Rotary Tasmania | Latest news and Events
Check here for a BBQ location near you on our BIG BBQ day, Saturday February 4 2012
- Rotary New Zealand World Community Service is seeking support for the Fiji Flood disaster. More details about how you can help here.
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Applications are called for the Group Study Exchange (GSE) program for 2012 - 2013. Teams will be exchanged with Denmark and Italy. Application details here. Our GSE team will travel to Denmark in September this year, which is earlier than usual. It will therefore be necessary to select a Team Leader and Team Members in the early part of this year to give the team sufficient time to prepare. We will also select the Team Leader to Italy in the same selection process but will wait until later in the year to select Team Members to Italy.
- Rotary's Challenge for polio eradication has reached the US$200 million milestone. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded The Rotary Foundation an additional $50 million grant, which is not a challenge grant, in recognition of Rotary's early achievement of this milestone. Read the Rotary International story.
- Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) as an Australian Rotary Club project, together with its international partners, (also all Rotary Club projects) is on the ground in Cagayan de Oro, the worst hit region following Cyclone Sendong in the Philippines. It has taken more than 1,500 lives, with 1,000s still missing, and left nearly 250,000 people without homes or basic belongings. Read DAA's 3 January release.
- Tenders documentation released for the Community Centre at Murphys Creek .
- The Sail Day committee of the Rotary Club of Hobart has again secured the Windeward Bound as a part of the fleet. They invite fellow Rotarians to join them for a great day out on the water. Sail Day details
District Directory
Check updates to the printed version and download the 2011-2012 District Directory here... Amendments to 21 September included.
Queeensland Flood Appeal
IPDG Ted Richey advises that we have officially finalised the tender documentation, and begun advertising the plans for the construction of the Murphys Creek Community Centre, (MCCC).
This project is to be built entirely with funds raised by Rotary clubs in Tasmania, with help from the Tasmanian Government, in January to May this year, following the disastrous floods in the Lockyer Valley.Advertising is currently planned to span from 22 Dec 2011 to the 03 Feb 2012. It is hoped that construction will start by late February with completion in this year.
This money was raised by Rotary District 9830 and will be used to replace a Community Centre at Murphys Creek Queensland's Lockyer Valley.
More details of the project here.
This is Rotary...
Other Events
4 February State wide BBQ day
7 February Rotary Club of Hobart Sail Day
8 February International Federation of Cricketing Rotarians. Victorian tour
16 February Rotary Club of Howrah Art Exhibition and Sale - Rosny Barn near Eastlands
Latest News
What would it take to change the world? Rotary International is the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs worldwide.
Why join Rotary? Some reasons here.. Interested ---,You can get involved with Rotary, District 9830 in Tasmania. Make an online membership enquiry..
Find a Tasmanian Rotary Club near you
Join us at Ross in February 2012. More details email family@rotaryhobart.org
Donate to Rotary Tasmania's Polio Plus Appeal
- help Rotary achieve a polio-free world.
Make a secure, tax deductable donation via credit card to Rotary Tasmania, District 9830 End P
olio Now Campaign.
Donations to the Polio Appeal will be forwarded to our Australian Rotary Foundation Trust
ABN 55 218 421 934 (Endorsed as a Deductable Gift Recipient )
Circumnavigating Australia for Polio
Rob Pennicott's from the Rotary Club of Kingston, circumnavigation of Australia in two outboard powered 5.4 metre dinghies raised more than $250 000 
for Rotary's Global Polio Challenge. The two yellow - hulled dinghies finished in Sydney on Sunday 11 September.
At Wrest Point on Saturday 24th September 2011 a celebration dinner was held and over $31000 raised for the project. The Rotary Club of Kingston presented Rob Pennicott with a Paul Harris Fellowship which was awarded by DG Peter Murfett.
Robert Pennicott, a pioneer of Tasmania's eco-tourism industry, has been named as Tasmania's 2012 Australian of the Year. 
Rotary Response to Disasters
Rotary International in Australia sees it's major role in disasters as a "second line "approach. Rotary will normally leave first response to the emergency authorities.
Our role is seen to be in the recovery process. With Rotary Clubs spread throughout most areas that experience disasters we are well equipped to support recovery initiatives after the immediate disaster has passed.
Examples of this are Rotary District 9830, Tasmania's response to the Queensland 2011 Floods and the Victorian 2009 Bushfires ,
However there are two Rotary endorsed organisations that do support immediate emergency relief
1 Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) Disaster aid Australia who are represented in Tasmania by the Rotary Club of Youngtown Latest update 17 oct 2011 download
2 Shelterbox Australia Contact Ian Routley at Rotary Club of Launceston More detail from Shelterbox Australia .
An example of how Rotary covers The Rotary Foundation in the U S A has established the Rotary Japan and Pacific Islands Disaster Recovery Fund to support long-term recovery in areas devastated by the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan in 2011. Rotarians and non-Rotarians can donate online. Similar funds are Clubs and districts can contribute cash and District Designated Fund (DDF) allocations to the fund.
Bowelscan
BOWELSCAN is a Rotary community service awareness program that promotes bowel cancer screening and makes easy to use test kits available at an affordable price. 34 Rotary clubs in District 9830 were involved with the programme during March 2011. Rotary in Tasmania repeats the program each March. Kits are not available outside that time.
Contact Rotary Bowelscan Tasmania
beyondblue - District 9830 Partnership
Rotary Tasmania, District 9830 has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the beyondblue organisation.
A "Gala Dinner " on Saturday 16 October at Ulverstone launched this Community partnership. Guest speaker was Nathan Thompson (pictured ) ex Hawthorn and North Melbourne AFL player who told of his struggle and recovery from depression.
Street Swags
The Rotary Club of South Launceston has been purchasing swags for the past three years and they have been distributed in Launceston, up the north west coast and also recently to Hobart.
There are some 1,020 or more people sleeping rough in Tasmania each night - State MP Cassy O’Connor has stated only 210, however it is believed that the Salvation Army who work ‘closer to the trenches’ may have a better knowledge of the current realistic figures.
The swags cost $60 each and South Launceston purchase them from a Queensland company who work with the Woodford Correctional Centre, Qld, and the Grafton Correctional Centre, NSW, where prisoners produce them gaining work readiness skills along with tertiary qualifications.
At present the Rotary Club of South Launceston are covering the whole of Tasmania and are experiencing some difficulty raising the necessary $6,000 to purchase 100 swags at a time. Together with South Launceston’s Les Grant, it is requested that clubs around the district seriously consider making funds available to purchase swags for the needy in each club’s particular area.
There is a transport company willing to pick up the swags and deliver them to Tasmania at no cost.
Rotary Youth Driver Awareness in Tasmania
This is the 10th year of this Rotary program.
RYDA (Rotary Youth Driver Awareness) is a road safety education program aimed at reducing death and injury amongst young people on Australian roads. The Program in Tasmania targets grade 10 students who are at the stage of their lives where they are close to starting to drive or ride in a vehicle driven by their peers.
Between October 10 and 21 2011 there will be 1800 students listed to participate at Symonds Plains near Launceston and there is every indication we will exceed the record numbers of last year. Across the State we will have around 5000 students participate this year including 40 from King Island who were able to be involved as a result of an enthusiastic group from the NW Coast travelling to the Island with financial support from MAIB.
Learn ♦ Grow Program now supported by a Rotary Action Group
Global food shortages are looming as the single greatest threat to mankind! But there is a simple solution – food plants that grow and thrive naturally where they are best adapted.
Learn ♦ Grow is a visionary project based on the lifetime work of agricultural scientist, Bruce French, from Tasmania. He has compiled the world's most comprehensive food plant database, creating a simple yet powerful tool to address hunger and malnutrition in developing countries globally. Learn ♦ Grow's prime objective is to provide resources, information and technical support to food aid providers so they can help people in need learn about and grow the best local plants to match their nutritional needs.
Learn ♦ Grow is a project of Rotary District 9830 which is utilising the global networks of Rotary International to realise the huge potential that this solution offers.
This project can truly help the hungry feed themselves.
Fiji Rotahomes - "The real work has begun
A contract has been signed by NZAID with R.C Lautoka ready for commencement of the infrastructure for the new K2 village in Fiji. Many Tamanian Rotarians have participated in stage 1 of this Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) project which builds low cost homes in Fiji..
Four Tasmaniajn teams have booked for the next work session (2011) at Koroipita Village K2.
They are from Devonport South East, 1 – 14 Sept, Salamanca 40 – 18 June, Launceston West -30 July – 14 Aug and Central Launceston 13 -27 Aug. Teams will be restricted this and next year due to late funding and accommodation issues.
To date 105 teams with 805 volunteers have worked on this project.
Read the Fiji Rotahomes press release
Find out more about the K2 village project.