President Doug then introduced Eva Vida from the Winnipeg Downtown Rotary Club who is currently
- Vice-President of Rotary Foundation Canada
- Membership Chair of her Rotary Club
- Chair of Rotary D5550 World Community Service
- Chair of Rotary D5550 International Service
Previous roles include - D5550 District Governor in 2011-12
- Chair of the 2016 Rotary Zone Institute and
- Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator for Zone 24 West (2017-2020)
President Doug explained that with all those responsibilities on her plate, Eva has taken on a “75-day Challenge, Jan 1 – March 16, 2022”, a fundraiser for the Rotary Foundation, “because she had nothing else to do!” Eva also added that she will be looking after the RI President when she arrives in July.
Brenda Banbury (former Polio chair in our District 5550) and Eva were trying to find a way to get people to become a little more physically active and to get more knowledgeable about the Rotary Foundation. They decided to undertake something physical that would allow them to visit every club in the district. They determined that it would take 4000 km to visit every single club in the district. Because Eva is cycling (indoors) and Brenda walks outdoors, it was decided that Eva would undertake to take on 2500-2600 km in the span of 75 days and Brenda, is taking on 1400 km. As of last week, about $5000 has been raised for the Rotary Foundation. The second objective was to speak to every club “along the road” and raise awareness of what the Foundation is and does, especially with newer members. The last objective of this project, given the mental health aspects of the pandemic, was to get Rotarians moving, get excited about something and encouraged to take on different activities. A benefit of this would be members of the community getting involved in sponsoring Rotarians taking on a portion of the 4000 km trek. The 75 Day Challenge got the attention of the CBC, which was curious about what this was all about and Eva was recently interviewed by the CBC. One club is doing a snowshoe race in the month of February. A group in Neepawa called Rusty Knees is walking. Other groups are swimming, cycling outdoors, skiing and undertaking “lots of other activities”. Eva encouraged club members to meet up and “do some stuff” outdoors (like walks in the forest) and have fun. The District website https://rotary5550.org/, explains the What?, Who?, Where? When? and Why? of the First Annual Rotary Foundation Relay Challenge for Rotary, Rotaract and Interact members.
If one wished to support someone who is already participating in the Challenge, contact either Pat Austin (patricia_austin@icloud.com) or Eva Vida (eva.vida@icloud.com).
President Doug thanked Eva for her explanation of the 75 Day Challenge.