Chris Cassidy, a York High School alumni, visits Ogunquit to speak about his journey as a US Navy Seal & Astronaut. With the sponsorship of the Ogunquit Rotary, proceeds from the event will support the National Medal of Honor Museum.
Each ticket includes passed apps during a cocktail hour; presentation by Chriss Cassidy; and a meet and greet with Cassidy himself. More information on raffles to come!
Get to hear from a home-grown US astronaut, all while raising funds for an incredible institution! Tickets may be purchased at Stars of Our Nation
Former (2011-2012) District 7780 District Governor and member of the Rotary Club of Damariscotta-Newcastle, Gary Speers of North Ft. Myers Florida died on February 18, 2023 at age 77. His wife Judy (Past President of Damariscotta-Newcastle and District Secretary) was with him.
Gary spent much of his law enforcement career working with youth. He started by working with elementary school students as "Officer Friendly," and then worked with high school students as a Police School Counselor. As a supervisor, he headed up a Community Service Division, started programs for mentoring at-risk youth, and founded the Police Cadet Program.
While on her Imagine Impact Tour, current Rotary International President, Jennifer Jones traveled to the Western Highlands of Guatemala to highlight the important work being done by the Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP) to combat illiteracy. At the GLP’s 25-year anniversary celebration at Hacienda Maria School in Guatemala, Jennifer Jones presented an award to Carolyn Johnson, Chair of BELRAG (Basic Education & Literacy Rotary Action Group). The award recognized Carolyn’s 18 years of service in certifying over 1,000 primary-school teachers in literacy instruction across Guatemala through the Spark Reading Program. “To learn to read is to light a fire,” reads the inscription on the sparkling crystal award, citing the famous Victor Hugo quote. Carolyn Johnson is PDG District 7780 and a member of the Rotary Club of Yarmouth, Maine.
On November 4, 2022, District 7780 held the One in a Million Foundation Celebration at Halo at the Point. Thanks to Don Chick for taking some wonderful pictures that night!
Click HERE to see the photos that appeared in the Portland Press Herald Scene & Heard section on Sunday January 8, 2023. Click HERE to see a thank you montage from that night.
Saco Bay Sunset Rotary was awarded a Disaster Relief Grant of $25,000 to replace a Convent Roof and make other improvements to house refugees from war-torn parts of Ukraine. Here is a heartfelt expression of thanks from the Sister Superior of the Convent:
Dear American Friends, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2023!
I am writing to you from Ukraine, from the Catechetical House of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Anne, which has now been named Peace Shelter through Rotary International. My name is Sister Veronika (Solomiya Yaniv) and I am the Sister Superior of this House.
In my first words, I want to thank you very much for the support you have given us in helping people suffering from the war that is going on in our country. A heartfelt "God bless you!" Since the beginning of the war, we have become a place of refuge for about 30 people (the number changes due to constant rotation), refugees in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine where the heaviest fighting is taking place and where the destruction is unimaginably high. They are mainly single mothers with children. Their husbands and fathers are largely dead and their homes no longer exist.
By: Brenda Pollack, President, RC of Biddeford-Saco
The Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club is proud to announce that it has been selected by the Open World Program to host a delegation from Ukraine arriving in April 2023. The delegation will be looking at how American communities deal with Renewable Energy/Energy Independence issues.
The Open World Program provides an opportunity to build fellowship and friendship to strengthen international understanding by hosting emerging Eurasian leaders from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine in your community.
Organizations from around the United States were needed to host six-participant delegations for eight days and nights and prepare a professional program related to business, community, and civic life in the US. Biddeford-Saco answered that call and was selected to host the delegation from Ukraine.
By: Emma Bodwell, Chair, International Services Committee (DISC), RC of Bridgton-Lake Region
On Saturday, October 20, 2022, over 30 Rotarians attended the second International Café of the 2022/23 Rotary Year. Those attending got an update on the Amani Kids project working to improve the lives of 200 kids per year who are living on the streets in Tanzania. The project is in the process of applying for an RI Global Grant. For more information or to contribute to the grant application, contact Chris Hamilton at (207) 242-2559 or by email.
The Café provided a comprehensive update on the situation in Ukraine and the disaster relief grants being used by various Clubs and Districts to provide help through an RI InterCountry Committee (ICC). Claudine Schooley, President, of ICC USA – Ukraine, provided information about the urgency of the situation in Ukraine. In total, $15 million has been dedicated by RI to further this work. There is $3 million remaining which must be awarded by the end of December 2022. The grants, in $25,000 increments, are being used to help Ukrainian people simply survive. The Saco Bay Sunset Club was awarded $25,000 to install a new roof on a monastery that serves as a shelter for displaced Ukrainian women and children. This grant received approval in a record three business days, according to Carolyn Johnson. Waiting in the wings for the final expenditure of the Saco Bay grant is one prepared by Kathi Perkins of the Westbrook-Gorham Club supporting school supplies and more for Ukrainian children in Romania. In addition to Iryna Timanyuk and Volodymyr Pylypenko who joined the Café from Ukraine, Diana Nestorova from District 7910 in western Massachusetts participated too. Diana mentioned that her district is on its third $25,000 grant. For more information, contact Claudine Schooley at (805) 796-8351 or by email.
The Rotary Club of Saco Bay Sunset met on Saturday, September 24 to pack a container with crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and other medical equipment for Crutches for Africa. This event brought ten area Rotary Clubs together. A special thanks to 22 members from the collaborative Rotary Clubs of South Portland Cape Elizabeth, Freeport, Yarmouth, Westbrook-Gorham, Brunswick Coastal, Saco Bay, Saco Bay Sunset, Bethel, Sebago Lake Windham, Portland, and Scarborough who manually loaded the container. The shipment is going to Uganda. Rotarian Dennis Robillard has been spearing this event for 13 years.
By: Sarah MacGillivray, Secretary and Public Image Coordinator, Foundation Committee, Bath Sunrise RC
Imagine – a world without polio.
It’s true, you are ONE IN A MILLION PLUS. Together we are making this happen.
With World Polio Day on October 24, I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to share exciting news from your District Polio Challenge Team, led by Chair, Michele Bois-Gilbody along with team members Patty Byers, Brenda Cressey, and myself.
The District has initiated a Challenge Fundraiser for the entire year on the new Raise for Rotary platform which can be found at the following link at IMAGINE CHALLENGE - END POLIO NOW.
All clubs can take advantage by sharing and using this platform to raise funds inside or outside of Rotary. Anyone can donate and best of all, both Rotarians, Rotaractors and Clubs will receive donor and recognition credits and the money raised will count towards club goals for Polio.
We encourage clubs to register this as a project on the World Polio Day Project Registration and then have all Rotarians share this IMAGINE CHALLENGE - END POLIO NOW link with your family and friends as well as on all your social media pages and encourage donations to End Polio Now.
Dr. Susan Black of the Brunswick Coastal Club passed away on September 5, 2022. Susan was a power-house as the president of her club and as a tireless worker for the people of Burundi. We in District 7780 are saddened by her loss.
Due to shipping problems worldwide, the loading of our 12th shipping container has been postponed againuntil Saturday September 24, starting at 9AM, 128 Saco Ave, Old Orchard Beach. Click Read More below for comments sent to us by David Talbot, Founder of Crutches 4 Africa, regarding the current situation.
Feel free to bring a friend and stay for as long as you would like. Because of logistics with this new storage site, we will need additional help. Here's a chance to introduce a friend or colleague to Rotary through this long-standing District international service project led by RC Saco Bay Sunset!!
For more information, please contact Dennis Robillard - risc@maine.rr.com
In 2021 more than 107,000 Americans, beloved family members, friends, co-workers, and community members died from a drug-related overdose or SUD (Substance Use Disorder). Overdose fatalities are climbing across the country in record numbers. Maine and New Hampshire are not immune to these deaths and we are losing our loved ones, friends, and neighbors at a record pace. Maine, with 636 deaths, ranked 11th in the United States out of the 50 states. New Hampshire, with 425 deaths in 2021 did better, but any death from an overdose is a tragedy. We need all hands on deck!
District 7780 Foundation Committee Secretary and Public Image Coordinator
Member, Bath Sunrise Rotary Club
Congratulations to the eleven Clubs in our District who applied for this year’s round of District Grants. As always, we need to give a huge thank you to the members of our District Grant Review Committee, under the direction of Michele Varuolo Cole. The Committee members work very hard to ensure that all applications are complete, meet all the criteria, and determine whether or not each of the programs suggested will make an impact in the community they serve.
Frank G. Helman, of Boothbay Harbor, died at home Thursday, June 2, with his beloved wife of 32 years, Martha (Peak) Helman, at his side. He was 92 years old.
Frank was an active member of the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor, which named him “Rotarian of the Year” in 2006. Generous personal donors for many years, under the leadership of Frank and later Martha, the Walter Foundation made history in 2021 by inking an agreement with The Rotary Foundation to fully fund a Rotary Peace Center in the Middle East/North Africa Region.
The Committee is most pleased to announce the newest addition to our district Membership Recruitment tools: a 10x10 Rotary Membership Awareness Canopy.
Specifically designed for outdoor venues as an eye-catching booth to create awareness and promote conversation, the canopy came about as a result of collaboration between Yarmouth and Freeport Rotary Clubs and the district.
The canopy is available for rent, only $150 per event. Arrangements through Peter Johnson, Yarmouth Rotary: peter.johnson@ubs.com
The Rotary Indigenous Partnership Committee (RIPC) has been working diligently over the last eighteen months to partner with the Indigenous Peoples of Maine and Eastern Canada. Team members with diverse expertise, experience and expectations have pooled their commitment to understanding and building meaningful and lasting relationships with the Tribal Communities in Maine. Listening to and learning from Indigenous spokespeople has served as the foundation for relationship efforts. Reading and research has also enhanced the Team's knowledge base.
The District Prosthetics Team last visited the Dominican Republic (DR) in January 2020, just before the pandemic shut everything down. Based on that trip’s experience and the non-travel time during the pandemic, the Team has been evolving the design for prosthetic hands to address issues with the previous, manually-operated design. At the same time, the agency the team works with in the DR, Centro de Protesis, has started construction on what will be the first prosthetics clinic in that country.
By Brenda Pollack Chair, District 7780 Public Image Committee
RC of Biddeford-Saco
Thank you to everyone who attended the District Assembly Training and sat in on the Public Image Committee presentation. Thank you to everyone who helped put the materials together for that event.
Our committee’s message ONE VOICE, EVERY CLUB is what we are working towards in 2022. We’re thrilled to offer some assistance with press releases, website development, Facebook ads, and more. We’re asking that each club engage with our committee and commit to the following:
Appoint a PI representative who will communicate with our group. Email our Public Image team at: PIRotary7780@gmail.com.
Update your Rotary logo. You can locate the template at My.rotary.org > News & Media > Brand Center > Logo > Template
At the District Training, Phil Giordano, Scarborough Rotary member and recent past RYLA camp director, was presented with Rotary's highest honor, the Service Above Self Award. This award recognizes Rotarians who demonstrate Rotary's motto, Service Above Self, by volunteering their time and talents to help others. The award is internationally competitive, and is granted to no more than 150 Rotarians worldwide.
It’s times like the present war in Ukraine that remind us of the importance of building international relationships through Rotary.In 2015 District 7780 sent a cultural exchange team to Bulgaria, after the initial outreach was done by then District Governor Lawrence Furbish. That two-week visit was followed up by a Bulgarian team touring our district the following year.
We kept working at finding the right project to further the cooperation. In 2018 the Petrich, Bulgaria, club sought an international partner for a project to provide medical equipment for the neonatal ward of their local hospital.
The Rotary Foundation has created a channel for humanitarian support in the Ukraine region in response to the deepening crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Three Rotary Clubs in the District joined forces to support Ukraine through club and individual donations to The Rotary Disaster Response Fund.
Brunswick, Brunswick Coastal and Topsham Expresso invited community members to join in contributing to the goal of $10,000 by April 30, 2022. The goal was met on Monday April 25!
By: Claudia Frost, District Governor Elect, Brunswick RC and Lucy Lloyd, President, Brunswick Coastal RC
The Rotary Foundation has created a channel for humanitarian support in the Ukraine region in response to the deepening crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Three Rotary Clubs in the District joined forces to support Ukraine through club and individual donations to The Rotary Disaster Response Fund.
Brunswick, Brunswick Coastal and Topsham Expresso invited community members to join in contributing to the goal of $10,000 by April 30, 2022. The goal was met on Monday April 25!
According to the United Nations, the COVID-19 pandemic has halted or in some cases reversed progress in global health. It has also shortened life expectancies. It’s more important than ever to provide quality health care and promote well-being for everyone, especially those who are most vulnerable, including mothers and children.
Rotary Day with UNICEF was an in-person and global webinar featuring Rotary and UNICEF promoting the mission of their partnership: to improve education, health, safety and the status of girls within their communities. As Chair of BELRAG (Basic Education & Literacy Rotary Action Group), Past District Governor Carolyn Johnson facilitated the discussion on Adapting to Educational Challenges Resulting from COVID, specifically how technology can play a role. Panelists included Dr. Helen Crompton, Professor of Technology Education at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, and Dr. Lauren Rumble, Associate Director, UNICEF.
The event was held at the UNICEF headquarters in New York City and was hosted by Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta to promote his initiative for Rotarians to empower girls, create environments to reduce gender discrimination, and create programs to help girls develop self-confidence and advocacy skills.
We are very lucky to have a donation of a lovely handcrafted quilt by Past Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Brenda Cressey of the Rotary Club of Ogunquit, ME, and District 7780 Fund Development Chair. This quilt is being raffled off the day of the District Training Assembly to those who make a donation to OUR Rotary Foundation.
You must be present to win. More details about the raffle will be available the day of the event. If you are attending this District event, don't miss it!
March is Water & Sanitation Month on the Rotary calendar. More than 748 million people do not have access to clean drinking water. Rotarians around the world build wells, implement rainwater harvesting systems, and promote low cost solutions to prove people with lifechanging solutions. There is a Rotary club in your area. Join us!!
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.
You can download this picture by right clicking on the photo/image and saving it as a picture. Then you can share on your club’s Facebook, LinkedIn, & Instagram pages.
In 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.
Recently, 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: 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.
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.
District 7780's Peace Scholar candidate, one of 50 winners of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Scholarship chosen by Rotary International this year, will speak to the Rotary Club of South Portland-Cape Elizabeth. Cassandra Varanka will talk about her work in Washington on Nuclear Disarmament and Peace and how it helped her land the coveted Rotary scholarship to continue her peace studies beginning in early 2023. Rotarians and friends from throughout the District and beyond are invited to join Club members over Zoom to hear Cassandra's talk about her good work and the road to becoming a Peace Scholar. This talk will be inspirational for Interactors and other young people so invite them to register as well.
Speaker: Cassandra Varanka, a Peace Scholar Winner, will share her road to winning this coveted prize.
When: Wed., Jan. 19, 6:30-7:30 p.m. via Zoom
Sponsor: South Portland-Cape Elizabeth RC, District 7780 Foundation Committee
January is Vocational Service Month on the Rotary International Calendar. The key element of vocational service is that Rotarians encourage and foster:
Adherence to and promotion of the highest ethical standards in all occupations, including fair treatment of employers, employees, associates, competitors, and the public.
Recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations.
Contribution of your vocational talents to solving the problems of society and meeting the needs of the community.
Some suggestions for Vocational Service month, from Rotary International Guiding Principles
Public Image Committee Member, RC of Bridgton-Lake Region
Each year, Rotary International awards up to 50 fully-funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of its seven peace centers. This year the candidate Cassandra Varanka, sponsored by Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club, was one of these 50 winners. Chosen from some 600 applicants across the globe, Cassandra will study at the University of Queensland's (Australia) Rotary Centre for International Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution starting in early 2023. This Centre is part of a global program to advance research, teaching, practical training and knowledge on issues of international relations, conflict resolution and peace-building. It offers a tailored Master's Degree in International Studies, aimed at potential world and community leaders, designed to have a practical effect on addressing international and regional conflicts.
Ann Lee Hussey created produced an excellent program to help us all understand where we are with the eradication efforts and through personal videos, we heard how polio affected the lives of those in the district.
Video highlights include:
Together End Polio (40 seconds)
Brenda Cressey, Ogunquit - Susie (2:02 minutes)
Moderator PolioPlus Chair Ann Lee Hussey, Portland Sunrise
Deborah Heath, Brunswick Coastal (1:26 minutes)
Polio - This is the Story (1:30 minutes)
Keynote: Michael McGovern, South Portland-Cape Elizabeth, IPPC Chair (15 minutes)
Rotary Inspires Leaders - (2 minutes)
Anna-Kristina Sawtelle, York (8:47 minutes)
Speaker: Ann Crocker Chair, Post Polio Support Group of Maine (10 minutes)
I am very pleased to announce that Bob MacKenzie has been nominated for District Governor for the Rotary year July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025.
Bob’s Rotary career includes;
Joined the Kennebunk Rotary Club in 2007
Club President 2014-2015
Kennebunk Club Board of Directors
Kennebunk Club Vice President
District 7780 Recovery Initiative, Committee Chair, past 11 years
Bob MacKenzie is a 30-year veteran of law enforcement, currently serving as Chief of Police with the Kennebunk Police Department (KPD). Chief MacKenzie began his law enforcement career in 1988 with KPD and rose through the ranks, being promoted to Chief of Police in 2008.
Bath Sunrise’s Satellite Club: Pine Tree State e-club
SHARE your IRA
You worked hard for your IRA! Now Rotary International has a way you may put your IRA to work doing good in the world through tax-efficient donations to The Rotary Foundation. There is a new initiative that is launching around Zone 32, a way to share your IRA with the world through Rotary. The 70+ initiative is our Rotary Zone-wide effort to encourage Rotarians to consider the benefits and opportunities of a charitable gift via their IRA.
How to SHARE your IRA
Starting at age 70 1/2, the IRS allows individuals to make a tax-free distribution or qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from their IRA directly to a charity of their choice. In the years after you turn 72, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD), which is required annually when you reach this age.
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Marty Peak Helman has been selected to be a member of the Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2022. This means that Marty, a member of the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club, will serve on the 16-person Board that manages the business of The Rotary Foundation, which is the charitable arm of our organization that funds service activities globally. The RI president-elect nominates the Trustees, who are elected by the RI Board of Directors to four-year terms.
By: Ann Lee Hussey, District 7780 PolioPlus Chair, Portland Sunrise RC
As of October 20, 2021, only two cases of wild poliovirus have been reported - one in Afghanistan, one in Pakistan. It is a time for optimism but we cannot become complacent.
The wild polio virus continues to struggle for survival. I cannot stress enough how important it is for Rotarians to continue their support for PolioPlus. We must build on the progress made to date and protect children everywhere from paralysis by the poliovirus.
450 million children need to be immunized each year in 60 vulnerable countries, where, if the virus returned, it would spread like wildfire and settle again. All our gains would be wasted. In 1985 we promised the children of the world that we would eradicate this devastating disease of Polio from the face of the earth. Rotarians are people of integrity and we keep our promises.
November is Foundation month -- a celebration of OUR Rotary Foundation. As you probably know, The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit organization supported solely by contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world. This support makes it possible to fund projects, with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need around the world.
This year our district has already sent grant funds to fourteen Clubs for their projects. In our last Rotary year, a total of 33 Clubs took part in a district or global grant-funded humanitarian project!
Click the picture below to hear an inspirational message from Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta about Rotary's ongoing work to end polio forever.
Members of Biddeford-Saco RC and Saco Bay RC, along with D7780’s new Rotaractors from University of New England, cleaned Bay View Beach in Saco ME on Saturday, September 25th. It was a gorgeous day to be together caring for our community. PDG Peggy was excited to introduce UNE Rotaract Club President Emily Birdsall (pictured in photo w/PDG Peggy). Many thanks to Rotarian and UNE Professor/Rotaract Coordinator Mike Burnham for organizing this project. Photos highlight members enthusiasm for a job well done.
Word Polio Day is October 24, 2021. In recognition of this day, all District 7780 Clubs are encouraged to participate in "Pints for Polio" to raise awareness in our communities about Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio worldwide, while having a fun social event for the club and community, and raising funds for PolioPlus.
To find an event, click on the picture or on the link below. If your club is planning to host an event and is not already on this list, contact DG Dick Hall at dickhall7780@gmail.com
PDG Sheila Rollins was a woman of many talents who generously gave of her whole self. This ‘woman of action’ was a pilot and flight instructor, a restaurant owner and a gourmet chef, as well as a mental health counselor. Given the way she battled her illness, we can add “brave” to all the adjectives we use to describe Sheila, such as fun, creative, ambitious, generous, loving and energetic! Sadly, she lost this battle on June 29, 2021.
For those on Facebook, we now have a new District Facebook Group! It’s called Rotary 7780 – People of Action Please go to this Group now and click “Join” to see what is happening in clubs around our District.
This District Group is available for all clubs and members to post about the various activities of your club – events, fundraisers, projects, awards, or anything else Rotary-related that you would like to share.
Nearly five years ago, District 7780 launched our Rotary Recovery Committee to focus on substance use disorder and ways Rotarians could combat the stigma, education gap and lack of resources evidenced by the opioid crisis. Among the things we learned: Adverse Childhood Experiences are indicators and precursors to substance misuse. Ground-breaking research over twenty years ago established the clear links between ACEs and a variety of health issues. For More Details click Here
Thirty trainers were selected and participated in curriculum developed by Dr. Robert Anda and Ms. Laura Porter, pioneers of ACEs/community initiatives around the country. These thirty local leaders (six of them Rotary Club members) have now fanned out in their areas of discipline with a target of training nearly one thousand people during the course of the project.
In York ME, Strafford and Rockingham Counties NH, our team set a goal of raising sixty thousand dollars over two years. The money helped Pinetree Institute of Eliot ME launch a master-trainer program to educate communities about ACEs and positive actions at the local level.
Congratulations to Ruby! Bowdoin ’21 graduate Ruby Ahaiwe received the wonderful news that her Rotary Global Grant Scholarship to attend Johns Hopkins University was approved. Ruby will be studying Public Health and plans to return to her home country of Nigeria to help educate rural women in the area of reproductive health.
Ruby contacted the Rotary Club of Brunswick after her acceptance into the graduate school of her choice: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Even with an academic scholarship from the college, Ruby needed funding in order to attend.
A generous philanthropist contributed $10,000 to the Brunswick Rotary Club. The Rotary Club of Umungasi-Aba, Nigeria agreed to serve as the International Partner and to contribute to the Global Grant as well. The Rotary Club of Howard West offered to serve as the host club because of its proximity to Baltimore, the home of Johns Hopkins.
Shelter Box is a Rotary affiliated group, adopted in April 2000 by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall, England. Shelter Box provides emergency shelter and tools in times of dramatic need such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and tornados.
This is a project that several in this District have supported over many years. Read on for more about a unique fundraiser coming to New England this summer.
Message from 2020 - 2021 District Governor Peggy Belanger
Each Rotary year the RI President selects opportunities to achieve goals that strengthen Rotary and our clubs. Goals include increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in your community.
To achieve the Rotary Citation, Rotary Clubs review the 25 available goals, select at least 13, achieve those goals, and then report their achievement in Rotary Club Central.
I am pleased to announce that the following District 7780 Rotary Clubs achieved the Rotary Citation:
Hampton RC (20 Goals Achieved)
Dover, Kennebunk Portside, and Westbrook-Gorham RC’s (14 Goals Achieved)
Please join me in congratulating these clubs for a job well-done!!
How much do we know about the Global Grants our Clubs sponsor? True, we hear about the proposed project when funds are sought and maybe even hear about the awarding of a Global Grant, but is that enough? Unless we’re actively involved in the project or the fundraising, it’s likely that our understanding is somewhat limited. In discussions with Emma Bodwell, Chair of the District’s International Service Committee (DISC), she expressed concern that our international work is often very low key. In an attempt to increase our understanding, I’ll attempt to highlight one of our recent Global Grants here.
In case you missed it, there is a new course available in the Learning Center: Public Relations and Your Club. Learn about strategies for using media and public relations to gain visibility, increase awareness of club initiatives, and publicize your impact in the community. To access the learning center, log onto Rotary.org, click on ‘member center,’ and then select “Learning and Reference.” You can then select “Learnng Center” to access the new course.
The Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, based in Boothbay Harbor, ME, has pledged $15.5 million to The Rotary Foundation to start a Rotary Peace Center in the Middle East or North Africa. It’s long been a stated desire of many Rotarians to establish a peace center in this region. The new center hopes to open in 2026 and will be named the Otto and Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center.
DG Peggy Belanger and DGE Dick Hall drove to East Hampton, CT on 3/21, to collect 164,000 adult surgical masks, children’s masks, and N95’s for distribution through-out D7780.
This was the 3rd and final phase of the Million Mask Challenge.
By its nature, social media is a short attention span media—you have to catch attention quickly while readers are scrolling through dozens of posts at a time.
Social media is a highly competitive venture with a short attention span – in other words, get to the point!
Always attach images with your posts- many links from websites will automatically attach an image.
Be consistent. Post content related to Rotary as often as possible
By: Dave Underhill, District Chair for Global Grants
Pop quiz: take a guess. What is the total number of draft + pending + active Rotary Foundation Global Grant Projects involving Rotary Clubs from Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire?
A: Five
B: Twelve
C: Nineteen
D: Twenty-nine
E: Fifty-three
The answer to the quiz is (D): as of the date this article was written in mid-March, we had a total of twenty-nine global grants, of which ten were in draft or pending status, and nineteen underway with active-approved status. That’s a lot of international service!
Surprised? Our District Rotarians are hard at work around the globe on projects funded by you.
Your Rotary Foundation dollars are doing the work you choose. Our Foundation is supported by your Club and personal donations.
Let’s say you are in a District 7780 Rotary Club (we’ll call it the Rotary Club of the Piscataqua River). You want to apply for a Global Grant. You have a great project for a clinic in Thailand, and a Rotary Club in Thailand is interested in being the local host for the effort. You have some Club fundraising dollars, and your partner club down the river (the equally hypothetical Rotary Club Isle of Shoals) does too.
The Project Budget is $35,000 and the RC/Thailand can raise $7,000, so you are trying to come up with the remaining $28,000. Here’s how it might work.
RC/Thailand funds: $7,000
Local Club funds:
RC Piscataqua River $5,000
RC Isle of Shoals 5,000
District 7780 DDF $10,000
TRF World Fund match to DDF (80%) $8,000
Total raised: $35,000
Simple Funding Example: How TRF World Fund and DDF support your Global Grant
Here is the simple joy of compound goodness: The Rotary Foundation leverages your contributions to the Annual (SHARE) fund. This illustration is based on the new Foundation matching formula going into effect July 1, 2021:
You and your Club name a Paul Harris Fellow, and you send a check for $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation (TRF).
That money is invested for three years. The investment proceeds combine with a 5% administration charge to pay for the costs of running TRF (fundraising, accounting, overhead). At the end of that three-year period, the $950 net is divided in half.
$475 goes to the World Fund for Rotary projects and initiatives around the globe.
$475 goes into the “District Designated Funds” which are in turn available here in district 7780 to pay for district grants and global grants.
Simply, that $475 (and a lot more from your local Rotary neighbors) goes into the pool that is called “District Designated Funds” or DDF. In our district, we divide that equally between district grants (local, smaller projects) and global grants (larger projects with minimum budgets of $30,000, usually international). Our total DDF pool for the new Rotary year will be around $110,000…half of that goes to District Grants and outreach, the other half to Global Grants. That $55,000 Global Grant DDF can help pay for YOUR new Global Grant (as long as we have funds available).
Compound Goodness: Returning Annual Fund Dollars to your Club and District
International Cafés have proved to be a successful way of getting the word out about district projects that Clubs and individual Rotarians are working with or sponsoring. In this age of Zoom and virtual meetings, it is an opportunity to hear from folks from around the country and the world about projects and opportunities for all of us.
The 2022 Rotary Global Peace Fellowship application is now available, and District 7780 needs your help finding the next cohort of global peace and development leaders.
Biddeford – Donald Pilon, President of the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club, (BSRC) officially signed a twinning agreement with the Cosmopolitan Rotary Club in Amman Jordan. The two Rotary groups met via Zoom to officially join as sister clubs. This is the second twinning outreach of this sort for the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club. The other sister club is the Rotary Club of Bideford, England. “It’s an honor for us to connect with such a talented group in Amman,” noted Pilon. “We have a great deal we can learn from one another.”
Like many other Rotary Districts, we celebrated World Understanding and Peace Day on February 23, 2021, Rotary's birthday. Our celebration this year was virtual with some great speakers - Brenda Cressy, Trustee of the Rotary Foundation; Rebecca Crall, Area of Focus Manager for Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention; and Shannon O’Rourke Kasali a 2016 Rotary Peace Fellow and Founder and Executive Director of Books for Congo, a non-profit organization that creates libraries and promotes reading in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In January the District received Round II of the Million Mask Challenge, more than 100,000 face masks and for the first-time children’s face coverings. Once again, all through the generosity of New England Rotarians and the Rossi Foundation, Rotarians are able to continue to distribute free protective facemasks to community groups that request them.
District 7780’s “Midyear Dinner” became “Leadership Opens Opportunities Forum” on January 25, 2021. This virtual event was open to all Rotarians in the District. Two speakers were highlighted:
Featured speakers included Governor Peggy Belanger, District Recovery Chair Bob MacKenzie, Pinetree Institute Executive Director Larry McCullough, along with three Rotarians who have completed the initial training on ACEs awareness. Brittany LaShier of Kennebunk, Cate Rafferty of Dover, and Moe Sullivan of Portsmouth briefed us on the training and how they are "paying it forward" by training others in their disciplines. Thirty people participated in the master-trainer education, which was funded by the district committee along with seven of our Clubs. Matching funds were provided by Kennebunk Savings Bank Spotlight Fund and the Maine Community Foundation.
Learn more about next steps for your Rotary Club on addressing adverse childhood experiences (indexed as an ACE score, often referred to as "ACEs"). Get new information about how positive community responses can help those with childhood trauma experiences. You are welcome to use this video for a Club program or to invite any of the panelists to speak at your Rotary Club.
As of early autumn, Maine had 140 deaths due to COVID-19 (9/23) and there were 442 COVID deaths in NH (10/1), including 104 in Rockingham County and 13 in Strafford County where our district’s Rotary Clubs are located.
Opioid deaths continue through the pandemic and are rising in Maine
As of March 30, Maine had 127 OD’s. As of August, NH had 200 OD’s with the highest per-capita rate occurring in Strafford County.
The Maine expectation for the first half of the year was the state would reach 259 OPIOID deaths, and at the end of the year at this rate Maine could exceed its 2017 overdose death rate (418).
New Hampshire reports 200 overdose deaths as of August 18, with a favorable decline for the year compared to the past several years: still, citizens are dying in both states. Covid-19 is not our only health crisis.
We ask your help with our Mission to keep the Opioid Epidemic Front of mind.
Forty-one clubs, forty-one teams of Rotarians working to make their home communities and the world a happier place in a challenging holiday season. Here is a small sample of holiday projects and fundraisers from around our district: if we missed yours, please know that your work is appreciated and honored, and send your stories for the next newsletters to rotarynews7780@gmail.com
Wednesday September 16, 2020 was a big night for Kennebunk Rotary Club of District 7780. They were awarded the 2020 Non-Profit of the Year award by the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber.
In addition, Rotarian Lesa Angelos was awarded The Chamber's DRIVE TO BE THE BEST COVID-19 Community All Star award.
What’s life like for people between the ages of 18 and 35 in the Boothbay Region of Maine? Through Rotary, young people take on leadership positions that expand their skills while they serve. Rotary does more than help during a crisis like COVID-19; it provides experiences that translate into a better future in any career.
On August 27, 2020, Rotary International President Holger Knaack and Nigeria National PolioPlus Chair Dr. Tunji Funsho congratulate Rotarians on eradicating wild polio in the African Region.
Click on the picture above to read this story on Rotary.org and watch the video.
District 7780 Rotarians met recently (by Zoom, naturally!) to talk about fundraising options in the age of COVID. Generally speaking, the group agreed that:
Any fundraising project can be done virtually or with social distancing – it just takes creativity and maybe some downsizing.
Good givers will continue to give, even in the tough times.
A club should think about its traditional sponsors. If they are a restaurant or other establishment hard-hit by COVID, this is not the time to approach them. If they are an insurance agency or utility or other organization that has not been hard-hit, by all means reach out to them.
It’s critical to advertise, advertise, advertise events and activities on social media and wherever possible. People are feeling cooped up and are looking for fun things to do.
Clubs in District 7780 are currently planning exciting fundraisers
The Covid-19 will interrupt delivery of the polio vaccine, as a result many children are at risk. Much planning is ongoing by Rotary and our partners to ensure that polio campaigns will be ready and ramped up to go as soon as it is safe to do so.
Contributions from Rotarians and from each club are needed now more than ever. Every club is asked to contribute a minimum of $1500 and to create awareness in their communities of what Rotary is doing. Each Rotorian and their club are the best public image voice for Rotary. To be a part of making history donate now at http://www.endpolio.org
Rotarians who joined the District’s Growth call in April shared best practices for virtual meetings, and we all learned a lot! Some clubs are getting better attendance at their virtual get-togethers than they did before COVID! Here’s how they are doing it:
1.Provide the Zoom info/call in data three times. Announce the call/speaker/agenda at the beginning of the week, repeat it a couple days in advance, and also an hour or two in advance. Each time provide the call-in info.
2. Consider a (slight) change in meeting time. There’s no point in having a Rotary meeting at mealtime if Rotary is not providing a meal - it just keeps the Rotarian away from his/her family meal. So consider running your breakfast meeting at 8:30; your lunch meeting either at 11:00 or 1:00, and a dinner meeting at 5:00 pm. or so.
This year clubs in our district will have the opportunity to not only nominate a candidate for District Governor but also a representative to the Council on Resolutions and the Council on Legislation, and, for clubs in York and Oxford County, a member of the Finance Committee.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE SELECTS DICK HALL TO LEAD THE DISTRICT IN 2021-22
Our Nominating Committee has selected Dick Hall of the Rotary Club of Portland to lead District 7780 in 2021-22. Dick will work closely over the coming years with Governor John LoBosco and incoming governors Andy Glazier (2019-20) and Peggy Belanger (2020-21).
Dick has become very familiar with many of our clubs through our Visioning program. He has served as a Visioning facilitator since the inception of the program in 2010, including leading the committee. Dick advocated for our district to also develop a vision and helped draft the district's strategic plan. Dick has served as our district's webmaster and as an Assistant Governor. He currently chairs our Youth Exchange Committee, while also serving as his club's Foundation chair. Dick's involvement with Rotary began at a young age - his father is a past district governor in Massachusetts. Dick has been a Rotarian since 1984 and has also been a member of the Lewiston/Auburn club. He served as president of the Portland Rotary Club in 2006-2007. Dick has been named a Paul Harris fellow many times and he is a member of The Rotary Foundation's Bequest Society.
Dick holds an MBA from Boston University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine. He has extensive experience as a project manager with SGC Engineering, where he focuses on alternative energy and power projects. In other areas of activity, Dick has served as Boy Scout Commissioner, coached Little League and girls' high school hockey, served on the environmental subcommittee of the Maine State Chamber, and been active with the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club and the Centerboard Yacht Club.
On behalf of the district, our governor wishes to thank the entire Nominating Committee for its service, including especially Carolyn Johnson, who chaired the committee. While we do not expect challenges to Dick's nomination, DG John has announced, in accordance with our bylaws, that any challenge must be filed with him on or before December 14. The challenge must be submitted by club resolution naming the challenging candidate.
Bob Smith to join Finance Committee in 2019-20
The Nominating Committee has selected Bob Smith of The Rotary Club of Portsmouth to join the Finance Committee for a three year term beginning July 1, 2019. Bob will serve as the representative from Division A (New Hampshire clubs). He will fill the seat currently occupied by Mike Asselin, whose term is expiring. Bob has worked in the financial services industry for the past 35 years, and is currently a financial advisor with Edward Jones. He holds a BS from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire. Bob assures us he "has an eye for detail" and is known for accuracy "to the penny." We look forward to having Bob join the committee in July, though we will truly miss Mike and thank him for his service.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE SELECTS DICK HALL TO LEAD THE DISTRICT IN 2021-22
Our Nominating Committee has selected Dick Hall of the Rotary Club of Portland to lead District 7780 in 2021-22. Dick will work closely over the coming years with Governor John LoBosco and incoming governors Andy Glazier (2019-20) and Peggy Belanger (2020-21).
Dick has become very familiar with many of our clubs through our Visioning program. He has served as a Visioning facilitator since the inception of the program in 2010, including leading the committee. Dick advocated for our district to also develop a vision and helped draft the district's strategic plan. Dick has served as our district's webmaster and as an Assistant Governor. He currently chairs our Youth Exchange Committee, while also serving as his club's Foundation chair. Dick's involvement with Rotary began at a young age - his father is a past district governor in Massachusetts. Dick has been a Rotarian since 1984 and has also been a member of the Lewiston/Auburn club. He served as president of the Portland Rotary Club in 2006-2007. Dick has been named a Paul Harris fellow many times and he is a member of The Rotary Foundation's Bequest Society.
Dick holds an MBA from Boston University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine. He has extensive experience as a project manager with SGC Engineering, where he focuses on alternative energy and power projects. In other areas of activity, Dick has served as Boy Scout Commissioner, coached Little League and girls' high school hockey, served on the environmental subcommittee of the Maine State Chamber, and been active with the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club and the Centerboard Yacht Club.
On behalf of the district, our governor wishes to thank the entire Nominating Committee for its service, including especially Carolyn Johnson, who chaired the committee. While we do not expect challenges to Dick's nomination, DG John has announced, in accordance with our bylaws, that any challenge must be filed with him on or before December 14. The challenge must be submitted by club resolution naming the challenging candidate.
Bob Smith to join Finance Committee in 2019-20
The Nominating Committee has selected Bob Smith of The Rotary Club of Portsmouth to join the Finance Committee for a three year term beginning July 1, 2019. Bob will serve as the representative from Division A (New Hampshire clubs). He will fill the seat currently occupied by Mike Asselin, whose term is expiring. Bob has worked in the financial services industry for the past 35 years, and is currently a financial advisor with Edward Jones. He holds a BS from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire. Bob assures us he "has an eye for detail" and is known for accuracy "to the penny." We look forward to having Bob join the committee in July, though we will truly miss Mike and thank him for his service.
International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on August 31 each year. IOAD aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or had a permanent injury as a result of drug overdose. Overdose Awareness Day has been a key remembrance event for those who have died from fatal drug overdoses since 2001. On August 31, thousands of people worldwide will stand beside the friends and families of fatal overdose victims to reflect on their losses. Hundreds of events are scheduled around the world on International Overdose Awareness Day to spread the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable.
In Maine, there are events scheduled in Portland and Bangor. The Portland event is sponsored the City of Portland’s Public Health Division and Needle Exchange Program’s outreach team. This year’s vigil will be held in Deering Oaks Park and will include speakers and education, as well as an overdose response training and narcan kits. The annual memorial wall will be featured to honored the lives lost to opioid overdose in our community. Lantern making and a walk through the park will end the event. For more information on the Portland event visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1857867257849731/ For more on the international cause, please visit www.overdoseday.com
Information about the Portland event:
Event: 5th Annual International Overdose Awareness Day Vigil
WHERE: York County Community College - Pratt & Whitney Building, 112 College Drive, Wells, Maine
TIME: 8:00 am - 12:45 pm
COST: $20.00 per person
What better way to welcome new members to the family of Rotary. It’s time again to pull your team together and register for the District Training Assembly (DTA). Once a year we gather to share ideas, fellowship and more than a few laughs. If you are a President, President Elect, Club Secretary, Treasurer, Foundation Chair or Protection Officer- this assembly is for you! Whether you are a new member or veteran member- there is something at DTA for everyone!
Interested in learning more about our year-long efforts at a District Strategic Plan- you won’t want to miss this opportunity to delve into the results and discuss implementation ideas. DTA is a great way to get all of your club members, officers and committee chairs networking, engaged and aware of what’s happening with the clubs in our District. Your friends and neighboring Rotarians will be showcasing their great work, promoting opportunities and leading discussions on how their projects and ideas are taking flight. For example; you’ll have an opportunity to see what kinds of International projects need partners, to hear best practices in putting together collaborative projects, to learn about the progress our district is making in the Opioid Recovery process and you’ll be the first to hear the winning speech of the Four-Way test competition- It’s all happening during the DTA!
(Includes new information as of September 30, 2017.)
Here is a summary of the three Rotary Foundation Donor-Advised Funds that will provide Hurricane relief from the recent storms.
Puerto Rico (Hurricane Maria), a new fund has been set up:
Account name: Puerto Rico Recovery Fund
Account #614.
Hurricane Irma: (Impact on Caribbean and Florida): Hurricane Emergency Relief Fund
Account #296.
Hurricane Harvey: Gulf Coast Disaster Relief Fund (Texas/Alabama region)
Account #608
Here’s how to donate to any of these three funds, which will be distributed under the direction of the Rotary districts involved in each region,
You can contribute by check or wire transfer or online with a credit card at the following link. You'll need to provide the DAF account name and number listed above. If you would like a credit card receipt, please check the address box to share your address with Rotary.
In addition, our district clubs are working on new communication channels to funnel more specific support to clubs in Southwest Florida and Puerto Rico. We will be sharing more information on these specific efforts in the coming weeks. Thank you for caring, and for making a difference in lives of neighbors who have been badly disrupted by these three hurricanes.
Dave Underhill, District 7780 Governor
Update on Rotary Hurricane Relief Funds and Efforts
District 7780 Recovery Initiative (our newest committee) was formed this year to assist clubs throughout the district in efforts to combat the substance use disorder and opioid epidemic that challenges all of our communities. The committee has just released information about a training session (Recognizing and Responding to an Opiate/Heroin Overdose) for members of the Kennebunk Rotary Club that will be held on Saturday, September 9, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the West Kennebunk Fire Department, 80 Thompson Road, West Kennebunk. Rotarians will be trained in how to recognize the signs of an overdose, how to perform first-aid, to include chest compression only CPR, as well as how to administer naloxone (the drug which reverses the affects of opioids). The committee would like to offer this training to all Rotary clubs in District 7780. If your club is interested in scheduling a training session or needs more information, please contact Kennebunk Police Chief and committee chair, Bob MacKenzie, rmackenzie@kennebunkmaine.us
Portland Rotarian Rusty Atwood is a volunteer with the club's CHE program- Childhood Hunger and Education
PORTLAND-Me: Rotary Club in Portland is helping to end childhood hunger while supporting education. Join the community at the inaugural Bar-B-Que Crawl (BBQ Crawl) in celebration of National BBQ Month. In fact, Portland Rotary is organizing the first annual BBQ Crawl and Poker Run Raffle to support efforts to end childhood hunger in Portland. This year the club is recognizing the centennial of our "Service Above Self" in the community and 100 years of friendships. Moreover, the Portland Rotarians are proud to announce The Locker Project as the club's charity of choice for this year's BBQ Crawl, schedule for Saturdays, May 21st, from 1:30-5:30 PM, at the Salvage BBQ, Elsmere, Terlingua, Buck's Naked BBQ and Binga's Stadium in Portland. Information and registration for the Poker Run Raffle is at http://portlandrotary.org/event/bbq-crawl-and-poker-run-raffle. The mission of The Locker Project (http://mainelockerproject.org) is to connect food-insecure children in Maine with nourishing food to improve their learning capacity, health and future. In partnership with the The Good Shepherd Food Bank (http://gsfb.org), The Locker Project helps to ensure food security for all Maine children through local schools. Additionally, The Locker Project works with schools to create programs for providing students with healthy class time snacks and take home food for the times when they are most likely to experience hunger. Rotarians in Portland are putting the issues of childhood hunger and education (CHE) at the top of the club's community services projects for the next five years. It is important for Portland Rotarians to raise awareness about the importance of ending childhood hunger and promoting literacy in Portland and in Maine. "Our club looks forward to engaging the community and service partners to involve them in our CHE activities", says Bowen Depke, President. Among the volunteers in the project includes Rotarian Rusty Atwood who says, "As past chairman of the Maine Children's Alliance, I am proud of the Portland Rotary's program to end childhood hunger, promote good health and education."
The Interact/New Generations is right around the corner on Saturday, March 26 from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Thornton Academy in Saco. Interacters, Rotoractors, Youth Exchange and RYLA students will gather for their annual conference. Rotarians and advisors are invited to attend as well. Rotarians may register online in the Events and Registration column on the homepage. Details for student registrations can be found here. The keynote speaker is Deepa Willingham. Registration deadline is March 10th.
As we are all rushing around to be sure we have the perfect gift for friends and family and are making plans for our holiday gatherings, let’s all just stop for a moment and think about those who are less fortunate than we are.
When you are making your holiday list and checking it twice, why not add a line to make a contribution this year to the Rotary Foundation?
What greater gift can you give than a gift to the world?
The Rotary Foundation enables us to combine our resources into a powerful force to fight hunger and disease, promote peace, give the gift of clean water, and promote healthcare and education where it would otherwise not happen. Just click on the "Donate to RI Foundation" link on this home page.
What better way to achieve peace on earth and good will to all.
Happy Holidays from Rotary District 7780!
Pay it Forward with a Gift to The Rotary Foundation
We’re looking for a Rotary member who will volunteer to fill an important role in District 7780: District Bookkeeper, to work with our District Treasurer and our finance team.
Is there someone in your club who might be qualified and interested?
The District Bookkeeper must have a working knowledge of Intuit QuickBooks, (preferably QuickBooks Online). A broad background in bookkeeping and GAAP, with an associates’ degree or equivalent business experience, is required.
We expect the job will require about 20 hours per month of service, most of it off-site (home or office-based) after initial training, which we will provide. The bookkeeper must have regular access to a computer, internet access and working skills with Quickbooks and Excel. Set your own hours, meet basic deadlines and serve Rotary from your own home or office.
The position supports the District Treasurer with distinct responsibilities that include:
Balancing reimbursement reports, preparing payments and invoices
Posting transactions to Quickbooks
Reconciliation of bank accounts
Recording cash receipts and making bank deposits
Maintaining the annual budget, generating financial statements, and supporting the District Treasurer, Governor and Finance Committee in other ways as requested
The bookkeeper reports to the Office of the District Governor and the District Finance Committee.
If you would like to know more, please contact Dave Underhill, Portsmouth Rotary Club, dave.underhill.nh@gmail.com , 603-706-3143. Please feel free to forward this email to Rotarians who might be interested and qualified.
If you are ready for a new Rotary experience, live the Four-Way Test and instinctively know the difference between a debit and a credit – you could be ready to serve. Thank you!
The District Vision and Planning Committee is hosting the 7th in our series of Vision to Plan Workshops on Thursday, October 29, 2015 . PRE-REGISTRATION (not payment) IS REQUIRED!
The Session will continue the work done at the last workshop, to help clubs improve the knowledge and skills needed to take a club’s vision and develop a strategic plan. We will continue to focus our efforts to help tie Rotary Club Central Goal Setting and Club Leadership Development planning work into the vision to plan (V2P) process. The Committee has developed training tools and documents to help you learn and effectively run such a process.
Event Details are:
Optional Social Hour: 4:45 – 5:45 PM: Snow Squall Restaurant, 18 Ocean St., South Portland, Maine 207-799-0811, with cash bar and appetizers for purchase. This has become a well attended social.
Workshop: 6:00 – 8:00 PM, S. Portland Housing Authority, 100 Waterman Drive, S. Portland, Maine (around the corner from the Snow Squall). Located just over the Casco Bay Bridge from Portland.
The registration cost of $9 (check made out to District 7780, or cash) covers a light meal and supplies. It can be paid at the door or, preferably in advance. Mail to: 11 Todd Road, Cape Elizabeth, ME. 04107. The invitation is open to clubs whether or not they have done a formal District vision event.
Session Details: We hope that representatives will bring their club ideas for 1 or 2 areas of focus, which are being formulated for this year. We will conduct exercises whereby we work as teams to develop goals and objectives for some of these focus areas. Membership, Fundraising, Community and International Service Projects, Public Relations and the Foundation will be part of the hands on work. We will tie V2P concepts to your Rotary clubs planning process.
Our committee is confident that this upcoming workshop will benefit all attendees.
On another note, we are interested in supporting individual clubs with either an initial vision session, a second vision event (as recently done at SPCE Rotary in May – see photo), or a club planning workshop, assembly or discussion. Contact us for details
It's the Heartblood of Rotary -- Get Involved in a Grant!
A Rotary Foundation grant -- either a small District Grant or a much larger Global Grant -- puts to good use the funds that we have previously donated to The Rotary Foundation, and makes a difference here in our own communities and also halfway across the world.
To take advantage of a Rotary Foundation grant in 2015-16, your club MUST send a minimum of two members to a District Grant Seminar this spring!
Already, one-half the clubs in the District have fulfilled this requirement -- Congratulations! For the rest of us, there are two Grants Seminars remaining:
Saturday morning, May 9, at Westbrook High School, Westbrook
Wednesday evening, May 13, at the MidCoast Maine Red Cross Chapter in Topsham
More information, registration, and details are available on the "calendar" section of this website! Sign up now.
Marty Helman and Peter Johnson
I am extremely pleased to announce that the District 7780 Nominating Committee has met and nominated David Underhill of the Rotary Club of Portsmouth, New Hampshire to be our Governor-Nominee. After he is elected at the Rotary International Convention in 2016, he will serve a one-year term as our District Governor-Elect and then, as our District Governor in 2017-18. David has been a Rotarian for nearly 20 years. He is the immediate Past President of the Portsmouth Rotary Club and previously served as President of the Brattleboro, Vermont Rotary Club. He lives in Portsmouth with his wife, Linda.
The Committee also selected Ron Bennett of the Rotary Club of Portland, Maine for a three-year term on the Finance Committee, commencing July 1, 2015. Ron is a long-time CPA and past-treasurer of the Portland Rotary Club.
I know you will all join me in congratulating David and Ron and in expressing our gratitude to them for stepping up to accept leadership roles in our District.
Thanks to our District's past giving to The Rotary Foundation, $38,435 will be available in 2015-16 to the Clubs for District Grants. One of the annual requirements to qualify either for one of these grants or for a Global Grant is for your club to send two club members to a Grants Management Seminar. The dates for these seminars this year will be:
Wednesday, March 18 -- 5:30 - 8:00 p.m., Cumberland Club, Portland (note: This Seminar was only recently added to the schedule)
Wednesday, April 8, Portsmouth, NH Country Club, 5:30 pm
Saturday, May 9, Westbrook, ME Middle School, 8:00 am
Wednesday, May 13, Topsham, ME American Red Cross chapter house, 5:30 pm
Application for a District Grant must be submittedbyJune 1. So register for a Grants Seminar right away!
Young Professionals Summit, held in Chicago in September, gave Rotary leaders ages 25 to 40 the chance to share their Rotary experiences, reflect on their stories, and exchange ideas. Participation in the summit was by invitation - and included Portland Sunrise Rotarian Sam Heck. This video shows some of the work of that weekend and the ideas that came from it. How might your club benefit from the ideas presented here? Young Professionals Summit video
Peter Johnson is bringing the good news about the Rotary Foundation's history and charitable projects to all clubs on his tour of District 7780.
The Rotary Foundation was established in 1917, but the endowment began to grow after the 1947 death of Rotary Founder Paul Harris, when a large number of contributions were received as memorial gifts. In 1957, Rotary International established the Paul Harris Fellow recognition award for all Rotarians who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to the Rotary Foundation.
PDG Peter Johnson (left) with Rotary Club of Portland Foundation Chair Amy Chipman who presented the Paul Harris Fellow recognition to Robert Clark (center), his first award. Joining the photograph is newly installed Portland Rotarian Karen Dempsey Carney with President Kris Rosado, on October 3, 2014 in Portland.
To the District 7780 Rotarians who were at the Membership/Foundation Seminar for Kristi's presentation and talk about "Membership as a Relationship," here are a few reminders -
Toby Pennels, a 13-year member of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club, died Thursday morning, September 4th, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash in early August. Toby was a longtime Windham resident who served 11 years on the local school board, helped organize the Sebago Lake Rotary Club’s Ice Fishing Derby, and served two tours of duty in Iraq.
An exciting adventure awaits your Rotary Club, as a potential Sponsoring Club of a Rotary Outbound exchange student and the Host Club of a fascinating Inbound Student from France, Italy, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Brazil, to name a few. This program will expand your horizons as they've never been expanded before. This program provides the following opportunities for a student:
· Live in another culture
· Learn another language
· Make lifelong friends
· Become more confident
· Represent America
If your Club would like to be a part of this exciting adventure please contact the District Chairman of Rotary Youth Exchange to request a visit to your Club for more details on how this program works.
Rotarians and Clubs throughout District 7780 are invited to participate in a unique event to help feed hungry people in our communities. It is quite simple. Dozens of volunteers work on a food assembly line packing dry ingredients into smaller plastic bags, heat seal them, pack them into boxes, and deliver them to local food pantries to be distributed to area residents.
How can 7780 Clubs be involved? Donate funds to help purchase dry ingredients and/or volunteer to work on the Food Packaging line. Any donation amount or any number of volunteers is welcome; a guideline is $1000 purchases 4000 meals and takes 12 volunteers working about 2 hours to package. Working with our partners, End Hunger NE and Outreach Inc, we have the potential to provide delicious and nutritious meals to tens of thousands food insecure people in our district.
Fun, good food, and an opportunity to pick up some great auction items while supporting the Clubs’ various community projects. Bid on a wide range of items: vacation get-aways, unique experiences, arts and crafts, dining certificates, and valued products and services donated by local merchants, artists and supporters. Unique experiences: How about getting your name in a local author’s next book? Riding in an antique auto? Painting workshop with local artist? Lobsterman for a day? Fly fishing lesson? Enjoy the hospitality and delicious appetizers provided by King Eider’s Pub and Stone Cove Catering at 1812 Farm, Route 130 in Bristol Mills about 6 miles south of Damariscotta. $5 suggested donation at the door. Cash bar. Credit cards accepted for purchases. Open to the public, but space is strictly limited – arrive promptly. All funds raised are returned to the communities served by the Lions and Rotary Clubs of Damariscotta-Newcastle.
FMI, including opportunity to reserve a table 207-677-3403.
The Rotary and Lions Club of Newcastle Annual Auction
The Rotary Club of South Portland Sunrise will be selling grilled food items at the annual Art in the Park on Saturday, August 9th , 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The event is being held at Mill Creek Park in South Portland.
South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Rotary has been presented the Significant Achievement Award. The Rotary International award, which recognizes that service begins at home, acknowledges clubs that identify a local need and finds a way to address it. Its purpose is to encourage clubs to find new and meaningful projects that address a local need, to promote awareness of exemplary club efforts, and enhance awareness of Rotary in the local community. This year, of the more than 32,000 Rotary Clubs worldwide, 209 were selected to receive this high honor. Though this was a great example of a fully engaged club, mention must be made of President Ellie Speh and Project Leader Tony Wagner. Congratulations, South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Rotarians, for Engaging Rotary and making a difference in your community!
Starting Sunday, June 22 for four days, 120 high school youth are learning leadership skills and teamwork at the Rotary RYLA program ongoing at Boy Scout Camp Hynes in Raymond, Maine. Want to get in on the excitement? The best time to come is on Tuesday , June 24, late afternoon/early evening for the final campfire. This is when all the leadership gro Tuesday is our final campfire where all of the campers get the opportunity to perform a skit that best describes their experience at RYLA. Following the skits, volunteers are introduced and thanked, and then the youth have the opportunity for more reflection on what they have learned and experienced. Contact Sarah Leighton, assistant Camp Director, sarah.k.leighton@gmail.com
A rainy and cold start but still the 2,500 Trekkers biked, all for a good cause raising funds for healthy air - 2014 marked the Trek Across Maine's 30th anniversary of cycling for healthy air in Maine! From the mountains in Bethel, to the sea in Belfast, all experienced Maine from border to border at the largest American Lung Association cycling event in the country. Our Rotary team provided great awareness for Rotary and Polio Eradication. The American Lung Association also assists polio survivors with respiratory issues!
This year, 13 clubs fromour District used Rotary Foundation grants to support projects important to their local communities or an international community where they have a special interest. Six Rotarians from our District traveled to Uganda on a cultural exchange - all supported by our previous support of the Foundation. Every Global Grant includes a bit of our individual contributions - dams to provide clean water in India, hearing aids and prosthetic hands in the Dominican, books and teacher training in Guatemala, medical equipment in Mongolia - and so many other projects developed and managed by Rotarians to improve and change lives for the better. The dollar amount isn't important, what is important is that we each support our Foundation on a continuing basis because it is our contributions today that determine the resources available for service projects that we determine in the future.
Rotary received extensive media coverage throughout 2013, with more than 626 news organizations in 35 countries featuring our humanitarian efforts.
Of those, 58 articles appeared in top-tier international news outlets, including nine out of the 10 most influential as ranked by Forbes magazine, including the Associated Press, The New York Times, BBC, Agence France Presse, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Rotary’s role in the fight to end polio was highlighted in top-level, global media at unprecedented levels last year. And Rotary’s partnership with its celebrity ambassadors for polio eradication helped raise our digital visibility to new audiences via posts on endpolio.org and social media outlets.
Pihcintu Multicultural Chorus, the youth group that performed so movingly at the District Conference, has several members whose families are refugees from the horrors of war in Sudan. They know first-hand what it is like to spend all of one’s waking hours simply trying to survive, with little thought to the luxury of school. And so the chorus has decided to raise money to build a school in South Sudan in honor of Malala Yousafzai — the Pakistani girl who the Taliban attempted to assassinate because of her desire to get an education. Already, the governor of a territory in South Sudan has donated the land upon which to build this school.
The District Changeover event promises to be something special!
On Thursday evening, June 19, Rotarians from across the District will depart at 6:00*pm by Ferry Boat (Aucocisco) from Casco Bay Lines terminal in Portland for Peaks Island. The festivities at the Inn on Peak's Island are only a short distance away. Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available. The program will include thanks from outgoing Governor Carolyn, swearing-in of new club presidents by incoming RI Director Julia Phelps, skit by Sanford-Springvale club, and remarks by incoming Governor Lawrence. Tickets are $50 per person, including ferry ride and food; registration is available by clicking on the district calendar (at left).
RYLA is just around the corner and that means it's time to register students NOW. All registration information and forms are available on the RYLA homepage which can be reached through a link under "youth services" on www.rotary7780.org. It is one stop shopping this year as we have consolidated everything into one document.
Three District 7780 Rotarians leave March 11 for Guatemala on a Rotaplast trip to correct cleft lip/cleft palate anomalies. This is part of a multiyear commitment by our District to support these missions ... After their mission begins, follow their progress on their blog: http://rotaplast.typepad.com/missions/
Meanwhile, the District Cultural Team is headed for Uganda. They will exchange musical notes, build community and bring back possible grant ideas, and their blog is available via a link from this page (at left) or directly at: http://martyhelman.wordpress.com.
Calling all high-school age videographers! Make a video and win the contest!
Content of the video should illustrate The Rotary Four Way Test, and answer the question: "How can I use the 4-Way Test to make good decisions in my life?" The situation can be anything that teens deal with: Social situations, bullying, substance use, academic pressure -- anything that's real.
The reimbursement request form on the District website has been updated to account for the new federal mileage rate change of 0.56 cents per mile for mileage in 2014. This reflects a slight uptick from the 0.565 for 2013 mileage. District officers, District committee members and AGs: Please download (from column at left) and use the updated form when submitting reimbursements to District Treasurer Patty Rice. Plus remember: It's critical to submit an expense form on a monthly basis -- please do NOT wait until the end of the year to seek reimbursement -- this makes it very difficult to track and budget our ongoing expenses!
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a marvelous opportunity to learn more about this movement that we call Rotary. Through a series of Saturday all-day workshops, Rotarians (both newbies and more experienced members) enjoy interactive sessions led by seasoned Rotary facilitators. Whether your goal is club leadership or just to know more about how Rotary gets done the great humanitarian work we do, RLI is a great way to learn more and make new friends at the same time. The spring calendar includes an RLI session on March 1 in Wells, ME, and other sessions in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. For more info and to sign up, check out the RLI website: www.rlinea.org.
Note: Registration will close 10 days prior to the scheduled event.
Congratulations to Marge Barker, of the Rotary Club of South Portland-Cape Elizabeth, who has been selected by the District Nominating Committee to be our District Governor in 2016-17! Marge is currently serving the District as Assistant Governor, and she is also our RLI chair! Welcome to the governor lineup, Marge!
All clubs must participate in a Foundation Grant Management Seminar each year. Two members of each club should come: perhaps the club president, president-elect, or club foundation chair, but any and all are welcome. Come and become more familiar with the stewardship aspects of grants management as well as some practical realities and enthusiasm for the good work we do around the world.
Three sessions are scheduled, and Rotarians can attend any one of the three. Cost is $10 per person, with a snack provided at the opening, followed by the program. To register, go to the district home page, select the session you wish to attend from the event listing on the right side, and register there.
· Wednesday, March 12, 5 - 8:30 PM. Portsmouth NH Country club.
· Saturday, March 29, 8:30 - 12:00 PM. Westbrook ME Middle school café.
· Thursday, April 3, 5 - 8:30 PM. Topsham ME Red Cross Chapter (16 Community Way, across from entrance to Highland Green).
The District is urging all clubs to collect funds and food for their local food pantry on Saturday, February 22. Borrow a school bus, stand outside your local supermarket and ask shoppers to "stuff the bus" with donations for their neighbors. That evening, all District Rotarians are invited to come together to Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland for a delicious but frugal feast that will feature speakers talking about the hunger problem and solutions here in our own communities. The dinner will cost a modest $25 which will include a small donation to The Rotary Foundation. So come on out for the "Stuff the Bus" and/of the "Frugal Feast!" See you there!
Want to meet our District's newest Rotarians? Kittery After-Hours meets every Thursday evening at 5:00 p.m. at Warren's Lobster House -- 11 Water Street in Kittery -- for a drink and appetizers. The meeting is informal, the feeling is camaraderie and fellowship, and already the club is engaged in fundraisers and service projects. The club is "provisional", which means it isn't yet officially chartered, but that will come in due course. Meanwhile, drop by to welcome Kittery After-Hours into the District! You'll be glad you did!
RI President-elect Gary C.K. Huang chose Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-15. Huang was inspired by the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius who said: "It is better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness." "There are so many problems in the world,” said Huang. “Many people say, 'There's nothing I can do.' So they sit there doing nothing. Meanwhile everything stays dark." Huang spoke to the 537 Governors-elect including our own Lawrence Furbish at the 2014 International Assembly in San Diego last week.
All sitting Club Presidents, Presidents-elect (who will serve in 2014-15) and Vice Presidents (who will serve in 2015-16) are invited to the Mid Year Leadership Dinner to be held at the Fireside Inn in Westport, ME, on Monday evening, January 27. Registration is on this website -- click on the calendar listing at right! See you there!
Due to water pipe cracking and damages at Capt. Daniel Stone Inn the Brunswick Rotary Club Monday noon meetings will not be held there again until Feb 24th. The following are our temporary locations? Visitors are always welcome.
Feb 3 – Inn At Brunswick Station
Feb 10 – Inn At Brunswick Station
Feb 17 – Presidents Day Holiday – No meeting
Feb 24 – Capt. Daniel Stone Inn (if repairs completed!)
Robert Raiche, the Portsmouth Rotarian who founded Friends Forever, died on January 1 at age 85. Bob famously believed that you don’t know truly know someone until you spend time with that person in a lifeboat, and in 1986 he brought together a group of Protestant and Catholic teens from Northern Ireland — teens who had been taught from birth to hate one another— and placed them in a “liferaft” program for several weeks where they soon learned that they had more in common than they had previously thought. Bob's legacy is the hundreds of young people who have gone through the Friends Forever program in the years since to learn peace. Bob’s legacy is these young people, and his story proves that one person can truly make a difference.
Congratulations to District 7780 for the incredible support given to our Rotary partner, Shelterbox. The District response to the disaster caused by Typhoon Haiyan, the largest and most devastating hurricane on record, has been tremendous. To date the District has provided over $23,000, which will benefit up to 30 families, according to ShelterBox USA staff. A total of 1700 Boxes have been delivered and tents erected, with more on their way. The total deployed Boxes is expected to reach 7800 by the end of February 2014.
Mary Bastoni, a member of the Fryeburg Area Rotary, is putting her vocational skills to work for a good cause this holiday season. She has completed a Christmas CD, and all the proceeds will go to help a local Fryeburg man who has lost all mobility due to ALS. "I thought this would make the season a little brighter for his family," says Mary, who is a voice teacher at University of Southern Maine. She will also be going on the District cultural exchange to Uganda in March.
The District road trip to bring Christmas to Lac Megantic was an awesome success! Santa's reindeer aren't stopped by a little weather, and neither are the Rotarians of this District. The $25,000 raised by clubs throughout the District made it possible to give a teddy bear to each elementary school child in town, to create a "Christmas Bazaar" where parents could select gifts for their children, and to restock the food pantry. Plus, we were followed by the press all weekend long -- and were covered in both English and French for the work that we were doing! Thanks to all the clubs that participated, and thanks to the leadership of Biddeford-Saco club in making this project such a success!
Final District interviews for potential Outbound Rotary Youth Exchange students will start on Wednesday, December 11 and continued until all candidate interviews are complete.
Please submit your candidate's application (pages 1-3, inclusive of the student letter and parents letter) to District Chair, Dru Laduke (druladuke@gmail.com) by Friday, December 6.
Have you bought your ticket? A Guatemalan quilt is being raffled to help support our District's work with Rotaplast and cleft-lip surgeries, and the winning ticket will be drawn February 22 at the World Understanding and Peace Dinner.
The six-person team that will go to Uganda for a cultural exchange based on the music arts has been selected. Congratulations to Mary Bastoni, Fryeburg Area; Curt Combar, Freeport; Ken Brunsvold and John Dennen, Brunswick Coastal; Jennifer Davis, Kennebunk; and Marty Helman, Boothbay Harbor. The team will travel to Uganda for two weeks in March, and a group of high school musicians will travel from Uganda to this District in May to take part in a "Friends Forever" - like "lifeboat" experience.
The Rotary Club of Damariscotta-Newcastle joined again this year with Kieve-Wavus Education Inc. to host the “Friends Forever” visit in Mid-Coast Maine from Oct. 19 through Nov. 2. The group presented programs or were involved with activities hosted by the Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Damariscotta-Newcastle, Brunswick/Brunswick Coastal, Portland and Falmouth Rotary Clubs.
Rotarians and others who intend to contribute at least $1,000 annually to The Rotary Foundation (Annual Programs Fund, Polio Plus, or to a Qualified Grant) are eligible to become members of the Paul Harris Society.
The District Nominating Committee announces that nominations for the positions of District Governor (2016-17) and member of the District Budget and Finance Committee (Area B: A member of a Rotary Club in York or Oxford Counties, ME) may be submitted. All nominations must be received by the District Governor by January 10, 2014.
Do you have suggestions for changing the rules for Rotary? Recommendations to change the frequency of meetings? Allowing snowbirds to join a club in both their summer and winter residences? A new Avenue of Service? You can shape how Rotary operates by proposing rules changes for the 2016 Council on Legislation.
Congratulations to Dalit Wolfe from Brunswick Coastal, Cate Rafferty from Dover and Ellie Andrews from Bethel, who have been selected to go as non-medical volunteers on the District's next Rotaplast mission, which will take place in Guatemala in March. In addition, Ted Alex from the Portsmouth club will be volunteering with the Rotaplast mission to New Delhi, India, in November.
Our own Mike McGovern was on hand when former GSE Team Leader Mike Omotosho from Nigeria was honored in Evanston for his donations to The Rotary Foundation. Mike was inducted as a member of the Arch Klumpf Society, which means he has given a lifetime total of $250,000 to The Foundation.
District 7780 Rotarians are invited to apply to take part in the cultural exchange to Uganda. The team will travel to Uganda for two weeks during the spring of 2014 and will include six Rotarians with a music background or talent - singers, instrumentalists, and/or dancers. Spouses and friends of Rotarians may also apply.
As our District nears its fundraising goal for the Rotaplast mission to Guatemala March 9-23, 2014, our thoughts and good wishes are with the Rotaplast team currently in Cebu City, Philippines. On October 15 a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck on the island of Bohol, near Cebu. All patients and Rotaplast team members were safe, but the hospital was evacuated and Rotarians were hard at work helping wherever needed. Pictures of Rotarians in action, and Wrap-A-Smile quilts, can be seen on the Rotaplast blog: www.rotaplast.typepad.com.
Will Neilson, current president of Bath Rotary Club, has won the City of Bath Al Smith Community Spirit Award for his remarkable community outreach. Neilson was lauded for his devotion to Bath and his committed involvement with Bath Rotary, the Main Street Bath Economic Restructuring Committee, the Bath Freight Shed and his service as chairman of the Greater Bath Elder Outreach. The city “values his enthusiastic participation and passion for community service and thanks him for his dedication to our community."
Bernie Wyman, chair of the city council, is also immediate past president of Bath. and the presentation was made by Erika Benson, current president of Bath Sunrise!
Below is an ad that the Hampton Rotary ran in their local paper recently to drive awareness for what they're doing to make their community a better place for less fortunate folks.
Congratulations on a terrific ad that let's people know why we are Rotarians.
Emmy Award-winning actress Archie Panjabi will talk about her work as a Rotary ambassador for polio eradication on World Polio Day, 24 October, at a special Livestream presentation by Rotary and the Northwestern University Center for Global Health. The 90-minute event – World Polio Day: Making History – will be held before a live audience at 17:30 Chicago time (UTC-5) at the John Hughes Auditorium on Northwestern’s Chicago campus.
Last July, an unattended train carrying 72 tank cars careened out of control and into the center of town of Lac Megantic, Quebec, destroying a community and many of its citizens. District 7780 is embarking on a project to help.
The District will be loading its third container of mobility devices -- crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, canes -- on Saturday morning, October 12. This is cast-off equipment that would find its way into our landfills, but in Ghana, where it is going, these crutches and canes make it possible for recipients to lead decent, productive lives. To volunteer to help load the shipment, contact Dennis Robillard, risc@maine.rr.com, and plan on being at the warehouse at 95 Industrial Road, Saco, starting at 9:00 a.m.
Have you ever wanted to learn about different parts of the world? Or have a life changing experience? Let me tell you that the Rotary Youth Exchange program IS the program for you!We're looking for Rotary host families willing to open their homes and their hearts to an impressionable young person having the great adventure of their life, as well as Rotary volunteer and club involvement at all levels. Read on ...
PDG Ann Lee Hussey has scheduled a polio immunization trip to Nigeria from Nov 4 to Nov 14. While in-country, the team will administer polio drops and vitamin A supplements, visit Rotary projects and clubs. Trip cost including airfare, hotel, meals and in-country transportation is approximately $3500.
Our District hosted the first-ever Mongolian Group Study Exchange team member back in 2011. He was a medical doctor, accustomed to working without sufficient medical supplies that have been in short supply since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Now, a Rotary Foundation Grant is under way to change that situation and send medical equipment to Mongolia. You can get involved!
The 2014 Rotary International Convention will be held in Sydney, Australia from June 1 to 4, and it promises to be a “not-to-be-missed” event. If you have attended an International Convention before you don’t have to be told, and if you haven’t, it is an incredible experience. When you see the streets and convention spaces filled with thousands of Rotarians from all over the world, many of them in their colorful, interesting, and unique local dress, you truly appreciate what an international organization we belong to. The plenary and breakout sessions are always interesting but perhaps the best part is the chance to meet and talk with so many interesting Rotarians from around the globe.
The District Vision Facilitation/Planning committee is planning a workshop for already-visioned clubs which will be held Thursday, September 26, at DiMillo's Restaurant in Portland. Rotarians from visioned clubs as well as District leaders and District facilitators are encouraged to attend. This is District 7780's third in a series of workshops to help visioned clubs develop and execute long-term planning, and Rotarians who have attended previously will tell you how critical this meeting can be! The format is an exchange of ideas forum to help club members evaluate the goals set forth in the visioning process.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) was created to promote all Rotarians' knowledge and leadership skills and to provide a platform for future leaders of our Rotary clubs. Classes are held in locations throughout New England. Registration is $75-$95 including breakfast and lunch, depending on individual facility costs; many clubs, recognizing RLI's value, help their members defray this expense. Coming up soon:
Singers and instrumentalists wanted! District 7780 Rotarians are invited to join an eight-member team of musicians to travel to Uganda for 10-14 days in March 2014. You can be an ambassador in our unique, cultural exchange project! Share music and arts in performance in urban Kampala and travel to villages, learning with local artists in the community, and establishing a cultural connection through the arts. The outbound team's expenses will be partially supported by our District Grant from The Rotary Foundation. Sign up now -- and be part of the New Rotary Foundation!
Join all Rotarians interested in improving their club's membership engagement and outreach at the District's Membership Seminar which will be held at the Regatta Banquet Center in Eliot, Maine (right over the NH border), on Friday afternoon, October 4. Our Keynote Speaker will be Brad Howard, who will offer new strategies to the age-old topic of Membership when he answers the question, "Why Rotary?" Come to learn, renew your perspective on membership, and while you are at it, enjoy fellowship the way only Rotarians can.
South Berwick-Eliot is hard at work turning its Rotary Foundation Community Grant into reality! The club received a grant to create a Great Works School Reading Garden at Marshwood school -- a place for reading and quiet reflection with art, science, math and other classroom activities that will be enhanced by a natural environment for fourth and fifth grade students from the two towns. Rotary and community members are working to have this new space ready for use when the students return to school. Here's another example of The Rotary Foundation making a difference in our own community!
K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran, a member of the Rotary Club of Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, has been selected by the Nominating Committee for President of RI in 2015-16. Ravindran will become the president-nominee on 1 October if there are no challenging candidates. Ravindran said his top priority for Rotary will be to increase membership, which he called the bedrock of any organization. “The emphasis on membership has to continue with focus on the younger generation,” Ravindran said. “Additionally, we must seek to attract the just retired and experienced people into Rotary.”
Does your club have a service project it wants to get off the ground? Our District has $7300 additional Foundation funds available for Community and Springboard Grants. Applications are due (electronically) to District Grants Coordinator John Atwood by midnight of September 1. Application forms and guidelines are posted under the Foundation tab on the home page of the District website.
On Saturday, September 14, a District-wide service project is planned at Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine. Camp Sunshine is the only venue in the country that provides a camp-based setting for both seriously ill children AND their families. You can learn more about Camp Sunshine and the vital work that takes place there at www.campsunshine.org. Many Rotarians remember District workdays at Camp Sunshine from some years ago, and many clubs throughout the District continue to support the Camp.
Camp Sunshine has asked for Rotarian help with a project involving landscaping, gardening, and fall clean-up. On Saturday, September 14th Rotarians - with friends and families - will join for service, fellowship, and support for this unique facility. There's plenty of work for young hands and Interactors will be providing childcare for younger children. Large equipment will be provided, but a few extra shovels will be needed - and remember to bring garden or work gloves. We'll finish the day with a cookout for all and the satisfaction of a job well done.
The Portland Club is planning to apply for a Global Grant from The Rotary Foundation to pay for hearing aids, prosthetic hands and water filters -- plus hand-washing stations and latrines in La Romana, Dominican Republic. This is part of a relationship between Portland and La Romana that goes back a decade, and most recently say a 17-member service team of Rotarians from Portland, South Portland Sunrise, and Singer Island of Florida that visited La Romana in April and were able to fit 120 hearing aids, 75 LN-4 prosthetic hands, and install 80 water filters in homes.
At the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon, Portugal on June 25, 20,000+ Rotarians from 160 countries gathered to cheer the latest polio announcement. Rotary and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced an extension of their existing fundraising partnership that could generate up to US$525 million for polio eradication. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match two dollars for every new dollar Rotary spends on polio eradication, up to US$35 million per year, through 2018.
District Foundation Grant applications are reviewed by the District Grant Screening Committee. Under the leadership of District Grant Chair John Atwood, the committee is comprised of nine Club Foundation chairs from throughout the district. They met in June to review club applications for this year's Community and Springboard Grants. Their recommendations were forwarded on to the District Foundation Committee.
The Foundation Committee made a few modifications, with the result that six Community Grants and three Springboard Grants were approved and funded. Clubs are being notified of the results this week, and a summary of funded projects will be posted in next week's bulletin.
Not all of our available dollars were allocated in the initial funding cycle, so the Foundation Committee is reopening the window for grant applications, with a new deadline of September 1.
This year’s RYLA program was as full of energy, passion, commitment, and kindness as any I’ve ever been part of. A total of 113 students and 36 volunteers from across the District took part in the 2013 RYLA conference held at Camp Hinds in Raymond, ME. New additions to this year’s program included a swinging tire traverse (built by the Scarborough Club via a District Simplified Grant) and an exciting adventure course titled The Crash.
How would you like to help change a child’s life? The District Rotaplast committee is initiating a Rotary Foundation Global Grant to support a mission to Retalhuleu, Guatemala, March 9-23, 2014. This will be a trailblazing effort to use Rotary Foundation funds to provide free reconstructive surgeries for more than 100 children who now live in the shadows with cleft lip or palate anomaly. We hope to have both medical and non-medical volunteers from our Rotary District on the team. Please visit www.Rotaplast.org to review specific volunteer opportunities and to download an application.
One-Two-Three! The District is about half-way toward filling a third container of mobility devices to send to Africa, and the plan is to be ready for the shipment in the May/June time period. Gently-used crutches, walkers and canes provide mobility and dignity to recipients in Africa, and sending them there keeps them out of our landfills! For more on Crutches-4-Africa, contact Dennis Robillard, dennis@risc-now.com.
The Newtown Rotary Club has established the "Newtown Rotary Sandy Hook School Fund" to help victims and their families with both short- and longer term needs. Please refer to the club website, http://www.newtownctrotary.org, for contact information and progress reports. Connecticut's District Governor Brian Amey, a member himself of the Newtown Rotary Club, writes, "Sandy Hook School is a wonderful school and we have worked with them over the years with such things as the Dictionary Project and we hope it will not be too long before we are visiting the school again, distributing books."
Want to learn more about Rotary? Want to position yourself for leadership opportunities in your club or the District? Want to know more about the programs and opportunities available to Rotarians but not sure who to ask? Want to spend a great day meeting like-minded people from throughout the District and beyond? Then the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is for you! RLI is a chance to get together on a Saturday and immerse yourself in Rotary. Facilitators are long-time Rotarians who enjoy sharing Rotary opportunities. RLI will be coming to us in District 7780 on March 2nd in Wells, ME, to Lebanon, NH on April 13th and to Peabody, MA on May 4th. (just to name a few of the sites)
Rotarians are pitching in to help communities in New York and New Jersey recover in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The Rotary Districts in the Tri-State Area have come together, and have created a single staging area to help in recovery. The work continues! Go to www.nynjrotary.org for continuing updates of the situation, a list of the items most needed, and where to send tax-deductible checks.
A multi-district meeting designed to share best practices to manage and grow our youth programs -- Interact, Youth Exchange, RYLA and Rotaract -- will be held Saturday, December 8 in Boxborough, MA. Come on Friday evening to receive training in Youth Protection from a representative from ESSEX, our Youth Exchange oversight organization. Stay through the day on Saturday to hear from our youth and their advisers on topics ranging from best practices to start new clubs, to possible service projects designer-made for our youth, to ways to ensure that we integrate our youth programs with Rotary. (A special hotel rate is available from the Holiday Inn in Boxborough!) Sign up via the link available via the calendar listing for Next Generation Zone Meeting at right.
LEARN MORE: Best Practices To Build Rotary Youth Programs
Brunswick Coastal's John Dennen received the Service Above Self Award from Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka at the Brunswick lunchtime club meeting on Monday, July 2. John was honored for his work over the past two decades to provide humanitarian relief to his native South Africa. In accepting the award, John said that it really belonged to the entire Brunswick Coastal club, which has been with him every step of the way. John and his club have raised almost $1 million to help out in pediatric AIDS care.
A soggy evening and rapid dash to dry quarters couldn't dampen the spirit of Rotarians who came together to be inducted into their new offices by RI president Sakuji Tanaka, and who once again proved that Rotarians have more important business at hand than to worry about the weather. A great time was had by all.
Six District clubs are part of an international group that has joined together through a Rotary Foundation matching grant provide a well, toilet block and box culvert (for year round road access) in Fulani Doka Mai Jama'a, a small village in Kaduna State, Nigeria.
ShelterBox has become part of the United Nations
Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) network, which holds emergency relief goods in warehouses in five continents. Both organizations recently signed a technical
agreement that allows for ShelterBoxes to be stored at these Humanitarian
Response depots in five locations: Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America
and South East Asia. The strategic location of each depot and their
locality to potential disasters facilitate the deployment of relief items
within 24 to 48 hours. They are also close to airports and ports enhancing the
rapid transport of relief items to the country where the disaster has struck.
This saves time and donors' money so more families in need can be helped
worldwide.
Alison Pelczar, in a stellar performance recited her winning four-way test essay on cyber bullying to a packed audience at the district conference in Freeport. Alison, sponsored by the Scarborough Rotary Club is a junior and interact student at the local high school. She plays field hockey and runs both indoor and outdoor track. Alison loves writing and has completed one novel and is almost finished with her second one. Congratulations to Alison and the Rotary Club of Scarborough!
If your club has an idea for a new service project that will help people in your own community (or overseas), than you might consider applying for a District Simplified Grant. These grants are small -- typically no greater than $2000 -- and must be completed within one year. And while we are on the subject: Final reports from those clubs that engaged in Simplified Grants in 2011-12 are now due!
A historic resolution by the World Health Organization (WHO) will declare polio a global health emergency in the upcoming World Health Assembly to be held from May 21 to 26. Even as the world celebrates India's success in stopping active polio virus circulation, the threat of importation is worrying countries across the world.
Rotarians from 10 Districts and 90 clubs -- including 10 clubs from our District -- banded together and have raised $412,000 through a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant to help our neighbors in Vermont and New Hampshire who lost their homes and possessions during Hurricane Irene last fall. Rotary Foundation Grants are most frequently associated with supplying humanitarian needs in developing nations, but can also be used to support humanitarian needs right here at home. For more, click on the "Foundation" pages of this website.
Rotarians Provide Relief to Hurricane-struck New England
Thailand is known as the "Land of 1000 Smiles," and since there were 34,000 Rotarians at the International Convention in early May, all smiling at the experience, it didn't take long for someone to come up with the idea of creating the world's largest smile and applying to get into the World Record Book. Hundreds of Rotarians in blue and yellow slickers came together to make it happen!
Rotary Showcase is Rotary International’s newest social media tool that helps Rotarians share service initiatives with the Rotary family and beyond. Users can add their club’s service projects, exchange ideas with other Rotarians, and explore the wide variety of activities that Rotary clubs are undertaking worldwide. Toot your own horn! Include your club’s service projects on Rotary Showcase right now! Visit www.rotary.org/showcase for more.
Is your Interact or Rotaract club planning to participate in this year’s Global Youth Service Day on 20, 21, and 22 April? Register your project, find ideas and resources, and see what other clubs are doing around the world at www.gysd.org.
RYLA, our District's leadership program for high school sophomores (rising juniors) is now accepting applications for students to attend the camp-based program in late June. Each Rotary club may send up to 10 students to the program, which teaches leadership, teamwork, and respect in a camp setting. The program lasts only a few days but the effects last a lifetime; details and an application are available here: http://www.clubrunner.ca/portal/SitePages/SitePage.aspx?accountid=50088&pid=45694.
SOLD OUT! The District Changeover /Lobster Bake on Sunday, July 1, is completely booked! Rotarians are coming from throughout New England, Quebec, and as far away as New Jersey and New York to share the Changeover Day with Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka at Spruce Point Inn in Boothbay Harbor. To read more about it, download the flyerhere andclick here . For directions, set your GPS to 88 Grandview Avenue, Boothbay Harbor, Maine.
Our Group Study Exchange Team under the leadership of Lawrence Furbish is currently in Germany and will return in late June. You can follow their travels and adventures while in Schleswig-Holstein via http://gse-germany2012.blogspot.com/.
Judy and I would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended the District 7780 World Understanding and Peace Dinner and to congratulate all of the incredible “Ambassadors of Peace” who were nominated by our clubs based on their local and international service. Please take a moment to read the complete story of each of our Ambassadors as submitted by our clubs.
D.G. Gary
"Ambassadors of Peace" Named at World Peace Dinner
On Saturday March 24, Club Leaders from throughout our District will gather at the University of Southern Maine - Portland Campus for a day of learning about Rotary opportunities, fellowshipping, and sharing some cool things that clubs are currently doing which maybe your club could be doing as well. New this year: the District Assembly will be co-located with the annual Interact Conference, and our high school Rotary youth will join the adults for plenaries plus have breakouts of their own. Then, in the afternoon, we will have a special one-hour Leadership Seminar for District Committee members and chairs -- all interested Rotarians are also encouraged to participate. Registration is $30 for adults; $18 for Interacters, and includes both continental breakfast and lunch. To learn more and to register, go to the
events calendar or the
flyer. The registration deadline is March 16.
Join the Portland Club at their annual Sweetheart regifting auction this Friday, February 10, when nice-but-unloved items are donated and auctioned off for charity. Because of the expected crowd, the club's venue will change this week only to the Clarion Hotel, just off Rte 295 on Exit 5A. Cost for lunch is $12, with all the fun thrown in for free, but club secretary Loretta Rowe (lrowe@maine.rr.com) would appreciate a head count by Wednesday, Feb. 8. Next week, the Portland club will meet back at the Holiday Inn by the Sea.
Interested in the District budget and how your membership dollars are invested? A webinar is scheduled in February to help you learn more. On Monday Feb 27, District Treasurer Skip Kreahling will go through the proposed 2012-13 budget in detail. The webinar starts at 6:00 p.m., and require advance signup -- only one logon per club, please! You can sign up through the online calendar feature of this website; check the left hand column of this home page under events. And see you online!
Rotary International President-elect Sakuji Tanaka has announced the Rotary theme for 2012-13: It will be "Peace through Service." President-elect Sakuji pointed out that "peace" is often defined by what it is not: an absence of violence. But he said that peace is many different things to different people: Security, freedom, the knowledge that one's children are properly fed, and so on. President-elect Sakuji believes that peace is the essence of what Rotarians do, and he has charged the movement to think in terms of peace as it designs service projects. His speech came during the International Assembly in San Diego, which involves training and fellowship for all governors-elect.
Seven Rotarians from our District were members of a Rotaplast humanitarian mission to Togo -- and the first Rotaplast mission to take place in West Africa. They provided reconstructive surgery for cleft lip/cleft palate patients in the West African nation. The District Rotaplast committee under the leadership of Bill Dunn worked tirelessly to raise the money ($50,000) to pay for the surgeries; the 7780 team paid their own expenses. Check out their blog for more about this life-changing trip:
The
Rotary Club of Portland is planning a trip to the Dominican Republic in January to deliver and fit prosthetic hands through the Give Hope, Give a Hand Project. These prosthetics, known as LN-4 hands, cost only $50 apiece, and give confidence,
freedom, and an ability to work to those who have suffered a loss of a portion of their arm and hand. The hands have been
successfully distributed in many countries aiding victims of violence, accidents and land mines. More information can be found at www.LN-4.org. If you are interested in participating in the January trip, contact George Crockett at gcrocke2@maine.rr.com.
Our neighboring Rotary Districts in Vermont are setting up a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant to help our neighbors whose homes and lives were washed away by Hurricane Irene. The grant will provide home heating oil and replenish food supplies in the affected areas. Our district has pledged $10,000 in Foundation funding (DDF in Rotary parlance) and Governor Gary's challenge to all clubs to participate resulted in 19 clubs raising a total of $9,500! That money, together with money raised from clubs throughout New England and throughout the world, means that more than $400,000 will go to our neighbors right here at home! The generosity of Rotarians is truly heartwarming.
Protestant and Catholic youth from Northern Ireland are here in our District as part of the Friends Forever program, which started over 20 years ago as a Portsmouth Club project, and has grown with the years. The program brings together youth who have been taught to hate each other since birth together in a "liferaft" program that forces them to rely on one another and to learn that they have more in common than they think. Check out the photo album at left for more of their doings in our District (see menu at left).
Want to learn more about the Rotary Foundation, and the incredible work it does? Want to find out about the Rotary Foundation programs ongoing by clubs in this District? Then the Rotary Foundation Roadshow is for you. The District Foundation Committee is setting up three evening events designed to reach as many Rotarians as possible, especially those folks who have never been to a District Foundation Seminar. They will be held:
On Oct. 24, Rotary observes both World Polio Day and the birthday of Dr.
Jonas Salk, who developed the world's first safe and effective vaccine
against this crippling and sometimes deadly disease. And during that
week, we also celebrate the fact that the world is on the verge of
eradicating this disease, thanks to the work of Rotary and its partners. During the week of 24-28 October, Rotarians will receive 2-for-1 recognition for every contribution of US$100 or more made to PolioPlus at www.rotary.org/contribute.
Do you know a young professional who would benefit from a month's immersion in another culture? This year's Group Study Exchange (GSE) will spend four weeks in northern Germany in late May, 2012. They will home-stay and be hosted by Rotarians and will visit professional and cultural sites in the Hamburg area. In exchange, the Rotary District in Hamburg will send a team to visit us for one month beginning in late April. All 7780 clubs are encouraged to sponsor young professionals to make up the GSE team.
The container of mobility devices collected and sent by 7780 Rotarians has arrived in Nigeria and is being distributed to people in need. Following is a note of thanks from a young woman who received a walker which is changing her life. "First, I thank Rotary for giving me a new vista of hope. I'm 25 years old. I never had a boyfriend even when my mates are already married. I understand: Who would like a wife that slips her palms into flipflops and crawls around the apartment?
"That is why I won't use crutches anymore. I'll use the walker. I must learn how to use it so I can put my feet on the ground and stand and kiss my boyfriend like a woman. I'll learn how to use it fast. I don't plan to lose this boyfriend, at least not because I can't stand and talk with him in the house. Rotary, God give you a vista of hope for making me a human!"
Be an active participant in a polio immunization campaign, attend a Rotary Peace Conference, attend the charter night of five new Rotary clubs, explore potential projects, meet and work with Rotarians from Mali. Develop new relationships, make lasting friendships, and experience a new culture. All this and discover a new way to "give thanks!" Trip cost including airfare, hotel, meals and in-country transportation will be approximately $3,100. If you wish to be part of this team, please contact PDG Ann Lee Hussey, annlee001@yahoo.com.
A Real Thanksgiving: Join a Polio Eradication Mission to West Africa
A total of 21 clubs applied for District Simplified Grants, so the District Foundation Committee was faced with some tough decisions. In the end, 10 grants submitted by 11 clubs (two clubs came together with their grant request) received awards for community projects. The projects were chosen based on criteria including:
How many club members will be actively involved in the project?
How many community members will be directly affected by the project?
Will the club and Rotary receive good PR from the project?
Congratulations! And read more to learn about the winning grants:
PDG Elias Thomas is organizing a trip to India to take part in a National Immunization Day to vaccinate children against polio. While there, the group will work with Rotarians in New Delhi, to assist a village in the construction of a water conservation dam in cooperation with the Rotary India Water Conservation Trust. For more information about this trip, which will take place February 9 - 12, 2012, please contact Elias Thomas by email: ethomas@metrocast.net.
Hurricane Irene has played havoc in Vermont. Many people have lost their homes, and schools that are being used as shelters cannot open for the school year. A number of clubs are sending money and supplies; efforts are underway to set up a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant to provide fuel oil and restock food pantries in the affected area. Stay tuned to this page for more information and ideas about how your club can help.
One way that future, current and past District Governors learn what's new in Rotary is at annual Zone Institutes. The most recent Zone Institute was held in Boston in late August, between the earthquake and hurricane Irene. It was a chance for future governors Marty Helman and Carolyn Johnson to meet their year group and learn from the experts, and then all governors gathered for plenaries (and parties). Check out the photo album at left for more of the gala gathering.
September 8 -- International Literacy Day -- is fast approaching. Literacy means getting books and computers to children and adults who need them, but it means more than that. Literacy also means understanding geography, understanding math, and knowing where to go to get questions answered. There are lots of ideas on this website of how you can make a difference in a child's life through literacy -- check out the Literacy site page (at left) and follow some of the links to see how Rotarians everywhere are making a difference.
More
than 10 million people are affected in drought-stricken Ethiopia,
Kenya, and Somalia, including 3.7 million who are at risk of starvation, in the worst famine in the region in more than half a century. In response to the humanitarian crisis, the Rotary Foundation has established the Rotary Horn of Africa Famine and Refugee Relief Fund, which will support recovery projects in the affected areas.
The Casco Bay club is planning a matching grant to bring water, a toilet block, and basic sanitation to a small village in Nigeria. At the current time, women in this village carry their water back to their homes on their heads, and the community defecates in the fields. Already, Exeter and Boothbay Harbor have pledged to support this project. If your club is interested, please contact the Casco Bay club.
Kathy Thrall, Bethel Club's Foundation chair, has been named as "District 7780's Outstanding Unsung Hero" by Governor Gary for her vision, compassion and dedication. Kathy's efforts to raise funds through selling quilted luggage tags to buy a portable x-ray machine for the kids of Project Hope in Les Cayes, Haiti, are truly awe inspiring. Because of her efforts, other Rotary Clubs and donors have been inspired to contribute a total of $27,000 toward this project. For more about Kathy and other District 7780 club news and projects, check out the August newsletter (click on the drop-down tab at top labeled "news and events," then on the Newsletter).
Ron D. Burton, a member of the Rotary Club of Norman, Oklahoma, has been selected by the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary
International in 2013-14. "This is an exciting time to be a Rotarian," Burton says. "I
believe we are well poised to capitalize on our strengths as we embrace
the [RI] Strategic Plan and the Future Vision Plan. My vision is to have
every Rotarian appreciate what it means to be a Rotarian. With these
two tools, we can make that happen."
"All of us in Rotary are looking to change the world -- why else would we be Rotarians? We believe that our world can be happier, healthier, and more peaceful, and that we can create that better world through our service ... We must understand that true change can only begin with each of us, and start within us. We cannot share peace with others if we do not have it to give. We cannot look after the whole world without first looking after those closest to us: our families, our clubs and our communities."
--From the Rotarian, "A Message From Our RI President," July 2011
Club visioning -- an opportunity for clubs to plan what they want their club to look like and to accomplish over the next few years -- is ongoing in this District. Visioning is especially critical in an organization such as ours in which club and District leadership changes every year, but goals remain constant. To learn more, check out the Visioning pages on this site.
Camp RYLA, the District's leadership program for students who have just completed their sophomore year of high school, brings together over 100 young people who learn about leadership strengths and styles in an adventure camp setting. RYLA director Bob O'Connoll (Dover club) and assistant director Jared Avery (Scarborough club) created an extraordinary four days of exploration at the Boy Scout Camp Hines in Raymond, Maine. One-third of the participants are Interactors; all came away knowing more about themselves and about the great programs Rotary offers to young people. Check out the Photo Journal at left for more of the fun.
Our 2011-12 District Governor, Gary Speers, hails from the Rotary Club of Damariscotta-Newcastle. Gary's classification is law enforcement, and he is a retired police chief from Normal, Il. Gary and his wife, Judy, also a committed Rotarian and immediate past president of the Damariscotta-Newcastle club, moved to Maine in 2003 and Gary transferred his membership to the Damariscotta-Newcastle club at that time, becoming club president in 2006. Gary and Judy have spent their lives working with young people from both home and abroad, and Gary is emphasizing the needs and concerns of youth during his governor year.
Is your club planning a new service project? Would you like some support from the Rotary Foundation to fund it? Your service idea may qualify for a District Simplified Grant if the project is (a) new to the club; (b) something that can be accomplished this Rotary fiscal year (before next July); and if it involves a fair number of people in your club, will help a goodly number of people, and will provide good PR for your club. Complete requirements and application are on this link. But don't wait, because the deadline to apply is the end of July!
Rotary District 7780 comprises 1900 Rotarians in 40 clubs in southern Maine, coastal New Hampshire, plus one community in Massachusetts. We are a diverse group of men and women, business leaders and community builders, who come together for a common purpose: Service Above Self. Together, we help our neighbors in our own communities by funding our local food pantries and scholarship organizations, and we are also active in numerous programs and service projects in the world community. Our Rotary family is rounded out by two Rotaract clubs in local universities, and by almost two dozen Interact clubs in high schools. Both these programs show young people the value and joy of service. Check out these pages to learn more about our activities!
The Westbrook-Gorham Club has received Rotary International's Significant Achievement Award for its ongoing House Project, a partnership between the club and the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center. Since 1957, through student construction and sale of Rotary houses -- almost one every two years -- the club has been providing scholarships, tool-ships and construction trade experience to graduating seniors. The award recognizes individual Rotary club projects that address the most pressing needs of their communities. Only 143 of these awards were made worldwide this year. In accepting the award, 2010-11 club president Pat Plummer (shown here) spoke of the decades of commitment that made the award possible, and introduced the many past presidents of the club who came out to show their support.
If you have been to a Rotary International Convention i nthe past, than you know how exhilarating it si to be with 20,000 or more other Rotarians from around the world, learning about projects and programs to help promote our values, enjoying great speakers and entertainment, and generally celebrating all that makes Rotary unique.
And if you have never been to a Rotary International Convention, the one upcoming May 21-25 in New Orleans is a great place to start.
The RI Convention is not only an opportunity to celebrate a successful Rotary year; it's a chance to learn statategies that will help you become more effective in your Rotary service. From inspirational plenary sessions to informative workshops to the House of Friendship -- Rotary's exhibit hall of programs and projects -- Rotary's annual international gala offers unparalleled networking and fellowship opportunities.
For more information, check out the rotary.org website and click on "International Convention," or email Billy Hobbs: whobbs@maine.rr.com
Rotary's International Convention Set for New Orleans in May
Rotarians, here is an amazing opportunity to travel to iNdia the Rotary way. Be hosted and cared for int he homes of India's Rotarians while seeing some of the most memorable sights you will ever experience.
There is no better way to create better understanding than through person-to-person contact and building fellowship through cross-cultural exchanges. Ture friends are made when they share a dinner table.
Dates for travel have been extended to accommodate our holidays: District 3060 will host us in late January or February as a District team. Consideration should be given to the NID dates of January 16 and February 20 as they can be included in the two-week travel time if desired. Airfare, limited meals and personal expenditures should be your only cos as you and your spouse will stay in homes, not hotels.
Give serious thought to participation in this first-ever opportunity for District 7780. You will enjoy the finest hospitality from the District of our 2011-12 Rotary International President Kalyan Bannerjee.
May 1-16, 2011, offers the opportunity to host Rotarian couples from District 3060 here in our District. Please let DG Ann Lee Hussey know if you are willing to host -- consider it another GSE opportunity
Our Group Study Exchange team has been meeting throughout the late fall to prepare for their trip to Hong Kong and Macao, which begins the end of February. Led by Exeter Club member and physician Burt Dibble, the team of five young healthcare professionals will visit hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities while in China. Then, in mid-April, a team from China will visit our District and learn more about healthcare in the United States.
Our District was very fortunate to receive the support and interest of four excellent, committed Rotarians, who were willing to undertake the responsibility of serving our District as GSE Team Leader. Our task was to select one GSE Team Leader, as well as one alternate GSE Team Leader from the 4 qualified candidates. We are pleased to announce that the following Rotarians have accepted to serve our District as GSE Team Leader and Alternate for the upcoming exchange with Hong Kong District 3450:
(1) As GSE Team Leader: Frank Burton Dibble, M.D.
Burt, as he is called, is a member of the Rotary Club of Exeter. He has been a Rotarian for 5 years and has served as his Club's Sargeant At Arms, Fundraising Chair, and is a member of the Club's Executive Committee and Community Service Committee.
Burt worked as a family medicine practitioner for over 30 years. He is currently an Urgent Care Clinic Physician with the U.S. Veteran's Administration.Burt has served as President of the New Hampshire Academy of Family Physicians, as a Member of the Board of Trustees of
the New Hampshire Hospital Association and as Chair of the Medical Records Committee and Credentials Committee at Exeter Hospital. He is delighted to have been selected as GSE Team Leader and looks forward to representing our District and preparing the team for the
exchange with Hong Kong.
(2) As GSE Team Leader Alternate: Susan Shirley Christ, R.N.
Sue is a member of the Rotary Club of Newburyport and has been in Rotary for 12 years. She is currently Foundation Chair and Literacy Chair, as well as President-elect of her Rotary Club. She is also the Chairperson of the District's Friendhsip Exchange. She has served as Club
Secretary, Sargeant at Arms and Vice-President and has chaired numerous Club Fundraising events. She has also spearheaded a District Simplified Grant for Safe Sleep and a Foundation Matching Grant for a Pacemaker project in Africa. Professionally, Sue has managed a
cardiac physician practice in Newburyport, a hospital affiliated group practice and most recently a family practice in Exeter, NH and a psychiatric practice in Newburyport. Her community service outside of Rotary includes membership on the Salvation Army Community Board,
President of the Swasy Fund, Inc. and Past President of the Newburyport/Bura Alliance. As the alternate, Sue will participate in the training and orientation sessions and will be prepared to step into the position on short notice if needed.
On Tuesday, October 5th, the GSE Selection Committee will meet again, this time to interview the Team Member applicants. Thus far, we have received applications from five very qualified young professionals, including registered nurses, a physical therapist and a mental health social worker. The deadline for team member applications is October 1st. Please be sure to continue to get the word out in your clubs and throughout the District, as GSE is a wonderful opportunity to provide a young person who works or lives in our Distict with a transforming once-in a-lifetime experience, as well as to educate our community about the goodwill that Rotary promotes throughout the world through GSE and other programs.
Our thanks to all who applied. Respectfully, District Governor Ann Lee Hussey and District GSE Chair Grace Connolly.
GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE TO HONG KONG Deadline Extended to Oct. 1 for GSE Team Member applications!
And now for something completely different .................
A memorable event is coming your way.
This year we will have a District Foundation Retreat which will be held at Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake in So. Casco, Maine on October 14. Rotarians will have an opportunity to join in "Fireside Chats" with an RI Director and other Foundation experts during the afternoon.
Followed by special cocktail receptions and a 6PM dinner with special guest speaker RI Director John Smarge. "Fireside Chats" offer groups a unique learning experience through interactive discussions to discover more about our Rotary Foundation and its programs and how we can tap into its resources to fund our projects and, in so doing, continue our work of building communities and bridging continents.
For those whose schedules allow, Lodge accommodations will be available to Rotarians at special discount, and the discussions will continue over breakfast.
Stay tuned for more information about this exciting opportunity to learn more about the Rotary Foundation and to enjoy the hospitality and quiet beauty of Migis Lodge on the shore of Sebago Lake in the midst of a glowing autumn palette only a New England afternoon can provide.
And now for something completely different .................
This year we will have a District Foundation
Retreat at Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake in So. Casco, Me on Thursday,
October 14, 2010. The Retreat will offer Rotarians a chance to join in an
afternoon of "Fireside Chats" for a true interactive learning
experience with an RI Director and other Foundation experts. These will
be followed by cocktails and dinner at 6PM with special guest speaker, RI
Director John Smarge.
Enjoy in depth Foundation discussions and
discover how we can tap its resources to fund our projects, and, in so doing,
change the world as we continue Building Communities and Bridging Continents.
For those whose schedules allow, Lodge
accommodations will be available at special rates and discussions will continue
over breakfast. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more information
about this exciting opportunity to learn about the Foundation's programs and
enjoy the hospitality and quiet beauty of Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake with the
glowing autumn palette only a New England afternoon can offer.
And now for something completely different..............
This year we will have a District Foundation Retreat at Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake in So. Casco, Me on Thursday, October 14, 2010. The Retreat will offer Rotarians a chance to join in an afternoon of "Fireside Chats" for a true interactive learning experience with an RI Director and other Foundation experts. These will be followed by cocktails and dinner at 6PM with special guest speaker, RI Director John Smarge.
Enjoy in depth Foundation discussions and discover how we can tap its resources to fund our projects, and, in so doing, change the world as we continue Building Communities and Bridging Continents.
For those whose schedules allow, Lodge accommodations will be available at special rates and discussions will continue over breakfast. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more information about this exciting opportunity to learn about the Foundation's programs and enjoy the hospitality and quiet beauty of Migis Lodge on Sebago Lake with the glowing autumn palette only a New England afternoon can offer.
During the first Rotary club meeting on 23 February 1905 in Chicago, Paul Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Hiram Shorey, and Silvester Schiele met to talk about their personal experiences. Harris then unfolded his general plan for their club meetings.
This was the simple beginning of the world's first service club, the Rotary Club of Chicago. It was created because of Harris' wish to capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth. The Rotary name derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices.
Rotarians continue to take pride in their history. In honor of that first club, Rotarians have preserved its original meeting place, Room 711 in Chicago's Unity Building, by re-creating the office as it existed in 1905. For several years, the Paul Harris 711 Club maintained the room as a shrine for visiting Rotarians. In 1989, when the building was scheduled to be demolished, the club carefully dismantled the office and salvaged the interior, including doors and radiators. In 1993, the RI Board of Directors set aside a permanent home for the restored Room 711 at RI World Headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Evanston.
The 2 Cent Sale is Ogunquit Rotary’s biggest fundraiser. This extremely popular event features gift baskets, raffle tickets, silent auction, food and fun for all. Anyone wishing to have more information should contact Tracy Smith at 207-646-2261 or oguncam@hotmail.com
The 3rd Annual Alec Cyr Fishing Tournament will be held the weekend of July 12-13, 2014. The monies raised from this event benefit the Saco Bay Back Pack Food Program and a variety of charities in the Saco, Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach communities. Club members and our local Interact Clubs are currently selling raffle tickets with several large prizes that include a Yamaha Outboard Motor valued at $2,000, a Sea Kayak and a $500 VISA gift card. Raffle tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25.
Does your club have a project that could benefit from Rotary Foundation monies? The daedline to apply for Springboard and Community Foundation Grants is June 1! Information and application forms on on this website -- go to the drop-down tab marked "Foundation" and you will find everything you need to apply.
Kudos to District 7780! We were the only district with perfect attendance at PETS. Every PE in the district registered and attended. They were inspired by fabulous speakers, benefited from new and revised training modules, had the chance to network with PEs from all over New England and Canada and, mostly importantly, had a lot of fun. Here is what District 7780 PEs are saying:
“A word of warning: I have just returned from NEPETS and I am a bit on fire. … (someone) may have to bring out the fire hoses and cool me down.”
The District Foundation Committee is pleased to announce the projects supported through District Foundation Funds. As a result of District 7780 Rotarians’ past support of The Rotary Foundation, this year’s District Grant totaled more than $36,000. Recommendations of how to allocate these funds came from your input at our District Foundation Seminar in October 2012. Nine Club Foundation Chairs met in June, and again in September, to review applications and recommend which projects to fund.
Being a member and team leader of the GSE team to Nigeria has been an honor. I appreciate the opportunity to experience another culture from the perspective of sharing and learning.
This year’s GSE team was made up of a unique group of individuals that work with, in one way or another, special needs children.As a team, we traveled to 11 different schools, an orphanage, and a blind workshop for adults.
The District Conference is the place to be May 17-18! In addition to a stellar lineup of speakers, clubs will be sharing best practices of local and international projects, and the good times and fellowship will be what this District does best. A full agenda and registration options are available on the District website -- just go to www.rotary7780.org and click on the magician's hat (Conference logo). But don't wait! Registration closes April 15 -- that's in just two weeks.
District 7780, our local clubs and members together are making significant impact all around the world. Check out some of the matching grant activity that our resources, expertise and passion are committed to making a difference in this Rotary year.
China Water Project, India Water Project, Guatemala Literacy Project, Crutches 4 Africa and JADA water project in Nigeria, hearing aids, hands and water filters for the Dominican Republic, vocational school equipment, container and shipping to Haiti, and a separate grant for a generator, pump, water storage tank and solar panels for a village and vocational school also in Haiti.
The District Conference is the place to be May 17-18! In addition to a stellar lineup of speakers, clubs will be sharing best practices of local and international projects, and the good times and fellowship will be what this District does best. A full agenda and registration options are available on the District website -- just go to www.rotary7780.org and click on the magician's hat (Conference logo). Click here for a preview:http://vimeo.com/rotary7780/discon2013
Current club Presidents, Presidents-elect and Vice Presidents -- plus Assistant Governors and Past District Governors -- are invited to the District's annual Mid-Year Leadership Dinner to talk about club goals and to share successes. Be there! The event takes place Monday, January 28, in Westbrook Maine. To register using credit card or by check, go to the event page.
Gary C.K. Huang, a member of the Rotary Club of Taipei, Taiwan, has been selected by the Nominating Committee to be President of Rotary International in 2014-15, the year that Lawrence Furbish will serve our District as Governor. Huang says his vision for Rotary is to increase membership to more than 1.3 million.
Come to the Changeover Dinner at the Harraseeket Inn set for Thursday, June 23! Celebrate the year just passed with Governor Ann Lee Hussey and look forward to a new year with Governor Gary Speers. See you there!
Chris Cassidy, a York High School alumni, visits Ogunquit to speak about his journey as a US Navy Seal & Astronaut. With the sponsorship of the Ogunquit Rotary, proceeds from the event will support the National Medal of Honor Museum. 
On November 4, 2022, District 7780 held the One in a Million Foundation Celebration at Halo at the Point. Thanks to Don Chick for taking some wonderful pictures that night!
The District Prosthetics Team last visited the Dominican Republic (DR) in January 2020, just before the pandemic shut everything down. Based on that trip’s experience and the non-travel time during the pandemic, the Team has been evolving the design for prosthetic hands to address issues with the previous, manually-operated design. At the same time, the agency the team works with in the DR, Centro de Protesis, has started construction on what will be the first prosthetics clinic in that country.
At the District Training, Phil Giordano, Scarborough Rotary member and recent past RYLA camp director, was presented with Rotary's highest honor, the Service Above Self Award. This award recognizes Rotarians who demonstrate Rotary's motto, Service Above Self, by volunteering their time and talents to help others. The award is internationally competitive, and is granted to no more than 150 Rotarians worldwide.
In 2015 District 7780 sent a cultural exchange team to Bulgaria, after the initial outreach was done by then District Governor Lawrence Furbish. That two-week visit was followed up by a Bulgarian team touring our district the following year. 
Join with Rotary this week to promote the power of vaccines
According to the 
Recently, 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.
By: Sarah MacGillivray, 
November is Foundation month -- a celebration of OUR Rotary Foundation. As you probably know, The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit organization supported solely by contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world. This support makes it possible to fund projects, with Foundation grants, that bring sustainable improvement to communities in need around the world. 
Members of Biddeford-Saco RC and Saco Bay RC, along with D7780’s new Rotaractors from University of New England, cleaned Bay View Beach in Saco ME on Saturday, September 25th. It was a gorgeous day to be together caring for our community. PDG Peggy was excited to introduce UNE Rotaract Club President Emily Birdsall (pictured in photo w/PDG Peggy). Many thanks to Rotarian and UNE Professor/Rotaract Coordinator Mike Burnham for organizing this project. Photos highlight members enthusiasm for a job well done. 
Message from 2020 - 2021 District Governor Peggy Belanger
How much do we know about the Global Grants our Clubs sponsor? True, we hear about the proposed project when funds are sought and maybe even hear about the awarding of a Global Grant, but is that enough? Unless we’re actively involved in the project or the fundraising, it’s likely that our understanding is somewhat limited. In discussions with Emma Bodwell, Chair of the District’s International Service Committee (DISC), she expressed concern that our international work is often very low key. In an attempt to increase our understanding, I’ll attempt to highlight one of our recent Global Grants here.
By: Michelle Lester - Brunswick Rotary
The Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, based in Boothbay Harbor, ME, has pledged $15.5 million to The Rotary Foundation to start a 
By: Emma Bodwell DISC7780 Chair
Biddeford – Donald Pilon, President of the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club, (BSRC) officially signed a twinning agreement with the Cosmopolitan Rotary Club in Amman Jordan. The two Rotary groups met via Zoom to officially join as sister clubs. This is the second twinning outreach of this sort for the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club. The other sister club is the Rotary Club of Bideford, England. “It’s an honor for us to connect with such a talented group in Amman,” noted Pilon. “We have a great deal we can learn from one another.”
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July 18th at 1812 Farm – 5 pm to 8 pm.png)
The Rotary Club of South Portland Sunrise will be selling grilled food items at the annual Art in the Park on Saturday, August 9th , 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. The event is being held at Mill Creek Park in South Portland.
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