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Welcome to Rotary Papanui

Are you someone who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Rotary Papanui members are friendly and dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse and experienced group who share your drive to give back. You can achieve so much more by being part of an established worldwide organisation.
Latest News
Craft Bazaar

Craft Supplies wanted for Craft Bazzar Fundraiser

Please  donate your spare craft goods fabric, wool, sewing  & knitting patterns, ribbons buttons, doll  making supplies, beads,  cotton  thread knitting & crotchet supplies and  equipment, scissors, shells
Felting,  scarves,  jewellery,  totes,   retro   and   vintage  goods,   etc   etc
 
All funds raised will go to Papanui Rotary Community Projects
 
To Donate, please contact Kathy 027 455 7889
 
November Theme
Posted by Gary Denhard

November is Rotary Foundation month

The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. As the charitable arm of Rotary International, we tap into a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise into our priorities, such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Foundation grants empower Rotarians to approach challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition with sustainable solutions that leave a lasting impact.

Strong financial oversight, a stellar charity rating, and a unique funding model mean that we make the very most of your contribution. Give and become a part of Rotary’s life-changing work!
The collective leadership and expertise of our 1.2 million members helps us tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges, locally and globally. We are united by common values and vision for the future as we sharpen our focus with targeted specific causes that will reach communities most in need.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
For more than 100 years, our guiding principles have been the foundation upon which our values and tradition stand. The Four-Way Test, Object of Rotary, and the Avenues of Service express our commitment to service, fellowship, diversity, integrity, and leadership.

HISTORY OF THE ROTARY FOUNDATION
At the 1917 convention, outgoing RI President Arch C. Klumph proposed to set up an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world.” In 1928, it was renamed The Rotary Foundation, and it became a distinct entity within Rotary International.

GROWTH OF THE FOUNDATION
In 1929, the Foundation made its first gift of $500 to the International Society for Crippled Children. The organization, created by Rotarian Edgar F. “Daddy” Allen, later grew into Easter Seals.
When Rotary founder Paul Harris died in 1947, contributions began pouring in to Rotary International, and the Paul Harris Memorial Fund was created to build the Foundation.
 
EVOLUTION OF FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
  • 1947: The Foundation established its first program, Fellowships for Advance Study, later known as Ambassadorial Scholarships.
  • 1965-66: Three programs were launched: Group Study Exchange, Awards for Technical Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation, which was later called Matching Grants.
  • 1978: Rotary introduced the Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants. The first 3-H Grant funded a project to immunize 6 million Philippine children against polio.
  • 1985: The PolioPlus program was launched to eradicate polio worldwide.
  • 1987-88: The first peace forums were held, leading to Rotary Peace Fellowships.
  • 2013: New district, global, and packaged grants enable Rotarians around the world to respond to the world’s greatest needs.
Since the first donation of $26.50 in 1917, the Foundation has received contributions totalling more than $1 billion.
Antarctic Update
Posted on Sep 28, 2023

Michelle Rogan-Finnemore - a thought provoking overview of Antartica

Michelle Rogan-Finnemore gave us a very interesting and thought provoking overview of Antarctica last Thursday.
 
 Michelle works at the Canterbury University Antarctic Programme as the science administrator and is currently the Executive Secretary of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programmes. Originally from the USA Michelle became sick of travelling back and forwards and made the big decision to stay in Christchurch some 20 years ago.  She showed us some extraordinary photos of the Northern Lights and the modern research stations in Antarctica she had taken when in Antarctica in 2018.
 
She works with 33 of the 54 countries where many of them collaborate with scientific and research knowledge as all 54 countries involved in research have to sign the Antarctic Treaty which states that the continent of Antarctica should be used for peaceful, scientific purposes.
 
Antarctica covers an area over 5.5million square miles and 17,300 of that is ice free and you can add winter ice of extra 2 million miles. Less than 1% of the total area of the Antarctic continent has people.
 
There are 117 Antarctic research stations with 40 that stay year-round, which is called “wintering over” and the rest are seasonal so they come in summer only.
 
The population rises to 15,000 in summer and they are scientists, astronomers and support staff whereas the population drops to 1,000 in winter.
 
They have discovered that Antarctic is the best place in the world to do astronomy and cosmetology.
It is the place that has the “oldest Ice” and are drilling through the ice to discover scientific facts from millions of years ago. It  has the cleanest marine environment anywhere in the world, so we learn about marine life and marine chemistry.
 
About 125,000 tourists will visit Antarctica this summer as it is a popular destination to see sea and wildlife in their natural habitat. Michelle noted that the whale population has grown considerably but the Emperor penguins are facing extinction by the end of the century based on current global warming trends, and a dramatic loss of sea ice.
 
65th Anniversary
Posted on Sep 24, 2023

65th Papanui Anniversary celebration last Saturday was one to remember.

Our 65th Papanui Anniversary celebration last Saturday was one to remember.
 
Councillor Victoria Henstock opened our evening with a speech about the value of volunteering. She was joined by her husband Michael and we welcomed our District Governor Phil Gully and Past Assistant Governor wife Anna, joined us at the Commodore Hotel.
 
The theme was black and gold which echoed the Super Gold Card status of reaching the 65 year milestone. The tables were set with placemat replicas of the Super Gold Card and black and gold helium balloons.
The Promenade Quartet entertained us with their superb modern take on carpella singing which was witty and original and the room was buzzing from beginning to end with plenty of good humour and chat from current and past members who joined us to celebrate and enjoyed listening to this world class group.
 
The cake was cut by two of our longest serving members, Charles Barltrop and PDG Euan Hilson who were both recognised with a special Long Service certificate in reaching 56 years of membership with Papanui Rotary. They have seen many projects come to fruition and helped to make them a reality.
 
The club was delighted to recognise Dr Larry Skiba with a Paul Harris Fellow sapphire pin and his wife Janetta with a Paul Harris Fellow for their outstanding community service of over 25 years with Koru Care. Dr. Larry and nurse Janetta have fundraised, vetted and organised the tours for children who suffer from Cancer and along with a team take them to LA and Disneyland– a trip of a lifetime for these children. We congratulate you both and wish you well for the upcoming trip in October.
 
Past Papanui Member, Emily Walker(Gaulter) gave us an overview of where life has taken her and the impact of having been a member in her early 20’s and how this has impacted her career and volunteering choices. She now has her own Engineering Consultancy, lives on a farm in Tarras with her husband and a has just had her first child 6 weeks ago. Emily is very interested in environmental engineering and is using her skills to help Environment Canterbury and many other businesses in the rural sector.
 
Eden Skipper was a Rotary Youth Leadership Award ( RYLA) graduate and represented NZ on the world stage of RYLA. He was part of our University Associates group in Christchurch which was started by one of our Papanui members Tony Taylor. He works for the Government in Community Research and is passionate about youth, the environment and Māori development. Eden is currently on the Board of Generation Zero – a youth-led climate change action organisation. He has already experienced a lot of the world with his passion for youth, taking him to conferences in Washington DC and Australia. He spoke to us about the challenges ahead for volunteering and the time, skills and sacrifice we give as people in this space. His speech was thought provoking and challenged us to think about the future.
We are indeed lucky to have met and mentored both these young people and to hear where life has taken them. It was humbling to hear how Rotary had impacted their lives and made me feel grateful that as a Rotarian we had given them opportunities to grow and develop.
 
During the night we looked back over the last 50 years and highlighted some significant projects such as the development of the lake at the Groynes which the club took on over many weekends in 1961 transforming the area into a family picnic space well used today.
 
We established a relationship with Burwood Spinal Unit taking patients on day trips to a number of venues including The Hanmer Springs Forest Camp where Papanui Rotary had donated $100,000 to construct “Abilities Lodge” for those in wheelchairs. We continue to have Directors on the Board of the Hanmer Springs Forest Camp and ongoing maintenance weekends. This facility is well used by schools and family groups today.
 
Over the last few years we have raised funds from an annual trailer raffle to support the Papanui Children In Needs Trust, The Rotary Community Breast Milk Bank, Recovered Living, Neighbourhood Watch Car and this year the Mobile Eye Unit. We look at our community needs to assess and assist with funds to make a real difference to the lives of people in our community.
 
The environment is a large club focus and in conjunction with the Community Board, Conservation Volunteers and the CCC we are helping to develop the Papanui Bush Walkway where we have taken a bare piece of land full of rubbish, cleared it and planted it with natives, added seating and a walkway through to Langdons Road from behind the BrainTree Building. This is an ongoing project and involves maintenance which the club is committed. We have involved school groups and members of the public on Community Volunteer days and supplied Papanui High School with paint for the artwork panels which hang along the fences. Papanui Rotary is helping to bring the local community together in this space to help leave a legacy for the future.
 
We run an annual free Halloween event in partnership with Ray White Real Estate Papanui at St. James Park where every year we attract over 400 children. We are delighted to continue this relationship which gives families a safe place to have fun with their children 12 and under.
 
We have a proud history and we are looking to the future to do more. If you are interested in volunteering and want to know more about what we do then contact papanuirotary@gmail.com
Join us at the Papanui Club where we meet every Thursday from 5.30 for a 6pm start. We welcome all visitors to our safe place where everyone is valued and respected.
 
A slideshow from the 50th Anniversary Celebrations was shown. These photos can be seen by clicking this link here.
 
Also, DG Phil posted a great article with photos on his Facebook page. To see this click on the link here. 
 
Plus, Simon Forsyth has posted 32 photos on the Papanui Rotary FAcebook page. Jusy clcik on the link here.
 
On the night there was a short Video showing some video clips form Papanui Rotary Projects since 2012. This can be viewed by clicking here.
 
 
 
September Theme 2023
Posted on Sep 01, 2023

September is Rotary's Basic Education and Literacy Month

 
 
In Rotary, the theme for the month of September is Basic Education and Literacy, one of the six areas of focus.
 
How can we take action?
 
Papanui Rotary already helps Aratupu Preschool and Whānau Hub by donating 40 Rhyming Round the Alphabet books and also funding their Duffy Reading Books.
 
We also have club members helping with weekly Remedial Reading visits to a local school. Our members sit with the students and listen to them reading and proving assistance.
We welcome more of the local public to approach us and see where we can help with reading and literacy projects.
 
In the world, more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate.
 
That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population.
 
Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults.
 
We take action to empower educators to inspire learning at all ages.
MItre 10 Mega BBQ

Hot Men at Mitre 10 Mega BBQ

Sunday the 13th of August and Rotarians braved cold weather to serve hot food!
 
Treasurer Deryn Tregurtha reports;
 
“our BBQs at Mitre10 this year were extremely successful, with the bacon butties being particularly popular.

As a result $600 has been paid to D9999 Flood relief account and $1200 to the Breast Milk Bank.

A great effort from our members. Thanks to all who helped, especially Keith and Heather for getting all the needed supplies, and Kathy for organising the roster.”
 
 
St Johns Letter

Big Thank You for our Help!

Thank you so much for your help!
 
To our valued volunteers,
 
A big Thank You from St John!  We appreciated your time and support over our yearly street appeal. The new campaign ‘Light the Way – Your Way’ was held on the 16th and 17th of June. With the goal of brightening up the shortest day in Winter and raising money for local community services such as power supply generators for the ambulance stations. The money raised stays within the local area to support the ambulance and community health services.
 
As mentioned in our initial Thank You email, I am happy to update you with some numbers from the weekend to highlight the vital impact you made on our annual appeal. 
 
Over the two days through the street appeal, we raised a total of $35,918. From this total your site raised $1893.10. Your support during the Annual Appeal has contributed to making life-changing differences with our communities.
 
We hope that you have fun and enjoy being part of the Annual Appeal this year. This year’s Annual Appeal was a successful one in these challenging times. We simply could not do what we do without you. Again, thank you.
August Theme 2023

August is Membership and New Club Development Month

Membership Revitalises Rotary Clubs

The Rotary theme for this month puts the spotlight on membership and new club development.  Certainly, growing membership and starting new clubs is a continuing challenge for all of us in New Zealand.

However, never forget about our existing members in the desire to make Rotary strong and effective as we serve the community.

Everyone is encouraged to think about introducing potential new members to the club and also consider how they can better relate to existing members to ensure the club stays vibrant.

About Our Club
Papanui
We meet In Person
Thursdays at 6:00 PM
The Papanui Club
310 Sawyers Arms Road
Bishopdale
Christchurch, Canterbury 8053
New Zealand
Phone:
021 224 4804
Email:
papanuirotary@gmail.com
Papanui Club is our home base. We meet at 5:30pm for 6:00pm start. Check the Events Calendar for confirmation of location as we sometimes meet remotely or in different locations.. Our mailing address is: P O Box 5064 Papanui Christchurch, 8542
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