Please see below for some wonderful news and events from our District's Rotary Clubs! Does YOUR Rotary Club have a special event planned, or did your Club have a special meeting or fundraising event? We want to hear about it!

Please send your article and any photos to District Administrator Ingrid Nova at rotary6360@gmail.com. The deadline is the 1st of the month, but please be sure to send anything time sensitive and we will get the news out to the District!

Thank you!

Social Media and Storytelling:

What IS Rotary?

Public Image Zoom “What’s Rotary?” Webinar

Be sure to join the conversation on Thursday, December 7 at 7:00 p.m. ET during a live zoom webinar presented by Mary Lou Harrison, Zone 28 Public Image Coordinator and team, and the District 6360 Public Image team.

Bring your questions and your social media successes too!

Details and Zoom link below.

Dec 7, 2023 07:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Link

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81309541754?pwd=T1Rrazc5Qm9JOWFwL2NRZ3E1SEF2dz09

Meeting ID: 813 0954 1754

Passcode: 6360

Using a phone?

Find your local number

https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k7ZswuVoO

Zone 28 Membership Summit Coming Soon!

December 8-9 in Troy

Registration & Accommodation:

Event Registration: https://tinyurl.com/322rxhfp

Hotel Bookings: (Avail special rates) https://tinyurl.com/83unuzpb

RIPE Stephanie Urchick Membership Summit Welcome Message Video - https://youtu.be/RLbMavH9Vfc

Support The Rotary Foundation on

Giving Tuesday

The Rotary Foundation asks for your help to raise funds and awareness for

The Rotary Foundation this Giving Tuesday, 28 November.

This global day of generosity is an opportunity for all members to make a big impact, with a gift of any size that supports projects you’re passionate about.

Here’s how to get ready for Giving Tuesday:

Watch our Giving Tuesday video with Union City.
Donate to Annual Fund-SHARE on Giving Tuesday to support district and global grants.
Share our Giving Tuesday graphics on Facebook or LinkedIn.

The Foundation will recognize the top three clubs in fundraising, donor participation, and online giving. Find out which clubs were recognized last year and set a giving goal for your club this year. Just be sure the gifts are made on 28 November!

Local Clubs on-Board with

Mental Health Service Projects

RI President Gordon McInally’s Mental Health platform to Raise Awareness; Break Stigma; and Improve Access, has inspired D6360 Mental Health Committee members to take action! Here are a few of the external mental health service projects in progress:

- Tom Rosenbluth and committee members at Harbor Country Rotary Club are planning a Mental Health Fair next year.

- John Mellein, South Haven Rotary Club has purchased and is placing “988” Suicide & Crisis Lifeline yard signs.

- Sue Germann, Coldwater Rotary Club is organizing free Mental Health First-Aid Certification Training for all Rotary members. Information and registration is included in this newsletter.

- Cathy Knauf from Gull Lake Rotary Club is circulating the link for PROTECTMICHILD. This is a free registry that blocks inappropriate internet ads for youth under age 18. Here’s the link to learn more: https://www.protectmichild.com

- Lakeshore Rotary Club is also planning a Mental Health Fair, Spring 2024.

Rotarians on any day, and in any place can supplement these external projects, by infusing good mental health vibes through these internal service projects:

- Establishing a ‘Coffee Buddy’ with another Rotarian from within, or outside of your club.

“How are you, Really?”

- Becoming a “Volunteer Visitor” to someone who is isolated.

- Practicing being a “You First” person. Yielding to each other is respecting each other. This can reduce bullying.

If you/your club would like to participate in mental health awareness and/or service projects, feel free to:

- Follow Rotary Action Group for Mental Health on fb: Facebook

- Explore the Rotary Mental Health Toolkit: Toolkits - Mental Health Initiatives Rotary Action Group (ragonmentalhealth.org)

- Ask D6360 MH Committee to send a speaker to your club. Contact: jacquie@pdispirit.com

_________________________

Jacquie Blackwell MA Psy, chairs the D6360 Mental Health Steering Committee. She is a Mental Health Coach at her own practice, Amazing Learning Center. Jacquie has been a member of Lakeshore Rotary Club since 2020.

Coldwater Township Sunrise Rotary

Promise Scholarship

The Kellogg Community College Foundation is pleased to announce $20,000 in total awards to 30 student recipients of the Coldwater Township Sunrise Rotary Promise Scholarship for the 2023-24 academic year. With an initial three-year grant of $60,000 in 2019 and a four-year grant of $80,000 in 2022 from the Coldwater Township Sunrise Rotary Foundation, the KCC Foundation is administering this scholarship program to allow students an opportunity to complete their educational goals at KCC and receive financial support along the way. To date, the KCC Foundation has made 126 scholarship awards from this fund.

Eligible scholarship applicants must either reside in Branch County or have graduated from a Branch County high school or home school; demonstrate financial need; and be accepted to or enrolled in one of KCC’s health or skilled trades programs.

Funds for the Promise Scholarship program have been secured due to generous gifts from the Thomas Bott Donor Advised Fund, the Hal and Lillian Creal Fund, the George and Kathie Babcoke Trust, Southern Michigan Bank & Trust, Century Bank and Trust, ProMedica Coldwater Regional Hospital and Clemens Food Group, as well as support from members of the Coldwater Township Sunrise Rotary Club and its Foundation.

$400,000 has been raised toward a $500,000 goal to fund the Promise Endowment in order to insure the long-term sustainability of the program.

Rotary Club of South Haven Partnering for the

Future for Blessings in a Backpack Program

The South Haven Blessings in a Backpack Steering Committee is announcing a partnership with the Rotary Club of South Haven to ensure the long-term future for Blessings in a Backpack. According to Jim Marcoux, who was instrumental in establishing the Blessings in a Backpack program in South Haven:

“The South Haven Blessings in a Backpack steering committee has been organizing and managing the weekly program since 2012 and they have done an outstanding job of implementing a program that is providing improved nutrition and weekend food to about 200 children each week in the kindergarten through 5^th grades. But as the program continued to grow, the steering committee realized they needed a partner organization to take on the increased weekly activities and reached out to the Rotary Club of South Haven who has been supporting the weekly packing for many years."

The Rotary Club of South Haven has agreed to step forward and mobilize all weekly activities and to manage the relationship with the Blessing in a Backpack national organization in Louisville, Kentucky. The Rotary Club support team is led by LaRae Odland and Mary Sue Lyon. LaRae and Mary Sue have already begun reaching out and securing support from other area community organizations and civic groups including those already engaged in Blessings in a Backpack; South Haven’s chapter of AAUW, St. Basil’s Church, and the Rotary Club of South Haven. Joining Blessings this year are the South Haven Kiwanis Club and the South Haven Vacation Rental Community Fund.

Melinda Gruber, President of the South Haven Rotary Club said:

“We are so very grateful to be given this opportunity to serve the needs of the children in the community through the Blessings in a Backpack program. This is a long-term commitment that requires a significant amount of planning, preparation and coordination among the various community organizations who will be participating in the program. LaRae Odland and Mary Sue Lyon eagerly stepped forward to volunteer their time and their impressive leadership talents to make the transition possible. The entire South Haven Rotary Club is eager to pitch in and do what we can to help the children.”

Rotary Club of South Haven Blessings in a Backpack Team (L to R): Pete Swanson, Dana Hullinger, Mary Sue Lyon, Dan Liehr, Mark Odland, LaRae Odland, John Mellein, Teresa Gibbons (Blessing in a Backpack Member), and Angelica Gallegos-Dickerson

Lansing-DeWitt Rotary Club Helping Seniors in the Dominican Republic

The Lansing-DeWitt Rotary Club recently completed a project in the Dominican Republic that was assisted by the District 6360 Foundation along with the Kalamazoo Club and the Vero Beach Rotary Club in Florida. The total size of the Project was $6,000.

It provided substantial food and cooking upgrades to the the Senior Home in Puerto Plata as they were doubling the size of their facility from 46 residents to 96 residents. Click HERE to watch a great video about the project!

Opportunities for Fellowship in Your Rotary Club

Most Rotarians are successful professional and business executives because they hear opportunities knock and take advantage of them. Once a week the opportunity for Rotary fellowship occurs at each club meeting, but not all members hear it knocking.

The weekly club meeting is a special privilege of Rotary membership. It provides the occasion to visit with fellow members, to meet visitors you have not known before, and to share your personal friendship with other members.

Rotary clubs which have a reputation of being "friendly clubs" usually follow a few simple steps:

First, members are encouraged to sit in a different seat or at a different table each week.
Second, Rotarians are urged to sit with a member they may not know as well as their long-time personal friends.
Third, members invite new members or visitors to join their table just by saying: "Come join us, we have an empty chair at this table."
Fourth, members share the conversation around the table rather than merely eating in silence or talking privately to the person next to them.
Fifth, Rotarians make a special point of trying to get acquainted with all members of the club by seeking out those they may not know.

When Rotarians follow these five easy steps, an entirely new opportunity for fellowship knocks each week. Soon Rotarians realize that warm and personal friendship is the cornerstone of every great Rotary club.

Join Us via ZOOM!

Mental Health First Aid

The Rotary District Governor

Sharalyn Davis

The Rotary district governor performs a very significant function in the world of Rotary He or she is the single officer of Rotary International in the geographic area called a Rotary district, which usually includes about 45 Rotary clubs. The district governors, who have been extensively trained at the worldwide International Assembly, provide the "quality control" for the 27,000 Rotary clubs of the world. They are responsible for maintaining high performance within the clubs of their district.

The district governor, who must make an official visit to each club in the district, is never regarded as an "inspector general." Rather, he or she visits as a helpful and friendly adviser to the club officers, as a useful counselor to further the Object of Rotary among the clubs of the district, and as a catalyst to help strengthen the programs of Rotary

The district governor is a very experienced Rotarian who generously devotes a year to the volunteer task of leadership. The governor has a wealth of knowledge about current Rotary programs, purposes, policies and goals and is a person of recognized high standing in his or her profession, community and Rotary club. The governor must supervise the organization of new clubs and strengthen existing ones. He or she performs a host of specific duties to assure that the quality of Rotary does not falter in the district, and is responsible to promote and implement all programs and activities of the Rotary International president and the RI Board of Directors. The governor plans and directs a district conference and other special events.

District Foundation Corner

For general questions about your District 6360 Foundation and how it can help your Club, please contact Foundation President Gary Campbell, campbellgary929@gmail.com

Any correspondence should be sent c/o Rotary District 6360

to 741 Wolverine Road, Mason, MI, 48854