 days.
Some people may feel they would just prefer to avoid large groups and therefore skip club meetings and functions for the coming period. That is wholly understandable - I'd suggest you drop me a line just to keep in touch.
We are exploring the use of technology (e.g. livestreaming meetings) as a potential alternative.
We will keep you updated as the situation develops.
On 24 March Bryan Coyte will be joining his third Bangers to Bluff Rally in his 1993 Little Red Scrap Wagon Ute.
The “Bangers to Bluff” Rally is an annual charity event organised by the Rotary Club of Half Moon Bay. It is an opportunity to travel from Auckland to Bluff with a small group of likeminded adventurers in approximately 20 separate cars, on a carefully crafted route through New Zealand.
The event for 2020 runs from Auckland to Bluff over 12 days starting on the 24th March 2020 and finishing on the 4th April, 2020.
Roads travelled will include the Whanganui River Road, the Buller Gorge, the Haast Pass and SH99 between Te Anau and Invercargill. There will be an auction at the end of the rally for the vehicles - major recipients from the fundraiser are Multiple Sclerosis and The Hope Foundation (a mental health organisation).
If you'd like to support Bryan and the Little Red Scrap Wagon Ute by donating toward their fundraising efforts for these great causes, please follow this link.
On Saturday, we received a note from our recent exchange student Hannah Schwarzmann. A copy is included as follows:
Dear Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland!
I hope some of you still remember me!! Two days ago I visited my first Rotaract meeting of the Club here which is Germany and Switzerland joined together. I reallly enjoyed it so I thought I have to write you all an email as it reminded me of the Downtown CLub meetings!! Although it was pizzas and beers instead of fruit and breakfast.
I met Bella about two weeks ago. I invited here to come to my place and make apple strudel together. My best friend Andy came over as well so we ended up teaching her Austrian dialect music which she picked up really quickly. It reminded me so much of my own time in NZ when I met new people and everything was so exciting.
Sadly the covid19- virus caused the exchange students here to give up their skiing holiday which is really sad. I am in Constance right now as I have to write some exam papers and I am not allowed to travel home to austria. Everyone was asked to travel only if really necessarry. It is crazy how fast this virus is spreading and how affected the economy is. My parents school had to close and will stay closed until after easter. Austria has shut down all the Universitys and started controlling the borders to Italy. Our Chancellor is doing a great job during this hard time as he really listened to the experts and acted quickly.
At the moment German Unis are still open but it is only a matter of time until they have to close as well.
Other than all of that chaos I am doing really well. My level of sign language is now about the same as my spanish level which is B1 so just a little bit less than my english which I am really happy about. I joined a project with deaf people who are at Uni and struggle because no one can speak their language. So I got partnered up with a girl who is deaf and I go with her to classes and translate as much as possible. Thank you again Hilary for that!!!! Rob, I facetimed Adriana just a few days ago and I really miss her which is thanks to you!!! ( Just kidding, thank you Rob). Phil, Mike how is the tennis going? As good as Dominic Thiem already? And of course I hope all of the James' are okay and still a little bit naughty:)
But most importantly is Damian Mckenzie back on the field? I miss Rugby so so much. I tried to teach my Uni friends the rules but they were hopeless! Anyway, Thank you all so much for what Rotary has given me and have a lovely day!
On Tuesday morning, Heather Robinson, Co-Director for AGGS & Rotary Youth Programs, spoke about the upcoming mentoring program for AGGS (Auckland Girls Grammar). The details are outlined as follows:
Are you free for an hour or so on an irregular basis for the next few months to help?
Its that time of year again – year 13 Business Studies students have begun Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) projects – and AGGS has invited Rotarians to become mentors to help student teams with their newly formed businesses.
It’s an exciting and rewarding experience for both students and mentors.
Each team runs its own business to design, build, market and sell their product. In previous years input from our Rotary mentors has helped AGGS teams reach the YES regional finals and win awards!
Each team is currently deciding on their product (see below). They have received input from the YES organisers and now have decisions to make. This is where the guidance of a mentor is essential to help them think through how they will achieve successful outcomes and meet the various deadlines!
You would need to be able to visit Auckland Girls’ Grammar School in Howe Street during school hours. Meetings can be during the girls’ business studies lessons or lunchtimes. A few meetings each term is ideal, particularly in the early stages, to encourage progress. Email communication is also possible. There is the ability to skype but we haven’t tested this.
Group 1 - 5 students
Product idea: board game with a Pasifka emphasis to teach about the different Pasifika cultures/language.
Group 2 - 4 students
Product idea: initially beauty products like bath bombs and lip balm, now thinking of socks and beanies with some sort of logo.
Group 3 - 4 students
Product idea: - initially rugby balls with logo and all profits going back to the community to give less privileged students the chance to pay for their sports clubs fees/sports equip. Decided this would be difficult to implement. Now looking at Hoodies with special design on.
Group 4 - 4 students
Product: initially diversity dolls e.g. brown dolls with Pasifika clothing, now looking at making ice-cream with Pasifika flavours.
If you are interested, contact Heather Robinson on 022106 5606 or heather@robin-sons.com .
Suzanne O'Leary, Co-Director for AGGS & Rotary Youth Programs, spoke at breakfast on Tuesday about members participating in the upcoming interviews for RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) candidates.
RYLA is a week-long leadership development programme for 20-28 year olds. It is an experiential live-in programme designed to help young people develop their team work and communication skills and fulfil their potential as leaders.
The programme consists of a combination of: -Presentations and Workshops facilitated by community and business leaders particularly focusing on leadership development;
-opportunities for the exchange of ideas, opinions and experiences in discussion groups etc;
-open sessions, sport and keep fit exercises;
-the opportunity to experience and practice leadership skills in action;
-involvement in a community activity and with the host Rotary Club.
In conjunction with our corporate partners, our club typically puts forward over 20 attendees to RYLA annually. Before we can put forward attendees, these candidates are interviewed by club members (typically in pairs of two).
If you are interested in taking part in these interviews over the coming period, please contact Suzanne O'Leary at suzanne@modo.co.nz or 021 608 000.
On Tuesday morning, club member Harley Pope shared with us his experiences serving in the armed forces in Vietnam, Northern Ireland and Malaya, amongst others.
It was a fascinating first hand account and retracing of major conflicts from the latter half of the 20th century.
We were very fortunate to hear these directly from Harley - many thanks Harley, very much appreciated.
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