MEETING NOTES
CHAIR: Angela Murphy opened the meeting at 12.45pm with 10 Club members present and welcomed our Guest Speaker.
GUEST SPEAKER: Matthew McEwan on Zoe’s Angels https://www.zoesangels.org/
APOLOGIES: Don O’Donoghue, Mark Williams, Phil Saxby, James Delahunty, Keith Watts, Lilith Mauloni
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT of COUNTRY
TOAST to King and People of Australia,
followed by a Toast to Rotary International.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT President Bruce presented his report as follows -
SILENT ONLINE AND GALABID AUCTIONS
Angela Murphy has requested Club member assistance with SILENT ONLINE AND GALABID AUCTIONS— https://app.galabid.com/nextgala
Please have a browse of the wonderful online silent auction and buy now items to assist in fundraising for our gala charities - bidding is open right now. You will see prizes in almost every state of Australia and across the world! Please send links to anyone you know who might be interested in them.
More items plus raffle and donation buttons will be added in due course. https://app.galabid.com/nextgala
What we very much need are items, services, vouchers etc of our own to add to the Galabid site and to use for raffle and door prizes and of course, the live auction. Most of the items at the moment are on consignment from Galabid meaning we have to pay for them and we don’t make as much from them as items that we add ourselves. This is where we need club members to donate yourself and/or reach out to your networks to ask for contributions. Thank you to those who have already pledged to contribute.
Some Ideas: Vouchers (restaurant, hotel, yoga, services, etc), hampers, wine/spirit bottles, art, appliances, jewellery etc
Please contact Angela Murphy angela@happy.film 0421 186 189 to contribute.
Guest Speaker: Matthew McEwan from Zoe's Angels https:www.zoesangels.org/
Matthew spoke about his own health journey and dedication to helping Zoe’s Angels offer support to a varied and increasing amount of families that have children with Juvenile Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal conditions. He explained that prior to the global financial crisis in 2008 there was funding to support parents whose children had these conditions, however that went way with budget cuts which is when Zoe’s Angels with started.
One of the key things Zoe’s Angels do is offer camps which act as life workshops for children. He said that many parents are told by doctors that their lives are affectively over and their child’s condition as debilitating, only for that child to go to a Zoe’s Angels at sponsored camp and perhaps for the first time meet many other children with similar conditions, but most importantly learn life skills, and as he kept emphasising, confidence to actually participate in school and higher education and the workforce. He gave great examples of this happening. Matthew mentioned that they have ended up with more volunteer young adult leaders and then children because of the impact the camps have made on children, they want to come and give back when they’re older.
Matthew mentioned that with more funds they would be able to run a camp in northern Queensland with families that find it hard to travel. They also run weekends with parents of very young children to help them and equip them with tools for their child’s health journey ahead. Matthew and his colleagues and their supporters are very excited and grateful for the gala.
