We had a very joyful Christmas Lunch Party with lucky draw! Charter President Patrick donated cash prizes on the spot so that all 21 attendees got a Christmas present to bring home! Before the lucky draw, we welcomed two service partners from Yuk Chi ResourceCentre. They were Agency Head Miss Helen Leung and Social Worker Ms Jacqueline Lai. While our club has been partnered with Yuk Chi for three decades, for benefit of new Clubmembers, we invited Helen to give an introduction of Yuk Chi. Yuk Chi has been established since 1991. At the beginning, it was to provide educational seminars andgroups to parents and caregivers of disabled children, including children with autism, physically handicapped, and those with special educational needs (SEN). The Centre serves families with disabled children in the New Territories and after 30 years, the number of members has increased to over 8,500, with 2,100 SEN children. Jacqueline informed the club members that besides the routine training for parents /caregivers and educational training for the children, the Centre would mount special projects from time to time. In 2013, with assistance from our club, a multi-sensory activities room was built fortherapy training and assessment. The room was, and…
Past President Grace represented our Club and participated in Part 2 of Caritas Health Check Program. Part 1 was completed in Ngau Tau Kok on 5-6 July 2022. This one was for Tsuan Wan Centre with 50 street cleaners receiving the Automatic Retinal Image Analysis (ARIA) test, a technology developed at CUHK in 2015. In addition, blood test for cholesterol and blood sugar were administered as well.
On July 6, our Club kicked off the new Rotary Year’s first project with Caritas Ngau Tau Kok for the Street Cleaners. A total of 50 street cleaners received health check using Automatic Retinal Image Analysis (ARIA) method for screening of stroke and Alzheimer’s risk factor + cholesterol and blood sugar level testing. While on site, Rotarians also participated in stretching exercises together with the beneficiaries.
This was the first of two such service days in Phase 1 of the street cleaner project with Caritas. We gave out 120 care packages to street cleaners in Ngau Tau Kok. Inside the bags were disinfectant liquid, KF94 masks, pain relief ointment, rapid antigen tests, facial tissue, water resistant plasters and a bag of rice. The next service day is on May 27 in Tsuen Wan. Phase 2 of the project will be health days for street cleaners in Ngau Tau Kok and Tsuen Wan, providing them with a basic health assessment and follow up by Caritas social workers. It is anticipated that Phase 2 takes place in July 2022.
This meeting we welcomed our own Rotarian Tony as speaker. Immediate Past President Mark made the speaker introduction, noting that Rotarian Tony’s hobby, in fact, is doing community service. As the Head of Mainland Strategic Development of Hong Kong Jockey Club, Rotarian Tony’s topic was “Social Betterment Projects in Mainland.” For most of us, when we think about Hong Kong Jockey Club, we think about horse racing, Mark Six and sports betting. Rotarian Tony’s presentation gave us an overview of the community service portfolio of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Established in 1993, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, reflects the evolving nature, scale and scope of donations. The Charities Trust is one of the world’s top ten charity donors. Approximately 90% of the Jockey Club’s annual operating surplus after tax is donated to the Trust, enabling it to play a significant role in the community’s development. Locally, in Hong Kong, we are familiar with Tai Kwun, a heritage site developed and preserved by HKJC. Ocean Park, at its inception, was also a HKJC project, providing locals and visitors alike with a world class recreational facility. There are many more community projects. HKJC has 10 areas of community contributions,…
At the start of the meeting, we sang Happy Birthday to Past President WT. Charter President Patrick followed by reporting on the 35th Anniversary Endowment Fund. To date, US$125,646 was raised towards the US$250,000 target. Treasurer Barry gave a report on Club accounts and President Elect Nominee Jason reported on recent pandemic relief support engaged by our Club. President Elect Eliza promoted the 35th Anniversary Celebration (Zoom) to be held on March 26, from 9pm till late. On May 7, President Elect Eliza plans to have a Charity Walk to raise funds for a service project to be launched in 2022-23.
On December 19, Rotaract Club of HKU Lap-Chee College International organized a Christmas fun day with children at Caritas Ngau Tau Kok Community Centre. President Sam, Past Presidents Grace and Lily, Immediate Past President Mark, President Elect Eliza, and prospective member Tony went to support our Rotaractors. Our Club was a supporting Club in this Rotaract project.
On November 13, President Sam attended the opening ceremony of CPR/AED project. Our Club joined the project as Bronze Sponsoring Club. Altogether, twelve Rotary Clubs joined this projected hosted by Rotary Club of Hong Kong Northeast, in partnership with St. John Ambulance. TVB artist 曹永廉 and Miss Hong Kong 2014 邵珮詩 were special guests. Do you know every year around 8,000 cases of cardiac arrest require emergency ambulance service in Hong Kong? That is over 20 cases per day. CPR/AED is critical to survival in the minutes before the ambulance arrives. Past President Webster is working with our Interact Clubs to set up a training day for our Interactors in 2022. Before that, on November 28, there is a training day for District Officers, Rotarians and Rotaractors. Our Past President Lily and Rotarian Jason are registered to attend the certification course.
On November 12, President Sam, and Past Presidents Grace, Eddie and WT visited Ms. Lai and Ms. Lo at the Yuk Chi Resource Centre. The main purpose was to observe the District Grant project in action. Ms. Lai explained to the group the high demand of obtaining a comprehensive developmental assessment of age-6 or under children with suspected developmental problems. Underprivileged families may need to wait 15 to 18 months at the Department of Health. Our Club’s District Grant project will help 45 such families this year. Our Rotarians observed an assessment of a 4-year old girl for 20 minutes. Through playing with toys and engaging her in specific tasks the clinical psychologist was able to test the girl’s motor functions and assess her developmental progress. After the visit, President Sam led the group to a Singaporean restaurant (A Taste Above Shiok) in Causeway Bay for afternoon tea.
On October 23, President Sam, Past President Grace, Immediate Past President Mark, Rotarian Jason and friends of Rotary volunteered at Holy Cafe, handing out hot meals and face masks to the elderly.