Holy C#@P! That went by fast!! I can't believe it is June already. In a way it feels like we are just getting started, but this is Rotary, and it is time to help someone else move the ball further and make more progress than we did. It is incredible all the work we accomplished. All the lives we saved. All the communities we bettered! And yet, our job is not done. There is so much more we can do.
The Rotary Foundation. This year we used your contributions to The Rotary Foundation to fund 21 District Grants and 2 Global Grant! <CLICK HERE>to read about the projects funded by these grants! We also awarded a Morley Scholarship to O'Mara Taylor for her international studies at Oxford University <CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE MORLEY SCHOLARSHIP>
Your contributions to the Rotary Foundation enable all of us to implement these projects. Without your donations, our service would grind to a halt. As we approach the end of the Rotary Year, I wanted to remind you that your contributions to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Fund are sorely needed. We could have funded more club projects if we had the resources to do so. Please make your gift to the Rotary Foundation today. We recommend that each member donate $200 to the Foundation so we can continue our outstanding work. Your contributions and hard work are producing terrific results, but there is so much more we can do. Donations to the Rotary Foundation are easier than ever. You can donate directly online at this link: <CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO THE ROTARY FOUNDATION>. Please make sure you send in your donation by June 20 so it will be processed in time to credit the District this year. If your club still collects your Foundation donations, please make sure your club is sending in the donations now!
Volunteer at RYLA. This is June. That means it is RYLA time. Once again we have nearly 200 students participating in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. All of your clubs have done a terrific job identifying appropriate high school sophomores and getting them signed up for RYLA. Now we need your help to make this program a success. Not only should your club's RYLA chair volunteer, but your club should target one member for every RYLA Student. In particular, RYLA needs overnight monitors in the dorms for 10 pm - 2:30 am and 2:30 am - 7 am shifts. Volunteers are asked to wear a royal blue shirt for the photo opportunities! <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT RYLA VOLUNTEERS AND TO SIGN UP>
Membership. Your membership committee has been active this year, and your membership chairs have been helpful in developing all of our clubs capabilities in membership development and engagement. <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON MEMBERSHIP>. Service is a major component of why we are all in Rotary, but we are also in Rotary for the camaraderie and friendships we make. One of the best opportunities to engage members with camaraderie is to go to another club's social event and invite others to yours. There is so much more value to Rotary when we do things with other clubs. Please avail yourselves to these opportunities when presented.
Awards. Please save the date of July 31, 2019 for our annual kickoff dinner and awards ceremony. We will be recognizing Rotarians and Clubs for their accomplishments this past year, and we will hear about plans to help our clubs this coming year. Details to follow. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CLUB AND MEMBERS GET THE RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE BY SUBMITTING THE 2018-19 CLUB PLANNING WORKSHEET BY JUNE 30, 2019 . If you don't tell us, no one will know about your good work!!!
Before I sign off of my final column, I just want to thank each of you for giving me this opportunity to serve our clubs and our District. It has been a phenomenal experience for me. We have terrific clubs and it is truly inspiring to see what all the clubs do to help their communities locally and globally, to network with each other, and to have fun. I have made friends that will last my lifetime, and I have a renewed appreciation for the hard work it has taken to keep Rotary a success for 114 years. Stepping aside is part of leadership. It is easy for me to do because I know DGE Pam is ready to take the baton and bring our clubs further than we have ever gone before.
Best wishes to you all. I look forward to seeing you around the District, and remember, always continue to BE THE INSPIRATION!
District 7910 Rotary Clubs were active this year utilizing Rotary Foundation funds that came back to our District in the form of District Grants. 21 District Grants were funded this year and executed by the clubs to better our communities. The service projects broadly fell into four (4) of the Rotary Foundation's six (6) areas of focus. Clubs made an impact in Disease Prevention, Treatment and Health, Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy, and in Economic and Community Development.
In addition, we implemented 2 Global Grants - one was our District Service Project that built stoves in Guatemala in order to reduce respiratory illness in the community. Ten (10) Rotarians travelled down to work with Rotarians from the host club. The other Global Grant that was approved this year involved the Rotary Club of Concord's egg farm project in Haiti!
Read the continuation of this article for more details on the District Grant Projects.
This past Rotary year, the District 7910 Membership Committee introduced several initiatives to help clubs attract and engage membership. These initiatives will continue and new ones will be introduced in 2019-2020.
New Member Orientation Events were held this past Fall and Spring with 60 total attendees. These events introduce newer (2 years or less) and prospective members to the various facets of Rotary in a fun and interactive way. Clubs are encouraged to send their newer and prospective members to these events. Feedback indicates that attending these events significantly improves member retention. The next events are scheduled for 10/3/19 and 4/4/20 (at District Assembly).
We are rapidly approaching the end of the year for our Rotary Foundation Annual Fund contributions.
I know that many of you intend to make a gift and have a consistent history of contributing annually, but perhaps you just haven’t gotten around to it yet! The end of this Rotary year is right around the corner, and I urge you to consider making a gift to the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund. I am confident that you know how we change lives with projects we do, both locally and internationally. Remember the gift that you make to the Rotary Foundation's Annual Fund eventually comes back and helps us fund Club projects with Global and District Grants that continue to promote good will and outstanding results.
As Rotarians, we are all probably aware that people generally give to non-profit charities for a few simple reasons. We give because we are passionate and believe in the cause. We donate because we can end up seeing the positive impact our gifts produce. And we give because we can and also because we are asked to contribute! So please consider making your contribution to the Rotary Foundation's Annual Fund by the end of June. Actually you don’t need to wait - do it now while you are thinking about it!
You can also short cut the process and make sure you and your club are credited with your contributions immediately by donating through Rotary Direct. CLICK HERE TO DONATE THROUGH ROTARY DIRECT!
A Week of Rotary – Rotary Club members from D 7910 and D 7930 joined together last week to cover a week’s worth of meal shifts at the New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV) in Boston in honor of Memorial Day. 10 meals were served by the following clubs: Rotary Governors, Billerica, Wellesley, Nashoba Valley, Tewksbury, Newton, Winchester and Lowell. NECHV supports and offers services to Veterans who are facing or are at-risk of homelessness with the tools for economic self-sufficiency and a path to achieve successful and dignified independent living. Rotary members who served described the experience as “wonderful” – especially because they got a chance to talk with some of the Veterans. Participating clubs were proud to have the opportunity to provide service to those who have served our country.
18 Rotarians from Rotary Clubs of Bedford, Tyngsboro/Dunstable, MIT Rotaract, Burlington, Burlington Breakfast, and Kobleskill NY, representing three districts, joined over 200 volunteers from the local community and corporations BAE Systems and Anika Therapeutics to package over 40,000 meals. Rise Against Hunger will distribute these meals to school meal programs in developing countries. This brought our 7-year total to over 400,000 meals.
Random Acts of Kindness is quickly helping expand the influence of the Framingham Rotary Club! Recently the Club engaged in 2 separate acts to help solve an Iraqi immigrant mother's transportation problem, and to help repair housing for an elderly couple.
Needed Home Repairs
Framingham’s Jim Goodreau and his wife, Christine, were in dire need of a helping hand, and quickly. Jim is recovering from cardiac arrest— Christine gave him CPR until the EMTs arrived—and couldn’t risk the exertion needed to repair the un-lockable front door or the damaged storm door in their Landseer Avenue home; moreover, the dishwasher wouldn’t work. Unfortunately, the couple couldn’t pay for the needed repairs because Christine had just lost her job. So, with limited
Rotary District 7910 is pleased to announce that O'Mara Taylor of Wayland is the recipient of the $ 35K, 2019 David & Eleanor Morley Endowed Global Grant Scholarship. Sponsored by Framingham Rotary, O'Mara is a graduate of Vassar College. She plans to spend the 2019-2020 academic year in graduate studies at the Saïd Business School of Oxford University. Her Rotary Area of Focus is Maternal & Child Health.
O'Mara is excited to be selected for this year's scholarship: “I am thrilled and very grateful to have been awarded the Morley Endowed Global Grant Scholarship. I am eager to begin my studies, and look forward to cultivating a strong relationship with Rotary both here and abroad. Thank you for your generous support!” We have no doubt that O'Mara will make a huge impact on the world when she completes her studies. She will be hosted by a Rotary club in Oxford, England.
The Morley Scholarship is unique to D7910. Established in 2002 by a generous WPI graduate and Rotarian, the Scholarship is awarded to qualified candidates residing in one of the 117 cities and towns inside Rotary District 7910. The Scholarship is awarded by the Rotary District 7910 Rotary Foundation Committee, and the endowment is managed by The Rotary Foundation Permanent Fund O'Mara is the 7th recipient of the Morley Scholarship. Generally the scholarship is awarded every other year, depending on performance of the endowed fund and the qualifications of the applicants.
Our sincerest congratulations and best wishes to O'Mara Taylor!
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