President's Message

 

Team Tercel Malcolm Pascoe and Steve Lines showing off their special T Shirts for the Bangers to Bluff drive commencing on the 25th March. You can make a donation on the their Give A Little page.

 

 

Activities this year:
1. Bookarama-Major annual fundraiser. Separate website now set up with plans to expand this event into the future. In excess of $600k raised and distributed since its inception some 20+ years ago.
2. Bookarama for kids and teens – a new initiative held during the mid-year school holidays encouraging young people to purchase books at bargain prices. Not a fundraiser as such but rather developed to encourage a love of reading.
3. Fun Walk and Run. Community event involving several hundred community members including most primary and intermediate schools in the wider club region. All proceeds are donated to the Howick Coastguard to assist with equipment purchase. A strong relationship has been developed between Coastguard and RCH. Our club was recently presented with a special award recognising the continued support from our club to Coastguard. Our additional assistance allowed Coastguard to purchase a much-needed new tractor enabling them to launch their rescue boat in all tides.
4. Blankets for Kids for Winter. To collect blankets and/or funds to purchase blankets which are then donated to local groups for distribution to families in need.
5. Supporting local schools, in particular Somerville Intermediate and Howick College, through scholarships and enviro awards. Additional funding provided where requested enabling students to attend school camps where otherwise they may miss out.
6. Assistance for individuals by request where it seems appropriate to do so. (To attend an International Curvy Girls conference, participate in the Mardi Cup, along with other causes within budget limits.
7. Brian Hanlon Speech Awards – annual event at Howick College with the four top performing students presenting to our club. Appropriate prizes awarded.
8. Police Awards – annual event with the Police Inspector for our area selecting the appropriate awardee. The award is presented at a Club meeting.
9. Support for Howick Historical Village – ongoing. Most recently assisting with funding to provide new roofing for a particular building in need.
10. Assist with the annual Howick Santa Parade.
11. Assist with the annual Brit and Euro Classic Car show in Howick.
12. Funding provided to the Anglican Church to assist with the purchase of Christmas Hampers for families in need.
13. Purchase of several Gazebos for the Howick Village Association to be used for community and market day events.
14. Continued support for Trees for Survival programme.
15. Continued long term support for Mangemangeroa Reserve in conjunction with the Friends of Mangemangeroa. This includes helping on planting days along with funding for new seats This project was originally started with a small group including members of the RCH.
16. Supporting Multiple Sclerosis appeal through sponsorship and individual members support for 2 club members into the Bangers to Bluff project run by Half Moon Bay Rotary.
17. Support for Interplast and RYLA with 3-4 young men or women funded.
18. In the process of supplying 4 ERKS and 4 Shelter Boxes with additional support from the Tom Brydon Trust. (This Trust was initially set up by a Past President of our club)
19. In addition, many quality speakers at club meetings along with great fellowship and ‘fun.’

 

Plans for the rest of the year:
1. Continuation as above with annual events and projects.
2. Working to grow Bookarama into an even greater event to raise additional funding. A new innovation is to donate ‘quality’ left over children’s books to local schools on the basis they are given to the children to take home as a personal possession.
3. Consolidate plans for the new President and President elect. Nominations and acceptances are now in place.
4. Work is underway to develop a community ‘Volunteer Army’ consisting of volunteers from throughout the community who are happy to be contacted for any community event and to assist on an ‘as able’ basis.
5. Support this year’s Mangemangeroa planting day in the autumn.
6. Continue to work on membership growth while at the same time ensuring current club members ‘enjoy’ coming to Rotary and wish to continue to do so. Enquiries are coming through Facebook and the web site as well as personal invitations

 

Connections with the RCL:
1. The Club President has attended meetings as he has been able.
2. Our club is supportive of the RCL concept but finds the greatest challenge being the call on member time for current club projects, relative to new initiative developments at the District level which also requires member involvement. In our club we are already pushing the ‘active’ members to the limit. We are not in a position to take on additional projects, worthy as they may be, without first dropping something we are currently undertaking. We would support exploring upscaling some of our projects across the RCL group where appropriate e.g. Blankets 4 Kids 4 Winter.