Boroondara Cares The Bulletin

Transcription

1 Boroondara Cares The Bulletin For the good of Boroondara November/December2014 Rotary Club led foundation launched. The end of the beginning It is not every day in the life of Rotary that the leaders and members of many clubs get together with their Rotary District colleagues, council and community representatives to advance a major service opportunity. The fourteenth of November 2014 was such a day. City of Boroondara Mayor Coral Ross provided a fitting climax to the formal evening event when she launched the new iteration of Foundation Boroondara now to be known as Boroondara Cares Foundation. She noted the council s history of support for Foundation Boroondara and its works and successes for the benefit of the city over several years.. Councillor Ross had followed the Boroondara Cares Foundation s Steering Committee s progress and its plans for a Rotary led initiative to create a larger foundation for the good of Boroondara. She congratulated the steering committee and the member Rotary clubs for their work and wished the new foundation a successful future. More than seventy guests accepted the generous hospitality of Swinburne University to share in the launch of the Boroondara Cares Foundation in the lecture theatre of the magnificent new Advanced Manufacturing Design Centre in Burwood Road, development. Rotary programs would gain new funding and the existing foundation would, after some changes, expand its services within the borders of Boroondara. The rest is, as they say, history. Directors of Foundation Boroondara, Post launch portrait: L-R PDG Dennis Shore (Chairman, Boroondara Cares), PDG John Wigley (Rotary Founda on), Peter Allen (Chairman, Boroondara Cares Founda on Steering Commi ee, Rotary Club of Camberwell), David Baker (Master of Ceremonies, Rotary Club of Camberwell), Murray Verso (Rotary District 9800 Governor), Julie Mason (Rotary District 9800 Governor (Elect)), Denbigh Richards (Chairman, Boroondara Cares Founda on), Mayor Coral Ross, Professor Jennelle Kyd (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Swinburne University) Welcome to Swinburne was the theme of Acting Vice-Chancellor Professor Jennelle Kyd s opening address to the foundation launch. Swinburne University is justifiably proud of its role as a leading Australian tertiary institution and its role in Boroondara. It actively sought opportunities for engagement with the community. (There are many linkages with the Rotary clubs of Boroondara.) It was, Professor Kyd announced, a pleasure for the university to host the launch of the Boroondara Cares Foundation. The notion of a Rotary club led foundation was conceived in the Rotary Club of Camberwell in 2012 as part of a wider agenda to awaken the successful Boroondara Cares program from its self imposed hibernation after several years of service to the drought challenged Moira Shire on the Murray. Adopted by the Eastside Cluster of Rotary Clubs, soon the Riverside cluster came on board. Boroondara Cares was reborn in its new mode for the good of Boroondara. A subcommittee soon followed to develop the vision to source funds from the wider community to fund Rotary club led and endorsed programs. Fortuitously, the existing Foundation Boroondara accepted an invitation to explore the possibilities for a shared win-win most of whom were Rotarians, joined the steering committee and the vision was confidently pursued. Rotary District and Foundation leaders were kept well-informed and were supportive. Particular thanks are now due and offered to the four District Governors who have supported both Boroondara Cares and its ambitions for a new Rotary foundation Past District Governors Don Jago, Dennis Shore, Ross Butterworth and District Governor Murray Verso. Largely thanks to them we have our new foundation. To borrow the words of Winston Churchill - This is not the end or the beginning of the end but it is perhaps the end of the beginning 1

2 The Steering Committee Peter Allen (Chair) RC of Camberwell Grantham Beeston RC of Balwyn Gerry Cross RC of Canterbury Di Gillies RC of Balwyn Noel Halford RC of Hawthorn Michael Hills RC of Glenferrie John Hudson RC of Glenferrie PDG Don Jago RC of Camberwell Bob Lambert RC of Yarra Bend Ron Phillips RC of Balwyn Denbigh Richards Foundation Boroondara PDG Dennis Shore RC of Hawthorn Susie White Foundation Boroondara Chairman Denbigh welcomes the next genera on. A er two years... change in a few minutes A er close to two years of detailed discussions and nego a ons, Founda on Boroondara changed into Boroondara Cares Founda on in a few short minutes. Less than an hour before the launch Rotary club members were appointed, a new cons tu on adopted and the board expanded. It was observed by one member that Denbigh Richards entered the board room as Chairman of Founda on Boroondara and emerged as Chairman of Boorondara Cares Founda on. Addressing the mee ng Chairman Denbigh Richards reflected warmly upon the successes of the founda on The Chances Scholarship Program, Kinder +, Social Inclusion Small Grants and several others. He looked forward to a new and exci ng stage in the development of the new founda on and thanked the steering commi ee for its successful work His board looked forward to working with the member Rotary Clubs for the good of Boroondara. The Boroondara Cares Foundation Board of Directors Denbigh Richards (Chair) Community Peter Allen RC of Camberwell Elida Brereton Community Gerry Cross RC of Canterbury Di Gillies RC of Balwyn Noel Halford RC of Hawthorn Michael Hills RC of Glenferrie John Hudson RC of Glenferrie PDG Don Jago RC of Camberwell Bob Lambert RC of Yarra Bend PDG Dennis Shore RC of Hawthorn Bob Stensholt Community Hugh Trumble RC of Balwyn Susie White Community Chairman of Boroondara Cares Founda on (formerly Founda on Boroondara) Denbigh Richards shares refreshments with Past Presidents Anne Josefsberg (Boroondara) and Clarke Ballard (Balwyn) With grateful thanks to our supporters. All photographs in this publication are the work of Past President Gordon Cheyne of the Rotary Club of Hawthorn, a Boroondara Cares supporter since the project s establishment. We are grateful to Gordon for his ongoing support.. 2

3 Engage Rotary. Change lives. The brief is a simple one. Raise money to support Rotary programs. Extract of the address to the founda on launch func on by Steering Commi ee Chairman Peter Allen, Rotary Club of Camberwell) Rotary District 9800 Governor Murray Verso set the stage for the successful launch of the Boroondara Cares Founda on. He noted the successes enjoyed by the Boroondara Cares Forum and offered praise for the model as an example to other municipali es bringing clubs, council and community resources together. He praised the Rotary Club of Camberwell for the club s vision and tenacity in its delivery of the new Rotary Club led founda on If ever we needed proof of the power of the Rotary brand we have it here in spades. A er close to two years of borrowing mee ng rooms and a lot of me from our commi ee members, not a single dollar of Rotary money has been spent. Yet here we are in this world class university facility enjoying the university s hospitality and launching what promises to be a valuable contribu on to the work of our nine Boroondara Rotary clubs. Each year our Rotary Interna onal President gives the Rotary World a theme for that year. Once in a while we get a gem. It happened last year when Rotary Interna onal President Ron Burton chose the theme Engage Rotary Change Lives. For the directors of Founda on Boroondara now called the Boroondara Cares Founda on our new founda on is simply a change of ownership, a new cons tu on and some new faces in their board-room. Our steering commi ee has been blessed with a range of skills and wisdom that has guided us towards today s achievement. A couple of hours ago in another fine room in this building the Founda on Boroondara directors adopted the new cons tu on, added some new directors and replaced their own membership with the nine Rotary Clubs of Boroondara. Boroondara Cares Chairman Past District Governor Dennis Shore welcomed guests represen ng the nine clubs of Boroondara, District 9800 leaders and members of Swinburne University led by Ac ng Vice-Chancellor Professor Jennelle Kyd. A special welcome was extended to Mayor Coral Ross and her council colleagues Councillors Healey, Wegman and Voce. Councillor Ross was warmly congratulated on her reelec on this week as mayor. Chairman Dennis retraced the seven year progress of Boroondara Cares from a drought relief program in Moira Shire on the Murray River to the promising launch of a new founda on for the good of Boroondara,. Thanks to the Rotary Club of Camberwell for its vision and tenacity. Steering Commi ee Chairman Peter Allen with the Camberwell con ngent. L-R Back row David Baker (MC), Graeme Hope, PDG Don Jago, Marcus Falay, Adrian Campbell Front: Margery Jago, Nick Pane and Beverley Allen The no on of engagement will resonate well with Swinburne University our hosts today and with our city councillors who spend so much of their me engaging with the Boroondara Community. We re here today to mark the successful end of a two year project the crea on of a Rotary Club led founda on to give greater strength to the arm of our nine Rotary clubs and Rotary led programs within the borders of our city. And we re here to begin to engage Rotary more deeply in our Boroondara community and to change some lives for the be er. Thanks to the support and encouragement of the directors of Founda on Boroondara led by Chairman Denbigh Richards the achievement of our new Rotary Founda on was made much easier than might otherwise have been the case. To use a spor ng metaphor the Boroondara Cares Founda on is not a sprint event. It is a marathon. A er many months of planning and nego a on only now are we in the star ng posi on fit and enthusias c for the challenges that will lie ahead over many years. We ve done perhaps 10% of our work. Now we are to begin the ninety percent. Tomorrow, not much will change. It will be business as usual for the con nuing founda on. Within a few days the expanded board will meet to con nue planning for the development of what has just become the new founda on the Boroondara Cares Founda on. The marathon will take place over ten years and beyond. Within a few months the board will bring down a rolling five-year plan with an horizon of ten years. Con nued on page 5 3

4 For the good of Boroondara B o r o o n d a r a C a r e s 4 November/December2014

5 Engage Rotary (from Page 3) One of the key early challenges for the board will be the gathering of resources to build the founda on. As a Rotary led organisa on costs will be minimised and we will look mainly to volunteers to bring home our results. You can expect to hear from the founda on soon as we look to build our team. However our quest will move beyond the Rotary family to provide opportuni es for service for members of the wider Boroondara community as well as merely Rotarians. The first recrui ng task is to establish under the board a development sub-commi ee to build and resource the development plan. The members of that team will be marketers, sales professionals and communicators. Their brief is a simple one. Raise money to support Rotary programs in the City of Boroondara. Their formal task will be to bring down a rolling five year fund-raising plan and to resource its delivery. As we plan our way forward a key theme will be Think big and expect to get it. There is no rush. Tonight might be called a so launch. We re here to mark a milestone the delivery of a long promised outcome a Rotary Club led founda on for the good of Boroondara. Tomorrow the founda on will con nue to present to the community as Founda on Boroondara as a trading name for the Boroondara Cares Founda on. Within the next year you can expect to see a very different approach to the market-place established with new imagery, colours, themes and communica on styles. It might seem strange or even inappropriate to some of us that a charitable founda on should be focusing upon marke ng concepts like branding and products. I have spent much of the last twenty years on the boards of charitable founda ons and can tell you that it s tough out there. Not impossible just tough. Over the last several weeks, seventy marke ng under-graduates from this great university have been helping us to come to terms with the marke ng challenge. It s been great fun and very promising, We look forward to working closely with Swinburne There is much compe on for the charitable dollar. A key challenge will be to find a special place in the hearts and minds and in the wallets and bank accounts of the residents of Boroondara. We do have one special advantage our linkage to one of the most powerful brands on the planet the Rotary wheel as a force for good in the world. There s a lot to be done in our community. The nine Rotary Clubs of Boroondara are up to the challenge of playing their part in making a difference. Money is not the whole answer but it is certainly a major part of it. Rotary clubs are not fund-raising organisa ons. They are service organisa ons that raise some funds. The clear and simple new aim of the Boroondara Cares Founda on is to generate new funds from the community for Rotary Club led or endorsed programs. A ques on in the minds of some here today perhaps most is When will we get some funds from the founda on? A reasonable answer would be that some funds should become available within two years and we will build from that me as the business plan develops. The founda on program is about evolu on and not revolu on. Tonight is witness to the fact that when Rotarians get together stay together and make enduring plans for mul club service, good things happen. Tonight is the end of the beginning. Boroondara Cares is a regular forum for the Rotary Clubs of the City of Boroondara and other community based organisa ons.. Rotary Club members are the Rotary Clubs of Balwyn, Boroondara, Camberwell, Canterbury, Glenferrie, Hawthorn, Kew, Yarra Bend, and North Balwyn Correspondence to - The Secretary, Boroondara Cares boroondaracare9@iinet.net.au 5