CHRISTMAS VEGGIE COLLECTION

Past President Harry Maidment, PDG John Rennie and George Wong

The Team unloading at the Salvation Army Depot Manukau City

CHRISTMAS VEGGIE COLLECTION DECEMBER 2015

 A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN

The Salvation Army, the Growers of Pukekohe, Auckland  and the Rotary Club of Drury

This Veggie Collection project started in 2001, the year Harry Maidment was president of the Rotary Club of Drury, District 9920.  Fourteen years later it is still going strong.   This project is a wonderful example of partnerships: working with the community, another charity group and the members of the Rotary Club of Drury.

There are now Fifty (50) Veggie Growers in the Pukekohe area who contribute to this collection.  These people work very hard to produce their products and every year they are keen to be part of this worthwhile Christmas Project.

The initial contact with the Growers is made in writing with a letter from both Thge Rotary Club of Drury and the Salvation Army endorsing the project.  The Rotary Club follows up with phone calls to confirm the pickup date.  When this is all done a team of three x  three made up of a driver and two workers head out in ten tonne trucks to pick up the produce.

It is then delivered to the Salvation Army main depot in Manukau City and then redistributed to smaller distribution centres to be given to needy families at Christmas.  As there is always a huge amount of veggies some that will keep, like onions and potatoes are distributed later the following year

Pride of Workmanship Awards

PRIP Bill Boyd presenting a Pride of Workmanship Certificate to Anita Greenland of The Professionals Real Estate.

Successful recipients of the Rotary Club of Manurewa-Takanini’s Pride of Workmanship Awards. Front row (left to right): Anita Greenland, Stacey Upjohn, Vanessa Carney, Reena Kaur and Shareen Prakesh. Back row (left to right): Frank Vaotuua, Stephen Paparoa, Andrea Cottingham, Janice McFarline, Sam Kakato and Dimuth Peiris.

Pride of Workmanship Awards were awarded by the Rotary Club of Manurewa-Takanini, NZ on September 21, 2015 to 11 awardees, including security guards, teachers, supermarket supervisors, a personal assistant, a secretary receptionist, a beverages and catering manager, an artist and a team leader. Their employers ranged from a primary school, beautification trust, real estate agency, supermarket, and a shopping centre to a local board and a golf club. 

Awardee nominations came as a result of personal contact with employers known to members, a mail-out to local businesses with a personal follow up, and from approaching a school principal who was a guest speaker earlier in the year. 

Every business has staff members who excel at their jobs or think outside the square to ensure that the duties they have been allocated are finished both accurately and on time. These same employees may volunteer to help other employees with their tasks. Many businesses value special employees, but due to financial restraints or company policies, they are unable to reward them for their extra efforts. 

The idea behind the Pride of Workmanship Awards is to help employers recognise these employees, so each year we select a small group of local companies to participate in these awards. The employers nominate their staff member along with a short resume of what they do and why they are nominating them. It is not a competition, so nominees are all automatically accepted by the club and certificates are printed and framed.

The presentation dinner is attended by the employer and their nominated employee, plus any other employees the business wishes to bring along, or even family members.  The Rotary club pays for the employee and the employer pays for themselves and any other people they bring along. We include a short speech about Rotary opportunities, then a keynote speaker on a related topic, and then it is the presentation of certificates with the employers explaining why they nominated each awardee. 

It is always a great night where we all recognise excellence and the recipients go home feeling appreciated. We recommend annual Pride of Workmanship Awards to all clubs. 

Words:  President Ken Haines, Rotary Club of Manurewa-Takanini, NZ

Photos: Colin White, Rotary Club of Manurewa-Takanini, NZ

Sun shines on garden trail

An eye-catching fountain on the Pauatahanui Garden Trail – Photo credit: Wendy Betteridge

After a very windy and wet week, Saturday November 29, 2015 dawned fine and calm for the inaugural Pauatahanui Garden Trail in New Zealand.

Twelve private gardens were opened to the public. Over 900 tickets were sold to people from far and wide who enjoyed a quiet stroll around the area.

Together with the food available, this event raised approximately $26,000 for the next section of construction of  Te Ara Piko Pathway – the meandering path on the northern side of Pauatahanui Inlet.

General comments and observations were that the day was a huge success and it augers well for next year when new gardens have already been offered for visiting.

The amount of work put in by the owners in adverse weather conditions was evident in the presentation of their gardens, which ranged from beautiful colourful suburban gardens to larger rural ones with expansive lawns and plantings, including gracious big trees. A huge vote of thanks goes to those owners because, without their generous contribution, the garden trail could never have happened.

 Words: Jenny Lucas, Rotary Club of Plimmerton, NZ

Fun and excitement with new swimming goggles

Stanhope Road School pupils modelling the new swimming goggles donated by the Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise

Excitement was in store for the middle and senior pupils aged 10-12 years-old at Stanhope Road School, Mt Wellington, a suburb of Auckland, NZ.

The school has a total of 529 pupils from 29 different ethnic groups, so it is a very diverse school.

While having a cup of tea in the staff room after Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise members had taken part in a special reading session for 6 year-olds, Deputy Principal Jenny Bristow mentioned that children were about to start swimming lessons and hardly any of them had goggles.

Swimming instructor Nicky Adams from Swim Magic, who was also helping with the reading programme, suggested it would greatly assist the instructors when teaching the children if they have the protection for their eyes to help them feel comfortable when opening their eyes under the water.

Nearly all of the pupils are required to having swimming lessons, as it is the school’s goal to teach water safety and skills to the children, so they are able to survive and swim safely.

The Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise quickly came to the rescue by obtaining 40 pairs of goggles stored in an aerated plastic bin for all to use. Great results have been achieved so far with the children feeling confident in the water.

“The kids had so much fun posing and modelling the super doper coloured goggles”, said Stanhope Road School teacher Leigh Burrell, who enjoyed taking the photo.

Words: Gabrielle Gimblett-Martin, Youth Initiatives Director, Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise, NZ

Photo: Leigh Burrell, teacher, Stanhope Road School in Auckland, NZ