March is Water & Sanitation month. Did you know that around the world, three in ten people lack safe drinking water in their homes and six in ten people lack safe sanitation? And, according to the US Agency for International Development, water scarcity is forecasted to intensify in the years and decades ahead. March 22nd is World Water Day - the UN designated day to bring attention to the importance of clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Their theme this year is "The Answer is in Nature", encouraging nature-based solutions to the current water challenges. One of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals is that by 2030 everyone has access to safe water. This target includes protecting natural environments and reducing pollution.
Want to learn more about water and sanitation issues and opportunities in our world today? Then, register here to attend the World Water Summit in Toronto on Friday, June 22, 2018. The full-day program, that precedes the Rotary International Conference, will include roundtable discussions on current topics, panel discussions and break-out sessions. President-Elect Barry Rassin will share how Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects impact the health of millions of people. Another learning and sharing opportunity is to join the Water & Sanitation Rotary Action Group and in doing so, receive their monthly newsletter.
Earlier this month sixteen Rotarians and their partners and six Rotaractors from District 5360 attended the Presidential Conference on Environmental Sustainabilityand Peace in Vancouver. This was one of six international peacebuilding conferences planned for the 2017-2018 Rotary year. Over 800 were in attendance from over 20 countries! In typical Rotary fashion, there was a great combination of inspirational keynote speakers, informative and interactive breakout sessions, lots of fun and fellowship and even an opportunity for community service on Sunday morning. To get a glimpse of the people at the conference click here.
As you can see in the table below, our District’s membership numbers since the end of last year are continuing to trend upwards slightly. Congratulations to President Martin and the Rotary Club of Cochrane who have the largest net increase in members since July 1st at 8. That’s good news! However, we still have 19 clubs who are down in membership since July 1, 2017. We still have 4 months left in this Rotary year, so let us all continue to work together to ensure our clubs are relevant, innovative, welcoming to both our members, prospective members and visitors, engaging and most of all fun! I know we can turn our membership numbers around - after all we are People of Action!
Save Monday,June 25th on your calendar. Fellow DG Frank Reitz (5370), DG Peter Neufeldt (5550) and I invite you to a Tri-District social evening for Rotarians and their guests at The Bottom Line, 22 Front St W, Toronto; a great opportunity to connect and enjoy some good ‘ole Rotary fun and fellowship. Keep a watch out for more information on this event in the coming weeks.
“Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.”
Have a magnificent March doing good in the world - helping Rotary: Making a Difference,
The Rotary Club of High River has donated $35,000 to Foothills Search and Rescue (FSAR) for this volunteer non-profit society to replace its old mobile command unit. The society’s director of fundraising, George Woof accepted the donation at the club’s meeting on Feb. 22, 2018.
After Woof and FSAR’s president, Robert Rossie appealed to the Rotary club for funds in January 2017, the members agreed that FSAR should be one of the recipients of proceeds from the Rotary art show and sale held in October 2017.
“We raised $250,000 in 12 months,” Woof said. “Rotary is the largest contributor.”
Woof expects FSAR will have a shiny new mobile command unit by Summer 2018.
About 100 Rotarians attended the Rotary District 5360 Membership Priority #1 Plus workshop led by Jim Adamson. Jim is a past District Governor with Rotary District 5060 and shows his experience and knowledge as he shares practical information.
Those in attendance found the content so useful that they asked the District Membership Committee to produce a video of the workshop. The three-hour workshop has been edited down to 1 hour and is packed full of tips and ideas for growing your Rotary Club. It is finished, uploaded and ready to use.
If organizational transformation or a rebrand is in your future, his sections about club culture and analysis will help you through the vision casting process. His in-depth explanation of a club brand will also be helpful.
Why not schedule a session with your entire club or board? Before watching the video, download the accompanying workbook. Each participant should have one to get the most out of the content.
The relevant pages are indicated throughout the video. Go to www.rotary5360.ca and Membership Resources, then click on the link.
Held by Rotary Club of Fish Creek on January 27, 2018, and despite a chilly, snowy Saturday night approx. 100 people and a total of 20 teams came out to see which team was the smartest of them all. Teams consisted of Rotary Clubs from Calgary Millenium, North, Olympic, West, Fish Creek and Rotaract along with Cochrane & Okotoks. We also had 3 non-Rotarian teams join us and by all accounts, everyone had a fun and enjoyable evening.
Quiz Master, Sue Fortunka delivered a diverse series of tough but fair questions and in the end, it was the Clever Cochrane Cowboys who came out on top to capture the trophy.
Cochrane Cowboys Team members receiving the trophy from Fish Creek President Karen Kartushyn are Michele Naruszewicz, Anita McDonald, Reid McDonald & Tom Wilk.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’m a habitual networker. I just can’t stop. I network everywhere I go. Rotary usually pops into the conversation.
What about you? What if you included relevant Rotary stories in conversations held in everyday networking opportunities? Could that plant a seed in the mind of a potential Rotarian?
Or, does networking scare you? If so, this post is for you.
In the first weeks of February more than 190 mm of rain, the expected monthly total, fell in the span of 24 hours in Bolivia. Bolivia’s rainy season falls between November and April and this season’s relentless rain has caused major flooding and landslides. Officials expect that at least 50,000 people in seven of the country’s nine districts have been left without a home.
ShelterBox has been monitoring the situation and has sent a ShelterBox Response Team to assess the damage and need for ShelterBox aid. Our ShelterBox team aims to investigate areas that may have been affected by flooding but may have been overlooked.
”That truly shows me the strength of the Rotary Family that we have in 5360! Thank You All.....” and now the rest of the story!
R ecently I had a frustrating time with the AGLC regarding a fundraising idea a fellow Rotarian had. AGLC wouldn’t respond to phone calls/emails. When AGLC finally contacted us, they said, “it does not come under the purview of the AGLC but under the Federal Competition’s Act”. I turned to the people I knew locally that may have some idea as to why this was but to no avail.
As this became a bit of a head-scratcher, I had to expand my enquiry and who better to turn to than the experience and expertise of our 5360 Rotary Family. I was amazed at the speed and amount of positive/supportive responses (160+) I received. The first being a phone call within 10 minutes of emailing! Many had AGLC experience; from lawyers, retired lawyers and even a retired judge. Out of the incredible response, a number expressed an interest in exploring further. I am still in contact with these people and continue to receive invaluable advice from them. Without them, I would have scratched my head bald by now!
Beyond the details of this “adventure”, I was truly surprised by the number of Rotarians that were quick to drop whatever they were doing to help a fellow Rotarian in need. The Rotary Family of District 5360 demonstrated: “Service Above Self” for me!!
In retrospect, what I would do differently? Have greater faith in the Rotary Family, ask Rotarians not to forward emails (some great resources had received up to 6 copies of my email) and finally better filters to help zero in on members with specific skills.
Please have a look at the January 2018 Newsletter as well as the Video highlighting Geologic Systems Inc. work with the Rotary Employment Partnership. Hear what Rotarian David Hood and others have to say about their involvement with the Partnership.
This month marks 50 years since the first Rotaract club was chartered, in 1968. In this special Rotaract issue, you'll meet some impressive Rotaractors from around the world and see some of the incredible ways they are Making a Difference.
In the half-century since Rotaract began, the world has seen profound changes, and young people have felt the greatest impact of those changes: the rise of technology and the information economy, the spread of education, and the tremendous influence of the internet. When Rotaract was founded, it would have been almost unthinkable for a teen or 20-something to have been an entrepreneur or a CEO. Today, young people have an unprecedented capacity to achieve – and Rotary needs their ideas and enthusiasm as never before.
For many years, Rotary has done Rotaract a disservice by looking at our youth and young adult programs as mere precursors to Rotary membership, and not as valuable and productive programs in their own right. But Rotaractors are truly partners in Rotary service.
Today, an estimated quarter of a million Rotaractors serve in over 10,000 clubs, in nearly every country where Rotary clubs exist. The impact of their service is particularly impressive when contrasted with their resources. Rotaractors achieve an amazing amount with far less money at their disposal than the average Rotary club. Their energy and vision bring something wonderful to our Rotary family and to our communities, and we value it very much.
Yet only 27 percent of Rotary clubs sponsor a Rotaract club, a figure that has remained fairly stable over time. And far too few Rotaractors ultimately do move on to Rotary membership. As we celebrate this anniversary with Rotaract, I encourage all Rotary clubs to consider sponsoring a Rotaract club or to strengthen their ties with the clubs they already sponsor. Schedule regular joint meetings, run joint service projects and reach out to Rotaractors – not only to ask if you can help but to find out how you can work together. Know your Rotaract clubs and their members – and make sure that every Rotaractor knows that a Rotary club is waiting to welcome them.
For half a century, Rotaract has given young people a way to find the same connections with their communities, and the same value in service, that Rotarians find in Rotary. Rotaractors are connecting us to the Rotary of our future while helping us build the Rotary of today.