February is Rotary’s Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Month. As Rotarians, let us all try to create an environment of peace and harmony in our communities and around the world. By supporting peace fellowships and scholarships, we can address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, education and mental health issues.
As we start this New Year, I hope all Rotarians had a wonderful holiday season filled with quality family time, peace, joy, warmth, and good cheer! The District Leadership Team wishes all in our communities a happy, safe, and successful New Year! Rotary takes January to focus on Vocation Service, as every Rotarian can make a difference by using our unique skills and expertise to address community needs. Imagine Rotary and imagine how you and your club can use your knowledge to make our communities and world a better place to live, work, and play!
December is Rotary’s Disease Prevention & Treatment month! Obviously, everyone is aware of our long-term commitment to eradicating polio and the fact that we are so close to reaching our goal. But Rotary clubs around the globe are also addressing many other health initiatives. Rotary believes that everyone has a right to good health care. Rotary is educating and equipping communities around the world to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases. Rotary is addressing malaria, HIV, maternal health, infant mortality, cancer screenings and many other areas!
November is The Rotary Foundation month. The Foundation’s Sustaining Member level is simply a $100 donation every Rotary year. This level has not been adjusted for inflation in at least the last 20 years. One of my goals was to get more Rotarians to commit to donating more than this level each year, so we created the District 6080 Foundation Promoter for those that can give $300 per year. The District 6080 Foundation Champion is for anyone committing to $600 per year. We have special lapel pins for those making this commitment level. If you can give more, a $1,000 per year commitment will put you in the Paul Harris Society.
October is Community Economic Development month, celebrating one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus. The work of Rotary begins in our communities and continues around the world. Thank you to all of those Rotarians helping to improve the economic conditions of people less fortunate, both locally and internationally.
September 2022 is Rotary International’s Basic Education and Literacy Month. Whether it is supporting teachers, educating refugees, mentoring students, or programs to advocate for adult literacy, Rotary is a the forefront of providing this basic need. I’ve heard of clubs cheering the teachers as they return to school for the first day of the school year, dictionary programs, and many other efforts to fulfill Rotary’s mission on Education and Literacy during September.
We are one month into the new Rotary year and I’ve been able to visit 15 terrific clubs in our District! A special bonus for me was attending the Columbia Rotaract Craft Beer & Carts Fundraiser where they raised more than $80,000, super impressive!
Welcome to the Rotary New Year, 2022-2023! It is going to be an exciting year, as Rotary International President Jennifer Jones makes Rotary history by becoming the first female RI President in our organization s 117 years! President Jennifer’s theme is Imagine Rotary. She wants Rotarians to imagine the possibilities in the change we can make to transform our communities and the world. She wants us to dream big and harness our connections and the power of Rotary to turn those dreams into reality.
I cannot begin this letter without saying first that through Rotary we can help the people of our world heal from such great tragedies we are witnessing. We have the power to help others and show our deep care for so many hurting right now in so many ways through our acts of service. Thank you for what you are doing.
May has arrived and I am astounded at how fast this year has gone! We have now finished our District Conference where we really celebrated the idea of Service! That is what we are all about! Keep Serving to Change Lives in your communities and world!
