Have you registered for Conference yet? If not, why not? The schedule is set, transportation from Andover/Stoneham and Georgetown/North Shore Mall (see above) on Saturday is set, the menus are set, the speakers are set, are you set? Download the transportation schedule here!
Friday night we will be meeting at the Fisher College rooftop, 118 Beacon Street, for a brief wine and beer hour before heading off to who knows where on a mystery dining tour. We’re going to be split up so we meet new people and find out how truly phenomenal Rotarians and friends truly are. I can’t wait for what truly sounds like an awesome time!
Saturday transportation begins at 7:30 am, dropping you off at the service project by 9:00 am, packing meals provided by End Hunger New England, which will be distributed to four food pantries in our district. The goal is to pack 30,000 meals, so we truly need your help. The event is at the Non-Profit Center, 89 South Street, Boston. There will be changing rooms (without showers) provided at the Harvard Club (on the second floor) for those that are participating in the Service Project and going on to lunch. For more information on the service project, or to see a video of a meal packaging event, click here!
The District Conference Continues with the combined Conference/Assembly Luncheon at the Harvard Club, 374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. The event will be in Harvard Hall and will feature Dan Clark, Dave Manzi, Sheryl Meehan and guest speaker, Josh Kraft. Following this amazing lunch will be the Annual District Business meeting, then the District Assembly with breakouts galore. Learn about Rotary, the District and more at your District Assembly.
Saturday night brings a wonderful banquet with no particular agenda. It will be an evening of enjoyment featuring Dan Clark and his wife Mary, Dave Manzi and Keynote speaker Ray Bourque. The four-course meal including wine will be the celebration everyone should have after this amazing year. It will be a review of everything you all have accomplished in all the various fields of veterans awareness, homelessness and hunger, opioid awareness and advocacy. You are all to be congratulated on jobs well done!
And finally, CALLING ALL VETERANS! Sunday morning will be a memorial service for those Rotarians that have passed since the last District Conference, followed by our Veterans’ Memorial Brunch. The brunch will feature guest speakers from the VA Secretary Franceso Urena, Jen DeLuca, ED of Fisher House, Boston, Andy McCawley, President New England Center and Home for Veterans, and Giselle Sterling, Commissioner, City of Boston Veteran’s Services Department. This is a not to be missed event.
The entire conference is a la carte, so you can pick and choose or sign up for all of the above. Wednesday is our cut-off at 3:00 pm, so do it now!
Do you want to make a difference in the lives of those who are food insecure?
As part of Rotary District 7930's Homelessness and Hunger Initiative, Governor Dave has added a food packaging project to be held as part of our 2016 District Conference. You can join 70+ Rotarians and Friends as they package up to 30,000 meals for the area's food pantries which serve the hungry in all of our communities. The event will be held at the Nonprofit Center at 80 South Street in Boston from 9 - 11:30 am on Saturday. There will be up to six production lines creating a bevy of activity which will result in packaging over 2,000 meals per hour per line. The district has pre-funded 10,000 meals and additional donations can be made in cash or credit card at the event or online at the EndHungerNE website before or during the event by clicking on the blue Donate Now button and then scrolling down to to Event #51. Typically, the excitement of reaching 10,000 or more meals drives participants and cheerleaders to make donations which immediately increases the number of meals we can package during the event.
The Homelessness and Hunger Initiative Committee has been actively presenting our video. Filmed on the premise of educating Rotarians and then their communities, we are making it available to all who want it, spreading the word about what you can do to help. In this arena the video has proven a huge success.
The committee has presented to 14 Clubs throughout the District with 3 more scheduled presentations. It has presented to several non-profits and to a gathering of Foundation donors. The purpose of the presentations is to familiarize Rotarians about homelessness and the statistics of poverty and hunger in their communities. This is followed by the HHI video, seen here in this newsletter, and then there is a call to help, not for dollars, but for dialing and drafting digits, making a call or sending letters to your senators and representatives. If your club has not had this presentation, now is the time to contact Bob Wood to schedule a one and be prepared to see your club moved to action.
HHI lends itself perfectly to applying for District Foundation Grants, so if your club is not qualified, now is the time to do so. The next Qualification Seminar is on May 19th at a location to be decided soon. We are encouraging all Clubs in our District to seek out and partner with a local non-profit in the fields of Homelessness or Hunger to provide a grant for something that an agency might need in the upcoming Rotary year. Interestingly enough, the Clubs presented to only had to go out and ask the question "What can Rotary do to help?" Many have gotten the answer!
And where, you ask, does the District get the money for these grants? Well, every dollar contributed to the Rotary Foundation in any given year by Rotarians is invested for three years. The Foundation lives on the interest of those investments. After the third year, 50% of the monies contributed by any given District returns to that District in the form of Managed Grants (local community grants), Global Grants and District Designated Funds. So as the saying goes, if you don’t give, you probably won’t get. So now is the time to give to the Foundation so you Club can continue to do local District Managed Grants!
The committee will meet again in July to determine the next steps. The committee is to be commended for its insight and foresight in the production of this video.
District 7930's annual RYLA weekend will be held on June 3-5, 2016, at Camp Rotary in Boxford. This is a spectacular weekend, where 80 high school sophomores and juniors from all over the District come together to learn leadership skills. Facilitating the weekend are a hand-picked group of students from last year's RYLA and a team of Rotarians.
District clubs may sponsor up to five students from their community. The cost to sponsor a student is $150. This covers the program, housing and food.
There are still spaces available for this year's RYLA. If your club hasn't submitted applications yet, please consider participating. This is an amazing program.
For information about RYLA, contact Rotarians Jim Babbin, Evan Diamond, Andy Maddox, Peter Majane, Tracy Arabian, Julie Geary, Mike McLaughlin, or Dave Gardner. All have several years of RYLA experience and can answer your questions.
If you ask anyone who traveled last October to Cebu, Philipines, they're going to share stories. Stories about commitment, affection, care, and compassion. Or perhaps you've already heard one of the team's presentations this year and were inspired to go? Now's your chance to apply! Next year's mission is currently being planned for October 9-23, 2016 back to Cebu!
Want a first-hand account of what it's like to travel on this important project? Can't go on the trip, but want to support the mission? Email David Boudreau to schedule a speaker, be connected to a past volunteer, or to donate. You won't regret it!
Please note, that you MUST apply through Rotaplast to be considered for this mission.
After a weekend sweep of the Yankees, the Red Sox look like they are in high gear! The bats are blazing and pitching is starting to improve. Now that we are officially in first place, it is time to introduce our Rotary Day at Fenway.
On July 8th, we have reserved 280 seats in the right field grandstands to hopefully witness a win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Joining us will be 50 plus members of the Ipswich Rotary Club and their twin club from Ipswich, England. That leaves about 230 seats for Rotarians, family and friends. This will be a gorgeous night, not guaranteed, but being their with so many incredible people will certainly be amazing.
Breaking news! This past week ClubRunner added a useful, much delayed tool to both the club and district websites. At the top of the screen by the member login, you will find a magnifying glass. Three are two modes: public and private. If someone is not logged in, you will only be able to search public pages. Once logged in, all pages will be available to search. Just enter any word and watch how fast it finds stories and other items where that keyword is found. Certainly, you can search for stories about your club, or other clubs, in an effort to recall what was previously reported or to begin to research new ideas for service projects, fellowship events or fundraisers. Then once you have accessed the story, you might discover the secrets of how to maximize your success. But it doesn't stop there, let your imagination flow. Let us know if you hit the jackpot!
Please join the Wakefield Rotary Club on Wednesday, June 1st for our annual golf tournament at the beautiful Gannon Golf Club in Lynn, MA. Proceeds will benefit the programs to combat substance use and youth development including:
Have you registered for Conference yet? If not, why not? The schedule is set, transportation from Andover/Stoneham and Georgetown/North Shore Mall (see above) on Saturday is set, the menus are set, the speakers are set, are you set? 
District 7930's annual RYLA weekend will be held on June 3-5, 2016, at Camp Rotary in Boxford. This is a spectacular weekend, where 80 high school sophomores and juniors from all over the District come together to learn leadership skills. Facilitating the weekend are a hand-picked group of students from last year's RYLA and a team of Rotarians.
If you ask anyone who traveled last October to Cebu, Philipines, they're going to share stories. Stories about commitment, affection, care, and compassion. Or perhaps you've already heard one of the team's presentations this year and were inspired to go? Now's your chance to apply! Next year's mission is currently being planned for October 9-23, 2016 back to Cebu!
After a weekend sweep of the Yankees, the Red Sox look like they are in high gear! The bats are blazing and pitching is starting to improve. Now that we are officially in first place, it is time to introduce our Rotary Day at Fenway.
Breaking news! This past week ClubRunner added a useful, much delayed tool to both the club and district websites. At the top of the screen by the member login, you will find a magnifying glass. Three are two modes: public and private. If someone is not logged in, you will only be able to search public pages. Once logged in, all pages will be available to search. Just enter any word and watch how fast it finds stories and other items where that keyword is found. Certainly, you can search for stories about your club, or other clubs, in an effort to recall what was previously reported or to begin to research new ideas for service projects, fellowship events or fundraisers. Then once you have accessed the story, you might discover the secrets of how to maximize your success. But it doesn't stop there, let your imagination flow. Let us know if you hit the jackpot!
Please join the Wakefield Rotary Club on Wednesday, June 1st for our annual golf tournament at the beautiful Gannon Golf Club in Lynn, MA. Proceeds will benefit the programs to combat substance use and youth development including:
