I hope you were able to celebrate the recent holidays, including Passover and Easter, in the best fashion available in this new Coronavirus era. These holidays have given all of us a chance to reflect on the blessings we retain, and perhaps more importantly, to reflect upon the blessings we hope to provide others.
This era presents challenges, but it also presents opportunities. For instance, an impressive number of clubs, clusters, and committees all over the world are meeting virtually on a regular basis. The platforms used (Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google Meets, etc.) are varied, as are meetings themselves—some being simple phone calls, and even an email meeting. In this time of physical isolation we can do much to support each other through these (virtual) contacts and I encourage all of you to do so with particular attention to your fellow Rotarians, friends, and neighbors who are most vulnerable.
The list of challenges that are being turned into opportunities is lengthy. Some districts and clubs planned events using a Netflix Party to help stay in touch. At least one club raised money to buy lunches for local grocery store workers, local school workers, and emergency medical staff. As John Hannes pointed out, this is a great way to thank others for their hard work and support local businesses.
At least one district found an E-Club President and I.T. professional who have offered to get smaller clubs online and comfortable with available resources. This is something our District is working on very hard (thanks to Cheryl Warren, David Jones, and many others).
In many districts, smaller clubs are starting to hold joint meetings, alternating the responsibilities of programs and running the meeting each week. Perhaps we can take advantage of this as well.
The Rotary Foundation is no exception. As the COVID-19 pandemic has spread hardship around the world, Rotary members in rising to the challenge have been innovative in helping care for those affected and showing that even at a distance there are ways to help.
I have received reports that in Italy, one of the most heavily affected countries, clubs in District 2080 are raising funds to purchase ventilators and protective gear for over-extended hospitals. In addition, when the outbreak was as its worst in China, the same District’s clubs raised more than $21,000 for protective masks to prevent the spread of the disease there.
Reports have also come in that Rotary clubs in Sri Lanka installed thermometers in airport restroom facilities and produced posters to raise awareness of the Coronavirus for schools across the country.
The Rotary Club of Metro Bethesda, Maryland, is contacting neighbors who live alone and are quarantined. Volunteers are asked to contact at least five of these people each week to ask how they are and if they need anything. Members are also leaving flowers on their doorsteps.
In our own district, Peter Tuttle of the Chesterland club, together with his club members, came up with the Every Rotarian Every Week program. By now I hope all of you have heard of it. The idea is to make sure that every Rotarian in your club is contacted at least once a week by a fellow club member. The methods of doing this are varied.
Your District Foundation Committee is also active. As all of you should know by now, Foundation Club Chair Jim Lechko recently reached out to all club leaders pointing out the availability of Disaster Response Grants (The Rotary Foundation is making available to each District a single DRG in the amount of $25,000). District 6630’s intent is to purchase as many N95 masks, face shields, gowns, nitro gloves, sanitizer, or other Personal Protective Equipment as the $25,000 can buy. Hopefully your club is taking part.
Jim and his team (Matt Liebson, Rick Pollak, and the entire committee) also point out that COVID-19 District Grants 2020-2021 are also available. That is, clubs can request District Grant funds to support local activities like purchasing thermometers, protective medical gear, or other items to donate to medical professionals or first responders who need them. As a one-time exception, the Rotary Foundation will allow expenses related to COVID-19 which were incurred since March 15, 2020 to be reimbursed through 2020-2021 District Grants. In other words, once a grant is approved, clubs can spend this project money even though the project will be treated (and funded) in the upcoming Rotary Year. (For details on all of this, contact Jim Lechko, District Foundation Chair Coordinator, Matt Liebson Grant Committee Chair, and Rick Pollak)
Last but not least, DGE Pat Myers and the LEADS Committee are in the process of working with the District’s Assistant Governors to provide the necessary preparation to Presidents-Elect they otherwise would have lost through the cancellation of All Ohio PETS and the District Leadership Assembly. The work done in creating the curriculum, preparing the AGs, and conducting multiple cluster meetings is an impressive example of what we can achieve to overcome a challenge.
In closing, my best wishes to all of you, your family, and friends, as we move through these uncharted waters. Please stay safe, continue to work with Rotary at all levels, and there are great things we can achieve.
Yours in Rotary Service,
John Reyes Rotary District 6630 Governor 2019-2020 Tel: 330.258.6469 Email: jreyes@bdblaw.com
If your Club subscribes to ClubRunner create an event within ClubRunner and mark the event to be shown on the District website. It will then appear in this area for the Bulletin and on the District home page.
How to prevent Teleconferencing Hijacking during COVID-19 Pandemic
During our time social distancing we struggle to maintain contact with our club members as well as district committees. In an effort to stay connected we have turned to online conferencing platforms to meet with family, friend and to maintain our need to communicate with our fellow Rotarians. There are many platforms to choose from. Skype, Cisco Webex, Go-to-Meeting, Microsoft Teams and Zoom are the most popular. Many of our Rotary Clubs have chosen to use ZOOM as their platform of choice.
As you investigate the different Video-Conferencing platforms, you should consider how to secure your meeting, protect the privacy of your club members and the data that you share. Security of information should be high on your list of concerns.
FBI Warns of Teleconferencing Hijacking during COVID-19 Pandemic
As large numbers of people turn to video-teleconferencing (VTC) platforms to stay connected in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, reports of VTC hijacking (also called “Zoom-bombing”) are emerging nationwide. The FBI has received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language.
“Zoombombing” is a new term referring to third-parties entering online meetings uninvited. It is made possible by the meeting host making the meeting public and then having the “meeting ID” compromised. Anyone with the application and ID can log into the meeting.
As our clubs continue the transition to online meetings, the FBI recommends exercising due diligence and caution in your cybersecurity efforts.
The following steps are recommended to mitigate teleconference hijacking threats and information protection:
Do not make meetings public.
In Zoom, there are two options to make a meeting private: require a meeting password or use the waiting room feature and control the admittance of guests.
Do not share a link to a teleconference on an unrestricted publicly available social media post.
Provide the link directly to specific people by way of email or test
Manage screensharing options.
In Zoom, change screensharing to “Host Only.”
Ensure users are using the updated version of remote access/meeting applications
Zoom updated their software. In their security update, the teleconference software provider added passwords by default for meetings and disabled the ability to randomly scan for meetings to join.
Lastly, ensure that your Clubs telework policy or guide addresses requirements for physical and information security.
Yours in Rotary Service,
David Jones
Rotary District 6630 Governor Nominee Designate (DG 2022-2023)
Rotary District 6630 Chair, Foundation Stewardship | On to Hawaii
Over the next three months, I will be providing graphics for your club to use in your newsletters and on your website to promote a Paul Harris Society Campaign our District is participating in, along with our fellow districts in Zones 30/31.
Please include them in your newsletters and on your websites (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE ONE SHOWN BELOW). I will be in touch with further details about the campaign in the near future.
Thanks in advance for your cooperation. Contact me with an questions.
As many of you know, with the challenging times that we are facing with the Coronavirus, some of our community organizations need our help, especially right now.
With that being said, The Rotary Club of Twinsburg has placed 100 flags on the Joshua T. Miktarian Memorial Parkway in a show of support for Governor DeWine's plea that all Ohioans fly the American flag during these difficult days.
We are offering a virtual adoption for all of these flags. For $10, you can sponsor a flag and every single dollar will be in-turn donated to Our Community Hunger Center. We will list your names on social media as a supporter of the program. We further challenge all other local organizations to match the donation. Our Community Hunger Center can certainly use our help right now!
Let's go Twinsburg...we know that we can count on you!
(a link was also provided to sponsor and pay for a flag)
Sincerely,
Shannon Collins & Steve Bosso, Co-Presidents Rotary Club of Twinsburg
OUR TREMENDOUS OUTCOME:
Thank you Twinsburg...we did it! ♥️🇺🇸♥️
Through all of your generosity, The Rotary Club of Twinsburg will be making a $2,000 donation on your behalf to our good friends at Our Community Hunger Center so that they can help feed the people who can really use it right now.
Once again, a heartfelt thank you to all who supported this special virtual flag adoption. As you drive down Joshua T. Miktarian Parkway over the next couple of weeks, we hope that you will be reminded of just how special of community that you live or work.
Extra special thanks to Twinsburg resident Matthew Walker for the excellent idea!
With sincere thanks and on behalf of our the entire club,
Shannon Collins & Steve Bosso Co-Presidents, Rotary Club of Twinsburg,
Our final donors:
Rocco Bennardo Lauri Doxsey Cathy Sharamo Elizabeth Buckley Lorraine Spence Greg Bellan
The Lakewood Rocky River Sunrise Club created a food pantry that is hosted by Lakewood United Methodist Church. The club paid for and built the pantry. The church youth painted the pantry and the church had it installed last week. The contents of the food pantry has been emptied and refilled many times already. This is a photo of the pantry the day it was installed.
First of all as many of the clubs are experiencing, certain programs have had to be cancelled leaving money in the club account! We decided that now was a good time to give even more to our local food banks. On top of that we found out that the Brunswick Food Bank was so short on toilet paper that they could only give a family 2 rolls a week!!! So our Rotarians were led by PDG Jack Young who hit every store in Brunswick and Medina trying to buy toilet paper! One store said you could buy one pack while another let you have two packs. He managed to get over 100 rolls. Then Dave Tenny, one of our new Rotarians, realized that he had a small supply at his place of business and rounded up another 80 rolls. As other Rotarians shopped for toilet paper and other items the Food Pantry needed we were able to supply them so they could supply those in need! Some dropped off the items at my home while others met us at the Food Pantry. The picture is taken outside the Food Pantry with Phyllis who heads up the volunteers.
Feeding Medina County supplies meals for all children in our community that have a need by packing up food and delivering. Although they do not need our hands and feet right now (we are on the list) they were very pleased to have the extra money we sent.
St. Ambrose has their own Food Pantry. Being private they can help those that might fall through the cracks. They were in need of hams for Easter and were told that there was a short supply of hams! None of the grocery stores would order for them. PDG Jack went to Save A Lot to see what they had and how many we could buy. Rotarians were standing by to go in and buy however many hams they were allowed. Jack spoke to the manager who stepped up and said he would be happy to order what was needed! Rotary picked up the tab and many people had a good meal.
This week we did our first Cash Mob to a small business called Kelly’s Café. Kelly is the owner and she makes the best crepes! Jim and Heather Horn led the charge and called Kelly to make sure she could handle the mob and had enough food! Kelly was so pleased. The picture is of Jim Horn leaving with lunch for his family. He happened to be there when Jack went to pick up our lunch.
The Mentor Rotary Club has repurposed the funds from our planned 2019/2020 grant for COVID-19 relief. Our project - Lake County COVID-19 Superhero Supplies - will purchase personal protective equipment to protect those helping persons especially vulnerable to COVID-19 or with limited ability to help themselves. In particular, the funds will purchase KN95 and cloth masks, PPE, thermometers and other needed equipment to
1. Protect Deepwood Foundation/Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities personnel as they assist their residents who fall ill but are not eligible for hospitalization
2. Prevent the spread of COVID-19 by providing LCCOA and Project Hope for the Homeless volunteers and guests with cloth masks.
3. Protect Meals on Wheels and other Lake County Council on Aging volunteers and personnel and their clients from the spread of COVID-19 by providing cloth masks.
We will spend at least 33% more than the original grant budget budget ($6054) - the vast majority of our members are donating their pre-paid lunch costs from our cancelled meetings toward this effort. As of April 7, $8,154 have been committed to purchases for equipment.
Rotary District 6630 Leadership and Rotary International's great sense of urgency in helping us to re-purpose this grant and rapidly approve the same was vital to our response. The grant was approved at 9:23 PM Friday April 3. As of April 7, all materials are on order and in transit to provide a ten week supply of PPE as currently known. In addition to member donations, the Mentor Rotary Club is requesting donations for future supplies for this project at mentor-rotary.org. If these funds are not used in the current outbreak, they will be used to create contingency sets of equipment for future outbreaks.
Our club in the last week, in response to the Covid-19 out break, purchased 30 of these Aerosol Boxes to be donated to area hospitals that are currently treating Covid-19 patients. This was out of a request from local anesthesiologist to find a manufacture for the Aerosol Boxes. In quick fashion we were able to find a manufacture and purchase the material and get these boxes made. The manufacturer is continuing to produce the Aerosol Boxes.
These boxes were created by a Dr. who has been fighting Covid-19 in China and Taiwan. This is a new technology and something that we should be working to spread the word about.
I believe that other clubs could step-up and purchase these boxes for their hospitals. At the very least Rotary could act as a conduit to get the word out that we have a local manufacturer that is producing these critical protective equipment. I just spoke with the president of Lake Health Foundation, they are requesting 6 from the lot that our club had manufactured. We are also providing these to UH Geauga Hospital.
Congratulations to the Akron Rotary Club/Akron Rotary Camp for the generous $5,000.00 donation has been received from the 2019 Bridgestone Senior Players Championship Tournament.
A friend of Akron Rotary member, Lynda Farkas, Karen Keasling, member of the Messiah Lutheran Church, longtime volunteer of the tournament and Tournament Board member immediately thought of the Camp as her choice of charities to receive the donation.
Our thanks are extended to Karen for thinking of the Akron Rotary Camp.
Due to the generosity of our 1,000 volunteers, $825,000 went to Northeast Ohio non-profits!
Due to the success of the 2019 Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS additional funds became available for charitable proceeds. Northern Ohio Golf Charities Foundation recently announced that ten past grant recipients were selected to receive a one-time discretionary grant. We commend these groups on the work they are doing to improve the lives of residents of our community and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to help fund their mission.
The selected charities include; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Summit, Medina and Stark Counties, City of Akron Fire Department’s REACH Program, Elves and More of Northeast Ohio, Embrace Clinic and Care Center, Embracing Futures, Faithful Servants Care Center, First Tee of Canton, Open M, Rotary Camp for Children with Special Needs ($5,000.00), and Summit Choral Society.
Just as our Chagrin Valley Rotary Club’s “Win with Pins” fundraiser was cancelled March 14th, the St. Damien’s Children’s Hospital Consortium Fundraiser at Akron Children’s Hospital and the Rotary All Ohio Presidents-Elect Training Seminar in Columbus were also both cancelled over the same weekend. With the unfortunate need to cancel PET’s, our Gift of Life International CEO was regretfully unable to participate as one of the keynote speakers and in the Gift of Life Northeast Ohio breakout session on Saturday. We were also very much looking forward to meeting Rotary International President-Elect Holger Knaack as were all the Ohio PE’s.
However, that Saturday was still a glorious day. Our two-year-old boy Killian from Haiti did have successful open heart surgery on March 10th and was released from Akron Children’s Hospital that very same Saturday, March 14th. How can that be anything but a day of joy!
For those of you that remember, many District 6630 Rotary Clubs viewed a Gift of Life International film several years ago on a very complex heart surgery, “Tetralogy of Fallot.” That was exactly the kind of difficult surgery this little boy had. Yet, he was out of the hospital in four days! Children and the human body are resilient.
Unfortunately, Killian was unable to return home as Haiti had closed her borders. Entry into the country required a Covid-19 test as the Pandemic had gripped the world. A test like that was impossible considering the conditions our country had put upon who could be tested. The next text I received from Dr. Jeff Kempf of the Akron Rotary Club was Killian and his Mom were home in Haiti. It appears between our friends in Haiti’s Ministry of Health and Pediatric Cardiologist John Clark at Akron Children’s, they were able to document Killian had been in the PICU and had not been exposed in any way to Covid-19. A letter from Dr. Clark was sufficient. He then personally drove Killian and his Mom to the airport at 2:30 in the morning on Wednesday, March 18th and they found themselves back home in Haiti by 12:30 in the afternoon.
As Dr. Kempf said, “not bad for a little boy getting open heart surgery during a Pandemic.” None of this is possible without the power of Rotary and all the clubs in our Rotary District 6630 that support Gift of Life NEO. Thank you all.
The Coronavirus 19 is affecting all of us in some way and I hope you and your family remain well.
The following is an update regarding how ShelterBox continues to respond in a safe manner and is providing support to the best that we can with our Rotary Partners can do in these difficult times to those who need our support in the world.
Kerri Murray, Shelterbox USA Presidents reminds us that Shelter is a critical need for people who are simply struggling to survive after loosing their home due to a natural disaster and even war. The outbreak reminds us of the fundamental importance of home is to our health and well being. Our continued work to provide shelter can help slow down the spread of this disease. Unfortunately, disasters and conflict do not stop even during these difficult times.
We are currently responding the best that we can to Ethiopia, Syria, Nigeria, Cameroon, Somililand, Malawi and the Philippines.
ShelterBox USA HERO CLUB AWARD
I have received word that 13 clubs in Ohio, 6 Rotary clubs from our district, have been recognized as HERO AWARD Clubs, of Shelter Box USA. During the Rotary Year 2019-2020 the following clubs have donated at least $ 1,000 to ShelterBox to continue the efforts of providing hope to others in the world.
Congratulations to Rotary Clubs in our District who have recently supported our efforts:
Solon, Burton-Middlefield, Westlake Bay Village, Fairlawn, Northhampton Cuyahoga Valley and Painesville.
If there are any other Rotary Clubs in our district who have responded during this time to ShetlerBox, please let me know. Even though I am not a member of my hometown Rotary Club of Marietta in the Southwest Ohio, I am pleased to note that they recently raised over $ 12,000 dollars since late last year for ShelterBox.
As in any organization, we do not want to put our response team members in harms way. We will do everything we can to accomplish our miss,ion and protect our staff and volunteers. With that below is the message from our President Kerri Murray of ShelterBox USA that was conveyed in a recent conversation with me about our current world issue.
"ShelterBox" is a critical need for those people who are simply struggling to survive after loosing their home due to a disaster or war. Now with this outbreak, it reminds us of the fundamental importance of home is to our health and well being. The continued work of ShelterBox to provide basic shelter can help slow down the spread of this disease. Unfortunately, disasters and conflict to not stop even during this stressful times."
"She further adds that for Rotary Clubs and Rotarians, the first thing that we need is your continued support MORE THAN EVER. As this virus continues to spread in the United States and around the World, our goal is to not only to continue to provide basic shelter but to make sure our volunteer response team s and their families remain Safe."
"In many countries, they have sealed their boards and impose quarantines of unprecedented .scale to flatten the curve. The key issue then is what is a family to do when they have no home, clean water a a structure to protect them. Therefore, the Coronavirus has the potential to ravage the most vulnerable."
Please know that ShelterBox, staff, and volunteers remains committed to helping those in the world who need our help, For more information as to how you or your club can help, please feel free to contact PDG Jack Young, Past Board of Directors and Board of Director Emeritus.
I am sure many of you are not surprised; camp is unusually quiet these days! Due to the COVID-19 outbreak we have cancelled programs from mid-March through the end of April. We will continue to follow the guidelines from Governor DeWine and his team as when to consider reopening. Our camp team is planning out different scenarios as to what camp will look like this summer. Our goal is to begin providing meaningful programs to our campers and families as quickly and safely as possible. Today, we are still planning on moving forward with summer camp as scheduled; we are hiring counselors and planning programs.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to the camp team. We appreciate your support and love for our campers. We look forward to seeing you at camp this summer for a Thursday Cookout and other events.
If there is anything that you need, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Be well!
Dan Reynolds
Director of Endless Possibilities. Akron Rotary Camp
Article written by Mike McGovern, Chair of the Rotary International PolioPlus Committee and John Germ, Past Rotary International President and Chair of the Polio Countdown to History Committee
A program begun by Rotary is employing thousands of health workers to address the Covid-19 pandemic. The program is the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) which includes Rotary’s PolioPlus program.From the earliest days of polio eradication in the Philippines, the generosity and advocacy of Rotarians and our partners has nearly stopped polio, stopped Ebola from becoming an epidemic in Nigeria and now responds to Covid-19.
Over the next four to six months the polio program is offering its tools, workforce and extensive surveillance network to support countries as they respond. Globally, the polio surveillance network is being trained on Covid case detection, contact tracing, laboratory testing and data management. GPEI is deploying its coordination mechanisms such as emergency operations centers and sharing physical assets like vehicles, computers and mobile phones to combat the pandemic. In Nigeria, an extensive network of polio communication assets including 20,000 volunteer community mobilizers are working across the country to promote hand washing to reduce transmission. In Pakistan, polio staff have sensitized more than 6,000 health workers on Covid-19 and re-purposed a helpline originally used for polio related calls to also address Covid questions. The polio surveillance team in Angola is training health care staff on case management of Covid-19. Polio staff in Benin are developing a pandemic preparedness plan for that country. Each day we hear of more deployments of polio staff to address Covid issues in additional countries.
So what about polio itself? The Polio Oversight Board made the hard decision to pause house to house vaccinations knowing that this may lead to an increase in polio cases. Polio surveillance will continue while also supporting Covid surveillance. The GPEI is working to ensure that once it is safe to do so, countries can be supported to rapidly resume polio immunization campaigns. We will have a message in every country that vaccines, including the polio vaccine, stop viruses from attacking children and adults. We must seize the moment to let every village understand that the polio vaccine saves lives.
For over 40 years, Rotarians have never wavered in fulfilling our commitment to the children of the world to end polio. Today, in contributing to PolioPlus we are also addressing this evil Covid-19 pandemic. The goals this year for contributions to PolioPlus have not changed. The opportunity to do good in the world has only increased. If you or your club have not given to PolioPlus lately, today is the day to do so. All funds donated are matched 2 to 1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. If your District has underutilized District Designated Funds, any allocation is matched 6 to 1 by the Rotary Foundation World Fund and the Gates Foundation. And if you want to know more about how Rotary and the GPEI are addressing Covid-19 while not losing focus on eradicating polio, seePolioeradication.org
We are currently operating with minimal staff as a result of a regional stay-at-home order which runs through April 22. We will be doing everything in our power to meet your need-by date and we will keep you updated during this period. We ask for your patience as we navigate these extraordinary times together. We continue to be available by email, fax and phone, and will respond as quickly as possible. Placing your order online continues to be the best option. Even as this pandemic displaces "normal" and causes so much suffering in our world, we are here for you and we will stay in touch.
EARLY-BIRD SPECIAL!
Order your outgoing officer and Rotarian of the Year awards, gifts and pins by April 20 and
Have you promoted your club as People of Action, making a difference in your community? We want to hear from you! Share examples of what you have done by submitting your People of Action digital or print ads, social media graphics, videos or other examples via the link below by 26 April, and your project might be featured in an upcoming advertisement or Rotary Voices story. Help us show the world we are People of Action!
Rotary clubs around the world are mobilizing to fight COVID-19. Make sure your club gets recognized for its efforts to keep our communities safe by using your club or district logo in all your communications.
If you don’t have a logo, you can create one using the logo template on the Brand Center. The Rotary club or district logo comprises the Masterbrand Signature plus the club or district name. The Masterbrand Signature should not be used alone on club or district communications.
Also, please do not adapt Rotary’s End Polio Now logo or phrasing for use in communications your club is sending that relate to COVID-19. Manipulation of the End Polio Now logo can confuse our messaging about our polio eradication effort and weaken our branding for that work.
Rotary International One Rotary Center, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201-3698, USA
Brand News is an email about public image and branding that goes out periodically to Rotary Leaders. If you know someone who would like to receive it, please have them email PR@rotary.org
With all of the challenges of the Coronavirus in our world and with many Rotarians and their families are doing in house activities, one might want to learn more about the Fellowships in Rotary. In addition you may want to educate yourself, your children along with your club and at the same time learn from others throughout the world those who have some of the same interest.
With that I have listed below some of the various Rotary Fellowships for you to review. All you have to do is go to Rotary Fellowships to connect to learn more about what they do throughout the world. Take care as we go through these challenging times and be safe.
Explore our fellowships - Interested in a particular subject?
Visit the group's website or email it to learn more.
Even though we are in a time where there are temporary changes in our life style, this might be the right time to educate our clubs, young people, Rotarians and Family members on the diversity of Rotary and how we can and have changed the lives of others through our Service Above Self.
If you have any questions about these International Fellowships, please feel free to contact Rotary or me. (jack1villa@aol.com or 440-759-400) Let us all use this time to further educate us on Rotary and how we connect the World as Rotarians. Take care and be safe.
Jack
Jack A. Young, PDG 2005-06
Ohio Rotary District 6630
Chair - Rotary Fellowships District 6630 2018-20
Fellowship of Scouting Rotarins - Chair 2018-20
InterAmerican Region (North, Central and South America)
Rotary International - Fellowship of Past District Governors (2019-21)
We know that disasters can devastate a community, leaving people in urgent need of medical care, housing, and other necessities. Unlike most natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a global impact that affects all of us. Rotarians like you are people of action even in a time of crisis, and Rotary is uniquely prepared to help communities around the world.
Clubs and districts can apply for Rotary disaster response grants to support COVID-19 relief efforts. These grants can be used to provide supplies and medical care and to support rebuilding efforts.
The Rotary Foundation Trustees recently approved placing $1 million in our Disaster Response Fund to make these grants immediately available for applications related to COVID-19. To make sure these grants can remain available, we’re asking for personal contributions to the Disaster Response Fund. Your contribution will support grants that help Rotarians care for and protect people in their local communities and around the world. Make a gift to the Disaster Response Fund now.
Thank you for your dedication and service on behalf of Rotary.
Sincerely, Gary C.K. Huang Chair, The Rotary Foundation 2019-20
Save up to 20% at 1-800-Baskets.com, Harry & David, The Popcorn Factory, and more for Valentine’s Day. Rotary will receive up to 8% of your purchase. Use the promo code ROTARY at checkout.
The Lakewood Rocky River Sunrise Club created a food pantry that is hosted by Lakewood United Methodist Church. The club paid for and built the pantry. The church youth painted the pantry and the church had it installed last week. The contents of the food pantry has been emptied and refilled many times already. This is a photo of the pantry the day it was installed.
Just as our Chagrin Valley Rotary Club’s “Win with Pins” fundraiser was cancelled March 14th, the St. Damien’s Children’s Hospital Consortium Fundraiser at Akron Children’s Hospital and the Rotary All Ohio Presidents-Elect Training Seminar in Columbus were also both cancelled over the same weekend. With the unfortunate need to cancel PET’s, our Gift of Life International CEO was regretfully unable to participate as one of the keynote speakers and in the Gift of Life Northeast Ohio breakout session on Saturday. We were also very much looking forward to meeting Rotary International President-Elect Holger Knaack as were all the Ohio PE’s.
