I have now had the opportunity to visit about a third of our Clubs, and let me tell you, District 6290 ROTARY Clubs are really MAKING A DIFFERENCE, in their communities, and in the world! Thanks, Rotarians, for what you are doing. And thank you, Assistant Governors, who are making my job easy. Unfortunately I’m late in getting all those Thank Yous to the Clubs. I appreciate your hospitality. Rotarians are wonderful hosts!
August is almost over, and with it summer. New exchange students have arrived. Outbound students have left. I got an email from a parent this morning about an arrival. School is starting. In many ways we are starting fresh at this time of year. September is the month we focus on basic education and literacy.
Keep reading for some great info on a service project we can help with . . . and for news about some important upcoming events . . .
The Rotary Club of Traverse Bay Sunrise in Traverse City, Michigan, recently sent a group to Malawi, Africa, for an international service project. The Sunrise Club partnered with the Warm Hearts Foundation, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to build a high school in a rural village in the southern Mangochi District of the country. In total, the club raised $32,000 to purchase raw building materials and hire local construction personnel for the build project. A Rotary District 5620 grant added $5,000, and the Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary Foundation contributed $3,000. A partnering Rotary Club in Limbe, Malawi (District 9210), provided a portion of matching funds to make it all happen.
On June 19 the group of 24 set out for Malawi and spent the next two weeks making 3,500 cement blocks - from scratch - and building block walls along side professional masons who ensured the walls were plumb!
Keep reading to learn more about this fabulous project!
What are D6290 Clubs doing in support of Literacy?
Allendale
Allendale Amazing Reading Bus
A mobile library that promotes reading and education to the children of Allendale by delivering books directly to their homes in the summer months.
Cadillac
Library Books
Club donates two books each week - one to a local children’s center and a Spanish language book which will go to Mexico. Speaker for the day signs each book.
Cadillac Rotaract
Book Drive
Club has ongoing "Usborne Book Drive" which allows them to donate ABC readers to 1st graders throughout Cadillac schools. Members also complete a tour of the 1st grades to distribute books and read to the class.
Chippewa County Sunrise
Dictionaries
Distribution of dictionaries to 3rd graders
Coopersville
Rotary Reading Bus
A mobile library that circulates the community during the summer months
Grand Rapids
School of Hope
Members tutor reading to second and third graders once a week at Grand Rapids Montessori School
Lowell
Library Donations
Club provides a book signed by guest speaker to the public library each week (books selected by librarian)
Kentwood
Book Donations
In lieu of an honorarium the club asks its guest speakers to sign a book for an early reader which is then donated to a Kentwood early childhood center
Muskegon
READ Muskegon
Members conduct book drives, and volunteer behind the scenes for special projects, like packing boxes for distribution
Muskegon Rotaract (Baker College)
Read Early Read Often
Rotaract club members hold book drives and volunteer behind the scenes for this reading program sponsored by Muskegon Area Intermediate School District.
Rockford
Reading Rocks
A city-wide all day festival with a focus on books - complete with 'live' storybook characters, face painting, reading circles, and loads of other fun, family friendly activities.
Roscommon
Imagination Library
The club regularly supports the Dolly Parton "Imagination Library" program through donations benefiting their local community. Additionally they host an annual 3rd grade Holiday Party with a gift of books selected by the students' teachers so that each student receives books that are appropriate for their reading level and interests.
Traverse Bay Twilight
Born To Read
Provides reading 'starter pack' for newborns at Munson Hospital; also has Ambassadors that read with young children at baby pantries and other community sites.
Traverse Bay Twilight
Little Free Library
The club is the librarian for two Little Free Libraries providing books for all ages to borrow, return or replace.
Did we miss something your club does?
Have your club Facebook administrator post that to www.facebook.com/ridistrict6290 and we will share with everyone following our page!
The Cheboygan Rotary Club raised $1655.00 for the Back Pack Program . Roger Cronk, Back Pack Program Chair is pictured receiving the check from Yvonne Lafrinere . Yvonne Lafrinere and Jim Conboy co- chaired the program and raised the funds through a dinner at Rippling Rapids. Rotarians sold tickets for the dinner, waited table, helped cook, and encouraged customers to support the program.
Another very successful Healthy Harvest! Volunteers joined Taylor Moore from Food Rescue to pick dozens of boxes of corn for distribution to area food pantries, which was very generously donated by Leelanau County farmer Ryan Noonan. Pictured are Ryan, Benzie Sunrise Rotarians Dave Wynne and John Ester, and Taylor Moore. Thanks to all for preventing this great, locally grown food from going to waste!
Big Rapids Rotary celebrated the wrap up of their annual Chicken BBQ season with our traditional Mahalo party…so much fun, so many little kiddos around to help us celebrate as well….thanks for turning out everyone…!
Elk Rapids Rotarians were hard at work during their annual Chicken BBQ held in conjunction with Elk Rapids Harbor Days.
Some of their Robotics students and their parents joined in the fun, as did Elk Rapids H.S. Football players. AG Marcia Billings was spotted supervising the bean stirrers!
Frankfort Rotary Chicken BBQ & Pulled Pork Dinner was Saturday, Aug. 5th noon-6:00pm.
One team Was mixing the secret sauce While another team loaded the truck.
Things were a bit smokey at first, but the reports came in that the chicken was fabulous.
Benzie Sunrise Rotary Club President and Foundation Board Member Steve Mitchell presented a grant check for $3000 to Gerri VanAntwerp, Executive Director of BACN, in support of BACN's GED Program. Also pictured is GED Program participant Elijah Shembarger and instructor Sue Oseland. Congratulations Elijah on pursuing your educational goals!
Holland A.M. Rotary was spotted volunteering at Kids Food Basket.
Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotarians gathered before dawn to prepare breakfast for the swimmers who bravely took on a 2 mile swim to benefit Watershed Center of Grand Traverse Bay.
Since 2013, the Sault Ste Marie ON Rotary Club's Station Mall Rotary Charity Golf Classic (held August 24th) has raised $138,000 for THRIVE Child Development Centre. THRIVE supports local kids who are impacted by differences in physical, perceptual, communication and developmental trajectories by building on their unique strengths, gifts and talents.
Allendale Rotary wrapped up their Rotary Concerts in the Park series.
Greenville Rotary and their fabulous food trailer were spotted at the annual Danish Festival.
Grand Rapids Rotary supported & attended the Movies in the Park series.
Little Traverse Bay Sunset Rotary held another fun meeting at MANNA, stocking the pantry, repacking packets of tart, sweet salad dressing, and lots of camaraderie.A productive evening!
Muskegon Rotary Club and the Northside Lions Club have partnered to complete much-needed bridge restoration of two bridges in Muskegon County's Veterans Memorial Park
Rotary Club of Sault Ste Marie MI is participating in a Layette Project which provides layettes to a women's shelter in Nicaragua.
Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary invites you to their Backpacks for Kids "Stuffing Night" where volunteers assemble backpacks with school supplies for local K-5 students. (click on the image to left to see their live Facebook stream) The week prior they assembled 200 backpacks for at risk high school students. In total, 1500 backpacks to deserving students.
Are you a person with leadership skills? Do you share your ideas in your Rotary Club? Are you a person of action? Then you should come to One Rotary Summit (ORS) on Saturday, October 14th in Roscommon, Michigan. You will learn how membership, public image, humanitarian service, and supporting your Rotary Foundation work together in Making a Difference in your local community.
You will meet fellow Rotarians who have similar interests in being a "Person of Action" -- which is an exciting phrase to use in sharing about your Rotary efforts. You will take home ideas that have worked or will be worthy of trying in this and in future years. Don't miss this event. Lunch is included. Dinner and lodging packages are available.
FOCUS AND INCREASE HUMANITARIAN SERVICE - Presidential Citation
Goal: Use Rotary’s crowdsourcing platform, Rotary Ideas, to contribute to a project or seek resources for your club’s local or international projects.
Why Does This Matter?: If your club doesn't have a great deal of experience identifying engaging projects, especially internationally, you can search this database to find an existing project you can support. You can filter on focus area, language, stage of project and project need.
Watch this short tutorial to learn more about using Rotary Ideas as a resource.
HUMANITARIAN SERVICE - District Governor Citation
Goal: Partner with another Rotary Club and conduct a project together.
Why Does This Matter?: When we team up we significantly increase the impact we can have on a given project. You can team up with an international club on a project, or join with your neighboring club on a community-based project. It's a great way to get to know other Rotarian's while we collectively Make A Difference.
Reminder: District Governor Citation submission deadline is April 1st.
Don't forget that all activities related to the Presidential Citation Award must be submitted via Rotary Club Central by June 30th.
Barry Rassin, of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2018-19, and will be declared president-elect on 1 September if no challenging candidates have been suggested. Rassin’s nomination follows Sam F. Owori’s death in July, just two weeks into his term as Rotary International president-elect.
As president, Rassin aims to strengthen our public image and our use of digital tools to maximize Rotary’s reach.
Mark Daniel Maloney, of the Rotary Club of Decatur, Alabama, USA, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2019-20. He will be declared the president-nominee on 1 October if no challenging candidates have been suggested. A Rotarian since 1980, Maloney has served as an RI director; trustee and vice chair of The Rotary Foundation; president’s aide; zone coordinator; and a leader on the Future Vision and 2014 Sydney Convention Committees.
There are already 50 individuals from District 6290 that have registered for the 2018 Rotary International Convention in Toronto!
Registration Fee: The online registration fee of $335 increases to $410 after December 15th.
Accommodations: We understand Toronto is hosting a separate citywide event during the Rotary Convention that is raising demand and prices for hotels, especially in the downtown / entertainment center near our conference venue. While the District explores a variety of options that we might attempt to organize for our members, to make sure you find a room at a rate that meets your needs, we encourage you to book your hotel through Experient, Rotary’s official housing partner, as soon as possible. The room can always be released if another option becomes available.
A picture is worth a thousand words . . . or perhaps I should say a picture should be worth a thousand words!
Hopefully your clubs have designated members who take photos at club events so they can be used in newsletters, at your websites, and on social media outlets. Here are five simple tips based on observations I've made traveling through the 100+ club Facebook pages and websites that I review at least twice a month.
Make sure the photo is in focus. If you can't tell if the image is in focus when reviewing it on your camera/phone, wait until you can see it full size before using it.
Closeups are a must; a long shot from the back of the room where you can barely distinguish the individuals in the photo isn't terribly useful. Don't zoom and shoot - shoot and crop. Most cameras have sufficient resolution that you can crop the photo and still have a good size image. Zooming first will often cause you to lose the resolution. While your at it, adjust brightness and contrast if you need to compensate for poor lighting.
Caption the photo to clearly identify what's going on and who is in the photo. Photos without descriptions are meaningless to anyone unfamiliar with the people or subject.
Action shots are preferred. A photo of someone at a podium isn't nearly as interesting as an image of the work their organization performs. Yes, that might take a little more time to figure out (usually no more than a quick trip to their website), but it will be more engaging.
Show the impact of your work. Instead of a photo handing over a check in the privacy of your club meeting, show a photo that depicts what the donation will do i.e. the empty bookshelves that will now be filled, the cupboards at a food pantry that will be stocked, or a run down park that is going to be beautified.
Remember, we want to attract and engage others in our Rotary life, so it needs to look fun, active, arouse curiosity and stir emotions. Let's be sure to make your images count!
Our Interact Clubs will start formal activities after the start of the school year. Please forward names of Interact Club Presidents & Advisors to Doug Mealey.
The 4th Annual D6290 Interact Conference takes place October 28th.All Rotary Interactors (officers and members alike) are asked to set aside this date. The conference will be held at the North Muskegon High School.
Our Rotaract Clubs will start formal activities once students return to campus.
"The Rotary Life Leadership Conference opened my eyes to what a Rotarian does. A Rotarian is someone who defiantly against odds, serves people from all walks of life. A Rotarian leads with kindness, integrity, and heart. A Rotarian knows the things they think, say, and do: derives from the truth, is fair to all concerned, builds goodwill and better friendships and will be beneficial to all concerned."
>>Keep reading for the full review of 2017 LLC from Randle Green, a student sponsored by Comstock Park Rotary, and winner of the "Conferee of the Year" award.
All Interact clubs are being asked to find out if there is any interest in our next Rotary Interact International Service Trip. The trip will be held April 1st to April 10th 2018.
The cost of the trip will be $1050 which covers air and ground transportation, accommodations, meals and admissions.
All Rotary Interact Clubs should canvass their old and new members. Area informational nights will be arranged for students and parents.
Grand Rapids Rotary welcomed their 2017-18 Rotary Youth Exchange Student, Adele, on Thursday, August 10. Adele is from Finland.
STRIVE (Students Taking a Renewed Interest in the Value of Education) finished the year with Kristena Kelley meeting her goals for the year and achieving Honor Roll. She was awarded a gift card at a recent Houghton Lake Rotary meeting for her efforts.
From Rockford Rotary - Our out-bound exchange student, Brooklyn, has made it to Thailand! Looking forward to hearing from her on how the experience is going!
Posted by Benzie Central Schools: Our campus gained some curb appeal; 9 banners proudly displaying many different qualities. As Benzie Central Huskies, we in fact represent Adventure, Scholarship, Academics, Athletics, Arts, Diversity, Character, and Community Pride. Thank you to our Middle School Interact Club for sponsoring.
Holland Rotarian Russ Miller exchanged club banners with Auriz, their new exchange student from Brazil.
Rotary Youth Exchange Student finally arrives for his Eleven month adventure in Wawa, Ontario, Canada, District 6290 Gregoire MAZAL from Senlis France arrived at the Sault Ste. Marie airport last evening. He was met by his first host Parents Shani and Matt Larrett and host brother Darwin. Everyone was excited meet and greet Greg, especially Darwin.
The Rotary Club of Houghton Lake recently awarded a $750 Service Above Self Interact Scholarship to Madison Flick (photo on left) who plans to attend Grand Valley State University this fall, and to Lauren Haggert (photo on right) who plans to attend Aquinas College this fall. Another $750 Service Above Self Academic Scholarship was awarded to Chance LaPratt (who was unavailable for a picture). Also in photos are 2017-2018 Rotary Club of Houghton Lake President Denise Stefanko and 2016-2017 Rotary Club of Houghton Lake President Jim VanSice.
Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary welcomed youth exchange student Filip from Slovakia to Traverse City.
Houghton Lake Interact Club held a fundraiser for their next service project.
The Kalkaska Rotary Club welcomes Rafael for his exchange in Kalkaska! He arrived tired, but on time today in Traverse City to meet his first host family, the Cottons.
Muskegon Rotary welcomes Rotary Youth Exchange student, Benedetta Chercchi, from Sardinia, Italy. On hand at G.R. Ford Airport Tuesdayto greet Benedetta ( "Benny")
were L to r: Jackie Fisher, John Noling, host brotherJackson Crow, host sister, Eliza Crow, Rotary host parents Dakota and Annah Crow, and Hanna Scofield, Life Leadership conferee from Ravenna High School who is interested in becoming an outbound Youth Exchange student next year. An exciting adventure has begun. We look forward to a great year with "Benny"!
With "Service Above Self" as our guide,160 students from 40 District 6290 clubs, participated in a host of activities to empower them to expand their leadership roles in service to their schools, communities, and to the world.
Thank you LLC Chairs and Club Presidents,for all you did to have your students interviewed, selected, and enrolled by the May 1 deadline. Many thanks also to Director Dave Rozman and his very talented staff for their leadership, creativity, and teamwork to bring this all about. Careful planning and excellent support from Kathy Hegedus in our District Office laid the foundation for a most successful conference.
Conferees learned throughout the conference that RELATIONSHIPS + SKILLS + CHARACTER times (X) HUSTLE = LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL. Outstanding speakers and thoughtful "hands-on" learning activities helped students build new skills for their "leadership toolbox".
Watch the highlights video . . . and keep reading for the rest of the report!
What are D6290 Clubs doing in support of Education?
Cadillac
STRIVE
Mentoring program for at-risk high shool students. Each year the club sponsors a 5K run as its major fundraiser.
Elk Rapids
ERHS Robotics
Sponsor of STEM education through sponsorship of the High School Robotics Club
Frankfort
Backpacks for Kids
Donation of backpacks with school supplies for kindergarten students of Frankfort-Elberta Area and Benzie Central School Districts.
Grand Rapids
STRIVE
Mentoring program for at-risk high school students
Kentwood
Childhood Development
The club works with Endeavor Early Childhood Center
Petoskey
STRIVE
Mentoring program for at-risk high school students
Rockford
Traverse City
Traverse Bay Sunrise
Backpacks for Kids
Launched in 2004, this signature project of the club donates 1,500 backpacks with school supplies to K-5 financial challenges students in Traverse City Schools, and throughout the surround community.
And there are countless D6290 clubs that offer scholarships covering a broad range of programs including camps, college, Life Leadership and Youth Exchange
Did we miss something your club does? Have your club's Facebook administrator post to www.facebook.com/ridistrict6290 and we will share with our followers.
Are you looking for an international project? Are you looking for a partner? Find them in our XIII Ecuador Rotary Project Fair!!
Dear Rotarian friend,
It is our pleasure to invite you and your Club to attend our XIII Rotary Project Fair to be held in Guayaquil at the Hotel Oro Verde on Friday 17th, Saturday 18th, and Sunday 19th of November, 2017.
A project fair is a program which enables Clubs to find international partners for developing humanitarian projects financed with Global Grants. During this three-day Rotarian encounter, Ecuadorian clubs will exhibit their projects to visiting Rotarians who will learn about them and, if interested, make agreements for joint work and support. Besides the convenience for choosing an international project, visitors will personally meet their promoters and other local Rotarians establishing important partnerships as well as long lasting friendships. It is also an opportunity for Clubs to fulfill the requirement of participating in an international project in one of the 6 Areas of Focus outlined in the Future Vision Plan in order to obtain the 2017-2018 Presidential Citation. The fair is also useful for foreign clubs to offer their projects to local clubs and establish working partnerships.
Holland Rotary honored Dr. Warren Lowry with a Paul Harris Fellow plus one. He has applied to transfer his membership from Rockford, Illinois, to Holland, Michigan.
Muskegon Rotary Club leaders were happy to bestow Paul Harris Fellowships upon Amy Heisser, right, HR director at Arconic Inc, and Cindy Larsen, our local Chamber president. Both women were honored for their unselfish service to the Muskegon Community especially in their part in the Muskegon Downtown Development.
DG Ed recognized the following Rockford Rotary Paul Harris Fellows: (L-R) Lisa Boyd, DG Ed, Ramona Hinton, Judy Kelly and Dave Spencer
Ludington Club President Linda Jane O'Brien was recognizedas a Paul Harris Fellow +1.
Bill Carpenter became Ludington's newest Paul Harris Fellow.
Congratulations to Charles (Chuck) Ludwick of Rotary Club of Sault Ste Marie, MI on his Paul Harris Fellow! Special thanks to Andrea Osborn for presenting the award! Also in picture is President (far right), Jennifer Storey Dunton. Service Above Self!
The impact of Hurricane Harvey is far reaching and will be long lasting. We touched base with these Rotary Districts and are monitoring their recommendations on how best to support.
Checks or gift cards can be mailed to: Hurricane Harvey Relief FUND Rotary District 5930 c/o McAllen North Rotary Club-501 (c) 3 Fed Tax id# 27-3855943 501 W. Nolana McAllen TX 78504
This is a simple but very important reminder if your club intends to apply for a District Local, District International or Global Grant in the next couple of months.
The window for all these grant applications is open now, and will be until October 15, 2017 at Midnight. More specifics are available on the district web site. The window for submitting grant applications opened July 1, but as of August 22nd only one grant application has been submitted. Turning in your applications early may help us remedy errors and omissions before the review period clock starts running.
Note that the application review process for Global Grants has changed this year. Your club can still apply for Global Grants after November, if any funds remain after the first round. Please review this guideline if you are interested in a Global Grant this year.
Celebrate World Polio Day on 24 October by hosting an event in your community. Register your event, and download resources to help you plan, promote and execute your event including sample press releases, social media graphics, and templates for invites.
The United Kingdom pledged $130 million toward the fight to eradicate polio. The contribution will help fund immunizations of 45 million children a year through 2020. In June, at the Rotary Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, global leaders pledged $1.2 billion of the estimated $1.5 billion required to end polio. However, Rotary's work continues. We're now working to raise $50 million a year and to ensure that global leaders make good on this summer's pledges.
67 Rotarians have completed the District 690 Online Grants Management Seminar for 2017. It is available on the Rotary International website (Rotary.org). Here is how you gain access to it:
Go to the RI website (Rotary.org), and sign in. If you haven't done this before, you will need your number (your password) which appears on your Rotarian magazine address label. After you have signed in, click on My Rotary, then on Learning and Reference. The click on Learn by Topic, then Grants, then District Grants. After that, click on Tools. then on Take a Course- Learning Center. The District 6290 Grants Management Seminar will appear. Begin that, and follow the instructions on the menus as they appear. There are three modules, with a quiz at the end of each module. When you give 100% correct answers, go on to the next module. If you miss an answer, take the quiz again until you get it right. After you have finished all three modules, your name will be reported as having finished the seminar. Our District Grants Committee will keep track of the Rotarians (and their Clubs) who have completed the online seminar.
You can work on this whenever you want, 24/7. In the middle of a module, you can save a page and then when you come back to it you pick up where you left off. Altogether, it will take about 1-1/2 hours to complete. A great improvement over having to drive to some distant location and spend a whole day getting it done. And you can come back to it whenever you have a question.
Don't forget that completion of a Grant Management Seminar prior to submitting grant application October 15, 2017 is a requirement for eligibility.
Wild poliovirus type 1 and Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases
Countries
Year-to-date 2017
YTD 2016
Total in 2016
Onset of paralysis of most recent case
WPV
WPV
WPV
WPV
Afghanistan
6
6
13
9-Jul-17
Nigeria
0
2
4
20-Aug-16
Pakistan
3
13
20
10-Jun-17
Polio this week as of August 23, 2017
Read the latest polio updates from WHO Pakistan and from WHO Afghanistan to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
The remarkable impact of frontline workers: read about Khalida, a frontline health worker in Karachi, Pakistan, and her incredible efforts to forge a path to trust in vaccines.
Summary of newly-reported viruses this week: No new viruses reported this week.
NA: onset of paralysis in most recent case is prior to 2016. Figures exclude non-AFP sources. Lao PDR cVDPV1, all others cVDPV2. cVDPV definition: see document “Reporting and classification of vaccine-derived polioviruses” at [pdf]
Keep Reading for an Endemic Country Summary (as of August 23, 2017 )