Welcome to November. This is Foundation month for Rotary International. The Rotary Foundation funds our humanitarian projects, polio eradication, and peace scholarships. Our impact is to improve health and the environment, advance peace, provide education, and alleviate poverty.
And it’s Foundation Month in District 7430. Our Grants Committee started to receive District grant applications on November 1st. On November 6th we held a Foundation seminar featuring Foundation Trustee Brenda Cressey and District speakers. On November 9th, Showcase Tuesday featured Foundation Annual Fund Giving Officer Rebecca Silber, District Foundation Chair Cindy Hornaman and Annual Fund Chair Katie Farrell. Project Showcase features Major Gifts Chair Mike McCarthy and Paul Harris Society Coordinator Bill Erdman. Annual Fund Coordinators and Major Gifts speakers are visiting with Clubs to educate us about the impact of our contributions. We will celebrate our annual Day of Giving on November 23rd.
Our Zone has been active. Zones 28 and 32 convened a Summit from November 2-4, 2021. Featured was Zone Membership Coordinator Herb Klotz, presenting awards for membership growth. Let’s get that award next year for 2021-2022 growth! The memorial service included a tribute to PDG Linda R. Young. The current Zone newsletter, “Beyond Borders,” includes an article about our Project Showcase and Showcase Tuesday during October. See it at https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50077.
Please remember the District 7430 Foundation for Rotaplast and Youth Exchange. We can give in memory of Past District Governor Linda Young to support Rotaplast. We can give in memory of Past Rotarian Sharon Rittenhouse to benefit our Youth Exchange Program. Send contributions payable to “Rotary 7430 Foundation” in specific memory to Thomas Hartzell, Treasurer, 1341 Biafore Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18017.
It’s time to register for our District Conference, scheduled April 22-24, 2022, at the Hershey Lodge. Register at Rotaryathershey2022.org during November for a discount. Register for the International Convention scheduled for June 4-8, 2022 at rotary.org. PDG Janet Kolepp is organizing our Zone Barbecue Roundup in Houston. Click Here to register for the Roundup scheduled for June 5, 2022.
I look forward to seeing you at our Club, District and International events!
Click here or on the image below to view the November Tuesday Showcase featuring Foundation Annual Giving Officer Rebecca Silber, D7430 Foundation Chair PDG Cindy Hornaman, and D7430 Annual Fund Chair Katie Farrell. Details on how Foundation donations are used at the RI, the District, and the Club level to accomplish community service projects around the world and at home are highlighted.
Ideas for Club Projects Connecting to the Monthly Theme
Partner with health organizations to hold screenings, i.e.:
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
Alzheimer’s Association
Parkinson’s Association
Choose a location. Good locations might be:
Senior living facilities
Senior Centers
JCC
YMCA
The partner organization will help you organize the screening; provide screeners, provide materials, provide instructions, provide PSAs and ad templates. Always use RI compliant logos.
Hold a Blood Drive
Our blood bank is very low on blood supplies! Ask a church, synagogue, or senior center to host the event. Connect with the Miller-Keystone Blood Center. They will do most of the hard work. You will need to register people to donate blood, and advertise the drive.
Promote your club!
At any, screening: People usually come with a caregiver; adult child, or spouse. Have materials available that talk about “Why Rotary?”
You should have a traveling display readily available that can go to any event you hold, with visuals and take-aways.
Have a few people on hand who can greet people, register them, and note any interest in Rotary, for later contact by your Membership committee.
Is your calendar too full for an event?
Here are other things you can do for this monthly theme:
“Rotarians understand that the whole world is their backyard. They can see the effects of climate change in communities they care about, and they haven’t waited to take action. They’re tackling the problem the way they always do: coming up with projects, using their connections to change policy – and planning for the future.”
That was RI President Barry Rassin in an interview back in 2018. He was helping to sound the alarm that Rotary needed to step up its efforts to direct our attention to environmental matters, and most specifically – climate change.
Districts and clubs have been doing environmental projects for decades. But through the efforts of President Rassin and so many others, Rotary has greatly increased its focus on the environment since then.
The RI Board introduced an Environmental Policy Statement in September 2020 that begins, “Rotary supports activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance environmental sustainability, and foster harmony between people and the environment.”
That policy statement led the Board in 2021 to introduce a seventh Area of Focus for Rotary: “Supporting the Environment.”
District 7430 is doing our part to focus our clubs on the environment. This past summer through the efforts of DG Bob Hobaugh, we formed the District Environmental Sustainability Team. Bob asked me to lead the effort, and I am very happy to do so.
Our first very important task was to put together a team that would be a resource for our clubs. Eleven Rotarians from around the District who have a passion for environmental causes, and in some cases expertise in the environmental field, are volunteering their time and talents to kick off the effort. We also have several non-Rotarian subject-matter experts who are lending their knowledge to the District.
Our intention as a District environmental team is to provide information to clubs, provide inspiration by sharing Rotary environmental project success stories, and provide support in the way of resources.
The team has met twice and made a lot of progress in formulating a strategy for the group and developing project ideas for the clubs in our District. Here is what we’ve been working on so far:
Developed a Mission Statement and Purpose.
Developed a comprehensive list of environmental organizations that can be used as informational resources or contacts by the District clubs.
In the process of developing a section for the District website that will contain specific information. We hope to have this up soon.
Join in the 20th running of the Habitat 5K. The route is on lightly traveled roads in Upper Bucks County. The course is a test for experienced runners, but also friendly to new runners and walkers. It's a family atmosphere with a Kids Fun Run, generous awards, with post-race pizza and wings, including vegetarian and vegan options.
WHY? Why not? This race supports Habitat for Humanity of Buck County’s mission to provide affordable housing to working families in Bucks County. Many families in Bucks County are paying over 50% of their income in rent with home ownership increasingly out of reach.
District 7430 STEM YEA fundraiser. We are only selling 200 tickets. For tickets to this special event or sponsorship opportunities email Al Engel or Darlene Scott to learn more.
And it’s Foundation Month in District 7430. Our Grants Committee started to receive District grant applications on November 1st. On November 6th we held a Foundation seminar featuring Foundation Trustee Brenda Cressey and District speakers. On November 9th, Showcase Tuesday featured Foundation Annual Fund Giving Officer Rebecca Silber, District Foundation Chair Cindy Hornaman and Annual Fund Chair Katie Farrell. Project Showcase features Major Gifts Chair Mike McCarthy and Paul Harris Society Coordinator Bill Erdman. Annual Fund Coordinators and Major Gifts speakers are visiting with Clubs to educate us about the impact of our contributions. 
introduce a seventh Area of Focus for Rotary: “Supporting the Environment.”
