Posted by Margaret Mason on May 19, 2021
Members present :  20
Chair : Faye Weeks
Guest Speaker : Audrey Birmingham from the City of Glen Eira
 
The International Toast was to President Wayne Guy and the Rotary Club of Yellowknife, Canada, in District 5370. As usual, Grant Perry gave a very interesting and informative history of Canada. It has a population of 38 million and its capital is Ottawa. Canada was discovered by a Genovese, (John Cabot) in 1497. In 1534, a Frenchman, Jaques Carter, claimed it for France. In 1982, Canada became a sovereign state.
 
Yellowknife, on the shore of the Great Slave Lake, in the Northwestern territories, was established by prospectors and has a population of 20,000.
Being so far north, it has temperatures ranging from -30 Celsius to -22 Celsius in January and +13 Celsius to +21 Celsius in July.
The Rotary Club of Yellowknife’s major fundraiser is making and selling Christmas wreaths. It supports a school snack program, and the maintenance of the boardwalk. It meets at the Explorer Hotel on Thursdays at 12 noon.
 
Guest Speaker:  Audrey Birmingham.
Audrey works in the City of Glen Eira and is responsible for the “Delivered Meals Service.”  The service provides healthy meal choices for Glen Eira residents who are not able to cook for themselves. They can access the service short term (e.g. recovery from illness) or long term, (e.g. frail or disabled). It is funded by “My Aged Care” and “HCAC Pyp” (for young clients). Meals are prepared in a commercial kitchen and delivered to Glen Eira through Western Health. Volunteers in Glen Eira Council sort out and deliver the meals, Mondays through Fridays. Weekend and Public Holiday meals are delivered on Fridays. The only benefit volunteers get is a $10.00 voucher daily to cover petrol.
 
Clients have to be home to receive the meals which have be refrigerated immediately.When volunteers deliver the meals, they also check on the health and well-being of the clients and follow up with other services if needed. Volunteers also initiate a welfare check if they do not get an answer when they deliver the meals.
 
A daily meal consists of soup,  main meal with side vegetables and a desert. Audrey brought some samples which were offered to members to take home. The cost of a meal is $21.00 and clients are “out of pocket” of between $8.65 and $14.25 depending on their entitlements. This service is subsidised by the Commonwealth Government.
 
Audrey stated that demand increased, during Covid lockdown.
Other services provided by the Council are, Domestic Assistance, Personal Care, Home Maintenance for safety and security, and social support Groups.