As the summer starts to fade with the end of August, it’s a time to reflect: August began with our well attended (I was awestruck!) first District Leadership Meeting (DLM) which is not open to just District leaders but all Rotarians in the District. We were introduced to the Philippine Friendship Exchange, and what and friendly and energetic team they were.
Our Foundation Chair, PDG Marion Stark, reminded us that it’s OUR Foundation that helps us to change and save lives, promote peace and conflict resolution, provide maternal and child health, clean water sanitation and hygiene, build economies, prevent diseases and basic literacy/education. Not to mention our efforts to eradicate POLIO. Just imagine if everyone donated the minimum of $100 every year, the impact we could make!!
Over the summer many clubs spent an afternoon in service at Camp Pa Qua Tuck (a special needs camp in the Moriches), providing meals to the campers and their Counselors. If you have never been to the camp during the summer, it’s worth the trip to see how the life of a special needs child is transformed.
Club visits began in late August, starting with Great Neck, Babylon, Historic Jackson Heights (who has an Ambassadorial Scholar alumni as a member) and Amityville. While all the clubs are different in makeup, their enthusiasm, purpose, community activity and desire to provide service are the same! It never ceases to amaze me, whether it’s an International Convention, District Conference, Leadership meeting or Club visit, how everyone in attendance is there with similar ideas to foster peace and understanding across cultures and borders - and developing friendships and bonds in the process is an added bonus.
And here it is - September, in the Rotary world September is Literacy and basic Education month. Interact clubs are firing up in schools. Many clubs are involved in back to school projects supplying backpacks filled with supplies to those students who don’t have the financial support to provide their own. Clubs begin their dictionary projects and literacy projects back in the schools. I encourage clubs to Be Inspired, possibly reach out to the school administrator, Principal, Guidance counselors etc., to find out other ways you can impact the students during this month. Find out from your membership if there are other possibilities or ideas that they are interested in pursuing. Let them be your Inspiration.
In the spirit of Education and Literacy month, Rotary International has launched an E-learning website, anyone interested in developing a more balanced knowledge of Rotary is encouraged to take a look at what they are offering.
A gentle reminder, if you plan on attending the District Leadership Meeting Sept. 8th, please register via the link in the email, so that the proper amount of food can be ordered. It is a jam packed meeting this week with a variety of speakers.
As you can tell, I love the RI Theme – Be The Inspiration! Thank you all for being my Inspiration!
DG Shawn