Carolyn Blackman - Gardening Presenter

Sep 15, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Julian Mather 2nd Best Job in the World

Oct 06, 2020 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

View entire list

R U OK

R U OK?

Which translates into Are you OKay was the subject of last week’s Zoom meeting . The speaker was Stephen Dowling who was the Conversation Champion of Australia RU OK? for 2019 and is passionate about translating evidence based research like MHFA into practice and building the capacity of individuals, families, organisations and communities to be involved in mental health support and suicide prevention.

R U OK? is an Australian non-profit suicide prevention organisation, founded by advertiser Gavin Larkin in 2009. It revolves around the slogan "R U OK?" (are you okay?), and advocates for people to have conversations with others. The organisation has a dedicated R U OK? Day, held annually on the second Thursday of September, which encourages Australians to connect with people who have emotional insecurity, to address social isolation and promote community cohesiveness.^[1]

R U OK? works collaboratively with experts in suicide prevention and mental illness, as well as government departments, corporate leaders, teachers, universities, students and community groups. Its activities also align with the Australian Government's LIFE Framework.^[2]

Ru OK survey released in November 2019 highlights 40% of small business ownersreport having high levels of stress due to: long working hours , •social isolation , •customer demands •cash flow issues •conflicting demands home and work 72% do not seek any help

Signs to look out for during physical distancing:

Posting more or less than usual online Ignoring messages or cancelling virtual hangouts

Job loss or reduction in hours of work or income

Living on their own feeling anxious, overwhelmed or stressed

How do we know if someone needs support?

Changes in mood?

Changes in their physical appearance?

Changes in behaviour?

Changes in how thoughts are expressed?

Experiencing a major change or under a lot of pressure?

Appear to be overwhelmed by tasks they had recently found manageable?

Do they seem confused or irrational, moody or unable to switch off concerned they could be a burden. Often they are lonely or lacking self-esteem and concerned they’re trapped or in pain

Are they experiencing mood swings becoming withdrawn and changing their online behaviour losing interest in what they used to love or unable to concentrate They could be less interested in their appearance or personal hygiene and behaving recklessly There are often changes in their sleep patterns

HERE IS THE PLAN TO START

A CONVERSATION AIMING

TO CHANGE THEIR LIFE

R U OK? inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and start a conversation with anyone who may be struggling with life.You don't need to be an expert to reach out - just a good friend and a great listener. Start a conversation with the following four steps:

•Help them open up by asking questions like “How you going?” or ”What’s been happening?” or “I’ve noticed you haven’t been yourself lately. How are you travelling?”

•Make an observation. Mention the specific that have made you concerned for them, like “I’ve noticed that you seem really tired lately” or “You seem less chatty than usual. How you going?”

June is Fellowship Month

June is Fellowship Month

There are countless Fellowship Groups .The following are 3 interesting examples

Home Exchange Fellowship

There are many different types of home exchange Exchanges can be between singles, couples orbetween families with children. They can be in the

same country or another continent. They can befor a year or a weekend though a few weeks is more normal. They can involve your principal residence or a second home.

Email: www.rotarianhomeexchange.com

Intnational Travelling and Hosting Fellowship

Is a network of Rotarians and partners throughout the world, agreeing to host and share their liveswith each other. As an ITHF member, you have

access to the Directory of Members that lists over 2000 ITHF members worldwide. We currently have1200 paid members in more than 60 countries. .

This Directory is updated quarterly.

Email: Rotary ITHF [admin@ithf.org]

Environmental Fellowship Rotarians

The Environment Fellowship of Rotarians (EFR) unites all Rotarians, their spouses, and Rotaractors who are very interested and/or have a vocation related to the Environment. Interest in the environment can be general or specialized, including contributing towards building an environment of peace and sustainable development. EFR members are always ready to contribute their expertise in supporting environmental Rotary projects locally, regionally or globally.

Email kappenberger@gmail.com

Reshaping Rotary

Reshaping Rotary

Message from District 9800 Head Office

It is a very exciting time to be a Rotarian in our part of the world. With the celebration of 100 years of Rotary and the Melbourne International Convention in 2023 we have a once in a generation opportunity to showcase our impact as people of action.

Whilst we celebrate our longevity and success as a service organisation, we need to also ensure we are well placed to be relevant, compelling and impactful into the next 100 years.

Rotary is great in many ways, and we must keep doing the things that make us who we are – our values, our vision, our passion for helping others.

However we cannot ignore the data:

• For many years we have seen a year on year decline in membership across our region, and a rising age profile – 24% drop in membership in the last 10 years, the average age in our clubs is over 60. Of the 50% of ages reported in My Rotary, 37.3% are over 60.
• We lose the majority of members who leave within their first 3 years of joining, so we are not engaging them well or not meeting expectations. In many cases we are not reflecting the
make up of our communities and we have some difficulty attracting younger members. We hear that cost and time are barriers to joining.

Rotary Club of Glenferrie

Rotary Club of Glenferrie

Is also meeting on a Tuesday night

The following is their successful model for Getting and keeping members:

Have a presence in the local community such as our Farmers Market.
Have a dynamic website, eg. Our front page features positive elements – one pic has three women and one young man as an example of some “diversity”. In other words, we are definitely not “stale, male and pale”. I think we have Sri Lankan, Chinese, Polish, Argentinian. From memory, out of 45 members 30% female membership. There is lots of information about Rotary Glenferrie and Rotary in general at the click of a link.
Ask – it is amazing how many people are just waiting, eg. our Membership person last year would sit down in the sunshine at the Market and get into conversation over a takeaway coffee. He would then chat about Rotary, get their details. And we will continue that now that the Market is back even if with reduced numbers due to COVID-19.
Invite to a meeting when there is a good speaker
Introduce them to members around the room who can make them feel welcome
Get into conversation anywhere and anytime, eg. with friends and family
Have an event attended by non-Rotarians and “sell” the joys of membership
Keep regular contact with the potential member
In conversation, establish that the attendance rules are nowhere near as strict as they were but still the need to keep involved, eg. we have a weekly bread run and in many cases our members collect the bread from Bakers Delight and deliver to the Salvos in Camberwell
I don’t know how successful the letter box drop will be but I believe that we have at least one potential new member – but again regular contact helps
Ensure that potential member is aware of the cost of membership, eg. dinner/lunch/etc. At the moment, it is a bit difficult to judge due to the fact that we cannot meet in person. But we are still keeping in contact.
Maintaining members, keep them active and engaged.
Fortunately, we have a couple of under 40 who cannot commit as much as they would like but we still keep them and they and their families take part in activities such as Parkinsons Walk and Clean Up Australia as well as being able to attend the occasional meeting.

PO Box 18 Niddrie Vic 3042 Australia

info@rotarykeilor.org.au