By: Dick Hall District Governor 2021-2022 RC of Portland
February is an important month with our World Peace and Understanding Event. Our clubs are adapting, using their creativity in meetings, socials and service projects. Interactors and RYLA participants bring us great joy. Their optimism is contagious.
Virtual Dinner for World Peace and Understanding
On the Rotary calendar, February is Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution Month and District 7780 had planned a World Peace and Understanding dinner on February 22. Because of present Covid virus levels in the community, this will be a virtual program. This is the responsible thing to do at this time. We hope more of you will be able to join us.
Clubs: Plan for more in-person events!
I am optimistic about the progress of the Covid virus now and believe we are headed for a significant reduction in the very near future, so I encourage every club to start planning for more in-person meetings, service projects, and social activities. Service is the lifeblood of Rotary, but the social interactions make it special. I would love to see this spring be the rebirth of all the wonderful interactions we have with each other and the community.
RYLA Registration Deadline is February 24.
Rotary Youth Leadership Award is a program we have had for many years and District 7780 is recognized as having one of the best programs in the country. We are recruiting now and want to have a full camp with 12 Leadership Exploration Groups (LEGs) totaling 144 campers. I have had the pleasure of working with our new camp directors Emily Rumble and Sam Klemarczyk, https://ryla7780.org/our-team/ . As many of you know, we did not have RYLA last year but we still conducted RYLA training for all the staff, so we have not missed a beat on staff development. Our target is to have most campers recruited and selected by February 24 so we can plan for camp June 26-30.
Bob Jacobson, 7780 District Governor in 2004-05, died Monday, January 17, after a long illness.
Bob was born in Boston in 1936 and grew up in Milton, MA. After an Air Force career flying as a navigator in B-52s and later as a salesman with IBM, he and his wife Muriel moved in 1989 to the family home that he had inherited in Boothbay Harbor.
He joined the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club in 1992 and remained an avid Rotarian for 30 years. His sense of humor and love of stories led to his quickly being named the club’s sergeant-at-arms, in which position he introduced trivia to the weekly meetings, a tradition that continues to this day. Bob served as club president in 1999-2000 and that year Boothbay Harbor won the District’s Significant Achievement Award, Governor’s Award for Foundation Support, Special Membership Award (for membership growth), and the Presidential Citation. His wife Muriel joined Rotary during his presidential year. Bob served the District as Governor in 2004-05.
By: Gregg Dowty, Ed. D. Member, Rotary District 7780 Recovery Initiative Committee RC of Dover, NH
Two years ago, Rotary Clubs of Seacoast NH and Southern Maine came together to help bring Adverse Childhood Experiences or (ACES) Master Training to our region. The ACEs Study revealed that adverse childhood experiences contributed to increased health problems, behavioral difficulties and substance use issues among other lifelong challenges.
Would your club like a speaker about ACEs or the Community Ambassador Program?
This Rotary year, Brunswick is building a garden and play area, Damariscotta-Newcastle has food share-tables, Saco Bay is providing internet access to low-income seniors, Yarmouth is finishing up the last mile of the West Side Trail project, and South Berwick-Eliot is launching a STEM program in partnership with the Marshwood High School and its Interact Club.
What do all of these (and many more) projects have in common? They are all supported by a District Grant from OUR Rotary Foundation. Here’s a link to all the district grant projects underway this year.
Applications are due June 1 for the next round of District Grants. Put OUR Foundation money to work on YOUR Club project. First step is to qualify your club, and the details are elsewhere in this issue of the District Newsletter.
Part of that qualification is to attend our annual grant training seminar. We’re going to present it live via Zoom at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, March 15. Register here:
If you’ve just read the article announcing the District Grant Training coming up in March, you may have questions. Many new and experienced members ask how our District Grants work, how hard are they to apply for, are there lots of hoops to jump through, is it even really worth it? Well, the short answer that you will get from almost any Rotarian in our District who has applied and been awarded a grant is a resounding, “It’s free money, everyone should go for it!”
How Our Rotary Donations Work for Us.
Let’s step back a minute and Let’s Connect the Dots to have a clearer picture, since it isn’t actually free money, but where does it come from? When we Rotarians make a donation to Our Rotary Foundation’s annual fund, a portion of those funds come back to our District. Then that money is used for District Grants and Global Grants. So our money is used to fund our projects so we may all do good in the world!
Maybe you’ve clicked on the link to see the list of the clubs and a brief description of their grant projects, but still want more? Over the next few months we will take a deeper look into some of the projects and learn how they came to be: how the clubs in our District Connected the Dots to make their world a better place.
At Rotary, we're committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect, allowing everyone's voice to be heard, and providing equitable opportunities for fellowship, service, and leadership.
Our members want and expect Rotary to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. We're committed to creating supportive environments that foster open communication and shared learning. And although the Rotary experience may differ from country to country, the dynamics, histories, and structures that create inequality and bias can be found all over the world. Issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion are globally relevant.
Read on, but if you’d like to learn more, contact chair Marion Cheney DGN at macheney@comcast.net.
District 7780 has formed a new Committee focusing on Public Image. And the Committee is Launching a newsletter PUBLIC IMAGE UPDATE, Rotary’s District 7780 Public Image Committee way of reaching out to all clubs with a plan to help spread the Rotary message. The Rotary message is shaped by the actions of our clubs and each of its members, as well as by its involvement in the community, its presence on the web, social media, and the publications it produces.
Please see the ad we’ve created. You can download the picture by right clicking on the photo and saving it as a picture. Then you can share on your club’s Facebook, LinkedIn, & Instagram pages.
Co-Chairs, PDG Peggy Belanger and AG Lorraine Faherty of the District 7780 Growth Committee are announcing:
New Member Orientation.
Tuesday, February 15, 6:30-7:30 pm via Zoom.
Look for details soon via email. If you are a new member (since 7/1/2021) or a club membership chair or have never been to an orientation, this program is for you. See you soon
Rotarians at Work Tees Available.
Get ready for spring work projects. Clubs can order custom tee shirts now. Club Presidents have the order forms.
District Education & Children’s Issues are discussed during a virtual satellite club meeting.
Satellite clubs provide another option for creating or diversifying Rotary clubs. A satellite club can function as a short-term transitional step on the way to becoming a full, independent Rotary club. A satellite club can also be a way for a group within a traditional Rotary club, organize around a special interest or different time of day. Satellite Rotary Clubs are part of the sponsoring Rotary Club and all members of the Satellite are members of the host club. Download a Guide to Satellite Clubs .
A corporate membership allows Rotary clubs to involve a corporation — or any business, nonprofit, or government entity — in Rotary by offering an alternative membership package to some of its employees. Having corporate members increases the club's membership while expanding its network and visibility in the community. Some clubs around the district have embraced corporate members who strengthen and diversify their clubs. Download A Guide to Corporate Membership
The Rotary Leadership Institute is not an official training program of Rotary International. The Rotary Leadership Institute of Northeast America (RLINEA) includes 21 districts in the northeastern part of the USA and Bermuda. Clubs and districts who want to train Rotarians as leaders at local levels can access online a wide array of resources developed by the International RLI.
By: Dennis Robillard District Chair, Crutches for Africa, 2021-2022 RC of Saco Bay Sunset.
Rotarians from Districts 7780 and 7910 came together to store mobility devices at the new storage facility in Old Orchard Beach. Three clubs from two districts worked together to stack over 300 walkers and crutches. Chuck Moran, from the Dracut, MA Rotary Club, brought a 26-foot trailer filled with mobility devices to Crutches for Africa’s new storage facility where the lighting is much better. The team is working on its 12th container which should be ready in the spring of 2022.
If you would like to be part of the team, would like to collect and donate gently used mobility devices, or would be interested in hearing more about Crutches for Africa, contact Dennis Robillard at risc@maine.rr.com. He would be happy to hear from you.
Pictured: L-R Chuck Moran of Dracut MA, Liz Gotthelf-Othot, Scott Simonds and Scott McInnis of Saco Bay Sunset and Don Drew of the Sebago Lake Club.
By: Gregg Dowty, Ed. D.
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