We all know Rotary's tremendous power to transform our communities and ourselves. However, in every community, people have been left out, and we have not made a strong enough effort to reach them. The RI Board of Directors is taking action to make Rotary more welcoming and diverse. We formed a task force to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion to help clubs attract new members regardless of gender, race, religion, age, or other factors. At the grassroots level, clubs drive inclusion and diversity. Rotary has a big enough heart. If we open our door wider, we might find a lot of interesting people with new voices and new perspectives. We already have a variety of clubs offering different styles, cultures, and opportunities — and those who do not feel welcome in any particular club might be great candidates for new clubs created on different models. It's important that we make sure every new Rotary member is a good fit for their club. Rotary Opens Opportunities through diversity.
District Governor Lisle Chase Monthly Message
Rotarians in District 7030 have shown that we are indeed People of Action as we share our common vision and deliver on our plans to create lasting change. We are increasing our impact through our support for Rotary’s premier focus which is the eradication of Polio. November is the month when we as Rotarians focus attention on OUR Rotary Foundation. We celebrate the many outstanding achievements through, what has become, our seven Areas of Focus. Your District is behind you 100% as you continue to adapt and seek out the countless opportunities that open up every day. Remember to embrace your Rotary family, make sure that we leave no one behind as we grow our membership. “Friendship is the foundation upon which Rotary was built; on no less firm foundation could it have stood” – Paul Harris. Also, never forget the "5th part" of our Four Way Test – Is it FUN?
Watch District Governor Monthly Video Message
Rotary Monthly Focus
This year, the month of November means so much more than it did before. As the pandemic continues to impact us, we have seen how The Rotary Foundation (TRF) together with Rotary and Rotaract Clubs all around the world have made a difference in the lives of millions who are in need. Please use this month to make your contribution to the TRF Annual Fund so we can continue to assist persons and communities in meaningful and impactful ways. No contribution is too small. At the end of the month, clubs that have contributed will be recognized by the District, and those Rotaract Clubs which have contributed at least US$50 will also received a special “Giving Club” certificate from RI. Please visit rotary.org/donate to make your contribution to the Annual Fund today.
District Monthly Special Events
Highlights of Last Month
One Caribbean - A Multi-District World Polio Day Online Event
On 24th October, District 7030 partnered with Districts 7000 (Puerto Rico) and 7020 (the Northern Caribbean) to broadcast the first ever multi-district event for World Polio Day in the region titled One Caribbean. The event was streamed online simultaneously in three languages (English, French and Spanish) and brought together inspirational messages and updates from Rotarians, Rotaractors and special guests from across the region. In case you missed it or just want to watch it again, check out the recording of this historical event that brought us all together on World Polio Day 2020.
Infinite Possibilities Series 1: Women In Rotary
INFINITE POSSIBILITIES: Women In Rotary! – A four-part membership series presented and hosted by District 6960 concluded in October. It offered Rotarians the unique opportunity to hear from some of the most dynamic speakers in Rotary, and get a front row seat to learn from major Rotary International speakers such as Sylvia Whitlock (the 1st female Rotary Club President), Jenny Stotts, Past Rotary International Vice President Dean Rohrs and current Rotary International President-Nominee Jennifer Jones. Topics focused on Rotary history, celebrations, challenges, vision, encouragement, enthusiasm and motivation to grow your membership with each one-hour webinar well worth participants' time and attention. Catch up on any or all four sessions...you will not be disappointed!
Coming Up This Month
09th November: Reconnect Week Virtual Event
On Monday 09th November at 07:00 p.m. (GMT-4), the District 7030 Alumni Committee presents a special virtual event aimed at actively engaging Rotary Alumni. This discussion forum allows clubs and members in District 7030 to further connect with alumni and to share experiences, networks, and ideas for staying involved in Rotary. The Reconnect Week Virtual Event targets not just alumni but former Rotarians as well. PDG David Edwards and Regional Membership Officer Audley Knight will conduct an interview session with a former Rotarian and a Rotaractor turned Rotarian showcasing their respective experiences and highlighting Rotary's current flexibility and innovative club models to better accommodate members. All members and friends of the Rotary Family are invited to join.
14th November: The Rotary Foundation – Grants & Giving
Hosted by the District 7030 Foundation Grants team on Saturday 14th November at 2:00 p.m. (GMT -4), a valuable session on The Rotary Foundation – Grants & Giving will provide members updates on Polio Plus, information on how to prepare an effective Grant application and innovative ways to give to our Foundation. Featuring speakers include: PRIP John Germ (End Polio Now champion), AG Rita Merkies (RC Willemstad) and Owen Standley (Owen's Odyssey). All members and friends of the Rotary Family are encouraged to join.
19th November: Transforming The Way We Eat
The Healthy Caribbean Coalition, in partnership with Rotary District 7030 and the Caribbean Association of Nutritionists and Dieticians, is pleased to announce a joint special webinar: Transforming the Way We Eat: The Relationship between Agriculture, Food and Nutrition and NCDs. This online event will focus on the value of investing strategically in agricultural practices and eating what we grow to address food insecurity. Key experts will expand on how individual and community-level strategies can be used to practically and sustainably improve health outcomes by improving access to healthy local foods as part of a build-back-better response to the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. All Rotarians and Rotaractors in District 7030 are invited to attend.
Previously known as the Zone Institute, Leadership Summits are normally reserved for Past Rotary District Governors, sitting District Governors, as well as, DGEs, DGNs and a handful of Emerging Leaders. However, by “going virtual”, Zones 33-34 have the opportunity to share this amazing experience with all Rotarians and Rotaractors in presenting the 2020 Virtual Leadership Summit. And what an experience it will be! Just take a look at the speaker line up: RI President Elect Shekhar Mehta, Vice Chair of The Rotary Foundation, Trustee Mike Webb, RI General Secretary John Hewko, RI President Nominee Jennifer Jones, as well as Peter Salk, whose father Jonas developed the vaccine for Poliomyelitis, and the Black Mambas anti-poaching unit “zooming in” from Kenya. Combine this with a wide choice of breakout sessions (literally something for everyone); entertainment from the legendary One Voice Children’s Choir; and, a virtual Tailgate Party finale – you then have an event that you really can’t afford to miss! All Rotarians and Rotaractors in District 7030 are encouraged to attend.
Watch District Special Events Recap For October
A Place For Peace
The worldwide interest in building a Rotarian peace coalition is significant and always growing. The need for a vehicle to provide centralized resources to Rotarians to plan and implement large-scale, community development and humanitarian service projects in the areas of war prevention, peacebuilding, peacekeeping and peacemaking is apparent. Globally, every community has a role to play in advancing world understanding, tolerance, empathy, goodwill and peace. The Rotary Action Group for Peace is an action-driven group of Rotarians, Rotarians’ spouses and Rotaractors working together for the purpose of advancing peace and preventing wars throughout the world. Formed in 2012, the group is focused on providing a network and resources to further the peace and conflict resolution work of Rotarians around the globe. It empowers and supports the peace work of Rotarians by offering structure, guidance and resources to further their peace efforts. Rotarians and Rotaractors are encouraged to join this results-focused network to gain powerful ideas, in-depth knowledge and direct means for action that align with the Rotary mission and strategic plan. Membership benefits include informative newsletters, E-Bulletins, invitations to local, national and international Rotary peace events, and access to committed Rotarians, Rotary Peace Fellows and other thought leaders.
District Initiatives
World Interact Week 2020
Interact is the youth-based program of Rotary International for young persons aged 12 to 18 with a purpose to provide opportunity for young persons to work together in a world fellowship dedicated to service, international understanding and leadership development skills. World Interact Week is celebrated every year during the week of 5 November to commemorate the founding of the first Interact club in 1962. This year World Interact Week is 2-8 November and Interactors around the world will be taking action and sharing how their Interact clubs are making a difference in their communities. To mark this occasion with Interactors and Rotarians around the world, Interact clubs, in partnership with their sponsor Rotary clubs, are encouraged to participate in joint projects during World Interact Week where it serves as an excellent opportunity for clubs to publicize, promote, and inform the community about the great work accomplished by its members. Clubs should also encourage community members to get involved with Interact projects. Additionally, District 7030 Interact clubs and Interactors are invited to be part of the virtual World Interact Week party on Facebook which will celebrate the power of Interact and features a special guest appearance, exciting new announcements, and an opportunity to connect with Interactors from around the world.
Interact Virtual Global Youth Summit 2020
On 21 November the Interact Club of Celebration High School from District 6990 will host a Virtual Global Youth Summit for Interactors around the world to attend at no cost to participants. The Keynote speaker will be Rotary International President-Elect Shekhar Mehta. This is a great activity to get Interactors of District 7030 involved and engaged.
Annual Interact Awards
For the annual Interact Awards, Interactors are encouraged to share their best service project or leadership development activity and show how members are taking action across the globe, in their community, and in themselves. This year, videos, photos, and essays are being accepted as part of the Interact Awards with nominations being accepted until 1 December 2020 at 23:59 Chicago Time. Each club may submit (1) video, up to (3) photos, and/or (1) essay and awards will be given for best video, best photo, and best essay. One (1) club will be awarded in each category and receive a donation from Rotary International to support the Interact club's service project, as well as an award plaque and letter from the Rotary International President.
District 7030 RYLA 2021
SAVE THE DATE! The 2021 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) for District 7030 will be happening on 16-17 January. While, the event will take place online due to travel restrictions and for the health of all participants, this RYLA is set to transcend and mitigate as many limitations as possible, and even raise the overall bar. It starts with RYLA 2021's inclusion and price. For the first time, an advanced announcement on and details surrounding registration for RYLA 2021 will be sent to all Rotary, Rotaract and Interact clubs in District 7030 and registration itself for RYLA will be available in November 2020 – way ahead of the event itself. To get things started though, the District 7030 RYLA Team is pleased to announce and early-bird registration special price of US$150 (valid before December 15th 2020). This price entitles any sponsoring Rotary or Rotaract club to register up to 20 RYLA participants – yes, the arithmetic in your head is correct...that's only US$7.50 per participant! But wait...a club can also sponsor as many participants as it would like by paying for additional registrations. Here's the other great news...RYLA 2021 is not limited to Rotaractors or Interactors! Sponsoring clubs are free to register participants from other suitable groups and organizations outside of the Rotary family in their respective communities – the only criteria would be that such participants fall in to the appropriate age categories (13 to 17 and 18 to 25) and that they agree to the policies and goals of RYLA and the youth protection. Stay tuned to the District 7030 website and social media channels for more information and let's make this year's RYLA one to remember!
District 7030 Membership Updates
Most of us in District 7030 have heard of ClubRunner...or at least the term in passing. Some of us and our clubs use it...or at least subscribe to it. But many of us are still not certain what exactly it is and how it fits in with all the other terms and references within the same digital space which are thrown at us and seem to be never-ending – My Rotary, Rotary Club Central, the Brand Center, the Grants Center and the Learning Center to name a few of the more regularly referenced ones. While the best way to learn and understand these types of online tools and platforms is really to bear down and dedicate some time to explore them yourself, the focus here is to distinguish ClubRunner for everyone in District 7030.
So here it is... ClubRunner is primarily an integrated "membership success" or "member management" online solution – or simply put: ClubRunner is a system which allows members to better connect and communicate and allows clubs to manage themselves, share information and report updates. While some of the features and functionality of ClubRunner are also found in other platforms (some already mentioned), ClubRunner seeks to serve as a "one-stop-shop" for members and clubs providing as many common needs as possible. To be clear, it should be noted that ClubRunner is not the same thing as a club or district website – in fact, a club or district website can be one of the features generated or services provided by ClubRunner.
So why are we mentioning ClubRunner here at all and what does it have to do with Membership Updates? Well...During the month of November, District 7030 shall be undertaking an initiative to bring all Rotary and Rotaract clubs and members under its jurisdiction under the District ClubRunner umbrella. For many years, District 7030 has subscribed to ClubRunner and has used and relied upon it primarily as a content management system for the District website. However, the District subscription to ClubRunner also allows all of its members and member clubs access to certain features and functionality to assist with and facilitate better member connectivity, communications and management.
Thus to realize the full potential and utility of the District ClubRunner platform, the first step is to get all club and member information for District 7030 current and up-to-date. Part of this step is to add all Rotaract clubs to the District ClubRunner (which previously only listed Rotary clubs in District 7030). In so doing, District 7030 becomes one of the very few Districts in the world which contains and centralizes all Rotary and Rotaract clubs in one platform. This decision to include Rotaract clubs and Rotaractors is in line with the overall membership strategy of Rotary International which promotes Diversity, Equity and Inclusion – a great example of which is the integration of Rotaract and Rotaractors in as many things Rotary as possible. The second step of the process shall be to educate club officers and members on the respective features and functionalities available from ClubRunner and encourage as much use of the platform as possible by as many clubs as possible. The intent here is to increase the awareness and use of ClubRunner such that its true potential across the District is better realized by members, leaders and clubs. Soon enough, all clubs in District 7030 and their members can look forward to updates on this initiative and to instructions on how best everyone can start using ClubRunner.
People of Action...Clubs In Service
District P.E.T.S & Conference
Conference Chair Konrad Wagner officially announced District 7030 P.E.T.S & Conference 2021. The event theme of Service • Sustainability • Peace was introduced and Rotarians were invited to register online via the conference website. For those who missed it or for those who want to see it again, recordings of the launch are now available.
District Celebrations
Rotary Club of Kourou located in French Guiana, celebrated its 50th Charter Anniversary on 14th September 2020. This interesting club located in District 7030 has shared its intriguing story with us…at the core of which is “Service Above Self”.
Your Rotary club can earn a Rotary Citation (formerly known as the RI Presidential Citation) for achieving goals that strengthen Rotary and your club during 2020-2021 Rotary year. Goals include increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in your community. Clubs have the entire Rotary year to achieve the citation’s goals, but, all must be completed by 30th June 2020. This year Rotary club leaders can go into Rotary Club Central and select at least 13 out of 25 goals they wish to apply toward citation achievement. This flexibility allows clubs to choose the goals that are most relevant and achievable. In addition, many goals will be self-reported by marking “achieved” in Rotary Club Central. Any member can view his/her club’s goals in Rotary Club Central and follow its progress, but, to do so, you must have a My Rotary account. Read more for additional information on the 2020-2021 Rotary Citation for clubs.
Club Citations
With the onset of a global pandemic and all the restrictions, limitations, uncertainties and new developments that unexpectedly came along, 2019-20 was undoubtedly a challenging year for many Rotarians around the world. However, the clubs of District 7030 demonstrated a resolve and commitment to achieve as many of their goals as possible, which ultimately helped strengthen Rotary and shape our future. While we are all still acclimatizing to our "new normals", District 7030 would like for us all to celebrate the 33 Rotary clubs who received RI Citations for the 2019-202 Rotary year.
Each month, a few of these club's respective citations will be showcased here and all clubs which received a 2019-2020 RI Citation are invited to send in a copy of its citation to District 7030 Newsletter Team and it will be highlighted in future editions of the monthly newsletter. This month, the District and its membership convey hearty congratulations for receiving the 2019-2020 RI Citation (Platinum) to the following clubs: RC Demerara, RC Maracas / St. Joseph and RC Barbados.
Join District 7030 Facebook Groups
Members and Clubs are encouraged to join the new District 7030 Groups on Facebook. Participate in one or as many groups as you would like and invite your friends, colleagues or anyone you think may be interested...groups are open to all. Not only will you be able follow information and updates posted within each group, but also, you are free to post and share yourselves! Whether you are interested in District Programs such as Peace-Building, Childhood Obesity Prevention, Environmental Sustainability and Interact, or want to find the latest information about various club service projects, activities and events within District 7030, there is a group for you!
Did You Know...
The Annual Fund is the primary source of unrestricted support for the programs of The Rotary Foundation. From digging clean water wells for villages in Africa to teaching basic literacy skills to children in Latin America, during any given moment in a day, thousands of Rotarians volunteer their time and expertise to ensure that all contributions given to the Annual Fund are spent wisely on quality Rotary projects. In the 2018-19 Rotary year, US$126.1 million was donated to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund. The Annual Fund is comprised of donations from Rotarians, friends of Rotary, social media fundraising and crowd-funding, corporations and employee-giving and can be matched by various gifts to leverage an individual's donation. Will you do your part and support the Annual Fund with as little as a US $10 monthly gift this year...?
Separate to a Paul Harris Fellow, the Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotary members and friends of The Rotary Foundation who elect to contribute US$1,000 or more each year to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, or approved global grants. The purpose of the Paul Harris Society is to honor and thank individuals for their generous, ongoing support of The Rotary Foundation. Rotary districts often recognize new members of the Paul Harris Society by presenting them with a certificate and chevron at a district or club event.
Through the Annual Fund's SHARE system, contributions to The Rotary Foundation are transformed into grants that fund local and international humanitarian projects, scholarships, and activities, such as vocational training teams. At the end of every Rotary year, contributions directed to the Annual Fund-SHARE from all Rotary clubs in the district are divided between the World Fund and the District Designated Fund, or DDF. At the end of three years, our district can use its DDF to pay for Foundation, club, and district projects that your club and others in the district choose. Districts may use up to half of their DDF to fund district grants. The remaining DDF may be used for global grants or donated to PolioPlus, the Rotary Peace Centers, or another district. So remember, when contributing to the Annual Fund, please make sure that you choose the SHARE system and ensure that District 7030 can continue to support District grants for our clubs and their projects.
You can not only participate in Professional Development Courses via the Rotary Learning Center, but also, have access to an ever-increasing number of training and learning tools for all things Rotary.
The new issue of the "Rotary" magazine (formerly "The Rotarian") is out. Subscribe to the digital version now to receive it regularly and on time each month via email.
Submissions
Interested in having your Club's activities or member's stories featured in one of the District publications (Newsletter, Website, Social Media)?
Please send articles, videos, photos and/or links to such via email to:
