Since the first annual New Dawn Golf Day in 2012, the club has raised more than a R1 million towards good causes, President Jankees Sligcher told the field of golfers at the prize-giving dinner at the Parkview Golf Club last Friday evening.
From early beginnings where a 4-ball cost only R2000 (it was R4800 this year), the Golf Day has stayed the course as the premier fundraising event of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn.
As it has been every year except for the Covid-year 2020, the meeting on 19 September at the Parkview Golf Club was pronounced a huge success. Ex-member Mike MacDonald, Joan Donet and Linda Vink weaved their usual magic to ensure a fun day for everyone.
Income is still down from the heady years just before and after Covid, but the Golf Days stand strong amongst fundraisers tackled by the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn and a handy R64 000 was raised that will go towards The Link projects.
Nobody was happier than John Harman, a member of Adriaen Sligcher's 4-ball, one of the top teams on the day, but also winner of the coveted Barrow of Booze, the raffle prize everyone wanted.
Many thanks once again to all the club members who contributed to make the wheelbarrow with its contents such a spectacular sight.
Another happy crowd were the Schmidt brothers, who walked away with the prize of a cool box each filled with meat from Impala Meat in Northcliff, who have been Golf Day sponsors for a number of years now.
The meeting the week before marked the visit by District Governor Angélica Salomâo, doing the rounds of clubs in D9400.
She said her main aim with her club meetings is to chat, to meet people and to see and hear what Rotarians are doing.
Although membership is important, it's not just about the numbers. "We don't need members, we need Rotarians. We must nurture members to become real Rotarians."
"We need to make our family stronger, so let's recruit more people and transform them into Rotarians."
As part of her itinerary, the DG visited Risidale Primary School in Johannesburg, one of the schools involved with The Link Literacy Project, for which New Dawn won a Rotary Foundation global grant (worth just short of R500 000) before Covid struck.
PDGA Judy Sligcher writes of the visit:
We were met at the school hall by Aletta Liebenberg, the centre manager. Her infectious enthusiasm was so palpable that it just added to our excitement at being part of this incredible system. Very quietly, more volunteers entered the hall as they went about setting up their lessons for their pupils. Each volunteer appeared to be completely focused on the task at hand, namely teaching their pupils the wonderful life skill of reading. The system is extremely well organised with sheets, letters, phonics, blends, games and little books that are totally appropriate for our South African learners.
Each of us visitors was assigned to a volunteer to observe really closely the interaction between volunteer and learner. I was assigned to Marilie, a truly dedicated and motivated person who has taken this task very seriously. She said: “It gives me such a sense of satisfaction that I am actually helping to make someone whom I would never have met, have a better chance at reaching their full potential. It gives me a huge sense of fulfilment that I am making a difference in our society”.
It certainly made me feel very privileged that our Rotary Club Johannesburg New Dawn, is making a huge impact on pupils in our community thanks to our involvement with the Link Literacy project.
And that is why we are Rotarians.
The Sligchers with Judy Symons, Wendy Challis and Helene Bramwell were among the volunteers
Heritage Day this week saw New Dawn volunteers manning a stall at the Parkview Heritage Festival in Tyrone Ave, Parkview. We raffled a bottle of KWV 20-year old brandy, a bottle of premium wine with two wine glasses and a giant cooler bag and made more than R4000 while spreading the story of Rotary among interested festival visitors.
Helene Bramwell used the opportunity to sell more books from the collection Donate a Loo has built up, adding to a mini-fundraising effort, because as we know, every penny counts.
Thanks to everyone who took time off to be there.
A Thought for the Weeks Ahead: The secret of happiness is something to do. - Johan Burroughs (1837 - 1921)
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