Plan for a club presentation during Foundation month. Contact District 7430 Rotary Foundation Chair, Cindy Hornaman at hornamca@ptd.net
Grant application period for the Rotary Year 2025-2026 Begins November 1, 2024 and continues through March 30, 2025. Let’s make an impact by utilizing our foundation! Club Presidents, President-Elects, Assistant Governors, Foundation Area Coordinators have all received e-mails.
Come join us in our Rotary District 7430
When: Saturday, March 8, 2025
5:30 pm-8:30 pm
William Penn Inn
1017 DeKalb Pike
Gwynedd, PA 19436
Come for Foundation Support, fellowship, fun and maybe some surprises…
Happy hour, hot and cold appetizers, hot station buffet
To all of our current presidents, presidents-elect and assistant governors,
It is such an honor for me to serve you next year as our 2025-26 District Governor. Presidents-elect, please let me know if this is your first time being your club’s president.
Club Presidents, if your club doesn’t have a president slated for next year, please consider becoming an Encore President, where the focus of your training will be on succession planning, website design, and membership growth among other areas. Succession planning and attracting more members are areas of focus for my fellow 2025-26 District leaders, and we are happy to offer this curriculum.
Assistant Governors, like the presidents of our clubs, your role is critical to the success of our district, and we are offering an AG track in both Pre-PETS and PETS. For our experienced AGs, your knowledge is important to pass along, so we hope to see you there as well.
Please save the following dates and more information will be coming out as the dates get closer.
At these sessions, we want to know your club’s strengths and areas of need to help us build our district’s plan. Please RSVP to me and include which location you will be attending.
REQUIRED Attendance:Friday, Feb. 21; Saturday, Feb. 22: PETS – Valley Forge Casino, King of Prussia. The district pays for your hotel and meals. I hope you are all there! There will also be an event Thursday evening, Feb. 20, which will be optional, but recommended.
Do you find it confusing to understand your newsletters/bulletins? Which do you, as a member, send information to for publication? Which, as president of your club, do you send stories to? What's the difference?
There are generally three types of newsletters in District 7430:
Club Bulletin
Your club may publish a bulletin that is specific to your club's interests. It may include service projects that are ongoing, information about new members, upcoming events, your commitments, members' birthdays and anniversaries, and other information that is pertinent only to your club. You would contact the editor in your club for information about the newsletter.
Vibrant Club News, or VCN
The VCN is published by the District. It is published quarterly, and includes information, usually sent in by your club's president or public image chair, about what different, interesting, successful, or exciting projects or programs your club has produced over the previous quarter. You can also include your upcoming fundraisers, and invite other clubs to attend. Photos are very welcome, but please send them separately, not embedded in Word or as copies of copies. Karin Suttmann, editor of the VCN, sends out approaching deadline emails in plenty of time for clubs to decide what they will send in for that quarter. For information, or to send her articles to publish (which are accepted all year, not just at deadline time): ksuttmann@jlmedia.com
Share...the Magic of Rotary
"Share" is the District Newsletter. Up until this year, this newsletter changed names with every new District Governor (DG). Last year it was The Beacon. Next year... we'll discuss that next year. This newsletter is sent to all active members and honorary members. The information is not geared to one kind of member. It is not the place for clubs to advertise their individual events or accomplishments. Instead, it is for District-wide programs, events, news, and for the kind of information that will help every Rotarian become a stronger member, leader, and participant in Service Above Self. It is published monthly, with the goal of being delivered on the first of the month at 8 a.m. (except in July, when it arrives after 1 p.m. due to changeovers). Deadlines are published in each issue, and they are usually no later than the 20th of the previous month, to allow time for proofreading. For information, or to submit articles, contact the editor, Marlene Heller, at: marleneheller@mac.com.
On September 14, 67 Rotarians from 27 clubs in District 7430, along with a guest from District 7410, gathered for the Vibrant Club Summit. The event featured a keynote address by Chris Etienne, Rotary International Director for Zone 32, who highlighted the Rotary Action Plan's key priorities: Engage, Adapt, Reach, and Impact.
Following the keynote, the facilitators provided valuable resources and facilitated discussions, allowing Rotarians to exchange stories and ideas on fostering vibrant Rotary Clubs within their communities. Participants left with a new understanding of the new Rotary Action Plan toolkit and strengthened connections and friendships with D7340.
Question: What do you get when you cross a Rotarian with an exchange student?
Answer: World Peace! One person at a time.
District 7430 has a reputation for organizing a great exchange program. We coordinated with three neighboring districts for our welcome orientation in September. The students enjoyed each other’s company and made new friends. These relationships will develop over the years and many will last a lifetime.
This fall the District Youth Exchange Committee has several trips planned so the students are able to explore our countryside. October was our Halloween celebration and a trip to explore Philadelphia. Do you have a “must-see American attraction” to recommend? Reach out to one of our committee members and let us know. We’d love to have you share the experience with our group of students.
District 7430 is actively seeking our 2025-26 class of outbound exchange students. Do you know anyone 15-18 years old who wants to spend an academic year abroad? We are hosting outbound interviews on Sunday, December 8. Prior to the district interview, we will have someone from our committee meet with the student and their parent(s) to explain the commitment and ensure parental approval. Our goal is to have 10 students, so, on average, we need 25% of the clubs to participate. If you haven’t done an exchange before, please ask our committee how to experience it this year and then host your own student next year. It really is a positive life-changing experience for the adults and students alike.
Many Rotarians are asking about a possible ShelterBox response in the aftermath of hurricanes Helene and Milton. While the situation is being monitored, ShelterBox does not respond unless asked to by the appropriate government body. At present, FEMA, the Red Cross, and state and local response teams are managing the situation and have not requested participation by ShelterBox. In lieu of deploying, ShelterBox USA made a $100,000 contribution to relief efforts.
Want to know more about ShelterBox and Rotary? You can view a 40-minute webinar about how Rotary and ShelterBox work together. The video highlights ShelterBox’s response to the September 2023 earthquake in Morocco that killed nearly 3,000 people and injured 5,600 more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GeR6-_XAR8. The ShelterBox response was aided by having aid prepositioned in Turkey so we could deploy more rapidly with a shorter supply line. This is made possible by your generous support of the "Stock the Box" campaign. Learn more at https://www.shelterboxusa.org/ .
Do you want a ShelterBox presence at a club event or do you need a presentation to your club? Contact D7430 Ambassador Bill Tuszynski at bill.tuszynski@gmail.com or 267-374-1631 to put us on your calendar. Contact Bill if you are interested in getting more involved with ShelterBox, either as a co-Ambassador or Club Champion.
Rotarians maximize the impact of our service projects by including them in ongoing programs. Such is the success of The Haiti National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Initiative. PRIP Barry Rassin, District 7020 and the Haitian water and sanitation authority met in 2018 to organize a program with a goal of providing potable water in Haiti, then served to only 43% of rural residents. The Initiative is a long-term, multi-stakeholder effort whose vision is to bring water, sanitation, and hygiene education (“WASH”) to all Haitians. Initial partners incorporated Hanwash, Inc. (“Hanwash”) to act as a “coordinating organization” through The Rotary Foundation. Hanwash works with Haitian Rotary Clubs, international Rotary partners, and the Haitian government in WASH projects targeting five Haitian communes.
The communes in our pilot program are Cavaillon, Ferrier, Leogane, Pignon, and Terre Neuve. Hanwash has coordinated infrastructure valued at USD $2,583,834, impacting 26,615 lives. That means $98 can improve the WASH life of an individual. Hanwash lets contracts for drilling water wells and installing water distribution systems, and we educate, set goals, and monitor and evaluate projects. We begin with WASH education to improve hygiene in communes before installing water service. Next, we develop a baseline study to determine what wells and water systems exist, whether they function, and where our next work will best impact the lives of Haitians. Contractors and staff enter data into an mWater software program. We engage commune officials to make sure each project is locally run and maintained. We develop community action planning tools. Local Rotary Clubs engage us to assist with global grant projects. We also offer an Adopt-a-Well program through which individuals, Clubs and Districts can fund specific water wells. Monies also come from a donor-advised fund, USAID, and individual donors. We gratefully accept small donations.
Our mission aligns stakeholders to a set of Core Values and commercial principles. This alignment enhances local capacity, delivers value, and ensures sustainability of WASH investments. Our five Core Values are: (1) local leadership and decision-making, (2) collaboration with partners and volunteers, (3) planning and continuous improvement, (4) sustainable impact, and (5) long-term commitment. Principles include (a) a pay-for-service approach to drinking water, (b) competitive procurement of contracts, and (c) management of conflicts of interest. Rotarians serve in operations with paid personnel to run HANWASH and oversee WASH investments. Rotarians also serve on our Board of Directors, managing an executive director. We build rapport with stakeholders by engaging Haitians as directors, project managers, and contractors.
Please join us. Perhaps you can help on one of our subcommittees: (1) Finance, Legal & Administration, (2) Haiti Liaison, (3) Champion Partnerships, (4) Projects Support, (5) Marketing & Donor Relations, (6) District 7020 Engagement, and (7) Monitoring & Evaluation. We seek skilled volunteers and Rotarians with relationships that can result in financial development. Maybe you can help increase our impact!
A fund has been established to assist recovery efforts via donations for Rotary Zones 33 and 34. There are two ways to access the fund to make donations: https://www.rizones33-34.org/disaster-relief/ or use the QR code in this story that will take you directly to the same page.
The zones have 501(c)3 status so donations might be tax-deductible; be sure to check with your own financial advisors.
District leaders in the most affected areas will be asked to submit request for funding to a group of seasoned leaders, many of whom have significant disaster relief experience. The group will make recommendations for grants that will support the efforts of volunteers by providing equipment, tools, storage, mobile storage, and more. The goal is to raise enough money through donations to amplify the efforts of volunteers.
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To all of our current presidents, presidents-elect and assistant governors,
Hanwash works with Haitian Rotary Clubs, international Rotary partners, and the Haitian government in WASH projects targeting five Haitian communes. 
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