NOTE - We are at The Pinery on the Hill for our meeting tomorrow
Today, 23rd is the anniversary of the founding of Rotary. Happy birthday Rotary!
This month is World Peace and Understanding month. A month where we focus on building peace and reducing conflict locally and internationally. Our DG Sam Kavan reminds us in his newsletter about Rotary's efforts to build peace and reduce conflict.
"We have seen a rise in angry and demeaning discourse which can lead to violence and domestic terrorism in our own country. As Rotarians we can have a positive influence in our own communities by first adhering to our 4-WAY TEST in everything we think, say, and do and sharing this model of ethical and respectful behavior with our friends, colleagues, and neighbors.
Finally, we can learn how to be PEACEBUILDERS ourselves by enrolling in the Rotary Positive Peace Academy. I recently learned about this self-guided two-hour course in the February 2023 issue of ROTARY magazine. Go to positivepeace.academy/rotary to get started. I plan to enroll and take this course this week! Please join me in helping to MAKE PEACE and PREVENT CONFLICTS in our own communities and throughout the world."
Ever wonder what happens to all the money we raise through Flight and through your donations to our Community Service Fund? Later in this bulletin, we get an update on the great things that our Rotary Club has been a part of through our Community Service Fund.
Also later in the bulletin is information on the iGive program that is available to replace Amazon Smiles. This is a program where a portion of the proceeds of items you purchase online come back to the club. There is a special promotion where our club receives $5 for every person who signs up with iGive by March 1st and then purchases something within 30 days of joining.
Don't forget our fun social on March 1st at the speakeasy, District Elleven. It is a great time to visit with fellow Rotarians, get a make-up for a missed meeting, and great event to bring a prospective member to learn about Rotary.
This week we have our own club member Martin Cook as our guest speaker at the World Peace and Understanding luncheon. This is held jointly with the other 9 Rotary Clubs in our area and the PEs of the clubs work together to put on the meeting. It should be a great time! REMEMBER - we are at The Pinery on the Hill this week!
Next week, March 3rd we will be at the City Auditorium for our lunch meeting. We'll be getting an update on the plans for this little gem in our City and take a tour of the facilities. Don't forget to RSVP by Monday at 5 pm for this unique program.
Please take time to read the bulletin each week and check out our website that has more information about all our events, activities and upcoming speakers.
Linda and her team are working to create a true city center affording access to all citizens for the purposes of relevant, inspired, and thoughtful works of the human spirit. A collective of education, arts, culture and business community “for the use of the people and the glory of the city.
This will be a field trip to the City Auditorium. Come see the site before renovations begin.
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PEN (Practical Education Network) in Accra, Ghana (installation of online training facility) $5,000
Science Lab at Masai Mara High School in Kenya, Africa. $2,500 (with $2,500 from the Los Altos, California Rotary Club)
Social Work Scholarships at Hubert Kairuki Memorial University (HKMU) in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Two individual scholarships) $3,000
School bus purchase for Rotary Volcanes School of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico $2,000 (Tri Lakes Rotary Club project; total goal from area clubs and District grant $16,000)
Ukrainian Letter Project (supplies, printing and shipping) $2,600
Ankara Turkey disaster response $3,000
Yours in service,
Tom Nelson
Director and Chairman of the Community Service Fund
March 1st from 5 pm to 7 pm we will meet at District Elleven, a downtown speakeasy.
You can access district elleven in two ways. First, through the vault in Mood Tapas Bar. Just let the host know that you would like to visit district elleven and they will escort you back and through the vault. Please be prepared to show ID at the host stand. You can also access d11 from the back alley. Our entrance is right across the alley from the parking garage’s alley exit. If you are walking up the alley from the south, you will be able to spot our sign under the large flood lamp.
Turkey and Syria were struck by a devastating earthquake on 6 February that has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed thousands of homes and other structures, and left people across the region without shelter in bitterly cold winter weather.
The Rotary world responded to this catastrophe immediately. RI President Jennifer Jones activated our disaster response efforts, communicated with the affected districts, and encouraged governors in those regions to apply for disaster response grants and share information about their relief efforts so that Rotary can amplify the calls for support.
The Rotary Foundation Trustees decided that all donations made, from now until 31 March, to the Turkey/Syria Disaster Response Fund will be used to aid earthquake relief projects. In addition, the Trustees made available more than $125,000 to Rotary districts affected by the earthquake through Disaster Response Grants.
Rotary's project partner ShelterBox also has an emergency response team assessing the needs in the region and how it can respond. That team is communicating with Rotary district leaders. Rotary's service partner Habitat for Humanity International is also working on its response. Many Rotary members are asking how they can help. Here's how to have the greatest impact:
Give to Turkey/Syria Disaster Response Fund. Donations help clubs and districts provide aid and support rebuilding efforts where the need is greatest. The funds are distributed to affected communities through disaster response grants. The Disaster Response Fund can accept cash contributions and District Designated Funds (DDF).
Support local initiatives. As we learn about local response efforts that are being led by clubs and districts, Rotary raises awareness about how to support them. People can then support these projects by working directly with Rotary members in the region. If you want us to publicize information about local response efforts, write to relief@rotary.org.
Care & Share has put out the call for attendees to their largest annual event, Recipe for Hope, where guests will be provided the opportunity to hear powerful stories of hope and courage from their neighbors who have experienced hunger. Join over 1,000 guests to learn more about how you can help to bridge the gap between hunger and abundance, and how Care and Share is able to further their impact by partnering with more than 270 agencies to provide food assistance to thousands of families and individuals across 31 counties and 52,000 square miles throughout Southern Colorado.
The event will be held on March 2nd from 12 p.m.-1 p.m. in Broadmoor Hall at the Broadmoor Hotel and is free of charge to attend. You will also get to hear from fellow Rotarians like Monique Lewis and Rodney Gullatte who will be speaking at the event! For more info or to reserve your spot at one of the available tables, please respond directly to Monique Lewis at her email: monique@careandshare.org or by cell at: (931) 561-4432
Watch here next week for information on our upcoming community service projects.
The International Committee has requested from the CSF $3000 for aid in Turkey. Funds to be wired this week to the District Governor there to be used as he directs. We will be expecting an accounting of the use in Mid March.
The CSF contribution of $2500 for completion of a science lab at Maasai Mara High has been spent on plumbing and lab equipment. Below is a photo of the finished lab and the proud students.
The CSF and an anonymous contributor also helped to fill a funding gap last November at Maasai Mara and our water enterprise install there. RC of Prior Lake Minnesota had made a charitable investment of $80,000 through a Program Related Investment. But we were still short by $9000 for shipping and Customs. All equipment has been installed, an 800 foot borehole completed, and within a couple week, 20L bottles of purified water will be sold. Here is a link to a 30 minute video package that describes the PRI funding concept, an interview with the PDG in Minnesota on why they went this route, and an interview with Amos Kipeen of the Maasai community explaining the enterprise they are launching. https://vimeo.com/797966292
A few expedition opportunities will be ready to announce next month for the balance of 2023. These will include Kenya, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico and Panama. All will allow participation in water installations, eyeglass fitting clinics and computer lab installs and training.
Preparation is underway to create the Rotary Pavilion at EarthX in Dallas April 20-23. This will give us the opportunity to exhibit our innovations and projects to 200,000 expected attendees to the world's largest environmental and climate conference.
PDG elect Greg Sund and Jon Kaufman will meet with an attorney today, the 21st, to establish a new foundation or other structure to govern the upcoming Sustainable Notes Music Festival in October. A board of directors will be chosen to oversee the responsible sale of $1 million in expected ticket sales and sponsorships, as well as the disbursement of those funds for exceptional international projects in D5470.
Below is an update on the Niger project we sponsored last year.
Warmly,
Jon Kaufman
P.S. If you are interested in participating in our International Committee, please email Jon Kaufman jk595@aol.com to be added to the notification list!
Update on Global Grant from David Smith
Last year your club contributed $4000 to the Farmers of the Future Income Generating Global Grant (GG2127084). This project was approved and funded late in the fall.
Background:
In 2015, the United Nations ranked Niger 187 of 188 countries in human development. Niger disparately needs economic development!
Substantial malnutrition, including stunting and wasting, and subsequent irreversible cognitive impairment are rampant in Niger. Fifty percent of women ages 15-49 years are suffering from the effects of chronic anemia. Malnutrition causes stunting in 48% of the children under the age of 5 years.
This Global Grant addresses both economic development and malnutrition. We will clear 2 acres of land, dig a shallow well, install a solar powered irrigation system and train village women and children to grow high-value, highly nutritious crops.
In addition to providing the 25 families in the cooperative with highly nutritious food, profits from sales of produce will be divided between the families and local schools.
Progress Report January 2023
The following photos show that the well was drilled, a submergible pump was installed, water was found, solar panels were installed, and women are organizing to grow crops. To make so much progress in a few months is remarkable.
We've had no new wild polio cases reported for the last 15 weeks, yeah!
Meanwhile, the state of New York is still surveilling polio in wastewater and urging all residents to get vaccinated against Polio. Remember, polio anywhere in the world can be transmitted to anyone in the world.
Poliovirus Weekly Update 28 December, 2022, World Health Organization
The number of wild polio cases for 2022 as of December 28 is 30 (2 in Afghanistan, 20 in Pakistan and 8 in Mozambique).
The total number of wild polio cases in 2021 were 6 (1 in Pakistan, 1 in Malawi and 4 in Afghanistan).
The total number of wild polio cases in 2020 were 140 (84 in Pakistan and 56 in Afghanistan).
The total number of wild polio cases in 2019 were 176 (147 in Pakistan and 29 in Afghanistan).
If you have bulletin announcements, please email the EXACT WORDING of your announcement to kay.rendleman@comcast.net by Wednesday at 5 pm. I don't write your announcements, but I do make them nice 'n' fancy!
