Greetings again fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors. As we enter our 11th month of the Rotary year, we mark and celebrate Youth Service Month. The areas we celebrate this month include Interact, RYLA and the Youth Exchange Program. In this Pandemic year, the RYLA program and the youth exchange programs are on hold, but there are enthusiastic and robust activities at the Interact level.
For years, Susanne and I hosted many Rotary Youth Exchange students in our home. This program was an entry point to Rotary for me, and my heart is truly in it. When Rotary’s exchange programs were suspended because of COVID-19 to keep students and families safe, we felt sorry, especially for the participants, because those years cannot be repeated.
Declining membership continues to be an issue for most clubs in D7080. With that in mind, the district PR and Membership Committees have developed a new communication program aimed at reversing the trend. GRO = Grow Rotary Online. The program aims to leverage the power of targeted digital communications to attract new members to clubs across the district.
The Give to Live Furniture Project is a Rotary Burlington North initiative which was started by Clinton Howell and Mary Dilly. It involves the collection of good quality second hand furniture from various sources and the donation of this furniture to families in extreme need.
‘99 Missions’ Scavenger Hunt has been a pleasant surprise for Rotary Burlington North and may well become a key fundraising event for the club in the years to come. Although it was developed to respect the social distancing requirements of COVID 19, it has the potential to grow into a mainstream fundraiser that allows participants to have fun while helping those in need.
It’s an exciting time of year – Rotary Clubs in Oxford county are once again joining together to celebrate the amazing youth in our communities through the Rotary Medalist program.
In April, the Rotaract Club of Mississauga successfully completed their Easter Treat Box Fundraiser with all proceeds donated to the Mississauga Food Bank. In order to support and bring awareness to local businesses, the club curated Easter Treat Boxes filled with baked goods contributed by six small local bakeries.
Rotary Club of Milton organised the ROTARY YOUTH SUMMIT (RYS) on 10 th April, 2021. The idea was envisaged about a year ago considering it to be an event for the youth of Milton and further extending it to the Halton Region. A RYS organizing committee was formed by the club in conjunction with the Rotaract and Interact Clubs of Halton, to engage them in planning the summit based on the interest of youth groups varying from ages 12 to 24.
Please check-out upcoming events and Zoom meetings in D7080. To add your event to this list simply enter it on the Events Calendar on the District 7080 website, or contact connects@rotary7080.org. Please note that registration is required for many of these events. Click on each event for full details.
Thank you to all club members who submitted stories and images for this month’s issue of 7080 Connects. If you have a story that you’d like to share please sent it to connects@rotary7080.org
The deadline for submissions is May 24th. All stories that don’t make it into the monthly bulletin will be posted on the district website, the district's Facebook Page or the District's Facebook Group.
