With only the odd bit of sunshine but lots of rain, it doesn’t seem like summer is only two weeks away. However, the end of year events are staring to fill my calendar so I know that Christmas is rapidly approaching.
As was reported at the meeting, it was a busy week Rotary week with four people undertaking training last Wednesday to be volunteer mentors with Team Sports for All, another four or five helping out on Saturday with the RIMERN donated goods collection at Boroondara& Rob Simpson on the RIMERN truck collecting goods.
Also on Saturday, the Rotarians for Bees team had a stand at the Boroondara Farmers’ Market. Thanks David Chivers and Steve Clarke for collecting then returning the apple tree stand for John McCaskill (it’s large and very heavy).
This Wednesday was the Wednesday Lunch group and on Thursday the first of three FAM packing events at the Carey Grammar Boat Shed occurs!
Everyone will have surely earned a holiday over Christmas.”
Canterbury Rotary Christmas breakup is on Monday, 15 December, in Riversdale Park. See the flyer later for all the details - Christmas gear, including tinsel or lights, is a given.
At Monday’s meeting we were delighted to induct Michael Li as a member of our Club. Michael shared this special event with his wife Lucy and daughter Carrie. He said that he is keen to become involved with our projects and learn more about the good work Rotary does.
I think that most Rotarians are curious, so we love to hear about the great ideas or projects that others have. For example, our speaker, Jane Boag, explained some of the many problems which strike pet owners that make difficult keeping that relationship with their cherished pet. Beautiful photos accompanied her tales of love and volunteers helping to ease the burden of the pet owners when old age, illness, family breakdown or poverty strike. See later for a full report.
Next week is our AGM and also the long-awaited Philippines Medical Mission reunion. We expect a full house of members and friends coming catch up with friends from the team and to hear the students’ report on their experiences.
Something magical happens when people and animals bond.
Jane Boag, a trusted adviser for Cherish Pets Foundation and an occupational therapist with an expertise in risk management, asked us how many members currently had a pet. Half of us raised our hands. Then, she asked if we had an experience, in the past, with pets - once again half responded to the question. It is very clear that people and animals are emotionally and physically linked.
Cherish Pets Foundation deals with the problems which arise when pet ownership is a burden, or owners are unable to deal with the daily problems of pet ownership. We saw a photo of Elizabeth , with her dog, Percy. Elizabeth has MS. She also had a stroke. There is a special bond between Percy and Elizabeth, but she requires much assistance to continue to own Percy. She needs a dog walker. Percy, an aging dog, also needs his medication. A vet nurse checks Percy out. A dog trainer tests Percy to see how he behaves off the dog lead.
There are many other circumstances in which Cherish Pets Foundation intervenes. A woman went into palliative care. Her dog was rehomed only the day before she died.
The vet, who is the CEO, and driving force in Cherish Pets Foundation believes that a social worker should be attached to a veterinary service - in order to manage health and well-being.
The Home Care Assistance program supports for over forty clients. The Crisis Care program deals with pets who face the same danger as those people who experience domestic violence. Jane mentioned that there is a correlation between violence towards animals and violence towards people. This involves taking the animal into custody and then deal with respite conditions.
Some statistics include - 188 people referred and 972 nights of respite care since January 2025. The organization owns a cattery, thus leading for it being easier for cats to be handled, than dogs, which require movement to other facilities. The community veterinary nurse is a stand alone and stand out in this field.
This is a beautiful program expressing the very best about our world with animals. Jane's compelling and emotional arguments were not only engaging but revealed the very essence of the quality of our life with animals.
The Canterbury Rotary Club lunch usually meets bi-weekly at 12.30 for a meal and some fun.
David Zrna is on holidays. Alan Stevens will be looking after the reservations for the lunch group. Please contact Alan at alan.stevens@canterburyrotary.org or on 0416120851 to advise that you will be coming to a lunch.
Below is a summary of the recent FORaMEAL packing event at St Leonard's College which was published in the school newsletter.
On Friday 7 November, while many of the Year 12s at St Leonard’s College students were sitting their exams, the Marjorie Menzies Hall was abuzz with the middle schoolers and Rotarians working together to put together FORaMEAL packs. Rotarians (members from Brighton, Canterbury and Melbourne Passport Club) and St Leonard’s College Interact Club members together transformed 475kg rice, 475kg lentils and 250kg of oats into 15,690 nutritional FORaMEAL packs destined for disaster relief area overseas.
This Rotary Club of Canterbury initiative provides a displaced family with a nutritious meal for six people. Together we’ve been proudly involved for the last three years and helping feed 46,010 people in impacted areas from the Ukraine to Somaliland:
2023 – 15,000
2024 – 15,050
2025 – 15,960
Thanks to the Interact Club members, students and staff at St Leonard’s College, volunteers from the Rotary Club of Brighton, Passport Club of Melbourne, and the founders of this fabulous project initiative Rotary Club of Canterbury.
Thursdays - 20 & 27 November 2025 & 4 December 2025
Carey Baptist Grammar School Boat House on Boathouse Drive Melbourne.
Best to go to Flinders Street Station by train, bus or tram, cross over the bridge, turn left and walk along river pathway till you reach the Boathouse.
The FAM truck will be parked near the entrance to building. Stair and lift access for supplies. Students and teachers will be assisting.
Set up 8.45am for all events.
First session 10 am to 11.30am then lunch break and recommence 1pm till 2.30pm
Natalie Dixon-Monu from BCO is looking for volunteers to help with the ‘Buy in the store, donate at the door’ Christmas hamper collection again. She is in need of people for the following 2 hour slots at Camberwell Woolworths in November.
For the new sets of cleaning & laundry needs RIMERN has started a fundraiser.
$50 buys a full kit (mop & bucket, broom plus dustpan & brush, laundry basket, clothes hamper & kitchen tidy bin) and every donation over $2 is fully tax deductible.
Every RIMERN client needs a mop & bucket, broom & dustpan, swing top tidy & laundry basket plus clothes airing rack, but none of these are available second hand so RIMERN has to buy them.
A full kit costs $50 and RIMERN needs 10 a week. Can you sponsor one or more? It's Spring, time to help the RIMERN clients with their cleaning! Thank you in advance!
In Rotary, November is designated as Rotary Foundation Month. This month highlights the importance of The Rotary Foundation and encourages Rotarians to contribute to its various programs and initiatives.
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