January Food Bank Donation Challenge

We invite Rotary members to participate in a year-long Food Bank Donation Challenge. Each month, we'll post a suggested list of 5 items. These may include non-food, necessity items. Feel free to play along and purchase those items, or items of your choice, and deliver them to your local Food Bank. Or, you may want to check with your local food bank first to see what they are low on at the moment. Alternatively, you may prefer to provide them with a monetary donation or monthly pledge.

Invite your friends, family, colleagues, and social media connections to participate. We ask everyone to keep track of their donations and, at the end of each month, submit them to Kitt at kittbrand@gmail.com, so we can track the impact of our contributions. Let's see what the power of Rotary can do for our food banks!

Contact Kitt

January is Vocational Service Month

The Object of Rotary is a philosophical statement of Rotary’s purpose and the responsibilities of Rotarians. The concept of vocational service is rooted in the second object, which calls on Rotarians to encourage and foster:

• High ethical standards in business and professions

• The recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations

• The dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society

As a Rotarian, how can you put these ideals into action? Consider these suggestions:

• Talk about your profession in your club, and take time to learn about fellow members’ occupations.

• Use your skills and expertise to serve a community.

• Practice your profession with integrity, and inspire others to behave ethically through your words and actions.

• Help young people achieve their career goals.

• Guide and encourage others in their professional development.

By undertaking these activities, you bring vocational service to life.

Vocational service is the essence of Rotary and serves as the foundation from which we serve our communities around the world.

Vocational Service Guide

District Conference 2023

We are so excited to host the District Conference from April 20 to 23, 2023 at the Jasper Park Lodge. We have worked with the JPL to ensure we have affordable room rates and meal costs.

There are limited rooms still available at JPL under our conference booking at this link. Please type in the event dates to ensure you have access to these rooms: April 20 to 23, 2023. The early bird of having the conference rate two days prior to and following the conference has ended as we have reached our limit. https://book.passkey.com/event/50343013/owner/56381/home

We have a roster of dynamic speakers and a strong conference program for all Rotarians.

Our youth committee has planned an engaging program for our Interact and youth exchange students.

Want to bring your family? There is something for everyone.

Watch for updates on our conference schedule, important dates, and more on our conference website, here in Connections and on social media.

In order to ensure the District Conference is accessible for all to attend, we are looking for sponsors. Do you know a business or individual who would be interested in sponsoring this dynamic conference?

We have customized packages available for all parts of the conference. Please reach out to Conference Chair Tamara Larson for further details. larson.tamarac@gmail.com

District Sponsorship Opportunities

https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50012/documents/en-ca/855f33af-5d2a-4a55-a752-11dc334c005a/1

RESPECT District Conference 2023

Link for details and registration https://curling.rotarytickets.ca/

RYLE 2023

I hope you all have been doing well. My name is Rehma Khan and I am the External Chair for Rotary Youth Leadership Experience (RYLE) this year. RYLE is a 4 day leadership camp that will take place at Camp Nakamun from May 4th-7th 2023. This program is tailored for high school students between the ages of 14-18 (exceptions may apply).

During this camp, students are exposed to various experiential leadership activities where they get to learn with leaders from across Alberta. They also get to enjoy the outdoors and try some fun activities such as human foosball, the king swing, scavenger hunts, and many more! And students will be given the opportunity to learn more about Rotary and Interact as well!

Our applications will be opening in January 2023, but in the meantime, I am currently working on presenting the program to Rotary Clubs across District 5370 who are interested in learning about the program and the benefits that it has for youth. I can do online and in-person presentations so feel free to reach me at rehma@ualberta.ca if this is something you are interested in or if you have any questions regarding RYLE 2023.

Yours in Rotary,

Rehma Khan

External Chair

Rotary Youth Leadership Experience (RYLE) Committee

Contact Rehma Khan

NISKU LEDUC ROTARY PRESENTS GWYNNE DYER: WAR IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Author, Historian, and independent journalist, as well as a broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 30 years. Born in Newfoundland, he received degrees from Canadian, American, and British universities, finishing with a Ph.D. in Military and Middle Eastern History from the University of London. He served in three navies and held academic appointments at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Oxford University before launching his twice-weekly column on international affairs, which is published by over 175 papers in some 45 countries, including the Leduc Rep earlier in 2022. His books include Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and work); The Shortest History of War; and Canada in the Great Power Game.

His lecture on January 12th, which will be a 1-hour talk followed by about a 45-minute Q&A, will be entitled: War in the 21st Century

This lecture will address the specific strategies, tactics, and politics of the war in Ukraine, including the potential nuclear dimension of the conflict, but it will also consider the evolving nature and role of war as an institution. Is it unique to human beings, or just the human expression of a more widespread and deeply rooted behavior? How did it evolve into the different kinds of war people fight nowadays? Have nuclear weapons really 'changed everything except the way we think,' as Einstein said. And will we ever be able to stop?

Tickets are available by clicking the link below:

Link for tickets

What is Rotary Friendship Exchange?

Friendship Exchange is an international program for Rotary members and friends that allow participants turns hosting one another in their clubs and homes.

Participants may travel as individuals, couples or groups, and may be Rotary members or not.

This year, we are excited to share that we would like to to a Rotary Friendship Exchange with Rotary District 3820 in the Philippines.

Are you and your club interested?

DEADLINE TO APPLY JANUARY 31, 2023

Please reach out to RFE Chair Michael Gabriel for more information and how YOU can participate in this amazing opportunity!

mqg_777@yahoo.com

3^rd Time’s a Charm

Food Packaging Collaboration in GP a Huge Success!!

Third time was a charm in Grande Prairie last month as we finally were able to complete our multi-club food packaging event. This initiative was originally scheduled for March 2020… enough said 😊

The President Elects from Rotary Club of Grande Prairie, Rotary Club of Grande Prairie Swan City, Rotary Club of Grande Prairie Sunrise, Rotary Club of Grande Prairie After 5, and our Rotaract Club worked together initially to put on this event for Rotary Day to bring the Clubs and Community together for hands on service. The partnership grew as Past President of Sherwood Park, Lyle Johnson, joined our team with the Emmanuel Foundation, and his expertise and connections were invaluable!

Mid-pandemic a second attempt was made to hold the event during a brief opening of public gatherings, which had to be postponed last minute yet again (after we had the volunteers all organized of course lol). And let’s not forget about the warehouse fire October 2021 that destroyed the Distribution Centre of Emmanuel Foundation along with all the food we had purchased and a ton of equipment. Through generous donations from the Rotary Club of Sherwood Park and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, all the damaged materials were replaced. Incredible!

Finally on Sunday, Oct 23^rd, 2022, our event happened! Almost 100 Rotarians and their families packaged 30,000 meals on a Sunday morning. Interactors, earlyacters and exchange students participated as well. The music was pumping, Rotarians were dancing and laughing and working steady. Service and fellowship were in full force.

Those President Elects were now Past Presidents, and over their years together they affectionately call themselves the FAB 5 (all 5 women!) The Rotary Club of Grande Prairie BBQed lunch for us all as a wrap up and the food was delivered/picked up.

We used “One Meal” for this event, and a huge advantage is we got to distribute the food ourselves. A third of the meals stayed local and went to the adult shelter, the youth shelter, and the food bank. A third of the meals went to Northern Canadian Communities, and a third went Internationally to the Eating Stones Orphanage in Kenya (a project supported by the Rotary Club of Grande Prairie).

The need for food is even greater here locally coming out of the Pandemic, so although it’s not fun to postpone an event again and again, the timing ended up brilliant. It felt so good to give back when the need is so high. THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this happen. We encourage you to consider an event like this for your Club and Community, and to collaborate with your fellow Clubs. Better together!

Rotary Clubs of Grande Prairie, FAB 5
Tyla Savard Mona Grace

Geri Conrad Morgan Wardrobe Nadine LaCroix

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Learning Center

Preparing to be a club president in 2023-24? Don't forget to complete your Club President Basic and Club President Intermediate learning plans or series of courses.

Club President Basic:https://my.rotary.org/learn?deep-link=https%3A//learn.rotary.org/members/learn/lp/442/club-president-basics

Club President Intermediate: https://my.rotary.org/learn?deep-link=https%3A//learn.rotary.org/members/learn/lp/443/club-president-intermediate

If you've never been to the Learning Center, take these steps:

Go to rotary.org/learn

- Log into your My Rotary account*

- Accept the privacy policy

- Select Club Leadership on the Course Catalogs page

- Look for your role in the tiles and select a tile

- Select the Enroll button and then select Let’s Begin

- Select the course you’d like to take first

Link to MyRotary.org

Subscribe to their new YouTube Channel for updates https://youtu.be/NJygJ0M8wkw