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Making a Difference - COVID-19

“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.”
German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche.
 
 
The sun is shining and though there is a stiff breeze it is a beautiful day. Most likely, this is the best day so far this year here in Northern New York and I suspect for those across the border as well. Who would think that we would be in the midst of the worst health and financial crisis the world has seen since the “Spanish Flu” pandemic of one hundred years ago?
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What Are Clubs Doing During This Time?

 
The Rotary Club of Renfrew, together with myFM, is launching HELPING AT HOME.

Our goal is to provide some financial aid for anyone in need. We can’t do it without you. We’re asking for your help. Rotary will match all donations, up to $5000, doubling the power of your donation.

Help By Making A Donation. You can make a donation today in two ways:
Visit https://bit.ly/35goc8w to donate using VISA, Mastercard or American Express.
Mail your cheque, payable to the Rotary Club of Renfrew at Box 221, Renfrew, Ontario, K7V 4A3.

Know Someone Who Needs A Helping Hand?
If you, or someone you know needs assistance, you can let us know at https://bit.ly/3aKQclJ
All requests are private and confidential.

We’ll make sure we help those who need it most, here at home.
 
 
The Passport Club met online, as most clubs are doing these days.
 
 
𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡'𝙨 𝙀𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥. Seven Rotary clubs in Montreal have joined  in a fundraising initiative that will contribute to 6 frontline organizations serving thousands of additional people that have been affected by the COVID pandemic, be it our seniors, the newly unemployed, those in isolation, and those without shelter. All funds to be divided equally among: Le Dépôt (NDG Food Depot), Les Popotes Roulantes, Dans la Rue, Welcome Hall Mission, La Maison d’Haïti, and l’Armée du Salut.
 
Easy to donate online and you'll receive a tax receipt - 6 days left to reach $10,000 - we're almost there! Thank you.
https://www.canadahelps.org/…/covid-19-les-club-de-montrea…/
 
 
Ottawa Metro held a Trivia Night.
 
Upcoming Events
Annual District Foundation Walk, Canton, NY
Canton, New York
May 09, 2020
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
 
PETS Online Session #3
May 16, 2020
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
 
RYLA Online
May 28, 2020 10:00 AM –
May 31, 2020 2:30 PM
 
PETS Online Session #4
Jun 06, 2020
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
 
International Service & Foundation
Cornwall Township Lions Club hall
Jun 20, 2020
8:30 AM – 12:30 PM
 
Council of Governors and Changeover Dinner
St. Elias Banquet Centre
Jun 26, 2020
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
 
Changeover Dinner
St. Elias Banquet Centre
Jun 26, 2020
5:30 PM – 9:30 PM
 
New Rotary Year / La nouvelle année rotarienne
Jul 01, 2020
 
DisCon 2020 Silent Auction Contact Registration
Ottawa Conference Center
Oct 16, 2020 – Oct 17, 2020
 
2020 DisCon 7040
Oct 16, 2020 12:00 PM –
Oct 17, 2020
 
View entire list

 

A Message from Rotary International President Mark Maloney about COVID-19

https://youtu.be/RaRSAxY6v4M

Membership Minute

Honouring Indigenous People

Giving and Grants

End Polio Now

Rotarians Wanted

Looking for Rotarians to fill positions in the  District Organization for 2020-2021.
 
If interested please contact Hadi Mortada at hmortada@aol.com
Bulletin Editor
Ariane Carriere
Click on image to get to the Zone newsletter for May.
All About the District - Tout sur le district

What Is Our District Doing During This Time of COVID-19?

 
There are many things happening during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Il se passe beaucoup de choses durant l'épidémie COVID-19.
 
For all the latest information from our district, including a message from the District Governor
Pour toutes les informations les plus récentes de notre district, y compris un message du gouverneur du district.

Click here - Cliquez ici

PolioPlus Responding to the COVID-19 Challenge

 
A program begun by Rotary is employing thousands of health workers to address the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) which includes Rotary’s PolioPlus program.   From the earliest days of polio eradication in the Philippines, the generosity and advocacy of Rotarians and our partners has nearly stopped polio, stopped Ebola from becoming an epidemic in Nigeria and now responds to COVID-19.
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Global Scholar Chosen

Over the weekend, our District Global Grant Scholarship Selection Committee selected Audrey Constance Wagner as our Global Grant Scholar for this coming academic year (2020-21).  Audrey is a 2019 graduate of McGill University in Montreal QC, (BSc. First Class Honours in Environment, with Distinction; her field of study is Environment and Food Production, with a minor in International Agricultural Development)) Audrey has been accepted into the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford and will be studying full-time in the Master of Science in Environmental Change and Management program full-time (starting Oct 1 2020).

Audrey speaks English, French and Spanish fluently and is currently studying Portuguese.  She has served different sustainability internships in Cuba, Panama, Belize and in India and enjoys art and music (singing in a choir).  This past year she has worked as the Sustainability Coordinator at McGill's Food and Dining Services and, in this COVID world, is home-schooling her three younger brothers while the schools in Montreal are closed.
 
Audrey's application was endorsed by the Rotary Club of Montreal Westward-NDG.

Education To Change The Lives Of Children In A Nairobi Slum School

Rotary Club Of Eganville Charitable Trust Project Report
 
 
We have been fundraising for the last year and have received support from the Rotary Clubs of Chesterville, Gananoque, Kingston, Montreal Lakeshore, Cataraqui-Kingston, West Ottawa, Pembroke and North Renfrew as well as The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Fellowship of the Least Coin (the World Council of Churches).  Donations have also been received from many individuals who support this project.  Thank You! Alan and Mona Fox
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Youth Exchange suspended for the year

The pandemic of the COVID-19 has spread all over the world and no one knows when the situation will be back to normal. As each country tries to minimize the spread of the virus, strict restrictions continue to be imposed. Hopefully, these will help ease the strain on our health care systems and minimize the damage caused by Covid-19.
 
With students’ well-being and security as our top priorities, Rotary District 7040 has decided to suspend new long-term youth exchanges for one year. This means that our district will not be sending or receiving students in the summer of 2020. There will also be no short-term students in the summer of 2020
 
Most countries have blocked foreigners from entering; visa processes are suspended; and it is not fair to the students to be held in uncertainty as many may have alternative plans for their education. This is a necessary step to let the situation return to a state where youth exchange again is possible.
 
We do hate to disappoint you and your students, and we understand that you may have alternate views on the matter. However, from our perspective, this is the timely and right thing to do now. We count on your understanding and hope that we can make exchanges again in 2021-22.

COVID-19 ABC

Revised Citation requirements for the 2019-20 Rotary Citation

We know that some of the 2019-20 Rotary Citation goals may be difficult for clubs to achieve during this pandemic, so we’ve revised the requirements. Instead of achieving five of the nine goals in the Unite People and Take Action categories, clubs now need to achieve at least three goals in each of these categories. The Presidential Distinction requirements remain the same, and clubs still need to be in good standing to be eligible. 

We appreciate the work you continue to do during this time and are looking forward to seeing the creative ways in which clubs achieve their goals. Clubs can still report their achievements as described in the Achievement Guide and use the Rotary Citation Recipients report on My Rotary to check their progress. Contact us at riawards@rotary.org if you have any questions. 

An update from our Global Scholar studying in NYC this year

A few weeks ago I came back to Montreal for Spring break and due to Coronavirus developments, I decided to stay home for a longer period. While things have not always been easy, I am now in the way of completing my degree through Zoom in order to, hopefully, graduate in May.
 
This virus has turned many of our lives upside down. For me, it meant putting a sudden end to an incredible experience in New York as well as dealing with unforeseen financial and academic challenges. In the midst of this, however, I became increasingly aware of how privileged I am to benefit from strong family support in Montreal. Once good weather finally settles in the city, I can also enjoy walks by the river and working under the sun in the garden.
 
My thoughts are therefore with all those students who are separated from their loved ones and, for various reasons, remain in NYC on their own. I want to thank everybody at Rotary who made my stay in NYC an amazing time from members of District 7040 to the New York Chinatown Rotary Club as well as all other wonderful Rotarians and Rotaractors I met in my American journey. As we say in French, ce n'est qu'un au revoir! I will be back in the Big Apple sooner rather than later (having left most of my things there ;) ). I wish us all brighter days to come.

Rotary Online: How The Change Is Now Upon Us

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SAW (Stop After Work)

A spin-off from my initiative in my year as Saranac Lake Rotary president of the “Where’s the Fun?” challenge (sometimes referred to as WTF), is what my club calls the SAW (Stop After Work) usually held at a local restaurant. We’ve made it easy to manage - it’s always the last Thursday of the month at 5 pm, no reservations required (we do give the restaurant a heads-up a day or so before).  Some stop just for a beverage and most stay for dinner. At some point during the evening we discuss where to go the next month and then call for a vote, post it on our website and make an announcement at the next meeting. The ‘Pause’ as NY’s governor has called this challenging time, has not put a pause to our fun as we have now moved our SAWs online.
 
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Saranac Lake Rotary Literacy Program

Literacy is an initiative we as a club are proud to put our name on. We believe that reading is the only way out of poverty. Having books in the home; encouraging reading and literacy at a young age; adults reading and being role models – these are all statistically proven to set the stage for an exciting learning curve as children from birth are introduced to books and reading.
 
In the mid 1990’s club member Esther Arlan started the beginnings of a literacy program in the Saranac Lake school system. Esther is on one of the photos in the collage with current member Mitch Smith – looking at a book and laughing. By the time she and her husband, PDG Lionel, retired and moved away she had laid the foundation with the schools to allow us to come in and do something with a literacy focus.
 
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Celebrate Youth Service Month during the pandemic

May is Rotary’s Youth Service Month! Throughout the month, Rotary members, and younger members of the Rotary family, including Rotaractors, Interactors, and RYLA and Rotary Youth Exchange participants, celebrate the service, leadership development, connections, and FUN of Rotary’s programs for young leaders.

Here are four ways to celebrate Youth Service Month during the COVID-19 pandemic:
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Rotary Club Of Ottawa-Stittsville Delivers Friendship Boxes

Over a two-day span in mid-April, and in partnership with “I Love First Peoples”, members of the Rotary Club of Ottawa-Stittsville distributed Friendship Boxes (Shoeboxes) to centers working with Aboriginal children. 

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The Rotary Club of Nepean-Kanata (RCNK) has come back to service

After a brief pause for two weeks in March, the Rotary Club of Nepean-Kanata (RCNK) has come back to service via ZOOM online video meeting in early April. It is an absolute pleasure to see most members join in and find out that all are healthy and well including their family and friends. For most of us, it was a new experience to attend club meeting online from the comfort of our own house, nevertheless all were very excited and enthusiastic on what we as a club can do to help communities in need.
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Rotary Community Corps

To view the complete article online go to https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/rotary-community-corps.

A Rotary Community Corps is a group of non-Rotarians who share our commitment to changing the world through service projects. 

RCC members plan and carry out projects in their communities and support local Rotary club projects.

There are more than 10,000 corps in 100 countries. RCCs are active everywhere Rotary is present: in urban and rural areas, and in both developed and developing countries.

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Update on RYLA 2020

After careful consideration, we have decided to go forward with RYLA 2020! With so many Rotary events being postponed or cancelled, we wanted to be able to deliver some good news.
 
RYLA 2020 will happen from May 28 (Thursday) to May 31 (Sunday). Each day will be slightly shortened from those of past years but spread out and so the need to add a fourth day. Rest assured that no students will be travelling to Kingston – instead, we will be meeting online using Zoom, virtual icebreakers, Google Classroom and more. The RYLA team has been working diligently to adapt our programme to the new environment and we are confident that the student delegates will have fun, be engaged, learn lots about leadership and make new friends. Our goals for the experience remain the same.
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A Note from the Rotary Foundation

The Rotary Support Center does not have phone or contribution processing capabilities at this time.  They are only available to answer inquiries via email.  Their email address is rotarysupportcenter@rotary.org.  Members should not email contributions to this email address. 
 
The Governor of Illinois has issued a shelter-in-place order.  This means that no staff will be allowed into One Rotary Center.  Any contributions sent to One Rotary Center will not be processed for some time.  Additionally, our capability for accepting faxed contributions has also been placed on hold indefinitely.  We highly encourage members who would like to contribute to do so online at myrotary.org/donate.  Club officers do have the option to donate on behalf of their club members once they sign in. Look in Files on the district COVID-19 page.
 
Again, the best place to make a contribution is online at myrotary.org/donate.
 
The full article can be found on the District COVID-19 page (link above).

Thank You