Rotarians Helping Rotarians

Rotary is once again taking the lead and looking

to provide support for families in need.

Appeal from District Governor of District 9570, Australia

Michael Buckeridge

In Australia, farmers are the lifeblood of the country and they are in crisis.  Record breaking heat and lack of rain means farmers are struggling to feed sheep and cattle and keep crops alive.  

District 9570 is in Central Queensland and is 600,000 square kilometers in area -- almost the size of Texas, USA.  Since 2012 a large part of the District has been drought declared and at the start of 2020, the entire district is drought declared. 

The drought has resulted in diminished crop growth and carrying capacity for livestock.   Apart from the environmental damage and cattle dying, water quality continues to decline.  The human cost includes financial loss and mental health issues, particularly suicide and depression.

As you know, the District along with other areas of Australia, have experienced a bush fire crisis that experts describe as unprecedented.  This has resulted in homes being lost and businesses being destroyed.  Many of the farms that have been impacted by the fires have also been in drought for many years.

The scale of these combined disasters is huge, and I am asking for donations to our Drought and Fire appeal within District 9570.  The money will be used to assist in the purchasing of water, brushfire recovery, and food for livestock.

Money can be donated to the bank account below, which is being used to manage the District Disaster Response.

Account Name:                       Rotary Club of Pioneer Valley

Bank Name:                               Sarina Community Bendigo Bank

Banks Address:                         37 Broad Street, Sarina, 4737, Qld Australia

BSB:                                             633-108

Account Number:                     154790984

Account address:                      PO Box 46 (41 Mary Street), Mirani, 4754, QLD Australia

SWIFT Code:                              BENDAU3B 

This disaster will be felt in Australian for many years to come and we thank our fellow Rotarians worldwide who are all united in their desire to assist.

District 5240 has no shortage of outstanding Rotarians whose service to humanity can serve as an inspiration to all of us.

This Rotary year, we plan on recognizing and sharing their inspirational journey.

Each of the 12 Groups in the District has been assigned one month in the Rotary 2019-20 year for the Assistant Governor and Presidents to select one Rotarian of Action in their Group.

For the month of January the Rotary Clubs selected as their Rotarian of Action to be Mary Meyer Lundstrom. 

In recognition of “doing good in the world”, Mary will be presented with a Paul Harris Fellow Recognition.

Mary Meyer Lundstrom, Rotary Club of China Lake

Mary is the member we feel best deserves to be nominated for the Rotarian of Action Award.

First, a little background on Mary.   Mary is a 30+ year member who has served as Club President and has held several positions on the club board of directors. She is currently serving as the Program Chair, and really works hard to find great, informative speakers for the lunch meetings, and she is committed to making Rotary a welcoming, friendly meeting place.  Mary is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and a significant contributor to the Rotary Club of China Lake Charitable Foundation.  Mary is always ready to host club social events at her home and has hosted an official reception for a District Governor.  She has been responsible for a successful international project that involved an R.I. International grant.  Those are just a few highlights from her past Rotary involvement.  What makes her a Rotarian of Action is that she is still extremely active in the club and community.  

Mary is active in identifying and leading efforts for community service projects; including food drives for a local Food Bank, Coat Drives for winter for those in need, supplies and funds for the local animal shelter, and a book drive for a local long-term care facility.  Mary’s most recent effort is to help organize the club’s Earthquake relief efforts. In all of these projects Mary:

1) Coordinates volunteers

2) Places donation boxes in strategic locations around town and then picks them up as they are filled

3) Coordinates with the local churches and Salvation Army for dates and locations to hand out the donations

4) Sorts the donations and gets them ready for distribution

5) Delivers the donations to the charity, or in the case of the coat drive, Is on hand on the appointed day to distribute the coats to those in need

6)  If District Grants are involved, and there have been on at least half of her projects, Mary wrote the grant application and prepared and submitted the final report

On Tuesday January 14, 2020, the Rotary Club of Moorpark and Moorpark High School jointly organized and conducted a vocational tour for high school seniors of 3 local Moorpark businesses. The first business visited was AeroVironment where students learned about unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) ranging from the size of a humming bird to one which was 100 feet long. The second business toured, and Rotarian owned, was Command Performance where students learned about culinary skills as well as job application and interview soft skills. The final business visited was PICNIC TIME where students learned about delivering manufactured consumer goods to consumers who loved outdoor dining lifestyles. 

This Rotary combined Vocational Service and Youth Service activity was an outstanding way to help students better understand local career opportunities via real world examples. It also helped local businesses generate excitement from future potential employees in order to assist with future hiring. This activity was made possible through the Rotary Club’s deep networking connections with local businesses and the local school systems’ administration. It was great to see the enthusiasm and direction it supplied to students who may have otherwise been undecided in their career decisions.

Adventurous Teens Wanted! 

We’re looking for 15-18 year olds that want to travel the world, learn another language and culture and make lifelong international friendships.  The year abroad enables students to become more self-confident, self-sufficient and better world citizens.  A Rotary Youth Exchange year abroad is valued at over $24,000 due to our volunteer efforts.  Check out www.studyabroadscholarships.org to learn more.  Children of Rotarians are also eligible. 

E-mail Mary at paseta@att.net for an application.  Don’t delay!  Interviews and initial orientation are January 25^th, 2020.

HOLD YOUR NEXT OFF-SITE CLUB MEETING AT A SCHOOL

By John Baxter

Rotary Clubs sometimes struggle with where to hold an off-site meeting. Why not hold it at a local high school?  Our Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise held its 7 a.m. meeting at Royal High School in Simi Valley, California.  

We wanted to develop a stronger connection with a local school and learn more about the pathway programs the school offered and how our Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise could help. Career Pathway programs, developed by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Education, Health, and Human Resources,  promote the use of career pathways (high schools and colleges)  to assist youth and adults with acquiring marketable skills and industry-recognized credentials. Many countries offer similar programs under different names.

Royal High School offers its students pathways in Building and Construction Trades Digital Arts, Education, Food Service and Hospitality, JROTC and Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Patient Care - Sports Medicine, Software and Systems Development.