Yale Rotaract-Rohingya Refugee Osteoporosis Project

Rohingya Refugee Medical Relief Project

This year, the Yale University Rotaract Club will undertake a large-scale, collaborative fundraising effort towards medical relief for the Rohingya Refugee Camp of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. According to Human Rights Watch, since 2017, almost 700,000 Rohingya muslims have fled from Burma’s Rakhine State in order to escape large-scale ethnic cleansing, which has included acts of mass killings, widespread arson, and increased sexual violence. As they have been denied citizenship by the Burmese government, the Rohingya is one of the largest stateless populations in the world, many of whom have found temporary refuge in camps around Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
As a club, we have forged a relationship with our international partner club in Bangladesh, the Rotary Club of Dhaka (the Dhaka Mavericks), in order to gauge the most underserved needs of the Rohingya refugees and to help administer our medical relief project.

 Since access is restricted in the Rohingya refugee camps, we will work with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, an NGO based in Bangladesh, to provide screening and treatment services for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease that can lead to increased bone fragility, often from lack of proper nutrition. Although osteoporosis can be prevented with early detection and subsequent changes in lifestyle and nutrition, it is often left undetected and untreated until first fractures appear. Fractures, in turn, can be life-threatening both in their immediate and consequential effects, including the inability to remain in the workforce and a gradual decline in independence. In many ways, the effects of osteoporosis left untreated can prove more costly to heal than the care necessary to diagnose and preventatively treat the insidious disease.
We plan to fundraise for specialized medical screening equipment called the Echos portable bone densitometer to initially provide treatment for over 2,000 refugees in Cox’s Bazar. This project will also serve to begin a longer effort towards osteoporosis awareness, diagnosis, and treatment in the camps. The total cost for this project is approximately $75,000.
We are in the process of building a network of partner Rotary-affiliated clubs to help aid us in this endeavor. In order to achieve and hopefully exceed our ambitious fundraising goal, we need your help. We hope that you may be able to donate or join us in our fundraising efforts.
Thank you for your time and donations. Thank you for helping us put service above self!
How can you help:

1. Donate here!
2. Venmo @YaleRotaract
3. Write a check made payable to “New Haven Rotary Charitable Trust Fund” with a notation for “Rohingya Refugee Project” and mail it to Colin M. Gershon, One Century Tower, Suite 500, 265 Church Street, New Haven, CT 06510.
4. Donate to our GoFundMe.
5. Email yalerotaract@gmail.com to join our fundraising efforts and partner up with Yale Rotaract. We are especially eager to invite domestic and international Interact, Rotaract, and Rotary Clubs to our team!

Our Partners:

• Rotary Club of Dhaka, Bangladesh (Dhaka Maverick) - Host Club
• Rotaract Club of Rheingau, Germany - Twin Club
• Rotaract Club of Boston University Sargent College
• International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh

Jack's Talk to Clubs

 I wanted to have Interact Clubs at the Rotary meeting because the Interact Club and Rotary Club working together is beneficial to both. You can help each other on projects on fundraising. It would be great to have Interact Clubs be involved in District Managed grants. So Interactors think of a project that you want to get funded and work with the Rotary club to get Foundation funding.

President  Mark Maloney has chosen Rotary Connects the World as his theme. You may have seen the theme logo.

This means that each of us is connected in our Rotary Clubs, we are connected to our towns through Rotary, we are connected around our state and we are connected worldwide. Rotary Connects the World.

There are three things that RI President Elect Mark will focus on.

Focus

1. Membership

Create new membership models

New paths/models to Rotary membership

Create new Rotary and Rotaract clubs

Membership Committee at every club

What's new here is a recognition that Rotary is very versatile. We have our clubs but each is different.

New models for clubs and for membership are possible and are desireable. Barry Rassin, current RI President

has said that every Rotary Club should have a Rotaract Club. There are young people in our towns who could enjoy and benefit from Rotary. But they need to design their own way of being Rotarians. And we need to give them the space and encouragement to create their version of Rotary. The same could be said for other groups.

2. Involve our Families

We should have family activities and encourage family members to participate in our Rotary projects.

We shall do this in the coming year i.e. family Rotary activities and involvement of families in projects.

3. United Nations

This is the 75th anniversary of Rotary's involvement with the UN. President Elect Mark will

be planning some celebrations.

Membership is so much a part of Mark Malone's focus that I wanted to share a bit about my views on it.

Rotary consists of three essential elements 1) fellowship and friendship. 2) service and 3) a code, the four way test and other principles. There are three members of my club who are near or over 90. They are at almost every meeting because they have friends at the meeting who they want to see. Club members pick them up and help them get to the meetings. They enjoy the friendship. That is a key element of Rotary the friendships we create, in our clubs, in our area and beyond. These friendships are an essential element of Rotary and keep us in our clubs. Service is another essential element. Working together to help our town, people in our town\ or beyond makes us feel good and reinforces the friendship element. Packing meals forThanksgiving, planting flowers in the Spring, building a playscape together and much more are examples of Rotary Service to our towns. An excellent example of Rotary Service was the recent packaging of meals for Haiti in Area 8. Over 150 Rotarians and guests prepared more than 40,000 meals. Fellowship and Service were completely together on that day.The third key element is the Four Way Test which describes how we interact with each other and with the world.

So from this description of Rotary how do we handle membership-some ideas

1) Organize a Community Assessment event. Invite the town leadership, other non-profits and people interested in service. Identify some service projects. Keep track of who comes and invite them to service projects and fellowship events.
2) Have public service projects where we invite people to help us do service.

Keep track of those who want to help, they are potential members. Have public

fellowship events also.Invite those who have helped to come to other events and meetings and then ask them to be members.

3) Once you have a new member do everything you can to encourage her/him to create

friendships in the club within a short time. It has been said that there is a friendship when

the people involved do things together one on one. That's the objective the new member has one or more friendships in the club.

4) Hold fellowship events at different times, different places and invite others. In particular invite the non-members who can't or won't attend your regular meetings. . (Rotary after hours/ dinners instead of lunch, cocktail hour etc.)  Encourage the others who come, to design a Rotary involvement that they are interested in. Make whatever they design a part of your club also. Do this for people under 30 to create a Rotaract club.

Membership video

Some Governors have a project for the District. I am suggesting that each club get involved in STEM locally. Help a robot team, judge at Invention Convention and my daughters' favorite, help your Science teacher. Many Science teachers  use their own money to buy class room equipment for their students. You could help the teacher buy what she/he needs to do a class project. . You'd get to know a teacher and help the school. Sort of a scholarship for a teacher. And a project that one of our clubs, New London, does. A STEM summer camp for Middle School students.  You kick it off and organize it but teachers from your school run the camp. It might be easier than you think. STEM Summer Camp

 So do a STEM project at your schools, locally. I cncourage your club to talk with the school and figure out a way for your club to help with STEM. It will help our students, it will help your club and it will help your schools. My Governors project is that your club do something on STEM, in your community.

And while we're talking about students I want to mention our District Interact Board. This group of students from Interact clubs across our District has run a fund raising dance for the last 3 years. They have raised over $20,000. The first two years they gave the money to Gift of Life and this last year they gave the money to polio. These students organize themselves and also have the responsibility of running events for the leadership of all our Interact Clubs.

The Rotary Foundation District Managed Grants are a great opportunity for your club. Some examples of how clubs have used grants for their town are buying and installing a freezer in their local food bank, installing an aquarium in a quiet area in their school, helping build a pavilion on a beach. Think about what needs in your town could be met with a District Managed Grant from our Foundation.

                                    Every year we have an Awards process which your club can participate in. This year the awards are all based on the RI Presidents Citation and a Governors Award. There is a handout, it's on the website and on the Governors Blog so you can see now what is involved. Every club can win these awards. By that I mean that 57 clubs could win the Presidents citation and 57 clubs could win the Governors Award. The awards are kind of a road map.

                                    Our District Conference next Spring April 24 to 26 will be at Mystic. It will be a blast, more on that later. Your club will have an opportunity to talk about some of the special things you do to inform the other clubs. So put on your calendar that you will talk about your club at the Mystic Conference. There are three speakers committed already. Jeff Cadorette  Jeff Cadorette on Leadership     Stephen Coan of the Mystic Aquarium   Dr. Stephen Coan video   Admiral Sam Cox Director of Naval History Museum   Admiral Cox and the discovery of the Indianapolis          
                                 What should your club do? This Rotary Year.

1. Have a public event/service project at least quarterly. Track who comes and follow up with them.

2. When new members come into your club, have a big installation ceremony and ensure that they become friends, that's friends, with at least one or two members of your club.

3.Work with your Interact club, they will impart energy to your club.

4.Establish a Rotary Day in your town

5. Have  family Rotary events periodically

6. Create an alternative Rotary involvement in your town. Let the newcomers design a Rotary they want to be part of.

7. Do something on STEM

Rotary Strategic plan

ROTARY’S VISION STATEMENT


Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

As People of Action, we share a strong sense of purpose.

More than a century ago, we pioneered a new model of service leadership grounded in person-to-person connections. Today, those connections are a network that spans the globe—bridging cultural, linguistic, generational, and geographic barriers—and shares the vision of a better world.

As People of Action, we understand that fulfilling that vision requires a plan.

This is Rotary’s plan for the next five years: to increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt.

By helping to realize the goals of this plan, you ensure a stronger and even more effective future for Rotary—a tremendous legacy. Our plan is rooted in our tried-and-true values and builds on the remarkable capabilities and spirit of Rotarians.

It is clear-eyed about the challenges that Rotary and the world face. It protects the value of human connection in an age of technology. It lays out a path for bringing great ideas to the forefront of the global imagination of what’s possible.

And our plan will provide us with a continuity of vision from year to year, keeping us moving toward fulfilling our shared purpose.

PRIORITY 1

Increase Our Impact

People of Action are effective problem-solvers.

Why do Rotarians achieve so much? We invest in relationships. We make decisions grounded in evidence. We know how to mobilize our networks to create solutions that last. And we’re always learning from our experiences in projects, clubs, and careers.

Throughout the fight to end polio, we’ve shown what we can do when we draw on our collective strengths. We’ve created solutions that match the people they serve. We’ve evaluated the results to learn from our successes and setbacks.

This is a model we will use again and again in pursuit of our audacious goals: educating the world’s children, ensuring equitable access to water and sanitation, helping local economies grow sustainably, and so much more.

Let’s seek out new ways to translate our expertise into making a difference—in our communities and across the globe. Let’s prove that our impact on the world has only just begun.

PRIORITY 2

Expand Our Reach

People of Action activate and inspire one another.

We know that our capacity to make a difference is larger when more people unite with us. We want the world to appreciate our ambitious, compassionate, and inclusive spirit—because when they do, they see that Rotary is the source for the person-to-person involvement so many are seeking.

Told widely and emphatically, our stories give people hope that the world can change for the better, inviting listeners to imagine themselves as part of that change, too.

Let’s build connections and opportunities that will allow people who share our drive to do the same.

PRIORITY 3

Enhance Participant Engagement

People of Action strive to understand the needs of others.

Just like the people and communities we serve, our participants need to feel seen and heard. They’re seeking experiences that feel personally and professionally relevant and fulfilling. When they see our dedication to investing in them at every stage of their professional life, our participants are eager to go the distance with us—even at a time when there are many other options for networking and volunteering.

Let’s recommit to putting the needs, expectations, and growth of our participants at the center of all we do.

PRIORITY 4

Increase Our Ability to Adapt

People of Action are inventive, entrepreneurial, and resilient.

We’ve shown throughout our history that we excel at finding new ways to lead the world to lasting change. And we’ve proven in our own careers that we know how to help organizations of every kind move forward. That’s why new approaches to our organizing principles don’t threaten our sense of who we are.

We’re ready to seek out fresh opportunities, create more paths to leadership, open up our conversations to diverse voices, and simplify how we operate—with confidence.

Let’s stay true to ourselves and stay ahead of change in our next 115 years.

Community Assessment and Inviting non-members to Help

We do Community Assessment as part of our work on Global Grants. Our Clubs should do that in our Communities.

Community assessment and inviting non-members to join.

Hold a Community Assessment session

Invite all Rotarians, community leadership, NGOs in town, others interested in town

Brainstorm ideas- ideas that Rotary could help with, ideas that others could do

and ideas that Rotary in cooperation with others could handle.
 Ideas to help children, ideas to help the aged, ideas for economic development, ideas to help feed the hungry and heat houses. and ideas for ....

Keep track of the attendance at this session(s)

Pick an idea from the Assessment and carry it out. Invite all at the session to help with this project. Track who attends this service project.

Encourage other groups to handle other projects proposed in the session.

Keep track of who is involved in these projects

Find a project that could be handled in cooperation with another group.

Keep track of who is involved in these projects.

From the list of interested people invite all to service projects and to fellowship events.










From Rotary International on Community Assessments.

Assessing your community’s strengths, weaknesses, needs, and assets is an essential first step in planning an effective project. By taking the time to learn about your community, you can discover the best opportunities for service and maximize your club’s ability to make an impact.

An assessment not only helps you better understand the dynamics of your community but also allows you and your project’s beneficiaries to make informed decisions about service priorities. Even if you’re actively involved in your community, an assessment can reveal additional strengths and opportunities for growth. Perhaps you’ll find a new way to address a known issue, or give residents a chance to point out overlooked challenges.

Before you start an assessment, consider what you want to learn about your community. An effective assessment will reveal things you did not know before.

Assessments are the foundation of every humanitarian project, small or large, because they provide a framework for identifying solutions to a community’s problems. They also build valuable relationships and encourage residents to help make lasting local improvements. Developing trust in communities can take time — months, even years. Conducting an assessment is critical to creating that trust, and to fostering community ownership and sustainability.

Conversations with just one or two people aren’t enough to reveal a community’s needs. Assessments should be systematic, involve a variety of local stakeholders and beneficiaries, and engage them in a meaningful way.

While conducting an assessment, also be sure to manage expectations. Communities should understand the benefits of partnering with Rotary and how that partnership requires their involvement, contribution, and ownership.

Types of assessments You can combine or adapt the following six assessments to best suit your club’s resources and the preferences of community members:

            Community meeting

            Asset inventory

            Survey

            Interview

            Focus group

            Community mapping

As you determine your approach, consider any available data about the community. Has the local, regional, or national government recently published credible findings that could inform your strategy? Have other organizations or institutions researched the community? Do you notice any gaps in official statistical data that need to be addressed through formal preliminary research? To answer these questions, consider partnering with local experts in your club or district.

How Do we pick the next Governor-Rotary District 7980

Several Rotarians in our District Expressed Interest in "How do we pick our District Governor"

Any Rotarian who is a Past President of a Rotary club and will be a Rotarian for seven years when he takes over as District Governor is eligible to serve as Governor.

Any eligible Rotarian can put her/his hat in the ring, so to speak. She/he must be a member of a Rotary club and the club Secretary will be asked to confirm that. That's it to start the process. If you want to be Governor, let the Chairman of the Nominating Committee and the Governor know.

So there is a Nominating Committee and the Chairperson is the fourth past District Governor. This year that is Geraldine O'Shannon, PDG from New London Rotary club. The Nominating Committee consists of the four most recent Past District Governors and one person from each of the areas of our District. The areas of our District represented by each of our Assistant Governors. The person representing each area on the Nominating Committee is a Past President from one of the clubs. This honor/responsibility passes from one club to the next each Rotary year. So the Nominating Committee consists of 15 voters plus the Chairperson who will break any ties.

The Nominating Committee and the candidates will attend a dinner and after the candidates have made their case, the Nominating Committee will choose a Governor to be. This year we are choosing the District Governor for 2022 to 2023.

So send in your name now if you want to be Governor

Here's Trish a recent Governor with Hailey, a Rotaractor. Trish is on the Nominating Committee

For the purposes of this description I believe Rotaractors are Rotarians.

Arlo Guthrie Concert for POLIO

An Arlo Guthrie Concert to Benefit Polio

in Milford

The Bahamas-Suggestions on How to help from Barry Rassin-Rotary Immediate Past President

District 7980 donated $10,000 out of our District Foundation allocated for Dorian Bahamas Disaster Relief.  Colin Gershon called a south Florida Rotarian, Maria Kesti, an AG of D6990 (which includes the Bahamas), and asked her to provide specifics on how D6990 is determining the use of the funds.  She said that the 5 excellent Bahamian Rotary Clubs are requesting funds for specific purposes - and D6990’s Disaster Relief Fund is underwriting the delivery of relief supplies in containers. Her husband, Michael, is very much involved in D6990 relief effort. Individual Rotarians and clubs in District 7980 have also donated for Bahamas relief through the same route. 

This is from past Rotary International President Barry Rassin on how to donate to help the Bahamas and other areas affected by Hurrican Dorian.

Hurricane Dorian is finally moving on with a path of complete destruction behind it. We have a number of funds available for those of you who want to help.
1. The Bahamas Disaster Fund (details on my last post) These funds will all go toward relief for the islands destroyed.
2. DAF #574 at The Rotary Foundation. You can specify where the funds you donate are spent by island or country or Rotary District
3. Each Rotary District has their own fund which they will use at their discretion.
4.The Rotary Foundation has a Disaster Fund which will provide disaster grants up to $25,000. You cannot designate where your donation will be spent.
I hope that brings clarity so you can make a decision as to how you assist.


This is from Tari Marshal Day about District 6990 and Hurricane Dorian

Tari Marshall Day	12:07 PM (3 hours ago)
to Colin, Ron, Jeff, Trish, me

https://rotary6990.org/  hi guys! This link has a very cool program going on. They have a ship, containers etc ... I believe Linda Bouvier is in that District? Someone sent me this link to see what is going on there. Take a minute to look if D-7980 were considering anything out of the Relief fund that could be "grown" by Club donations.

This week the Bahamas took a direct hit from category 5 Hurricane Dorian, with winds that reached 180 miles per hour. This storm has battered these islands and the rebuilding process will take years.

Grand Bahama Island has 5 Rotary clubs and is a valued part of Rotary District 6990. We will do everything possible to help them recover from the devastation.  

Rotary International District 6990 has secured a 181-foot ship and begun the efforts to fill four (4) 20-foot containers with needed supplies to aid in the Hurricane Dorian Relief Efforts. The local Rotary Clubs will be collecting items and packing them for the first shipment by this weekend.

Items being collected are Cleaning Supplies, Tarps, Toiletries, Diapers, Gloves, First Aid, Sunscreen, Clean Towels and Rags, Flashlights, Batteries, Building & Repair Supplies, Canned Food Goods (non-perishable), Garbage Bags, and others.  For a complete list of items, see list below.

Currently, items are being collected at the following locations:

Broward County

• SpareZ Bowling –  5325 S University Dr, Davie / 9:00am to 1:00am, seven days a week
• Weston Hills Country Club, 2600 Country Club Way, Weston /  Tuesday, Sept. 3–Friday, Sept. 6. 7 am–10 pm
• International Montessory Kids Center, 602 Anderson Circle, Deerfield Beach / Wednesday and Thursday 9am – 8pm
• The City of Hallandale Beach Cultural Community Center, 410 SE 3rd Street, Hallandale Beach

Dade County

• Florida Blue Center (The Falls) – 8895 SW 136th Street, Miami / Hours: M-F 9am-7pm & Sat 9am-4pm
• Coral Gables Fire Station 1 (Headquarters) 2815 Salzedo Street
• Coral Gables Fire Station 2, 525 South Dixie Highway
• Coral Gables Fire Station 3, 11911 Old Cutler Road

Monroe County

• Winn Dixie Tavernier Towne Center,  92100 Overseas Hwy, Tavernier, FL 33070 (Drop off times to be announced) 
• Key Largo Publix at Tradewinds Plaza, 101437 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo, FL 33037 / 8am-10pm Wednesday and Thursday

Rotary International District 6990 has a non-profit fund, The Robbins Fund, which was established over twenty years ago to aid in Disaster Recovery Efforts. Make your monetary contribution below. If interested in assisting or volunteering in this and on-going efforts to support the recovery, please contact a Rotary Club in your area via www.rotary.org.

Ray Williams, District Governor for Rotary International District 6990, stated “Unfortunately, we have done this before – assisted other communities in their recovery efforts from previous disasters. Grand Bahama Islands is part of our Rotary District and we truly feel that they are part of our family! Rotarians are known for helping those in need, as our motto “Service Above Self” clearly states!”

Don Horton, Chair – Disaster Relief, started collecting items to fill a shipping container on Monday, including visiting Costco and utilizing disaster relief funds approved by the Rotary District. Don stated, “Rotarians from around the world assisted us here in The Florida Keys two years ago. This is a big undertaking, but we are Rotarians, and this is what we do!”

For more information about the Rotary International District 6990 Hurricane Dorian Relief Efforts and our Rotary Clubs, contact Don Horton (305) 522-2062 or visit www.rotary6990.org.