Reflection: "There is nothing intangible about Rotary: It is reality itself. To give is to receive; to lose oneself; to be happy is to serve. These are old truths...for the individual...and the mass, whether application be the exchange of goods, toil, knowledge , or love." - The meaning of Rotary, THE ROTARIAN, November 1921
For this Rotary year our RI President, Ian Riseley has requested that every Rotarian throughout the world plant a tree. We want to do our best to plant as many trees as possible to help his mission of addressing environmental sustainability. In our District 5340 projects are underway, but it can be a challenge for clubs to find the right "tree planting" organization for which they can volunteer. To this end the Solana Beach ECO Rotary Club has compiled a list of those in San Diego County that could be approached. The list is attached. Let's have every club make a connection with one of these organizations. Happy planting.
Tree Planting Possibilities (compiled by Niels Lund, president of Solana Beach ECP Rotary Club (info@sbecorotary.org). Click read more to see listing.
Club Coronado Rotario Binacional is requesting support to aid Mexico. The Club Rotario Coronado Binacional has joined forces with the human rights Mexico-based organization called Pro Libertad y Derechos Humanos en America A.C. Their president, Lic. Ignacio Benavente Torres, has secured access to two (2) military planes "Hercules" with the capacity of 50-100 tons, as well as two (2) "Black Hawk" helicopters that will be placed at the hangars of the Tijuana airport. Club Coronado Rotario Binacional will be collecting ongoing contributions from our fellow Rotarians for the whole month on Fridays from 4-8 pm and Saturdays from 9-8 pm at the warehouse in Otay Mesa (511 Alta Road, San Diego, CA 92154). These donations will then be transported by the human rights organization via trailer to the Tijuana airport, and have already cleared customs due to Mexico's state of emergency. The Tijuana Rotary Club and, possibly the other six (6) clubs in Tijuana, will be lending their support to this cause; making this a true bi-national initiative. If you have any questions, please contact Bertha at bertuchi@gmail.com or by phone at 619 723-3249.
There is much to celebrate. In this calendar year, there have been only 11 polio cases in the two remaining endemic countries - six in Afghanistan and five in Pakistan. We have come a long way since Rotary we started its polio eradication campaign in 1985 when there were over 350,000 cases a year in 122 endemic countries. Advocacy by Rotary and others has resulted in more than $7.2 billion donated by governments and more than $1.2 billion has been provided by Rotarians for this initiative.
Your very own District 5340 Don’t Wait, Vaccinate Committee is ready to help. We’re not just about polio eradication or childhood immunizations. We advocate for and educate about all types of immunizations for all ages. If you’d like us to bring an engaging program to your Rotary meeting – whether it is to educate, inform or advocate, we are happy to do this for your club. More information can be had by clicking <here>. We promise, no needles are involved. Contact Myrna Kinter at projectmanager@stpaulseniors.org to schedule a date.
Advertised as the only IPA beer festival in San Diego County, the 6th Annual Rancho BEERnardo Festival is co-sponsored by the Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club and URGE Gastropub. The Festival will feature over 50 IPA craft beers, other beers, and regional wine selections. For entertainment, there will be live music, games, and other fun activities. There will also be gourmet food available for purchase. This is Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary Club's biggest fundraiser of the year, with proceeds going to numerous local, domestic, and international charities.
The Rotary Club of Del Mar is hosting its 6th Annual Chili & Quackers Challenge, a chili cook-off and ducky derby, scheduled for Saturday, October 14, 2017 from noon until 4:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Powerhouse Park, 1658 Coast Blvd., Del Mar, CA 92014.
A great afternoon of fun for families - duck race, prizes, chili tasting, hot dogs, and beer/wine for mom and dad. The Club's number 1 goal for this event is to raise community awareness about Rotary in the North County and beyond. Funds raised will help local projects such as helping the Del Mar Lifeguards get better equipment allowing them to keep the beaches safe and to help with rescues. Funds also support an international project where a team of Rotarians from the Del Mar Rotary Club and other clubs teach Ethiopian nurses and doctors resuscitation of newborns to reduce infant mortality - a truly novel program as it is designed to teach the teachers, making it sustainable. So far more than 450 individuals have been trained an notable reduction in infant mortality has been demonstrated in just three years time.
The next Rotary International Convention is slated for June 23-27, 2018. If you book in the next few months, you could save over $150. Also, you can pick the closest hotels and get the best deals.
This will be the last convention in North America for another two years - take this opportunity - and meet new and old friends from around the globe. Two clubs - Rancho Bernardo and Torrey Pines are in place to break their historic attendance records - does your club want them to get away with bragging rights?
The Rancho Bernardo Rotary Club is organizing travel trips around the Convention time to such once-in-a-lifetime places as Niagara Falls and a local winery. Keep your eye on Newsbits for future updates.
For more information on the Rotary Convention in Toronto, click here.
The Rotary Club of Pakurnga invite you to join the ultimate 17-Day Rotary Tour of New Zealand scheduled for April 6-22, 2018.
The Tour Key Points and Highlights:
The Tour includes 4 Rotary fellowship events.
The Tour size is limited to 26 persons. (Within a 30/33 seater coach.)
Accomodation will be 4 to 5 star and includes all breakfasts.
A professional ‘Top Tour Guide’ will travel throughout the Tour.
An optional 4 day pre-tour to Northland/Bay of Islands is also offered.
Here are some of the 62 tours/visits, of which all but one is included within the tour price:
Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium, Auckland Sky Tower, 2 hour tour of ‘Hobbiton’, Te Puia ( Rotorua centre of Maori culture and geothermal wonders), Huka Falls, Napier wine tasting, Wellington’s Te Papa Museum, Weta Workshops, Ferry to Picton, Hanmer Springs, Lake Tekapo, Lake Pukaki, Arrowtown, Queenstown, Milford or Doubtful Sounds, Dunedin and Christchurch City Tours.
Below are two of the typical comments we received from all our 2017 Rotarian tourists:
“We thought the tour was fantastic. Sharron (the Tour Guide) was brilliant.”
“We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the tour and you are to be congratulated.”
Cost of tour:
The 17-day tour price is: NZ$6,495pp share twin. NZ$8,390pp single.
Have you ever been to a Project Fair? Bill Stumbaugh from the Club Rotario de Bahia de Caraquz and Rotary Foundation Cadre for Basic Education and Literacy is inviting Rotarians to consider attending the 13th annual Rotary District 4400 Project Fair in Guayaquil, Ecuador, November 17-19, 2017. The Fair, one of the longest running in the Rotary world, continues to unite Rotarians from all over to conduct Global Grant projects in the six area of project focus indicated by The Rotary Foundation.
This year, 40 projects will be featured with presentations by the sponsor D4400 rotary clubs as well as time to meet with individual club leadership to ask questions and learn more about the sponsoring club, its project history and commitment.
Regarding the Rotary Club of Bahia de Caraquez for which Bill serves as past president and currently their Rotary Foundation Chair, they will present two proposals for community potable water projects that follow a model they developed and have now replicated five times with the support from Rotarians from other countries and The Rotary Foundation.
To get more information about the Fair and how to register, go to www.rotaryecuador.org and click on the description of the Fair. You will also find information about the many travel and visitor opportunities awaiting you in beautiful Ecuador including Pacific coast beaches, Andean highlands, the Amazon basin and the Galapagos Islands. Ecuador is a bird watchers paradise as the home of various orchids and other tropical plants. Ecuadorian gastronomy is rich and varied partaking of the sea as well as tropical and temperate cultivations of a very broad mix of fruits and vegetables.
Of course, if you have questions about the Project Fair, travel in Ecuador and Rotary Foundation projects in Ecuador, Bill invited you to contact him at stumbaughw@gmail.com.
Talk about Rotary wherever you go. At church, temple, work, neighborhood gatherings, family gatherings, parties, etc. You'll be amazed how easy it is after you practice for a while. Getting a lot of "no" answers built my confidence because it didn't hurt as bad as I thought and most people were actually happy they were asked, even if they responded negatively. The same will be true for you. It's always a good time to recruit.
