HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY – FALL IN LOVE WITH ROTARY 10 REASONS
Each year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, candy, gifts or flowers with their special “valentine.” The day of romance we call Valentine’s Day is named for a Christian martyr and dates back to the 5th century. There are many reasons to fall in Love with Rotary. Make Valentine’s Day even more special when you fall in Love with Rotary. There are many reasons to Fall In Love with Rotary, we put together a list of the top 10 reasons.
1. Friendship: In an increasingly complex world, Rotary provides one of the most basic human needs: the need for friendship and fellowship. It is one of two reasons why Rotary began in 1905.
2. Business Development: The second original reason for Rotary’s beginning is business development. Everyone needs to network. Rotary consists of a cross section of every business community. Its members come from all walks of life. Rotarians help each other and collectively help others.
3.Personal Growth and Development: Membership in Rotary continues one’s growth and education in human relations and personal development.
4. Citizenship in the Community: Membership in a Rotary club makes one a better community citizen. The average Rotary club consists of the most active citizens of any community.
5. Continuing Education: Each week at Rotary there is a program designed to keep one informed about what is going on in the community, nation, and world. Each meeting provides an opportunity to listen to different speakers and a variety of timely topics.
6. Fun: Rotary is fun, a lot of fun. Each meeting is fun. The club projects are fun. Social activities are fun. The service is fun.
7. Citizenship in the World: Every Rotarian wears a pin that says “Rotary International.” There are few places on the globe that do not have a Rotary club. Every Rotarian is welcome – even encouraged – to attend any of the 29,000 clubs in 194 nations and geographical regions. This means instant friends in both one’s own community and in the world community.
8. Prestige: Rotary members are prominent people: leaders of business, the professions, art, government, sports, military, religion, and all disciplines. Rotary is the oldest and most prestigious service club in the world. Its ranks include executives, managers, and professionals – people who make decisions and influence policy
9. Absence of an “Official Creed”: Rotary has no secret handshake, no secret policy, no official creed, no secret meeting or rituals. It is an open society of men and women who simply believe in helping others.
10. Opportunity to Serve: Rotary is a service club. Its business is mankind. Its product is service. Rotarians provide community service to both local and international communities. This is perhaps the best reason for becoming a Rotarian: the chance to do something for somebody else and to sense the self-fulfillment that comes in the process and return of that satisfaction to one’s own life. It is richly rewarding!
I'm spreading the word about a couple of community events that are coming up in support of TotalLink over the next couple of weeks, and I wanted to share them with you.
The first is our Grill House Dining Day on Monday, February 13th. From 10:30 am - 9 pm,
Grill House is donating 20% of the sales from Dine-in or Carry-Out if you mention TotalLink when you place your order.
By Dan Parks, Rotary Club of Wilmington East, North Carolina, USA
At the end of December, two Ukrainian families arrived in North Carolina, USA, after a whirlwind departure from Kyiv on Christmas day. They traveled through Warsaw and Chicago enroute to North Carolina. It’s been a busy three weeks as I’ve helped get the mothers signed up for Medicaid and their children enrolled in school or settled into daycare.
In late September, I was contacted by a representative from Welcome.US, a nonpartisan national initiative in the United States that was created to inspire, mobilize, and empower Americans from all corners of the country to support those seeking refuge here. The program started in September 2021 to assist those fleeing Afghanistan, but it has since expanded to embrace refugees from the war in Ukraine. Welcome.US is collaborating with Rotary to find hosts for refugee families.
After setting up an account and taking the online training, I agreed to become a sponsor with the help of fellow Rotarians. I worked on raising the $6,500 necessary to fly four people to the U.S. and an additional $15,000 for their first three months here. That covers housing, groceries, and transportation. I also had to help the new arrivals get social security cards, work permits, appointments with doctors and dentists, and jobs!
After completing the training, you get to review six to seven families. It’s a bit tough selecting families, but the decision is softened by the knowledge that each has three potential sponsors. I finally agreed on two young mothers and their two children – a two-and-a-half-year-old boy and a seven-and-a-half-year-old girl.
Photo: The mothers were friends in college and decided to try coming to the U.S. together. Right now, men can’t leave Ukraine.
Prior to their arrival, we initially communicated through the Welcome Connect platform, but then started using WhatsApp and checking each other out on Facebook. You get very attached quickly and worry about their safety. Thanks to our chats over WhatsApp, I was aware of Russian shelling before it was on the news. It was chilling. Frequently they had no running water, electricity, or heat. Temperatures were below freezing, with snow on the ground.
Photo: The children enjoy a visit to a horse farm.
We texted every day or so. I found myself making up excuses to communicate with them, such as asking what types of food they liked. They sent pictures of a park in Kyiv during better times that showed what a beautiful city Kyiv is. A photo of the young boy showed him and his dad watching cartoons by a kerosene lantern. They can’t have too many lights on at night. I was texting back and forth when I realized it was 3 a.m. their time. I encouraged the young mother to get some rest, but she replied that she didn’t sleep well at night because that was when the shelling occurred.
As an assistant governor in District 7730 (North Carolina, USA), I have more than 300 Rotarians to whom I’m reaching out for help (financially and otherwise). So far, it’s gone well. News spreads fast among family, friends, and neighbors. Everyone wants to help. My son’s mother-in-law is an eye doctor and said she would take care of eye exams and glasses. One retired Rotarian, a dentist, is taking care of their dental needs. Another doctor with Ukrainian parents is addressing any diabetic concerns they may have.
Neighbors have come up with cookware, bedding, kitchen utensils, and much more. I have a pool/guest house on my property that has a full kitchen and bath, a queen-sized bed, and a couple of cots. There is a television. They’ll stay there until they find employment. I’ve been collecting frozen foods for them and have enrolled them in a food pantry where I volunteer.
Both moms are now enrolled in English classes Monday through Friday in the mornings. They have bank accounts set up. They’ve been grocery shopping several times and have gone to a few parks, out to a horse farm, to the beach and to a couple of restaurants. One mom said that every day gets a little easier.
I can’t describe the sense of satisfaction you get from helping families who’ve faced so much. I would encourage as many of my fellow Rotary members as feel able to check out this opportunity.
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Learn more about sponsorship by downloading the Rotary-Welcome.US flyer. Rotary clubs can use district grant funds to help with resettlement costs. Contact trf.welcome@rotary.org for more information, or find resources and answers to some common questions on the Welcome.US website.
As the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approached, Rotary magazine’s Wen Huang traveled to Europe to see firsthand how Rotary members are responding to this humanitarian crisis. In the first installment of his two-part report, Huang visits Poland en route to Ukraine.
Rotary Club of Rocky Mount spreading love to seniors ahead of Valentine’s Day
The Rotary Club and Franklin County Center of Aging are surprising seniors with cards and flowers
The Rotary Club of Rocky Mount is spreading love ahead of Valentine's Day.
ROCKY MOUNT, Va. – The Rotary Club of Rocky Mount is spreading some love ahead of Valentine’s Day. It teamed up with the Franklin County Center of Aging to surprise seniors with Valentine’s Day cards. They’ll be delivered with Senior Meals on Wheels.
It’s the first year the Rotary Club has done this, but they plan to continue the new tradition in upcoming years. Flowers by Jones donated 100 carnations that will be distributed as well. The cards are made by the Rotary Club and include a crossword puzzle and handwritten signatures.
“We put the bones of a card together, just a couple graphics. We had one Rotarian put together all the color and the images on the card. We had a different Rotarian come up with the word search that’s in the card. Our entire club signed the cards last Thursday at our club meeting,” said Joey Cornwell, the Club President of the Rotary Club of Rocky Mount.
The cards and flowers will be distributed Tuesday and Wednesday.
PAY IT FORWARD - INVITE FRIENDS & FAMILY ! THEY MIGHT WIN UP TO $3000
We are ONLY at 37% of our GOAL
March 14, 2023 Event
Prizes will be $3000, $2000 and $1000 dollars making it a popular annual event! Each club member needs to sell $150 or more in tickets! Feel free to send links for your page to your contacts. Tickets are $50.00 each.
When you solicit the sale of an on-line ticket, all this is essentially done for you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to friends and relatives both near and far and give them the link to our raffle.
We have already gone LIVE with RallyUp. The link is on our website homepage.
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