Thank you to John Buckley for running the meeting this Friday while I'm representing our club at the District Conference. And since I'm off this week (not really, but go with me here...) I'm going to beg your indulgence once more and share some information straight from Rotary International about why Rotary is focused on economic and community development and what we're doing about it:
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
More than 830 million people live on less than $1.25 a day. Although the number of people living in extreme poverty has dropped by more than half since 1990, slower global growth, volatile financial markets, lack of economic and social opportunity, conflict, and high unemployment are among the obstacles to continued progress.
Rotary at Work:
Peru – The Rotary Club of Inka Cusco and the local municipality are combating poverty and environmental degradation by teaching families in rural areas about farming, reforestation, and good health habits. More than 40,000 people have benefitted from the project through better nutrition, visits to local health services, and increased incomes from raising livestock and fish. And they have planted hundreds of thousands of trees to help prevent the effects of deforestation and soil erosion.
Uganda – The Rotary Club of Kampala North, with funding from districts 5340 (California, USA) and 9211 (Tanzania and Uganda), along with Rotary Foundation grants, implemented an Adopt-a-Village project in Nkondo. Through community assessment and involvement, the project created a local-driven microfinance system with a 100 percent loan repayment rate and trained farmers to produce crops with high market values. It also formed partnerships with local nongovernmental organizations to sustain progress. The effort’s success motivated the local government to fund improvements in the village’s school and health clinic, and the rural utility to extend a power line into the community.
Philippines – Working with a local nongovernmental organization, the Rotary Club of Makati-San Lorenzo, Philippines, provided microcredit loans to more than 1,600 rice farmers in their community. Club members also organized the farmers into a Rotary Community Corps and provided training in sustainable agriculture technology and rice mill management. The Rotary grant-funded project enabled the farmers to break the cycle of poverty caused by indebtedness to loan sharks and rice traders.
United States – The Rotary Club of Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, and Heifer International partnered to create “Seeds of Change in the Delta.” The project is providing sustainable livelihoods for farmers by connecting them with urban food markets, and conducting workshops in bookkeeping, expense and inventory control, pricing, and other practices. Arkansas’ consumers benefit by having greater access to healthy, locally produced food. The Little Rock club is working to expand the project to other clubs and agricultural communities.
It's Caryn again, now. You too are part of this great work. So enjoy a fascinating program from Dr. Richardson this week, sign up for the Habitat for Humanity build service project scheduled for next Friday, consider pre-ordering some cookies to raise awareness for Polio Eradication (more about this at the meeting), and I'll see you again next Friday.
October is Arts Month! Hear how your local arts agency, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region, works to support and grow the arts community in Colorado Springs.
Andy is a proud member of our club and also oversees the daily operation and financial management of COPPeR, a non-profit, local arts agency serving a two-county region with a population of over 700,000 residents. In conjunction with his work at the Cultural Office, Andy has been appointed by the Governor of Colorado to serve as a Council member for Colorado Creative Industries (the State Arts Agency), and as a Board member for the Colorado Educational and Cultural Facilities Authority. At the national level, he serves as the Vice-Chair of the United States Urban Arts Federation (an advisory council for Americans for the Arts). Locally, Andy is the Vice-President of the Visit Colorado Springs Board of Directors, an ex-officio Board member of the Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC, and has many other roles locally.
If you long for the kind of service project that lets you "pick up your shovel and DO something," please consider signing up for the Habitat for Humanity build on October 18. This will be our service opportunity for Economic and Community Development Month.
The address of the build is 2620 Dale Street, Colorado Springs, 80909. Below is the link for the ten members to register through Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity's system. Each person needs to sign up online, read the safety information, and electronically sign the required waiver. For questions the website cannot answer, you can reach out to Sarah, the volunteer scheduling guru, at volunteer@pikespeakhabitat.org
We will need to be on the site by 8:30, with safety briefing beginning 8:45. We will start building by 9:00 a.m. Habitat asks that we park along Dale Street and NOT in the build area. (The neighbors get cranky when their very limited parking spots are filled.) Habitat will make sure construction is wrapped up between 11:30-11:45 a.m. so that we can make the club meeting. (Note the site below will say the shift is 8:30-12:30. The construction superintendent knows the Rotarians will need to leave earlier than usual.)
The Garden of the Gods Rotary Club is raising money by inviting all friends and family to eat at the Village Inn at Palmer Park and North Academy on October 17, 2019. Flyers will be available on the table for the next couple of weeks. Further information can be obtained from GOG Rotary President Bob Null at bob@bobnull.com
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