THE SAVEALIFE PROJECT

Words: Dave Woodhouse, Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, NZ

 

Surely what must be one of the simplest and yet most effective ways of raising awareness and fundraising is the Savealife Rotary project which is administered by the Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, NZ.

 

It all started in 2015 when two enterprising Rotarians, John Dentice and Brian Rickard from Palmerston North, NZ saw an opportunity for selling capsule keyrings. The big difference was that each capsule was to contain a 300mg soluble aspirin which could be used if someone was experiencing signs of a heart attack. The simple act of chewing that aspirin, or having it dissolve if placed under the tongue, may help to keep that person alive for up to what the paramedics call 'The Golden Hour' - that being the time between having the attack and the paramedics arriving on the scene and transporting the patient to hospital. John and Brian explored all the aspects of this idea and soon had the backing of medical consultants.

 

All the components were sourced, the capsules were filled and bagged and the big sell began! Pretty soon, it became obvious that this idea was going to be bigger than they imagined and, after a fortuitous meeting at a trade show with Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise President Ron Fyfe, a collaboration was deemed necessary in order to roll out the project to a wider network. Thus, Tauranga Sunrise Rotary took over the national distribution of the capsules (originally named ‘Lifesavers’, subsequently re-branded to 'Savealife').

 

The early days were tentative as we tested the market and introduced three different selling tiers:

Retail :                $NZ4 (No minimum)

Retailers:             $3 (100 minimum)

Rotary clubs:      $2 (100 minimum)

All prices include Goods and Services Tax (GST)

 

It quickly became apparent that the best way to publicise the project was to encourage other Rotary clubs to take over distribution for their respective areas by whatever means they saw fit, thereby making a $2 profit on each one they sell at retail level. The tiered selling also allowed for clubs to make a $1 profit if they on sold to retailers.

 

Rotary clubs in District 9930 joined in initially and then the word got round, so we started getting enquiries from clubs further afield. We also saw a niche market which gave the opportunity for enterprising companies to purchase the capsules as a corporate giveaway with their own logo and contact details – for this we charge a $1 per unit premium. 

 

Website www.savealife.co.nz was launched with further information on the project and a contact form.

 

Orders soon started rolling in, especially with companies seeing the value of being part of such a caring and potentially life-saving project. Pdf images are always supplied for approval prior to manufacture.

 

Home shows, women's expos and other trade shows were very successful, with very few refusals, so the next stage was to run a newspaper promotion. The publishers needed no encouragement to feature the capsules on pages 1,2 and 3 of their free edition Bay of Plenty Times and orders followed thick and fast. A call by one of our founding members to the Newstalk ZB radio studio (following a feature on defibrillators) saw enquiries from all over New Zealand and further afield.

 

Our mission statement is to encourage as many people to have a Savealife capsule on their keyring. It is perhaps surprising – and not a little scary – that we are receiving regular reports and stories of people who had had to use their capsule. Incidentally, each sale is accompanied by a purse or wallet sized card which gives all details in relation to procedure, not the least of which is checking for the existence of a MedicAlert medical identity bracelet or necklace and, of course, to dial 111 emergency service. In the vast majority of cases, the paramedics have asked the caller, “Does anyone have an aspirin with them?”

 

As a club, we feel that we are only just scratching the surface of this great fundraiser, especially as ALL the profit that we make goes back into the community and even after the first eight months, this is proving to be a significant sum, so we encourage any other clubs to contact us to help fulfil our dream while saving lives.

 

Internationally, there is the opportunity for our Rotarian friends across the Tasman to participate and, whilst we are not able to export filled with aspirin capsules, we are actively seeking national distribution partners to work towards a mutually beneficial end.

 

Interested? For more information, please contact Savealife Project Coordinator Dave Woodhouse via +64 27 513 2345 or email info@savealife.co.nz.

              

Is $4 a fair price to pay for the potential of saving a life?  We think so.    

 

Tauranga Rotary’s goal is to help Pacific Islanders see

Words: David Garland, Rotary Club of Tauranga, NZ
Photos: Marine Reach

Over many years, the Rotary Club of Tauranga and the people of Tauranga have supported the humanitarian organisation Marine Reach as they take dental, eye health, general medical and community development assistance to the people who live on the small islands of the Pacific.

Because these people do not have ready access to the services that people in New Zealand take for granted, their health and life expectancy is significantly reduced.

Marine Reach has been taking these services to the Pacific for over 25 years using small specially fitted hospital ships.

Their current ship, the MV Pacific Hope, has recently arrived back to its home port Tauranga, after her first voyage of mercy to the Pacific. View the video of her first voyage and about this great organisation by visiting www.marinereach.com.

Two years ago Tauranga Rotary and its sister Rotary clubs in Japan and Australia provided the equipment to furnish the dental clinic aboard Pacific Hope.

Tauranga Rotary, again with the support of its sister clubs and others in New Zealand and international, including a Rotary Foundation Global Grant, have set a goal to now furnish the ophthalmology clinic.

The fundraising project has set a sum of $90,000 as it target.  Already there are commitments of around $75,000 with additional donations being received daily.

Tauranga Rotary, whose motto is “Service Above Self”, invites the people and businesses of Tauranga, New Zealand and overseas to come aboard and join us as we make a difference to the lives of our neighbours in the Pacific.

Donations can be sent by cheque to P O Box 609, Tauranga or via Give a Little using your credit card via https://givealittle.co.nz/org/tgarotary.    

All donors will receive charitable donation receipts and donors of over $500 will be recognised by an inscription on a panel to be installed in the ophthalmology clinic.

For more information, contact Project Coordinator David Garland on +64 7 543 2012 or david.beverley@paradise.net.nz.

Wheels for Max

Max on “the beast” 

As part of the Rotary Club of East Coast Bays’ business plan, the club set an objective to encourage a style of membership that is open, communicative and with strong fellowship and Rotary family involvement.

With guidance and great leadership from our District 9910 Governor Peter Garnett who is a member of our club, the club President Caroline Campbell has developed a culture that encourages and values the input of all club members and supports and enables new ideas.

One of our new and younger members suggested in his three minute talk, that the club look at some different and more innovative ways we could raise funds for our various projects. The “Give a Little” website was one vehicle he suggested we should explore.

The Give a Little concept is already a well-established system for giving, but it had not been used as a platform by our club before. Once we had the green light from the Board of Directors, there were several steps in the process we had to undertake to ensure our page was set up properly as a registered charity, but once completed, we were good to go.

Before long we had our first fundraising project and the “Wheels for Max” campaign began.

Max, a 12 year-old with a form of cerebral palsy that affects all four of his limbs, had his heart set on a 4x4 all-terrain wheelchair, known as “the beast” that would enable him to enjoy a more active and participative life. 

With our club’s own push via social media and the help of the local newspaper, the Give a Little campaign was very successful and more importantly, over just five weeks, proved a fast and efficient way to raise the $15,000 that was needed for this life-changing piece equipment for Max.

This project highlighted what is great about of the Rotary Club of East Coast Bays.

A collaboration between some of our newest members with their fresh perspective and ideas, in partnership with longer term members who knew how to best leverage the funds we had raised by applying for a Matching Grant. Combine this with the support and encouragement for this new thinking from everyone else in the club and the outcome was a fantastic result which culminated in the donation of the “The Beast” to Max on February 23 on Rotary’s 111^th birthday.

Words: Amanda Chambers, Member and PR Director, Rotary Club of East Coast Bays, NZ

10th Taveuni Eye Project in Fiji: What goes on behind the scenes

Nurse Vicky checking the eye of a patient - Photo: Jan Malden, Inner Wheel Boronia

“The timing of the 10^th Taveuni Eye Project in October 2015 could not have been more perfect for patients.  All patients have returned to their homes, families and friends and were able to participate in the Christmas and New Year celebrations. For many it was the first for a long time, so consequently very special,” said Project Lead, Rotary Club of Taveuni Island President Geoffrey Amos.

 

“In the developing world, every blind poor person has a family member who is chosen to be his or her caretaker. Frequently it is a child who becomes the “seeing eye child” for the blind person. Neither can attend school, work, or provide for the family, prolonging the cycle of poverty,“ commented Head Surgeon Doctor Jeff Rutgard.

 

Over the last ten years, the Taveuni Rotary Club has come to the aid of the visually impaired throughout Fiji by reaching out to them, giving 2500 of them a second chance, a chance to see for the first time for children born with cataracts and for adults to see again after being blind for years.

 

Worldwide support for the Taveuni Eye Project has made all this possible.  What a marvelous gift for the patients and their families. Without the wonderful team of supporters and volunteers, the largest totally free Cataract Surgery Program would not take place.

 

Support comes in many ways; some give their skill and time, some people provide vital funding, and others contribute food, accommodation and transport. This successful project grows year by year.  Last year 33 volunteers from Fiji, New Zealand, USA and Australia were involved for two weeks. Each year the project raises $FJ150,000 to provide this vital service to people in rural and remote communities, and each year it gets harder to fund the project.

 

The project has both local and overseas donors. Local Taveuni Island donors grow one ton each of dalo and cassava, others supply vudi, pineapple, bananas, pawpaw and meat.

 

In this unique project, the patients pays nothing, irrespective of where they live. The project pays all transport, accommodation, meals, surgery and post-operative medication for door to door via the Taveuni Island Hospital. In its 10^th year, the project team returned full vision to 339 eyes for 255 patients including 4 children. All patients returned to their homes with renewed vigor for life as full working members of their community, with the children now able to go to school.

 

Once the yearly fundraising is complete and everything is planned, the volunteers all arrive and commence the numerous tasks required to take care of the patients.

 

The Logistics Team arrange the travel for patients coming from all over Fiji, coordinating passenger services (including ships, buses, ferries, hire vehicles and donated local vehicles), the number of patients arriving and departing daily, planning surgery numbers, liaising with Patient Services for beds and food, attending to the Theatre Team’s requirements. They are the first to arrive at the hospital in the morning and last to leave at the end of the day. Past President Michael Prasad has done this role for all of the last ten years.

 

Over the same time period, Rotarian Joey Korovata has managed the Patient Services Team. They produce all the meals (totaling approximately 2500 over the two weeks), wash thousands of sheets, pillow cases and towels, and of course make the beds and care for patients.

 

The Medical Team carry out the medical procedures and supply the very best of care for the patients. With 35 operations per day, sometimes three at once, plus the pre-screening and post-operative care, their days are full from 6.30am to 6.00pm.

 

The total team compassion and dedication to the blind disadvantaged throughout Fiji, supported by the Taveuni Rotary Club and Rotary Clubs in New Zealand, Australia, and the US, along with SEE International and the Hawaiian Eye Foundation have made it possible for over 2,500 Fijian children and adults to have received the gift of sight.

 

“I witnessed patients who had travelled for over 36 hours who were so happy to be there and so appreciative of the work that this incredible group of people accomplish. These patients who are transported, accommodated and fed while having their sight restored, all provided by Rotary Foundation Global Grant, donations of money, voluntary time and the gift of love.  It is a truly an amazing humanitarian project,” concluded District 9920 Governor Jennie Herring.

 

Planning and fundraising has already commenced for the 11^th Annual Taveuni Eye Project.  To find out more, go to the Rotary Club of Taveuni Island’s website www.rotarysouthpacific.org/club.cfm?ID=365 or contact Geoffrey Amos directly via raikivi@me.com.

Words: Past President Peter Malden, of the Rotary Club of Boronia, Vic (a sister club to Rotary Club of Taveuni Island, Fiji)

 

Fashion and incontinence becomes talk of the town

The silent epidemic of incontinence became one of the most talked about topics at New Zealand Fashion Week this year, thanks to fashion designer Frantisek Riha-Scott and business partner Mark Davey, who is also Chair of Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland’s Community Committee.

Their product is Confitex, an innovative and stylish range of underwear for men and women with incontinence.  A fine example of Kiwi ingenuity, the Confitex range marries high-tech sports fabric with fashion and is sleekly styled, absorbent, waterproof, pad-free and eco-friendly. 

Almost one million women and men in New Zealand experience incontinence or occasional bladder leakage. In Australia the figure is around 4.5m and in the USA 115m. 

Mark Davey says New Zealand Fashion Week was an important step forward for an essential conversation. “It was a world first to have lingerie designed for incontinence on the runway at a fashion show,” he says. “When we first researched incontinence products, we were shocked to see what people had to wear - they were big and bulky, and look like adult nappies - it’s no wonder people’s self-esteem is low.”

While developing Confitex, Mark and Frantisek met Dr Lynsey Hayward, an Auckland Urogynaecology Specialist and Vice-President of the International Urogynaecology Association. “It’s very common for women to be so embarrassed they don’t tell their family or partners.  Sometimes they won’t even leave the house, play with their children, or even laugh,” she says.

Following New Zealand Fashion Week, Dr Hayward was delighted to accept from the Rotary Club of Downtown Auckland a Confitex donation of 120 pairs of underwear to help women who can’t afford incontinence pads that can cost over $2,000 a year.  “Some women with this condition will lie on a bed of newspaper because they can’t buy pads anymore,” she says.

The range is being marketed across Australasia by Pharmaco Ltd, a specialist New Zealand owned healthcare sales and marketing company.

Pharmaco Chief Executive Officer Chandra Selvadurai says Confitex is a fantastic example of Kiwi innovation that’s set to disrupt its category by improving people’s lives through innovation and design.  “Up until now incontinence products have been functional, uncomfortable and ugly, and do nothing to boost confidence,” he says.  “As a Kiwi company, we are delighted to be working with another to grow its business in New Zealand and Australia.”

Confitex on the runway at NZ Fashion Week.

Plenty of pain, with lots to gain

Richard Thorpe and Maureen Reihana at the RPM cycling class #6 on Thursday, November 19 with great support from the other participants in the class

A charity ride with a difference

Rotarian Richard Thorpe, who is President Elect of the Rotary Club Botany East Tamaki in Auckland, NZ, has been combining his passion for cycling with an annual activity to raise awareness and funds to support his charity of choice. The fight to eradicate the world of the deadly Polio virus.

Richard, a passionate cyclist whose view of the perfect holiday is to cycle the Tour de France route, has for the last few years used the Contact Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge race as an opportunity to raise funds to fight through sponsoring his annual effort. Many thousands of dollars have been raised as a result. However, this year work commitments have taken him out of the country, so he refocused and found an equally challenging substitute. With the support of the team at 24/7 Fitness at Auckland Airport he set his sights on completing eight full hour long RPM high intensity indoor cycling classes in six days from November 16 to 21. 

“I usually try and do three RPM classes a week, so this was quite a challenge to put in a top effort in each class during the week”, Richard said adding, “the intensity and pain levels are high, but the fulfilment in the end is awesome.”

Sponsorship raised $2500, and with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matching this 2 to 1, Richard is justifiably proud of the $7500 total that his efforts have contributed to The Rotary Foundation’s global Polio Plus project this year.

“The most satisfying part of the week was the support I received from 24/7 Fitness. Their Manager Maureen Reihana took three of these classes and embraced my challenge, put signs up around the gym to promote it, and this enthusiasm spread to all the others doing the classes during the week. As well as raising valuable sponsorship funds, I have managed to educate a lot of people about Polio and the good work that Rotary has done with this Polio eradication project for so many years.”

Side bar about Polio: 

Imagine a world free of deadly pandemic disease. People like philanthropist Bill Gates and Rotarians throughout the world do.

Rotary International has partnered with the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and many governments of the world in a campaign to help eradicate the world of this deadly disease. In 1979 when the first Polio vaccinations began, there were 125 countries infected with endemic levels of Polio virus. Hundreds of thousands of people each year suffered devastating sickness, paralysis, deformity of limbs and for a significant number, ultimately death. A simple vaccine however has changed this picture and eradication is now in our sights.

Since 1979 the combined global vaccination efforts have reduced the spread of Polio virus. Afganistan and Pakistan, with their warzone borders, now remain the last two countries with significant levels of the wild Polio virus. As with all disease, it can be easily spread if precautions are not put in place and Rotary along with its partners remain hard at work supporting the vaccination programs globally.  Bill Gates fronts a popular campaign holding up his hand with a small gap between his thumb and forefinger. “We’re this close”, Rotarian Richard Thorpe says to eradicating Polio. This will only be the second such virus to be eliminated since the WHO declared the world free of Smallpox in 1980.  

Words: Assistant Governor Mike Jaggs, of the Rotary Club of Botany East Tamaki, NZ

Photos: President Elect Richard Thorpe, of the Rotary Club of Botany East Tamaki, NZ