A relatively small gathering on the 18th with only 24 members and two visitors including Past President Bruce Hancock - good to see you back in Auckland Bruce and thanks for coming along to our weekly meeting.
Another new member - Pagutharavin Manimaran, originally from India, was inducted at this meeting. Introduced to the club by Roger, Pagutharavin, who spoke briefly, acknowledged his delight in joining our club and shared with us that he is looking forward to serving the community via the opportunities presented via St. Johns Rotary. He will have plenty of opportunities to do this as he will join Miles Community Team. 
Our Guest Speaker, Julie Chapman , CEO and co-founder of Kids Can, was introduced by Robyn to the members. KidsCan provides Kiwi kids in need with food, clothing and health items at school, so they can get into the classroom in a position to learn. KidsCan does this because they believe that education equals opportunity, and all children, regardless of their social economic background should have an equal chance.KidsCan started 13 years ago with 40 schools on their books - today they have 732 schools and shortly that will increase to 742. They provide lunches to over 30,000 kiwi kids every day. They have a budget of $8m per anum, with 80% of this going straight back to the kids, (the remaining 20% covers actual operational and logistical costs). The required funding includes $350k from the Government with the balance coming via fund raising and donations.
How can you help? If you are interested in supporting this cause by donating, volunteering or partnering - checkout their website for details. https://www.kidscan.org.nz/