Give the Gift of Peace

ShelterBox and Rotary officially became project partners in disaster relief in 2012. This partnership is instrumental to Rotary's disaster response strategy. One of the most important elements of the relationship is the opportunity for Rotary members to serve countries affected by disasters. Members can also take action by connecting their own communities with disaster-affected communities worldwide. By working together, we're able to combine resources to support areas immediately after a disaster and make a start on long-term recovery.
 
Rotary members can help ShelterBox with its emergency disaster relief efforts by:
  • Raising awareness and funds to help ShelterBox support communities and families in their recovery
  • Volunteering with ShelterBox to educate others about disaster response and advocate for survivors as they start their recovery
  • Becoming your club's ShelterBox coordinator to keep up-to-date with developments during an emergency
  • As your partner, ShelterBox can help attract new members and inspire your community through raising awareness of the impact of our partnership around the world.
 To host a fundraising event or to request a presentation for your club, contact a local ShelterBox Ambassador: Jim Carriere, Mitone Griffiths, or Larry Harrison.

Give the Gift of Peace

The mission of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation is “to advance worldwide understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.”

To support this mission, Rotary clubs throughout District 5150 are focusing their attention on the District theme of PEACE during the 2015-2016 Rotary year.

Specifically, each club in the district has been asked to sponsor or participate in some type of “peace project.” This project can be a project in the local community or an international project. The only criteria are that:

  1. It is an activity or project that extends beyond the club members only, and
  2. It is some way supports the goal to achieve recognition of Rotary’s role to advance peace in our communities and in the world.

Given that Rotary clubs are autonomous and vastly different, the type of peace project that each club selects is entirely up to the club. For example, the Rotary Club of San Francisco is sponsoring a Rotary Peace Film Festival. The Rotary Club of Millbrae plans to dedicate a peace pole and bench in a local park. The Rotary Club of Central Marin is presenting an Academy Award winning film and discussion with a Mideast expert and professor of political science from Dominican University. Many clubs are considering events on International Peace Day - September 21, 2015.

For ideas and resources to help your club select a project, go to Peace/Project Resources.
For a list of peace projects and events being sponsored by other clubs, go to Peace/District Projects.

Prior to the San Francisco Peace Conference on April 30-May 1, 2016, clubs will be asked to complete a form on which they describe their project. These project descriptions will be assembled in a compendium that will be made available to each registrant at the Rotary Peace Conference.

In 2015-2016, Rotary International President K. R. “Ravi” Ravindran has designated the annual international theme to be: “Be a gift to the world.” What gift does the world need more than the gift of peace? Throughout District 5150, Rotarians are asked to “Give the gift of peace.” We can all be peace builders. For a little inspiration, check out this video from the Rotary Action Group for Peace, titled “Go Wage Peace.” Be a Rotary peace builder!