Elizabeth Lester, CEO of Dwell Housing Trust, discussed Dwell's approach to housing vulnerable people, including individuals moved off Wellington's streets. She noted that finding around 30 homes for 35 people took roughly six months, and contrasted this with city council-run community housing, which she said faces greater difficulty managing tenant mix due to them operating at a larger scale.
We were fortunate to have Jacob Smythe of the red Cross and Phil McCarthy of Anglican Services (AS) talking today on the work they do to settle Refugees into the NZ society. Our Rotary club regularly donate food items to stock the AS “pantry” from which newly housed refugees are supported for 2 weeks of their settling in period in the accommodation.
Scott Langdale is a Geoscientist, though primarily in his capacity as a Zealandia Volunteer, he gave us an engaging overview of Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne. He discussed the valley’s original state - full of large native trees then its traditional uses, early European settlement activity, gold prospecting, burning the native trees for farming, and later its important function as partof Wellington’s waterworks via the two dams which supplied Wellington water for 100 years.
This week Port Nicholson Rotary welcomed two speakers working at different ends of the community-support spectrum: one connecting volunteers to causes, the other connecting funders to unglamorous need. We heard from Geoff Hayward (Volunteer Wellington) and Rochelle Stewart-Allan (The Boring Fund).
This week, members enjoyed hearing from two of our newest Rotarians, Aparna Dubey and Charles Little, who shared their fascinating life journeys, values, and experiences.
This isn’t the first time we have heard from ZEAL and as always, it’s inspiring to hear young people providing unconditional support to young people in need.
We were fortunate to have Dr Grant Blackwell, Chief Science Adviser at He Pou a Rangi/Climate Change Commission, speak at our meeting on 8 July.
Flis Pask is a Wellington based ACC registered acupuncturist and Pilates teacher. She specializes in treatments targeting musculoskeletal health, sleep, and digestion.
The impact of our Lifting the Lid on mental health programme is going from strength to strength.
Tamaris delivered a very fitting vote of thanks to Nicole for her exceptional year as our Club President.
Dr Graham Sharpe and Vito Lo lacono talked about the Dorothy Spotswood Charity Hospital which is a purpose-built day surgery hospital for the Wellington region, providing free procedures to people who would otherwise not be able to access treatment.
We were privileged to be joined at our weekly meeting by Lani Evans, award‑winning philanthropist and founder of Fundsorter, an AI‑powered platform that helps charities identify available funding opportunities.
We heard from our returning member Jane Paterson and new member Rod Badcock.
We had an excellent presentation from His Worship the Honourable Andrew Little who join us for an early start to his busy schedule. He shared his vision for the city.
Instead of our usual morning meeting, this week we were treated to a visit and tour of one of Wellington's world leading innovative companies - Open Star.
