Shelterboxes for Refugees in Greece
The Moncton New Brunswick Rotary Club is helping provide aid to Syrian refugees along the borders of Macedonia and Greece. They're sending tents, cookware, sleeping bags and tools that fit into one green plastic box or, a ShelterBox."It has cooking, it has a furnace which will burn, we have a water purifier, it has tools, a hatchet which is the most important thing," said Michael Walsh, a director with ShelterBox Canada. The box weighs 60 kilograms and costs $1,200. So far 25 have been sent from Moncton. The program has sent ShelterBoxes to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and to those affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. Since the program began in 2000, 135,000 boxes have been distributed.
Sponsoring a New Member
The bylaws of Rotary clearly outline the procedure for a prospective member to be proposed for Rotary club membership. The "proposer" is the key person in the growth and advancement of Rotary. Without a sponsor, an individual will never have the opportunity to become a Rotarian. The task of the proposer should not end merely by submitting a name to the club secretary or membership committee. Rotary has not established formal responsibilities for proposers or sponsors, however, by custom and tradition these procedures are recommended in many clubs. The sponsor should:
1. Invite a prospective member to several meetings prior to proposing the individual for membership.
2. Accompany the prospective new member to one or more orientation/informational meetings.
3. Introduce the new member to other club members each week for the first month.
4. Invite the new member to accompany the sponsor to neighboring clubs for the first make-up meeting to learn the process and observe the spirit of fellowship.
5. Ask the new member and spouse to accompany the sponsor to the club's social activities,
dinners or other special occasions.
6. Urge the new member and spouse to attend the district conference with the sponsor.
7. Serve as a special friend to assure that the new member becomes an active Rotarian. When the proposer follows these guidelines, Rotary becomes stronger with each new member.
