Calling all clubs!
Here is the August 2023 update on the activities at the Rotary Donations in Kind West Footscray Store.
The Donations in Kind warehouse at West Footscray is a busy place as you can see from the articles in this Newsletter. It is amazing where all of the goods come from and even more amazing where they go, but nothing happens without the terrific involvement and hard work of our volunteers. And here’s the challenge. During COVID we have lost a couple of our regular volunteers and that means the remainder have had to work harder. We need some more volunteers who can spend the day at the store, particularly on a Thursday. We don’t need many – two or three would be great.
So if you can spare a Thursday on a regular basis, drop by and have a chat or give us a call on 0428 550 574 or 0148 102 7
02. We would love to hear from you.
As you are aware, the store is manned entirely by volunteers. The operating hours of the store are each Tuesday and Thursday from 8.30am to 3.30pm unless other specific arrangements are made in advance. We try to focus the activity in those times so that volunteers have some time to do everything else they need to do. We are constantly asked to be there, collect something or provide access at other times. We will always try to accommodate these requests but really do want to concentrate the store activity on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Your thoughtfulness will enable us to do that.
Recently we were encouraged by a local Foundation who know what we do, to submit an application for a financial contribution for something that we wanted or needed. We have the vans, forklifts, racking and other equipment necessary so what to request?? We are often offered a single wheel chair, a few cartons or other mobility equipment that we have to send a van to collect. Often these donations are in the city or suburban shopping areas where parking the large vans can be a problem. So a smaller van would be of great benefit in these circumstances.
The application was submitted and we were very pleased when we were advised that the application had been successful. So, very soon you will see a new Renault Master Van, proudly wearing the Donations in Kind livery, become part of the DiK fleet.
There are some personnel changes on the way at the store too. Laurie Fisher has managed the store for almost 20+ years. This has meant many nights and weekends, and frequently every week day. It’s time for him to take a step back from the day to day activity. So we are looking at the variety of things Laurie as the Store Manager does, seeing how they could be done differently and looking for a replacement Store manager.
Frank Dri, (left) who has looked after the clothing at the store for many years, has indicated a willingness to sit in Laurie’s chair and “learn the ropes”. Importantly Frank has previously shipped containers to Samoa for his Lions Club so knows the challenges of some shipping. Frank is a former Rotarian, and a member of the Lions Club of Sunshine.
Similarly Bob Glindemann, who rides “shotgun“ for Laurie, has a similar need and plans to step back from the day to day work at DiK at year end after a similar length of service. Apart from the in store activity, Bob handles all of the Secretarial work for DiK Inc, so we are looking at how this might be handled in the future, as well as some reorganisation with volunteers taking responsibility for some of the in store activity. 
Laurie Fisher and Bob Glindemann (right)
Donations in Kind is located at Shed 39, 400 Somerville Road West Footscray. It is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays. https://rotarydik.org
Contact Bob Glindemann E: bob.glindemann@bigpond.com Mob: 0418 102 702 Laurie Fisher E: manager@rotarydik.org Mob: 0428 550 574