As we recognize Youth Service throughout Rotary in May we can celebrate a special milestone this year: the 50th Anniversary of Rotoract.
Charlotte North Rotary Club, in Charlotte, North Carolina, launched the first Rotaract club as a Rotary International youth program in 1968. Now there are 10,904 clubs around the world, with over 250,000 members in 184 countries. Our District 5040 has nine of those clubs: Burnaby; New Westminster; North Shore; Richmond; Squamish; Prince George; Vancouver – UBC; Vancouver – Yaletown; Vancouver Young Professionals. We, Rotarians, learn so much from our youth as they emerge as leaders in our communities and throughout our world. Young people who capture the spirit of Service Above Self contribute in so many ways to our communities and to our world through Rotary.
Rotaractors, 18-to-30-year-old college and university students, or young professionals, develop knowledge and skills in their clubs to address the physical and social needs of our communities. They also promote better relations among all people who share our world through a framework of friendship and service. In just one of their prominent causes, Rotaractors contribute to KidSport to help children gain more access to sports and physical fitness. They also participate in mentoring programs for kids and hold projects to help with the eradication of polio.
While "Rotaract" stands for "Rotary in Action", it was originally a combination of "Rotary" and "Interact" (International + Action). Rotary International started Interact six years earlier in 1962. We now have 30 Interact clubs in our District, out of the 20,372 Interact clubs of 468,556 members in 159 countries.
Our Interactors are 12-to-18-year-olds, in clubs sponsored by local Rotary clubs, taking a valuable opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects while developing leadership skills and meeting new friends. They are busy at high schools generating donations to food banks, collecting used eyeglasses for people in developing countries, ice skating to raise funds for polio eradication, travelling half way around the world to help rebuild a preschool and orphanage and so much more.
Our District is very active in all areas of Rotary Youth work. Led by Youth Chair Lyn Stroshin and her committee, we encourage clubs to expand opportunities for young people by forming relationships with other organizations and we coordinate among our clubs with Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and Rotary Youth Exchange. Now we have our first couple of Earlyact Clubs in the District, for elementary students aged 5 to 13. The Rotary Club of Steveston, in Richmond, is the first to implement this program at Lord Byng Elementary School and we hope it will lead to many others and grow as Interact and Rotaract have done over the years.
We Rotarians can and do learn so much from our youth, but we can also take satisfaction that we are providing them with community service opportunities which help these students become better members of society for which our young people in Rotary are so grateful for our leadership, mentorship, and friendship as they too learn from us. After all - these young people are our future and the future of Rotary.
50th Anniversary of Rotaract - Join The Celebration May 12!
Thanks to our Rotary clubs for their tracking and entry of volunteer hours this year, we are starting to see results shape up. As of early April, Rotary Club Central shows most of our clubs reporting their hours, and our total so far is showing 38,400 hours volunteered throughout our District. And, the year is far from over!
We know that Rotary worldwide represented millions of hours of volunteering, and we are not far away from actually quantifying that for the 2017-2018 Rotary year. Every hour counts, so make sure that your club gets their hours in so they count towards our District total, and Rotary International's total.
It's amazing the work we do around the globe day in and day out - our tally of volunteering will be a tangible statistic of those contributions to our communities and to our world.
District Conference 2018 - Register and Book Your Hotel Now!
Make sure that you register nowfor the District Conference 2018. The conference is Peacing It Together and it will be held May 31 to June 3 at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish, BC. As you are hearing in regular weekly messages to your Rotary club, there are many highlights for this fun and informational three day event.
Book your hotel room now! As important as it is to register, it is equally important that you book your accommodation. The hotel blocks are now within final stages, and rooms are going fast. There is still space available, but you need to act. Hotel details are on the conference website.
District 5040 Business Networking
Don't forget that our new Rotary 5040 Business Networking website is up and running. Visit the site at rotary5040.business and create your own business listing. Doing business with other Rotarians is one of the foundations of Rotary and this website makes it easy to search Rotarians who provide products and services in various sectors throughout our communities in District 5040.
Visit Don's Diary
One of our most frequently asked questions is about what other clubs do for projects, and to raise funds. Well, one way to learn about some of this without leaving your desk is to visit Don's Diary on the Rotary5040.org website at rotary5040.org/Page/don-s-diary. We have visited all the clubs in our District, and are making second visits at this time, and we have noted all we have seen in each club and community in this blog. Check it out!
Yours in Rotary,
Don & Deb
Membership Update
Best of Times
There has never been a better time to join Rotary than RIGHT NOW. Really? Yes really! We are approaching the end game with Polio Plus. We may have seen our last case of polio. Get ready to party. With the 2016 Council on Legislation changes to the running of a club, every club can decide how they meet, where they meet and when they meet. They can now almost completely focus on “doing good in the world”, their way. Our District has the starting of a growth curve. This year will mark the second year in a row our membership has increased. AND, we have four new clubs brewing – Lillooet, Vanderhoof. The Dragon Rotary Club of Greater Vancouver (pretty cool name, don’t you think?) and the Young Professionals Club of Vancouver. AND a new Rotaract club in Whistler. Yes, it really is the best of times.
If you would like more information please contact Tom Smith, your District Membership Chair at tom@tascosales.ca.
Rotaract Update
It is a busy time for the Rotaractors of District 5040. With the upcoming celebration of Rotaract’s 50th Anniversary, and many events and projects, there are a lot of opportunities to get involved!
We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on May 12th, when we will celebrate 50 years of Rotaract at Firefighters Public House in Burnaby.
A fun schedule with interesting speakers, a silent auction, music, food, and the chance to get to know each other has been set up.
Get your ticket now! Tickets are $65 and can be purchased online until midnight on May 6th at www.rotaract50th.eventbrite.ca
Two Rotaract Clubs are in the process of getting up and running – a new club at Langara College sponsored by the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus is working on getting chartered and thanks to efforts by District Rotaract Chair Joan Posivy and the Rotary Club of Squamish the Squamish Rotaract Club is making progress at revitalization. We are very excited about this since there can never be too many Rotaractors!
We are very pleased to present Nancy Hughes, a 2009 Rotary Service Above Self Award winner (one of only 100 presented worldwide) for StoveTeam International. Nancy's Plenary will be at 2PM on Friday June 1st.
In 2003 she met Irma, a young woman whose hands had been burned shut after falling into an open cooking fire. Wanting to help, she transformed a small Rotary club project into an effective international charity that has helped develop local factories to produce life-saving, fuel-efficient cookstoves in the developing world.
The Ecocina stoves, designed by StoveTeam, reduce wood usage by 50% and carbon emissions and particulate matter by over 86%. They reduce both burns and respiratory illnesses. In the eight years since StoveTeam International’s inception, the stoves have improved the lives of more than 438,780 individuals in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico.
Her work has been featured in The Rotarian Magazine, Forbes, and on the PBS News hour.
Imagine soaking up Western Canada's soul-stirring landscape from a bi-level glass-dome luxury coach while nibbling on gourmet meals created by Executive Chefs. Sound like a dream come true? It is!
District Conference registrants will have a chance to have their name selected for a Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf trip for two valued at $5,000, as part of a fundraiser for Rotary.
But - you have to be there! You must be registered and in attendance to qualify.
Next sessions – PARTS 1 & 3 THURSDAY, MAY 31 ~ 10 AM Westcoast Railway Heritage Park
Site of the 2018 District Conference
The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a three part series of fast-paced, interactive, one-day courses offered to refine a Rotarian's leadership skills and increase their base of knowledge in Rotary. Courses are fun, topical, interactive and geared toward busy business, professional and community leaders who want to be more effective leaders in their vocation and Rotary club and more knowledgeable Rotarians.
As club secretary, you help your club run well. Watch its trends to identify what works well and what doesn’t, and share this information with club and district leaders.
This online session will discuss the main roles and responsibilities of the Club Secretary, key Rotary websites, membership, club administration, finances, club records and changes to Rotary policies and procedures from the 2016 Council on Legislation.
In remote villages of Laos, considered the most bombed country in history, where a third of the population was killed during the the Laotian Civil War or Secret War (1953–75), lack of access to clean water is both a health problem and a barrier to education for many children. Faced with its 2016 population of 1,133 expected to triple in five years, the village of Ban Xiengda, in the Luang Prabang Province of northern Laos, had one cement block toilet with no running water. A new system to deliver water to the village was needed.
Ever wonder what makes an Interactor inspired, a Rotaractor rejoice, a Youth Exchanger engage, or a Rotarian rejuvenate? Then you won’t want to miss this fast-paced, interactive session. Interested Rotarians will take a 9 minute journey to Quest University for a one-hour group exchange comprised of multi-generations from our Rotary family. Carefully selected questions will be asked, designed to help us learn more about each other and what makes us tick in our Rotary world.
The Royal City Rotary Club and the Rotary Club of New Westminster invite you to participate in the 23rd Annual Pot of Gold Charity Golf Tournament on July 17th at Mayfair Lakes Golf Club. Over the past 22 years, this event has raised almost $500,000 for local charities. Over $33,000 was raised from last year’s tournament alone. There are four hole in one prizes valued at $25,000 or more! Go to www.rotarypotofgoldgolf.com to learn more and register.
Registration is only $195 per golfer: includes golf, cart, lunch, buffet dinner, prizes, contests, & photos with BC Lions Felions.
SAVE THE DATE: May 5th, 2018 - The 17th Annual Rotary Wine & Food Fest at the Nikkie National Museum & Cultural Centre. Presented by the Rotary Club of Burnaby Metrotown and Rotaract Club of Burnaby. Visit the Festival site
Rotaractors, 18-to-30-year-old college and university students, or young professionals, develop knowledge and skills in their clubs to address the physical and social needs of our communities. They also promote better relations among all people who share our world through a framework of friendship and service. In just one of their prominent causes, Rotaractors contribute to KidSport to help children gain more access to sports and physical fitness. They also participate in mentoring programs for kids and hold projects to help with the eradication of polio.
While "Rotaract" stands for "Rotary in Action", it was originally a combination of "Rotary" and "Interact" (International + Action). Rotary International started Interact six years earlier in 1962. We now have 30 Interact clubs in our District, out of the 20,372 Interact clubs of 468,556 members in 159 countries.
Our District is very active in all areas of Rotary Youth work. Led by Youth Chair Lyn Stroshin and her committee, we encourage clubs to expand opportunities for young people by forming relationships with other organizations and we coordinate among our clubs with Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and Rotary Youth Exchange. Now we have our first couple of Earlyact Clubs in the District, for elementary students aged 5 to 13. The Rotary Club of Steveston, in Richmond, is the first to implement this program at Lord Byng Elementary School and we hope it will lead to many others and grow as Interact and Rotaract have done over the years.
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It is a busy time for the Rotaractors of District 5040. With the upcoming celebration of Rotaract’s 50th Anniversary, and many events and projects, there are a lot of opportunities to get involved!
Two Rotaract Clubs are in the process of getting up and running – a new club at Langara College sponsored by the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus is working on getting chartered and thanks to efforts by District Rotaract Chair Joan Posivy and the Rotary Club of Squamish the Squamish Rotaract Club is making progress at revitalization. We are very excited about this since there can never be too many Rotaractors!
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