Greetings, Rotarians, Rotaractors and friends. We are now 1 month into the new Rotary year and 4 months into COVID-19. When the Rotary theme for this year was unveiled in January, RI could little imagine that “Rotary Opens Opportunities” would drive new outreach projects and innovative fundraising events focused on helping those within our community deal with a global pandemic. But here we are. As Rotarians we’ve responded to new opportunities to help!
The year 2020 has brought monumental changes that have already included a global pandemic and a renewed call for social justice. We are reminded that we live in a constantly changing world, and Rotary is a reflection of that world.
"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi
A key benefit of being a Rotarian is having access to Rotary International’s array of online learning resources. My.Rotary supports an extensive list of online courses focused on running an effective club and/ or leading a committee. It also offers material focused on building essential leadership skills. New material is added to their catalogue regularly, so it’s always worth a look to see what’s new
Holger Knaack is an atypical Rotary president, and not just because he wears jeans and eschews ties much of the time. He’s the organization’s first German president, and he came to that position in untraditional fashion. Unlike many of his predecessors, he didn’t rise step by step through the ranks of Rotary offices.
On April 15th the district submitted a request to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) for a US$25,000 Disaster Response Grant to help our clubs with COVID-19 relief projects. We were advised soon after that available funds were exhausted and that our application would be kept on file. We were not optimistic, but we remained hopeful.
When the Tour de Guelph Committee met in March 2020, they knew that the traditional event wouldn’t be possible this year. COVID-19 just wasn’t going to allow a one-day event in June for 750 riders. Like so many fundraising events, Tour de Guelph was at risk of being cancelled.
The Rotary Club of Brampton Generates $85,000 in Food Donations
In late March the effects of COVID-19 began to take hold in Brampton. The province’s decision to close all but essential services triggered an increased need for food for families. The Rotary Club of Brampton’s call to action was to help and the club donated $50,000 for the Regeneration Outreach Centre and, by reaching out to our members’ extensive business networks, the club was able to solicit an additional $35,000 in corporate support.
Canada's Largest Ribfest Now Canada's Largest Drive Thru?
The 25th anniversary of Canada’s Largest Ribest was going to be a truly special celebration for the Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore. Over the past 24 years the event has raised over $3.5 Million for local charities, scholarship and international projects. The plans for this year’s event were big and ambitious…then COVID-19 came knocking.
With COVID-19 imposing limitations on the ability of the Rotaract Club of Mississauga to hold meetings and host fundraisers, club members sought out a way that they could continue to stay engaged with one another and raise funds for the good of the community.
In June 2020, an exciting outcome reached in a conversation between the DG Michael Lawrie and the Director of the District Rotaractors Committee (DRC) Nagwa Abou El-Naga. The DG Michael Lawrie suggested getting the DRC members to join a number of the 7080 District Committees. Nagwa was thrilled that this short conversation with Michael led to implementing this progressive action.
Next month’s issue of District 7080 Connects will feature stories on Rotary’s role in safeguarding our environment. Submissions that reflect this theme are encouraged. Please limit stories to 400 words. The deadline for submissions is August 24th. All stories that don’t make it into the monthly bulletin will be posted on the district website, the district Facebook Page, and / or the District Facebook Group.
