Rotary District 5240 consists of over 3000 members in 71 Rotary Clubs, nine Rotaract (young professional) Clubs, and 58 Interact (high school) clubs. The District spans four counties in Central California: San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, Ventura County, and Kern County. Our clubs are active in all aspects of Rotary, including community and international service, youth programs, and fellowship activities.
Membership Month: August is Membership and New Club Development Month in Rotary and now is the time we need your creativity! To reverse several years of declining membership in our District, we need to grow membership in our clubs and start new, innovative clubs. We are only constrained by our imagination! New, non-traditional clubs are being starting all over the world, including passport clubs, flex clubs, family clubs, caused-based clubs, young professionals clubs, virtual e-clubs, and almost any kind of club you can think of.
Want to learn more about new club models and club flexibility? Click HERE Want a whole bunch of resources and tools to help your club attract and retain members? Click HERE
$52.40 Challenge: The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Annual Fund is the backbone of Rotary projects throughout the world. Contributions to the Annual Fund come back to our clubs in the form of District Designated Funds (DDF) that can be used to help fund local and international projects. Support for the TRF Annual Fund is an investment in our own clubs! In 2020-2021, to encourage support for the TRF Annual Fund, the District has created the $52.40 Challenge. Clubs that achieve a certain level of giving will receive special recognition. Click HERE for all the details!
Rotary and COVID-19: As you all know, we are experiencing a significant and dangerous increase in COVID-19 cases and many of the transmissions are being traced back to small gatherings, such as friends and families gathering together (especially those involving unrelated people). All four counties in our District – SLO, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Kern – are now on the State watch list and additional restrictions regarding gatherings have been implemented. Rotary International recently announced that the Rotary insurance will not cover claims for COVID-19 cases. I know we are all eager to convene our club meetings and socials in person, but I urge you to use caution and make safe, prudent decisions. The safest way to hold club meetings right now is virtually. In addition, the RI Board of Directors has declared that members shall not be penalized if they choose not to attend a club, district, or RI function because of the COVID risk. As such, it is important to have a virtual option for members who do not feel comfortable or safe gathering in person. District staff is available to any club who needs assistance in this area. Please stay safe!
District 5240 Facebook Page: If you want to learn about all the cool things our clubs in our District are doing, not to mention upcoming events and celebrations, be sure to join our District 5240 Facebook Group at this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RotaryDistrict5240
Deb Linden
District Governor 2020-21
DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS
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DISTRICT ROTARY FOUNDATION
District Rotary Foundation Message
Our District Rotary Foundation Chair is PDG Frank Ortiz. Every month he will have a message regarding current foundation news and summarize foundation contributions. It's a great way to get updated on TRF.
View the current message by clicking the button below!
Wade Nomura & Scott Phillips have put together an evening introduction to Rotary for all of us in the surrounding area. "Rotary Then & Now" will give us all some history and and overview into the workings of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.
Wednesday, August 5, 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) via ZOOM
You must register in advance for this meeting! After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
This year, we will incorporate your club events and projects into the newsletter! We send the newsletter at the beginning of each month and will include events for that month.
Click the button below to send us your flyer, brief discription, and best link for the event.
On Wednesday members of the Rotary Club of Nipomo helped with the distribution of fresh produce courtesy of BerryMan at the Nipomo High School. Big thanks to the good turnout. Pictured are George Dubois, Lou Gomez, Lee Baggett, Harry Walls, Roger Ridley. (Not pictured Christine Ridley). On Tuesday Jim Harrison, a friend of his and Ed Harris helped with the food distribution at Dana Elementary school. The group helped unload the produce truck and distribute boxes of produce and bags of potatoes. Quite a work out!
The Rotary Club of Camarillo received their District Grant Round 1 and Round 2 totaling $1,970. Then one of their members promised to match up to $2,500 if they could raise $2,500. They were able to achive their goal in ONE Zoom meeting for a total of $7000. BOOM!!!
They decided to donate these funds to Food Share for the purchase of packaging materials for fresh produce for low income people in their community. Properly packing produce for distribution reduces the spread of infection, increases food safety, and provides for a quick efficient hand-out at the newly established drive-thru pop-up pantries.
District 5240's Past District Governor, Wade Namura, has been given the opportunity of being appointed to three Rotary International positions this year! He is now the Multidistrict PETS Alliance Chair for 2020-2021, he took over as the TRF Cadre Technical Coordinator Chair for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, and he has been appointed as the Regional Organizer of all cadres of North America; one of seven globally! Below is a summary of what the roles entail including how clubs in our district can benefit.
Assistance Available for Global Grant Projects The Rotary Foundation has appointed PDG Wade Nomura as the global Chair of the Cadre of Technical Advisers for Water Sanitation and Hygiene. In addition, The Foundation has initiated a pilot program of Regional Organizers to help club and districts increase their humanitarian projects globally by utilizing the skills of the Cadres in the global grant application stages as well as throughout the project. There are seven Cadre Regional Organizers selected from throughout the world to assist with the implementation of this program, Wade being chosen as one of the seven to lead all TRF Cadres of North America plus English speaking Caribbean countries. This role incorporates grants for all Areas of Focus. Stay tune for more information and if you would like assistance from a TRF Cadre on any aspect of a grant or project, please contact: wade@wadenomura.com
Congratulations to Kati Buehler, President of the Montecito Rotary Club, for the excellent article in the Santa Barbara News-Press Life Section! Kati brought attention to Rotary International and its role in helping to eradicate polio as well as upcoming fundraising plans for World Polio Day!
We want your stories! We send the newsletter at the beginning of each month and would like to include your favorite Rotary projects, events, and fundraisers. This helps spread the word about Rotary and provides ideas for other clubs.
Click the button below to send us a brief story and pictures.
Membership Month:
Our District Rotary Foundation Chair is PDG Frank Ortiz. Every month he will have a message regarding current foundation news and summarize foundation contributions. It's a great way to get updated on TRF.
