Numbers of members participating. 27. Apologies. Zilla Roth. Guests. Karin Knoester from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Tony Fritzlaff from Holmesglen Guest speakers. Jenna Kruss and Cassie Hose from Anglicare November 11th is Remembrance Day
The meeting commenced with John Mason reading 2 poems To the Fallen by R.L. Binyon and In Flanders Fields by J McCrae. Welcome back to Julie Reid. Great you can join us again.
Faye Weeks, who has been very industrious during the lockdown, made and sold face masks.
Faye Weeks, who has been very industrious during the lockdown, made and sold face masks.
H
er effort raised $3540.00 and this was donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as her eldest grandson was born with the condition. The club added $1000.00 and Peter Lewis, a club member, made up the difference to round the donation up to $5000.00
er effort raised $3540.00 and this was donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as her eldest grandson was born with the condition. The club added $1000.00 and Peter Lewis, a club member, made up the difference to round the donation up to $5000.00This was presented to Karin Knoester from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She then gave a brief talk on the condition.
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic condition affecting 1in 2 and a half thousand children born. Currently there is no cure and there is only symptomatic treatment. The condition primarily affects the lungs and sufferers generally have only 30 -40% lung capacity. The common symptoms are a persistent cough, wheeziness and lethargy. There is no talk about life expectancy and current medication helps to improve health and longevity. Sufferers also require extensive physiotherapy which can be up to 3 hours a day.
Although this is a genetic condition, people are generally unaware that they are carrying the genes as it can go back several generations. The diagnosis is made by blood tests with blood taken from a heel prick of a newborn. As the condition is life limiting, it is usually a financial and emotional struggle for families and the sufferer. Cystic Fibrosis Community Care provide support families and the club”s donation will go towards emergency care such as gift cards for groceries. Emergency support is usually a “one-off” event and families who requires ongoing support all be referred to financial or social counsellors.
The primary presentation for this morning”s meeting is by Jenna Kruss (daughter of Neville , our club secretary) and her colleague and housemate Cassie Hose. Jenna is a social worker and Cassie is a provisional psychologist. Both of them work for Anglicare Victoria. Anglicare Victoria supports children and young people and families. It operates through 93 locations and employs 1700 staff.The impact of COVID and working from home presents different challenges and opportunities. Jenna and Cassie are fortunate in that they both work for the same organisation and therefore have very little issues regarding client confidentiality. Jenna indicated that some of her colleagues have a dilemma regarding confidentiality when working from home as other family members are around and therefore client confidentiality could be compromised. Jenna currently does phone based client consultation and says that Zoom is not for everyone. Challenges during COVID include limited access to services and education and mental health issues. There is also disengagement from education for vulnerable children and young people who are already compromised and this impact will be seen for many years to come. Cassie, a provisional psychologist, works in areas such as outreach programs, case management and adult mental health.
Jenna says that on the positive side, COVID and the need to work from home has allowed the organisation to build stronger and more flexible multi disciplinary teams (MDTs). The MDTs work together to ensure the well-being of children when at home. Jenna then spoke about the role of the Residential Youth Worker, which was a position she started in at Anglicare. She described it as being a chef, parent and taxi driver amongst other things. There are generally 8 people living in the house. The positive aspects are care consistency, increased connection with the clients’ biological family and interaction with police. During CIVID lockdown, the challenges were to teach the young people about the pandemic, the wearing of face masks and issues with lockdown and curfew.Helen thanked Jenna and Cassie for a very informative and interesting presentation. President Geoff then reported on the Board meeting held the night before. He also thanked Ron for doing a great job in the preparation for the market reopening. The feed back from stall holders and community members who visited the market were all very positive. Helen advised members that she is organising and end or year break-up. It will be “barefoot bowls” at the Coatesville Bowling Club. Tony Fritzlaff advised members on the reopening of Clantro which will have limited seating. Dates for dinners will be in a seperate email.
Ian Ballantine presented 2 Board Motions for Members to endorse. The first is a $5,000 donation to Rotary Foundation and the second is a $5,000 donation to Australian Rotary Health Research Foundation earmarked for Indigenous scholarship. Both were unanimously carried.
Notes by Margaret M