Visioning: Keeping What’s Great and Adding What’s Missing

Summer is over and clubs across the district are working to finalize and implement their goals. This is a great time to consider a Visioning Workshop.

A Visioning Workshop can help ensure that your club’s goals are reflective of the values of your members and that the goals have strong buy-in from the people in your club who will be carrying out these goals. If you are finding that your club’s goals are generating only a lukewarm response or that members aren’t stepping up to implement them, a Visioning Workshop could help get your club moving forward.

Teen Council Expands in District 7910

The Interact Kickoff event for the new school year occurred Saturday. Key achievements during the event included:

- RYLA graduates and Interact members expanded a Teen Council and committed to develop routine communication among the district Interact clubs throughout the district.

- Teens from half a dozen communities piloted activities introduced by Boston Children’s Hospital as part of a Break Free From Stress & Anxiety curriculum.

- Wellness projects were identified by the teens as a district-wide interest. The first project will be delivered this week to the Boys & Girls Club of Waltham by Interact teens from three communities. During the year they will connect with teens implementing the same project with Rotary clubs in Nigeria. Interest was expressed in presenting the project outcomes at the annual convention in Germany and/or Hawaii.

Rotary Student Exchange

Posted by Marcia Davis on Sep 12, 2018

The inbound exchange students from District 7910 joined the students from Districts 7890,7950, and 7980 for an informative and fun-filled weekend held on Laurel Island in East Hampton, CT. Jack Solomon, our host, welcomed 16 international students, 3 Rotex students, and 8 chaperones for this annual week-end event. On Saturday, students enjoyed the warm lake water and attended the required sessions for their exchange. On Sunday, the host families and club members were invited to a picnic sponsored by the East Hampton Rotary Club.

The students in our district are Daiya Ogata, from Japan, and David Sisek, from Argentina, hosted by the Bedford Club; Kirstine Klausen, from Denmark, hosted by the Framingham Club; Ambra Cuny, from France, hosted by the Needham Club; and Ike Hennessy, from Australia, hosted by the Ayer Club.

If your club is interested in hosting a student ESSEX, Eastern States Student Exchange, is currently looking for host clubs for two students, one from Australia and a boy from Peru. These students will be in the United States for January-December 2019.

For more information about hosting a student or to schedule a student to speak at your club about their exchange, please contact Marcia Davis, ESSEX Chair, largotutor@verizon.net.

Special Needs and the Four Way Test

Posted by Ron Goodenow, Ph.D., Rotary Club of Westborough on Sep 12, 2018

As a Rotarian with a life long polio related mobility issue that varies in its intensity now that I am ‘chronologically advantaged’ I have been thrilled to work with my local club, municipal authorities and area businesses to meet Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Our driveways are clearer in the winter, and our public events now have special needs parking. I’ve had wonderful assistant from fellow club members to help me remain active as I face down some new medical issues. So, why this commentary?

As I thought about attending the RI Toronto conference in June I looked to see how accessibility issues were being addressed. What would I confront in terms of getting around and other mobiilty issues. The short answer is that I could find nothing except welcome comments by some hotels on their in-house accessibility features like grab bars in bathrooms. Rotary was totally silent. I therefore decided to stay home. Some fellow Rotarians repeated what I was told after a multidistict conference in Providence last year. “You would not have been comfortable there, Ron. Just too much walking that was never described in advance.”

The Growing Danger of Nuclear War

Posted by Jan Luchetti on Sep 11, 2018

ROTARIAN DR. IRA HELFAND WILL SPEAK AT REGIS COLLEGE SEP. 20

Rotarians around the world are voicing concern about the increasing risk of high stakes nuclear war. Dr. Ira Helfand, E Club of WE Rotary, and member of the Rotarian Action Group for Peace Sub committee on nuclear weapons education, will speak at Regis College Thursday September 20 7 pm. His presentation “The Growing Danger of Nuclear War” The presentation is part of the Regis College exhibit “The Insanity of Violence” featuring drawings and sculptures by Gordon D. Chase.

Free and open to the public.

The Regis College announcement is here: http://www.regiscollege.edu/about/season-at-a-glance.cfm

For more information, contact Dr. Helfand at ihelfand@igc.org

The RAGFP Sub committee can be reached at Dr. Ann Frisch afrisch09@gmail.com

Gordon Chase’s bio is here: http://gordondchaseart.com/pages/bioresume.html

Consumers and Consuming Rotary

Posted by Jeffry Cadorette on Sep 05, 2018

Consumers and Consuming Rotary

By Jeffrey Cadorette, RI Director

The answer to the question of how early Rotarians consumed Rotary is pretty easy. It was through our traditional clubs centered around a meal and back then it was typically lunch or dinner. The advent of breakfast clubs was a bold experiment to widen our appeal to those who could not fit into what then was our typical model of delivery, how we were consumed.

My own early exposure to Rotary was through my Dad’s Rotary Club. It was a large lunch club. Consumer patterns were different then. I remember listening to baseball games on the radio with my Dad. Now, while many still attend games or watch on TV, a large segment of sports enthusiasts of all types consume sports via social media, on highlights shows, or streaming over the internet. Back then TV was three major networks and some UHF channels, now it’s hundreds of channels and numerous ways to view offerings from TV’s to computers to handheld devices.

Take a look at retail. Oh my, how times have changed our consumer patterns. Brick and mortar stores will probably always have a place, but look what online buying has done to the way we consume retail products. You can look at almost any area of your life and see, feel, and measure how dramatically the change has been in how you consume information, products, and services.

The search is on for Massachusetts' top youth volunteers of 2019

NATIONAL AWARDS PROGRAM SEEKING MASSACHUSETTS' TOP YOUTH VOLUNTEERS OF 2019

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards will grant two Massachusetts honorees $1,000, a medallion and an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C.

Perfect to nominate one of your Interact students!!

BOSTON, Mass. – Today through November 6, 2018, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is looking for Massachusetts' top youth volunteers of the year.

Students in grades 5-12 are invited to apply for 2019 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards if they have made meaningful contributions to their communities through volunteer service within the past 12 months. The application is available at http://spirit.prudential.com andwww.nassp.org/spirit.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, sponsored by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), was created in 1995 to recognize the exemplary volunteer work of middle level and high school students. The awards have been granted annually for the past 23 years on the local, state and national level.

Highlights from June 2018 RI Board Meeting

Highlights from the June and “July” 2018 Rotary International Board of Directors Meetings

The 2017–18 RI Board of directors held its fifth and final meeting on 21 June 2018 in Toronto, ON, Canada. The 2018–19 RI Board held its first meeting on 29 June 2018 in Toronto, ON, Canada. At these meetings the Board reviewed reports from six committees and recorded 39 decisions.

June 2018 Board Meeting Highlights

Is Addiction Threatening Your Community?

Posted on Aug 17, 2018

If so, perhaps you would be interested in learning more about the pilot Global Grant that District 7910 will be submitting focused on Addiction Prevention Education. This is a multi-district program which includes Districts 7910, 7930, 7780, 7850, 7870, 7890, 7950 and 7980, covering most of New England.

There is no doubt that your community is already doing something in this area, and we are so grateful for those efforts. We believe that Rotary excels in three areas: Education, Advocacy and Collaboration. Through a strategic initiative with the Rotarian Action Group for Addiction Prevention, we have created a unified program that can be easily replicated by Rotary Clubs, ensuring a real chance of Making a Difference!

What is included in the Global Grant?

The program consists of the Toolkit for Rotarians (pictured below) that includes a workbook and a thumb drive with a series of five short, compelling educational videos on the brain science of addiction, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and opioids. The material outlines the driving forces of addiction where youth and young adults are most vulnerable. As indicated in the Surgeon General's report: Facing Addiction in America, community stakeholders are central to bringing solution to the local problem. With your help, Rotary we can bring accurate, up-to-date scientific information about alcohol and drugs and about substance use disorders as medical conditions to every community.

The initial phase of this Rotary initiative is community engagement through an Addiction Prevention Seminar designed to educate all stakeholders, including parents, teachers and municipal leaders. The team will provide the information needed to make informed decisions and have meaningful conversations within their circles of colleagues, friends and family members. Based on a modified version of the World-Cafe model, small groups watch the short, scientific educational videos, share thoughts with each other and subsequently with the group at large. Through this collaborative learning, participants can then begin to consider local best prevention measures to support in their local communities.

The second phase offers prevention education to freshman or sophomore high school students through the device-enabled classroom. The program meets the state health curricula standards, is teacher guided and paced, and integrates simpy and easily into a school's existing health education program. Students learn information and skills that empowers them to make good choices and successfully navigate the daily, competing good vs bad messages they receive about drugs, alcohol and addiction.

Want to learn more about the Rotary Toolkit and the Program?

Watch the video by clicking on the Toolkit image:

This video is located on the Rotarian Action Group - Addiction Prevention webpage. We are working closely with them to build this conversation globally. If you are not a member, consider joining so that we can collaborate with Rotarians around the world!

Looking For An Opportunity To Dive Deeper into Rotary?

It is the beginning of this year’s nominating cycle for district leadership positions and this is an exciting time for District 7910. The future of our clubs depends on qualified candidates serving in leadership roles throughout the District. In order for our Clubs to grow and have more impact addressing local and international needs, there must be Rotarians who will fill leadership roles and provide vision and management skills in support of the business aspects of running our District.

World Polio Day Competition – Your Club could win $500 for its WASH Projects!

Posted on Aug 13, 2018

World Polio Day Competition – Your Club could win $500 for its WASH Projects!

What is World Polio Day?

World Polio Day is celebrated on October 24th. World Polio Day was established by Rotary International to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. Use of this inactivated poliovirus vaccine and subsequent widespread use of the oral poliovirus vaccine, developed by Albert Sabin, led to the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Polio is a disease caused by a virus that affects the nervous system and is mainly spread by person-to-person contact. Polio can also be spread by drinking water or other drinks or eating raw or undercooked food that are contaminated with the feces of an infected person.

$$$$$ - THE PRIZES!

$500 US for the best project (i.e. the one with the most impact)

$500 US for the most innovative project

Rotary Service Days 2018-19

Posted by Lilia Weisfeldt

Why and how to host a Rotary Service Day

In an effort to increase membership and highlight Rotary’s inspiring work, RI President Barry Rassin is urging clubs and districts to organize fun, informal community events called Rotary Days. District 7910 Clubs hosted 3 very successful Rotary Service Days last year and we are encouraging clubs to consider hosting them this year.

Share Your Club's Stories

Posted on Jul 10, 2018

SHARE YOUR CLUB'S STORIES

Has your club recently hosted a service project that you want to showcase to be the inspiration to other clubs? Are you planning something in the near future that you would like to share with your fellow District 7910 Rotarians?

Our District 7910 eBulletin, Website, Facebook and Instagram depend on the content provided by our clubs, so please submit your stories and we will publish them on the district website, in the next eBulletin, and on social media. Stories that showcase your club's service projects should be submitted in plain text along with a photo. If you are promoting an event, please send the flyer along with a sentence with the details of the event. Please send your stories to ssager@sagerlegal.com with the words Rotary Story in the subject line.