Last Saturday was a perfect day for a sausage sizzle. No footy & lots of sunshine resulted in a record sale of 860 sausages and a profit of $2,400. The money collected will go to helping the people of Nepal. A big thank you to all members involved in this event.

Attendance: 30  Members: 23 (of 47) 49%   Guests: 7

Speaker: Sophie Chen and Amy Yan Topic: Forced Organ Harvesting. What is it and what can we do about it?

Our speakers tonight were Amy Yan and Sophie Chen. They are both members of the End Forced Organ Harvesting Rotary Satellite Club, that was established in the USA on 15 August 2022.  Members of the club come from Germany, England, Sweden, Australia, Malaysia, France, Canada, Denmark and the USA.

The club name says it all. Forced organ harvesting means removing organs from a person without their prior, free and voluntary consent. According to United Nations reports, North Africa and the Middle East have the highest share of detected victims, followed by Europe and Asia.

The September Sumba Eye Project mission to Indonesia faced unexpected challenges, with the Waikabubak eye clinic closed through lack of funding and volcanic disruption limiting the surgical program. Despite the setbacks, the team completed 14 cataract operations, screened local schoolchildren and trained teachers and health workers to identify eye problems. Just as importantly, valuable new partnerships were strengthened to help build a more sustainable eye-care service for the people of Sumba.

The crowds came out for a sunny spring market on Saturday September 19th, a special day for the little ones in the family. With lots of things for kiddies to do, it was the bubble blowers that produced the loudest squeals of delight. The basketball hoops were popular too. Patterson Reserve was busy for most of the morning, with a number of stallholders selling out completely.

The regular market themes are working in rebuilding market patronage, with newcomers to the market enjoying the festive community atmosphere. So much more enjoyable than shopping in a boring old shopping centre! The next Boroondara Farmers Market is on Saturday October 17th, featuring exhibitions by local emergency services.

There was non-stop action at Bunnings Warehouse Hawthorn for most of the day, September 12th, for one of the club's most successful sausage sizzles ever. Hearty congratulations to Foundation Director Joanne Shentu and the Rotary Glenferrie Sizzlers for a supremely succesfull fundraiser. On a beautiful sunny day, patrons were at times queued well down Burwood Road in both directions, patiently waiting for their barbecued treat. As one patron said, “How come your sausages taste so much better than when we cook them ourselves"? The answer, of course, is a trade secret.

Sales were in the mid $3,000s with a net profit of around $2,400, all of which is to be donated to the Rotary founded global ShelterBox organisation, currently working to help victims of disasters in Nepal, Gaza and the Ukraine.

The fundraiser for ShelterBox was a Rotary Glenferrie Peacebuilder Project.

Some members may already be aware that PP Thelma Hutchison is a keen cyclist, but not many may know of her passion for the strangely named sport pickleball. Well sadly Thelma's passion for pickleball is waning now, after she ruptured her archilles tendon during a recent energetic pickleball rally. So at the moment Thelma is in a moon boot and getting around home on a trolley, but still smiling. We may not see Thelma at a meeting over the next couple of months, and goodness knows whether she'll ever be seen on a pickleball court again, but she is with us in spirit, as we are with her. Get better soon Thelma, and take good care of yourself.

Farmers Market Director David Fallick fronted the 3WBC 94.1FM microphone on Friday September 18th for a no-holds-barred interrogation by interviewer PP Ian Salek. David's interview  is a fascinating insight into one of our club's stalwart members, and into the behind-the-scenes story of the Boroondara Farmers Market. 

On Sunday the 30th of August, Christine McCann and I attended the Salvation Army Volunteer Day.

We were entertained with music and song and then each group of volunteers were especially thanked by Norman Gale for their many years of volunteering with the Salvation Army. Norman outlined all of the services that the Rotary club of Glenferrie provides for the Salvation Army and expressed his gratitude for all that we do. Each group of volunteers was given a Certificate of Appreciation and our Certificate is for Wendy Cross, Director of Community Services. 

Following the entertainment, we had morning tea and mixed with the other volunteers and staff of the Salvation Army.

The Bulletin is how we keep abreast of what our club and Rotary at large is doing - it's the way we keep each other informed. But it's only as good as the material that's sent in. So if you don't send in stories to the Bulletin editor, your light - and our light - will never shine. Spread the news. Please send your Rotary stories plus photos to Interim Bulletin Editor Chris Raw - while they're still news!