Congratulations to John McCaskill for organising an amazing trivia night on Monday. John was super stressed because the ticket numbers were small at the beginning of the week but by Monday night 97 people had booked. This was amazing. Alan Nash proved to be a wonderful quizmaster with a variety of questions of all topics. David Chivers organised the food and somehow ensured that there was enough even with the last minute rush on tickets. David and Michelle Critchley spent the night ensuring that the food was distributed rather than answering questions, Alex organised the sheets for the silent auction, and Fiona created the trivia night poster. Thank you David, Michelle, Alex and Fiona for your help. Also thank you to everyone who made delicious sandwiches and cakes for supper. It was an extremely successful evening and bodes well for the debating night to be held in two months time.
The movie night has been organised and the flyer is in this bulletin. Booking are to be made through Humantix, and it is important that bookings are made early to guarantee a seat. A private theatre has been organised and we will be sharing the seats with the Rotary Club of Kew. This means that there may not be room for adjustment for seat numbers at the last minute, so book early! It should be a fun film. Arrangements have been made with Glenferrie Hotel for us to have dinner after the movie.
You will all be interested to hear that our exchange student arrives tonight. He is from the Czech Republic and will be staying with me initially, until Alan has recovered. He should be able to come to the meeting at the Canterbury Neighbourhood Centre on Monday and you will all meet him.
The only other event coming up is the cooking morning on Wednesday 19 August, where I need eight participants. If you would like to help, please let me know.
Wishing you all a good week and looking forward to Monday night,
Presentation title: Restoring Lives Through Mercy Ships
Samantha Clarke is a Victorian Ambassador for Mercy Ships Australia and a passionate storyteller, community builder and advocate for purpose led change.
Mercy Ships operates hospital ships that bring free, life changing surgery to people who would otherwise have little or no access to safe medical care. In this presentation, Samantha will share the powerful work of Mercy Ships through moving patient stories, the extraordinary commitment of volunteers who fund their own travel and time onboard, and the lasting impact safe surgery can have on individuals, families and entire communities.
Her career has taken an unexpected and fascinating path. Samantha began her working life as a hairdresser, where she first discovered the power of listening, connection and personal stories. She later moved into the world of politics, working for a Prime Minister, before building a career across community engagement, membership, leadership and impact driven organisations.
Today, Samantha brings that unique mix of lived experience, communication and heart to her work with Mercy Ships. She is passionate about connecting audiences with the human stories behind global surgery and showing how compassion, skill and generosity can restore hope and transform lives.
FORaMEAL at Yarra Valley Grammar in Ringwood on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 July 2026
A very pleasant and productive setup and event was held in the Foundation Hall at Yarra Valley Grammar. The students packed 22,900 meals, an incredible effort with minimal spills or fuss.
Some of the students assisted our team members President Jill, Doug, Narelle Bakyew, Kate and Gerry Cross and Andrew Brownie, Merlin Sykes and Tim Treeby from the RC Maroondah and Celina and Pam from Pennant Australasia Pty Ltd (a private company that encourages their staff to volunteer and pays them for their attendance) with the setup on Monday.
Unfortunately, Doug had an early start on Tuesday due to my miscommunication and returned bright and early from a very early return run to and from Dandenong with the extra supplies and kits in readiness for the busy day on Tuesday. Apologies again, Doug. He had to warm up with a mega cup of coffee due to a malfunction with the door panel and was unable to wind the side window up! It could only happen to Doug but as always, he soldiered on & again has a tale to tell!!
The same FAM members returned for the event on Tuesday morning and with the addition of David Zrna and Alex Birnie. The RC Maroondah members of Andrew Brownie, Paul Wang, Noel Williams ably assisted along with Kevin Xiao from MATES and Brian Wiltshire from Whitehorse Rotaract.
The FAM team extend a big thank you to all who contributed to a very successful preparation and event. We just couldn’t do these events without your ongoing support.
I’m sure there was certainly no need for the box fillers to go to the gym after the busy day! Even though President Jill went to Pilates following an early rising to take Michael to the airport prior to coming to assist all bright eyed and limbered up.
Our thanks have been extended to Yarra Valley Grammar and staff for their hospitality, lovely lunch and assistance to support us. We shall be returning on 3 and 4 August for the remainder of the year student group preparation and event.
The Canterbury Rotary Club lunch group usually meets bi-weekly at 12.30 for a meal and some fun.
David Zrna looks after the reservations for the lunch group. Please contact David at david.zrna@canterburyrotary.org or on 0467033092 to advise that you will be coming to a lunch.
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