Give to PolioPlus between July 1st and September 30 and you’ll be entered into a drawing – you could be Sleepless in Seattle to commemorate World Polio Day!
This year, World Polio Day will be held in Seattle in recognition of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
A generous District 7910 Rotarian has donated airfare and a hotel room for two to travel to Seattle for World Polio Day on October 24. We have two tickets for you to be in the audience for an invitation-only, exclusive event honoring Bill and Melinda Gates and sharing the latest updates on Rotary’s efforts to eradicate Polio. The donor requires at least $2,500 in contributions to have a drawing for the trip. If not, the donation for travel costs will go directly to PolioPlus.
All you have to do to enter: Make a donation to Polio Plus of at least $25 between July 1st and September 30, 2017.
If you make your donation on-line, it can be made any time right up to September 30. If you choose to do it by check, make it payable to the Rotary Foundation and indicate PolioPlus in the memo section with the name of your club, and mail it by September 22 to: Karin Gaffney 17 Bulkeley Road Littleton MA 01460
Every donation is eligible for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s 2:1 match, so your contribution is tripled.
GIVE GENEROUSLY: The more your give, the more chances to win:
Let’s keep up the effort and soon we will be celebrating Rotary’s tremendous achievement - the eradication of this disease.
What’s Included: round trip airfare from Boston to Seattle, hotel room for two nights in Seattle. You are responsible for meals and other incidentals. Please donate online today: https://www.endpolio.org/donate Thank you for helping Rotary to End Polio Now.
Hurricane Harvey has had a disastrous impact on communities in Texas and Louisiana. Many Rotarians are asking how can we help. A couple suggestions for where to direct financial donations to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey are below. Rotary has always been about community building and is not structured as a disaster relief agency. There are many things Rotary can, and will, do to provide long term help to the people and communities devastated by Hurricane Harvey. We are forming a committee to begin exploring ideas for projects to help rebuild the affected areas. If you would like to participate in the efforts to help with a project, please let me know.
For financial donations, please consider the following:
Rotary clubs along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, USA, are collecting emergency relief funds to help flood victims of Hurricane Harvey; several districts located along the Gulf coast in Texas and Louisiana have established disaster relief funds, including districts 5890,5910, and 5930in Texas, and district 6200in Louisiana. You can find information about how to contribute to other district funds in Texas on district 5840's website.
ShelterBox, an independent charity and Rotary’s project partner, is also providing support to families displaced by the storm. Hundreds of light privacy tents will be deployed to evacuation centers throughout Texas for families to use temporarily.
You may also donate to DISASTER AID USA, a Rotary-sponsored organization that urgently needs supplies for victims of Hurricane Harvey. Please visit the Disaster Aid USA website for more information:http://www.disasteraidusa.com.
Concord Rotarians invite all Rotarians, their families and friends from District 7910 and beyond to help raise funds for ShelterBox by attending Oktoberfest at Verrill Farm in Concord on Saturday Sept. 30 between 11:00 a.m. and 4 p.m. At this Bavarian-themed, family-friendly event you’ll hear live bands, sample food, ciders and craft beers, enter a pie-eating contest, outwit a magician, get 500your face painted, show off hula-hoop skills, jump in the bouncy house, shop craft vendors, visit community organization booths, and much more. Tickets are $20 prior to the event, $25 at the door for age 21 and over, $5 for under-21 and non-drinkers, children under 4 free. Visit concordrotaryoktoberfest.com.
When the Rotary Club of Concord announced its goal to purchase 20 ShelterBox tents using proceeds from Oktoberfest, it knew that ShelterBox quickly provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies on the frontline of disasters. Concord Rotarians did not, however, anticipate the immediate need posed by the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
We have since learned that ShelterBoxUSA has been working with FEMA to put in place shelter options for displaced people and repair options for damaged homes, including the provision of ShelterBox Tents and ShelterKits. The ShelterBox Response Team includes two Texas Rotarians, who are on the frontline assessing immediate and ongoing needs.
No doubt your club will want to help the flood-ravaged victims of Hurricane Harvey. What better way than to support ShelterBox, a Rotary partner. The Rotary Wheel is on every ShelterBox and Tent.
Rotary will have a ShelterBox on display at Oktoberfest. You may step inside and examine its contents. The large green box contains a family-size tent as well as items like solar lights, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, and thermal blankets. Each ShelterBox costs $1,000. Rotary would also like to purchase ShelterKits. ShelterKits contain all of the essential tools people need to start repairing and rebuilding homes. The kits cost $100.
The Rotary Club of Concord is seeking sponsors for Oktoberfest with a range of opportunities listed on its Oktoberfest website, concordrotaryoktoberfest.com. The site also offers information about having a booth at the event. Check out the food trucks, breweries, bands and more. Plan to have fun and help others!
This past weekend Carlos (Taiwan), sponsored by the Bedford Club, and Auriane (France), sponsored by the Milford Club, joined ten other international students from District 7980 and 7890 with District 7910 Chair, Marcia Davis, for an orientation weekend on Laurel Island in CT. Carlos and Auriane will be in our district until next July. In January they will be joined by a young man, age 15, from NSW Australia. He will be with us for the calendar year of 2018. The Ayer Club will be hosting him and he will attend the Ayer Shirley High School. We are currently looking for host families. If you can help please contact District Chair, Marcia Davis at largotutor@verizon.net or 508-882-3238.
Over the last 6 months, I’ve received so much great feedback from our district on the topic of Membership. More than anything else, we’ve heard that clubs want more help in structuring flexible membership options that can be rolled out without undue complexity. There are organizations all over the world providing the opportunity to give back. If we’re going to maintain and grow our membership base in our clubs, we need to find a way to open our doors to a wider group of service-oriented individuals. In order to do this in a way that maintains the option to continue with a traditional membership, we are working on a “membership menu” from which clubs can pick and choose which membership types they’d like to offer. There will be no requirement that a club uses these offerings, so if the decision of your leadership team is that the existing membership structure won’t benefit from having additional flexibility – that’s your club’s decision to make. For those clubs who do find a benefit from adding on additional membership offerings, there will be a team of folks who are trained on how to roll them out. We currently have multiple clubs who will soon go into a pilot phase to test the models and provide feedback before rolling out to the district in the new year. If you would like to be a part of this pilot please send me a note.
Second, we have rolled out a new process for leads that come from Rotary International to our district. Every month we receive on average 4-5 new membership leads from individuals who log onto Rotary.org and click “Join Rotary”. In the month of August alone we’ve already received 7 new leads that have been sent by our team to the prospective member’s local club president, membership chair, and assistant governor. If you’re club receives one of these leads it’s an opportunity to connect with not only the prospective member but their friends, family and colleagues! For more information on this process send me a note and I’ll be happy to explain further.
I want to thank you all for your terrific feedback and hard work as we move through this Rotary year. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me anytime.
Rotary is a worldwide service organization whose mission is to do good in the world. Its 1.2 million members are volunteers, working to make this world a better place and not for awards. Recognizing their efforts is what the District 7910 Recognition program is all about. Recognition opportunities for 2017-2018 are available on the district website www.rotary7910.org. The awards list describes three types of recognition that your club or club members can attain this Rotary year from Rotary International, The Rotary Foundation, and District 7910.
Please be aware of the various deadlines. Some award nominations are due as early as mid-September, for example the Zones 24 and 32 Public Image Award Nominations. Others encompass the entire Rotary year. You can find more information about the awards and the nomination requirements at www.rotary7910.org.
Go to the About District 7910 pull-down menu, and select the Resources menu item to find the awards list and the club Planning & Awards form.
Young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 who are interested in helping others join Rotaract Clubs. Thus they develop new skills and knowledge that will assist them in their personal development. They look for a way to make a difference in their community and communities around the world. They promote better relations between all people worldwide through a framework of friendship and service. They work hard for future generations to be part of the global decision-making process.
Welcome to Susan Rack as the new Rotaract chair of the District. A Paul Harris Fellow, Susan has been a member of the Rotary Club of Brookline since 2005. She served on various committees, she was a Secretary and a President Elect before assuming the role of the President of Rotary Club of Brookline in 2015-2016. She was sitting on the District PR Committee for several years. This year she attended the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, which inspired her to take more active role in our District. Rotary Club of Brookline has been a sponsor of the Rotaract Club at Boston University for many years and Susan has worked very closely with the young people in the Rotaract Club. She is thrilled to join the District’s Youth Service team and is determined to create more opportunities for the young adults across our District.
Barry Rassin of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, has been selected by the Nominating Committee to serve as President of Rotary International in 2018-19. He will be declared the President-elect on September 1 if no challenges are suggested. Rassin’s nomination follows Sam Owori’s death in July, just two weeks into his term as Rotary International President-elect.
Barry Rassin’s goal as President is to strengthen Rotary’s public image and use of digital tools to maximize our reach. “Those who know what good Rotary clubs do will want to be a part of it, and we must find new models for membership that allow all interested in our mission to participate,” he says. “With Rotary more in the public eye, we will attract more individuals who want to be part of and support a membership organization that accomplishes so much good around the world.”
Rassin earned an MBA in health and hospital administration from the University of Florida. He recently retired after 37 years as president of Doctors Hospital Health System, where he continues to serve as an adviser.
Barry joined Rotary in 1980. He has served Rotary as director and is currently vice chair of The Rotary Foundation. He was an RI training leader and the aide to 2015-16 RI President K.R. Ravindran. Rassin received the Service Above Self Award for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He and his wife, Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.
Mark Maloney of the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama, has been selected by the Nominating Committee to serve as President of Rotary International in 2019-20 and will be declared President-nominee on October 1 if no challenges have been suggested.
“The clubs are where Rotary happens,” says Maloney. His goal is to support and strengthen clubs at the community level, preserve Rotary’s culture as a service oriented membership organization, and test new regional approaches for growth. “With the eradication of polio, recognition for Rotary will be great and the opportunities will be many,” he says. “We have the potential to become the global powerhouse for doing good.”
Maloney is a principal in the law firm of Blackburn, Maloney, and Schuppert LLC, with a focus on taxation, estate planning, and agricultural law. He represents large farming operations in the southeastern and midwestern United States, and he has chaired the American Bar Association’s Committee on Agriculture taxation section.
Maloney also joined Rotary in 1980. He has served as an RI director; trustee and vice chair of The Rotary Foundation; president’s aide; zone coordinator; and a leader on the Future Vision and 2014 Sydney Convention Committees. He serves on the Operations Review Committee and has served on the Rotary Peace Centers Committee. He has received the Rotary Foundation Citation for Meritorious Service and Distinguished Service Award. Maloney and his wife, Gay, are Major Donors and Bequest Society members.
We look forward to welcoming you to the 109th Rotary International Convention in Toronto, where you’ll find inspiration around every corner. The convention is an incredible opportunity to meet fellow Rotarians from around the world, exchange ideas, and learn from each other. It’s the best way there is to celebrate a year of successful service and renew our energies for the year to come.
As a global center of business, finance, arts, and culture, Toronto is vibrant, friendly, and diverse — just like Rotary. And like Rotary, Canada’s largest city offers something for everyone: museums, restaurants and shopping, stunning architecture, and easy access to the natural beauty for which Canada is justly famous.
This year will mark the 50th anniversary of Rotaract. From its beginnings as a small youth program in North Carolina, USA, Rotaract has blossomed into one of Rotary’s largest programs, offering opportunities for service, friendship, and growth to more than 291,000 young people in over 9,500 clubs globally. We look forward to welcoming Rotaractors to Toronto and celebrating this milestone anniversary with them.
All through the year, as we serve in our clubs, we know that we are not alone, that we are part of a global organization that reaches nearly every country of the world. Our annual convention is a wonderful opportunity, the closest we can come to meeting them all — the 1.2 million men and women in Rotary: Making a Difference.
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Over the last 6 months, I’ve received so much great feedback from our district on the topic of Membership. More than anything else, we’ve heard that clubs want more help in structuring flexible membership options that can be rolled out without undue complexity. There are organizations all over the world providing the opportunity to give back. If we’re going to maintain and grow our membership base in our clubs, we need to find a way to open our doors to a wider group of service-oriented individuals. In order to do this in a way that maintains the option to continue with a traditional membership, we are working on a “membership menu” from which clubs can pick and choose which membership types they’d like to offer. There will be no requirement that a club uses these offerings, so if the decision of your leadership team is that the existing membership structure won’t benefit from having additional flexibility – that’s your club’s decision to make. For those clubs who do find a benefit from adding on additional membership offerings, there will be a team of folks who are trained on how to roll them out. We currently have multiple clubs who will soon go into a pilot phase to test the models and provide feedback before rolling out to the district in the new year. If you would like to be a part of this pilot please send me a note.
Rotary is a worldwide service organization whose mission is to do good in the world. Its 1.2 million members are volunteers, working to make this world a better place and not for awards. Recognizing their efforts is what the District 7910 Recognition program is all about. Recognition opportunities for 2017-2018 are available on the district website 
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