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December 2023
Governor's Message for December
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Season’s Greetings Rotarians!
A message from your DISTRICT GOVERNOR!
Welcome to the Ho-Ho-Holiday Season! So many of you are serving your communities so beautifully this season! Hopefully you and your fellow Rotarians are finding deep meaning, gratitude, and joy as well!
December is Disease Prevention and Treatment month in Rotary! This theme is one Rotary may be best known for due to our efforts, since 1980’s, to eradicate POLIO. We’re good at this!
Disease Prevention is really at the core of how we change lives. Clean Water and Sanitation play an important role in Maternal & Child Health in the developing world, and lead to Economic Prosperity. Education and Literacy leads to a productive and Sustainable Environment and a thriving and Peaceful Society! The health and vitality of a person, family, and community can be tremendously impacted by managing and preventing DISEASE. It’s what we do!
Thank you for the ways you are changing lives through DISEASE PREVENTION & TREATMENT projects, financial support to causes, and commitment to our Rotary International Foundation which is making “A World of Difference” through your gifts!
December, in much of the world, is also THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! A time for heart-felt giving and community service, festive celebrations, sparkling good cheer, smiles and surprises! However you celebrate, it’s a great time to be a Rotarian! Invite your friends to experience the Joy of Rotary during your projects and happenings! We add passion, fun, and flavor to any event!
And, while we’re at it, let’s be thinking about more celebrations in our communities, more hearts-on-fire service projects, more connectivity and prosperity building events this coming year! Consider a Club Visioning (every 3 years) to keep excited this new year! Only what you dare to dream, can you hope to create! Dream BIG, LOVE with all your heart, and CHANGE THE WORLD! We got this!
In celebration!
Sharalyn Davis
District Governor ’23-24
Union City Rotary
sharalyndavis@gmail.com
616-719-7286
Live the Heart of Rotary through the ARTS!
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You and a Guest are Invited!!
Register HERE!
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A direct and compelling headline | |
What's Rotary?
Join Experts on Dec. 7 at 7 PM
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Make plans to attend a District-wide learning opportunity!
“Ask the Expert”
Social Media & Storytelling, 7pm on Thurs December 7
How do we use social media storytelling to answer the question, "What's Rotary?" More importantly, how do we help others see themselves starring in the Rotary story as People of Action?
Join experts from the Rotary Zone 28 Public Image team, led by Mary Lou Harrison, as they unpack some pro-tips for social media success. Make sure to bring your questions and your own success stories!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81309541754?pwd=T1Rrazc5Qm9JOWFwL2NRZ3E1SEF2dz09
Meeting ID: 813 0954 1754
Passcode: 6360
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Rotary International
Upcoming Monthly Themes
December: Disease Prevention and Treatment Month
January: Vocational Services
February: Peace and Conflict Resolution Month
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Rotary Action Group:
Mental Health Initiatives
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Mental Health: Gaining Momentum and Attracting Attention! | |
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Considering D6360’s very first Mental Health Committee meeting was August 1, committee members are pleased for the smooth progress and swift results of their work.
RI President Gordon McInally describes mental health as being ‘about people finding meaning, connection, purpose, understanding, and resilience’. D6360 Mental Health Committee is doing all of that through the service projects they are organizing.
At this time, eight Rotarians have become certified in Mental Health First Aid! Fourteen more are registered for training on December 6. Classes were/will be held in Coldwater, and additional locations and dates are being scheduled for next year. In keeping with McInally’s raising awareness; erasing stigma; and improving access, Rotarians are becoming informed how to recognize a mental health urgency, and being equipped to offer a solution. Or, as McInally would say; Create Hope.
Rotary’s Mental Health platform is also catching on in the community. Last month, Kalamazoo radio news reporter Michael Symonds asked DG Sharalyn “What’s Rotary have to do with Mental Health?!’ Symonds interviewed both DG Sharalyn and Mental Health Committee chair Jacquie Blackwell. The story of Rotary offering Mental Health First Aid Training to Rotarians was featured on air, and on WMUK’s web news page. You can read/listen here: https://www.wmuk.org/wmuk-news/2023-11-28/a-rotary-district-provides-mental-health-first-aid-training-to-members.
How beautiful that Rotary’s cause for mental health is rapidly gaining momentum and attracting public attention. As we keep going, we may never actually realize the full impact of our efforts to raise awareness; erase stigma; and improve access.
RI president Gordon McInally has it right that Rotarians are all about Mental Health. Helping, serving, alleviating discomfort, showing courtesy, being compassionate, and Offering Hope are all qualities that Rotarians naturally possess. Rotarians are the right ambassadors for good mental health and well-being.
For further information on RI’s Mental Health initiatives:
- View Gordon McInally’s World MH Day presentation here: World Mental Health Day Webinar - YouTube.
- Follow Rotary Action Group for Mental Health here: Facebook. RAG MH has already been active for 5 years!
- Explore the Rotary Mental Health Toolkit: Toolkits - Mental Health Initiatives Rotary Action Group (ragonmentalhealth.org)
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Jacquie Blackwell MA Psy is owner of Amazing Learning Center Mental Health Services. She has been a member of Lakeshore Rotary Club since 2020. In 2021 she was named Rotarian of the Year for creating the ‘Take it or Leave it’ winter accessories holiday-tree service project. Jacquie chairs the D6360 Mental Health Steering Committee. | |
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In view of the annual turnover of Rotary leadership each year, special effort is required to provide the 27,000 club leaders with appropriate instruction for the tasks they will assume. The annual district assembly is the major leadership training event in each Rotary district of the world.
The district assembly offers motivation, inspiration, Rotary information and new ideas for club officers, directors and key committee chairmen of each club. Some of the most experienced district leaders conduct informative discussions on all phases of Rotary administration and service projects. The assembly gives all participants valuable new ideas to make their club more effective and interesting. Usually eight to ten delegates from each club are invited to attend the training session.
Another important feature of a district assembly is a review by the incoming district governor of the program theme and emphasis of the new RI president for the coming year. District goals and objects are also described and plans are developed for their implementation.
The success of each Rotary club is frequently determined by the club's full representation and participation in the annual district assembly.
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The Rotary Foundation-
Annual Fund Contributions
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Rotary Foundation Matching Gifts
Campaign Returns
Limited Time Offer for District Rotarians!
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District Governor Sharalyn Davis is making a special offer. She (along with other generous Rotarians) will match your individual donation to the Annual Fund-SHARE of The Rotary Foundation with Foundation Recognition Points.
This offer is for contributions made from November 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023.
We are able to match donations between $100 and $5,000. We can only match the first $50,000 in donations. Note: Only donations to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund will be matched in this program.
Here is how this matching program works:
· Make your contribution to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund. Your donation may be online via Rotary Direct (using the RI website), or by check.
· Let us know you have made a contribution and request a match in Foundation Recognition Points. Please send a details of your contribution or a copy of your receipt.
· We will process your match and submit the matching information to The Rotary Foundation.
It’s that easy!
Why are we doing this? Because we believe in The Rotary Foundation, and all the good work made possible by The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund!
Thank you in advance for supporting The Rotary Foundation!
Please send information and questions to:
Teresa Brandell
Rotary Foundation Fundraising Subcommittee Chair
District 6360
Teresa.m.brandell@gmail.com
517-242-0125
323 Elmshaven Drive
Lansing, MI 48917
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Thank You for Your Service- Let's Keep Track! | |
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When we think of Rotary, we think of service; service above self. With many opportunities for service, most of us joined Rotary clubs to engage in service with other service-minded people in our communities. “Many hands make light work” they say, and it is true.
If you were to consider all the projects you and your clubs, and the district, have done in the last 12 months, I think you would be impressed. From small projects like spring and fall cleanup projects for those in our community who could use the help, to food distributions for folks in need, to large scale projects like creating parks, kayak launches and public play spaces, your Rotary clubs and our District 6360 are very busy serving our communities and bringing joy to everyone we reach. And I have not even talked about the tens of thousands of dollars raised for local club projects, regional grants, and international aid to countries like Turkey, Ukraine, and our ongoing Polio Eradication efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
As we approach the end of the calendar year, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the many works of service you are providing your community, your region, your nation and the world. Whether you give of your time, your talent, or your treasure, every act of service brings joy, positivity and sense of accomplishment to all involved, both givers and recipients.
As your District 6360 Community Service Chair, I would also like to engage with you on a project I’ve started of creating a living catalog of the service projects our district has accomplished to date, are working to complete and plan to complete. Let us start with the 2022-2023 year, our full emergence from Covid.
So, let's all work together to generate a database of service for our district.
ALL I NEED is the name of your project, a brief description, how many volunteers, (Rotary and Non-Rotary Volunteers), the financial resources brought to bear on the project, and how many hours/weeks/years the project took.
This is the same information Club Presidents are tracking for their annual report.
Thank you!! We do great work in our district, It is time to celebrate our accomplishments to our wider district community!! Thanks!!
Andy French, Service Project Chair
EMAIL Andy your club project info at andrew.french.albion@gmail.com
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Our District's Pollinator Garden
Featured Worldwide!
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WOW! Here’s a really cool announcement from Chris Stein, who is the Operation Pollination Ambassadors leader and Program Manager for the National Heritage Areas and Large Landscape Initiatives
National Park Service, Midwest Region.
The YouTube video of the Rotary/National Heritage Area partnership pollinator garden planted at the RE Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, MI during the May 2022 District 6360 Conference and produced by Brian Yopp, Deputy Director of MotorCities National Heritage Area - is being used in the Rotary booth/exhibit at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. How cool is that!
Here is the video: https://youtu.be/d7RbDa3VxbU
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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
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