This month is Grant Application time. So far, 22 of our clubs have signed MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding). Is your club ready to submit their grant applications for 2025-2026?
The West Reading Wyomissing club is currently developing a community wide environmental composting project – is that something that could be done in your community?
The Warrington Club is working on a diaper drive to assist underserved families along with the food pantry. Does your community have a similar need for families with children?
We can all support the Rotary Foundation by our contributions, which make such a large impact, both locally and around the world. Have you made your 2024-2025 contribution yet to the Rotary Foundation?
Leadership training is one of the things that sets our volunteers apart from other volunteer organizations. Some training our members pay for themselves, such as the Rotary Leadership Institute, District Conferences, Zone Institutes, and Foundation Seminars, to name a few. Our district dues pay for all our presidents-elect (PE) and assistant governors to attend their President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS), which is 1/3 of our district budget, about $24,000. We pay for their hotel rooms, food, and world-class learning sessions. That is how serious Rotary is in investing in our leaders' development.
In late February, our incoming presidents and assistant governors arrived in King of Prussia for their day-and-a-half of training. To all who attended, we appreciate you. If you missed it, we missed you. Because you are already paid for, you can attend PETS at another location.
Our next district training for the upcoming Rotary year will be coming via Zoom on May 5, 7, and 8. Details coming soon. All are welcome.
Shelter Box continues to deliver aid in response to the California wildfires. In partnership with Rotary Districts 5280 and 5300 in the affected areas, ShelterBox USA is supporting the communities affected as they begin the long road to recovery.
ShelterBox USA has been able to provide vital aid to those in need by providing some of the basics for the most vulnerable people affected. ShelterBox USA has provided hundreds of LuminAID Solar Lights, which are vital to helping ensure illumination during power outages, enhancing security during this difficult time. The solar lights have been distributed at the Pasadena Convention Center, an emergency evacuation shelter serving hundreds of displaced people, and in Altadena, where the entire community of 42,000 people was evacuated when the fires began. In Altadena alone, more than 7,000 homes and businesses were destroyed, and the community largely remains without power. In addition, ShelterBox USA has provided high-thermal blankets to provide warmth to people displaced, along with personal bags, and cook sets to support families in their time of need.
ShelterBox USA has also committed a $100,000 matching grant to Rotary Districts 5280 and 5300 to support the shelter and household needs in the hardest-hit areas.
ShelterBox USA remains committed to standing with families impacted by this crisis and will keep you updated as the situation develops. Your continued support makes it possible for Shelter Box to offer comfort and solidarity when it is needed most.
Do you want a Shelter Box 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 Shelter Box, either as a co-Ambassador or Club Champion.
Public Health Youth Summit 2025: The Science of Vaccines
Bucks County Community College, Newtown Campus
April 30, 2025 9:00 – 1:30 PM
Presented by the PA Polio Survivors Network and Rotary District 7430.
Highlighted by educational support from: The Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership
and The Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Program Highlights
Keynote Speaker: The Science of Vaccines
Paul A. Offit, MD - Director, Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Guest Speaker: Vaccines: A Global Perspective
Michael A. McGovern - Chair, International Polio Plus Committee, Rotary International
Student Breakout Sessions
•Interaction with polio survivors, living with the disabling effects of what is now a vaccine preventable disease.
•Participate in a hands-on activity with the Vaccine Education Center at CHOP exploring both the history and science of vaccines.
•Learn from the BCHIP team, as they engage the students in an interactive presentation about the many careers in healthcare, exploring both degreed and non-degreed job options.
Student Group Presentations
Closing Remarks
Lunches to go and Departure
We will be hosting 225 high school students from many different schools.
We would love to engage your Club in this new and exciting event that supports
Rotary International’s Focus on Disease Prevention and Treatment.
The Environmental Sustainability Team heard a presentation in February from Ken Hamilton who directs a student-led environmental organization in the Pottstown area. Ken is Executive Director of GreenAllies, whose mission is to empower and support students as they become environmental sustainability leaders.
GreenAllies owns and manages a nature center on a 17-acre farm located north of Pottstown where they have gardens, trails, and other environmental features. It’s basically an outdoor education center and community space. From this farm, called Althouse Arboretum, the kids plan and initiate environmental projects in the area and provide environmental education. There currently are students from five high schools who are involved in the program.
The students are the leaders of GreenAllies. And, they are spreading the word about environmental leadership for youth by training high schoolers outside the immediate area. They have held conversations and training sessions with students and teachers across Pennsylvania and even out of state. Their goal is not to establish clubs, but to develop a network of student-led groups that plan and do their own environmental projects where they live.
We are trying to connect GreenAllies with high school students who may be interested in starting an environmental initiative in their school. We thought that a good place to start is with our Interact Clubs.
GreenAllies will be holding a High School Conference on Saturday, March 8, at Montgomery County Community College in Pottstown. It’s not too late to sign up. www.green-allies.org. Call me if you would like to discuss it.
And, if students from your Interact Club can’t make it to the March 8 conference, we would welcome the opportunity to connect them with GreenAllies to learn how they can kick off an environmental initiative in their school.
Oh, and don’t forget that April is Environment Month in Rotary. Hope your club is planning to do an environmental project either on the Rotary Day of Service on April 19 or sometime during the month of April. If you need ideas, visit the “Supporting the Environment” page under Service on the District website.
A Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is planned for you on Saturday, March 22, at DeSales University Center, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley, PA. The sessions will start at 8:00 a.m. and run through 2:30 p.m. Here's your chance to learn more about Rotary from trained facilitators and fellow Rotarians!
Get ready for an interactive learning experience as we offer parts I, II, III, and Graduate courses.
For only $125 or $50 for Rotaractors, you'll gain invaluable knowledge and skills to benefit your Rotary service.
To encourage your club to attend, the club with the highest attendance will be recognized at the event, and each person will receive a gift.
To register for RLI, please visit our website, https://rlinea.org/ and register for our district event on Saturday, March 22, at DeSales.
You can also register for the District 7450 event at Temple University Ambler Campus on March 29 at the same link if you cannot make the March 22 event.
Did you know our Rotary District has a Conflict Resolution Policy?
1.4.1 Conflict Resolution Policy
The intent of this policy is to provide a framework for resolving conflict between all District 7430 Rotarians that affects the function and/or the physical or social environment, including members, clubs, committees, and the district.
All Rotarians are encouraged to resolve conflicts through direct dialogue whenever possible to promote goodwill and better friendships. Should conflicts not be resolved in this manner:
Club conflicts-discuss with club leaders
District and Committee Conflicts-discuss with District Leadership
Our Rotary International Learning Center has interesting courses on understanding conflict. The “Essentials of Understanding Conflict” contains the following topics:
What is conflict?
What is your conflict management style?
How can you resolve conflict?
Resources for further learning
In addition, this course offers links to interesting tools and various organizations that can help us as we learn more about resolving conflicts. Go to MyRotary.com to start the course. (https://my.rotary.org/en).
A mother with several energetic young children came to see me for help with parenting. She said there were frequent outbursts and a lot of arguing among the kids. They didn’t listen well when she tried to guide and support them. Family life felt very tiring and chaotic. She was describing children who could not manage their thoughts and feelings, resulting in uncontrolled and disruptive behavior.
This mom did an excellent job of supporting and nurturing her children. But like many families, life was hectic and fast-paced, resulting in a lack of consistency and structure.
Early in our work together, we discussed the joy and benefits of family meals in creating structured family time. But their apartment was too small to accommodate a table big enough for everyone, so they ate in shifts, with the kids alternating between video games and eating. Gradually, we worked out a plan.
Through friends and neighbors, the mother came up with a piece of plywood and two sawhorses. So, while their mother prepared dinner, the kids all had jobs assembling the table, collecting chairs, putting out an old sheet as a tablecloth, and placing the necessary plates and utensils. And each had a responsibility for cleaning up and washing dishes. Homework and quiet time came immediately afterward.
The kids felt responsible, valued, and connected in this daily routine. Dinner became a safe time to share and feel heard. Over time they got more involved in picking the menu and preparing food. One of the kids made cloth napkins for everyone and two others decorated the sheet with drawings.
After a week or two, the mother reported that the kids were calmer, better behaved, and listening more often.
So, what do kids need from us adults in order to develop the ability to manage thoughts and feelings in healthy ways? In addition to the love and attention that all children need, consistency and structure in a safe environment are absolutely necessary. Kids need time with adults in which they can share and explore the myriad thoughts and feelings that their developing brains experience (many of which can be confusing and scary), and learn that this is normal and manageable in healthy ways. We do this as parents, teachers, coaches, neighbors, relatives, and anyone else who spends time with young kids.
Structure and consistency are good for us adults too, providing calm and comfortable breaks from all of our responsibilities. Meals provide excellent opportunities. Breakfast and dinner routines in particular offer great bookends to the day. Start a dinner routine in which each person shares one good thing that happened that day or one thing each is looking forward to. Or how about Friday night ice cream sundaes or Saturday morning pancakes? Depending on their ages, get the kids involved in preparation and cleanup.
What is one way you can help children in your world manage their feelings?
Student Sponsorship Coordinator at Sustainable Cambodia
Meet Sichiv Sek (first name pronounced See-chew). Sichiv is part of the young leadership team at Sustainable Cambodia (SC) in Pursat Province in Cambodia. Mike Orbin (Bethlehem Morning Star Rotary Club) is sponsoring Sichiv’s visit to the United States to participate in our multi-District Rotary Conference at the Hershey Lodge on April 4-6. We will host an Information Table at the Friendship House, featuring the work Rotarians have been doing in Pursat Province including the current Rotary Global Grant 2343143, in which District 7430 is a major partner. You will learn about Cambodian villagers’ and children’s life and needs, plus opportunities to get involved and how you can go to Cambodia on a 10-day excursion with the Rotary Club of Pursat to see the must-visit places in Cambodia, visit village families, and experience the impact of Rotary projects in the remote villages of Pursat Province.
If your Club is interested, Sichiv would love to be a speaker at your Club meeting if you meet on Monday morning (April 7th), or Thursday (April 10th), or Friday (April 11th). She returns to Cambodia on Saturday, April 12th.
Sichiv is the Educational Sponsorship Coordinator for SC and is committed to providing youth from poor rural families in Pursat the opportunity to learn and attend enrichment classes in Rotary-sponsored schools. She helps identify children in need, coordinates sponsorship support, and engages them in youth clubs and leadership activities. She also teaches English and is a new member of the Rotary Club of Pursat.
This past year, she successfully organized the first-ever SC student alumni reunion. Alumni contributed generously to support ongoing SC students’ needs and are now networked through an online group. Since Rotarians founded SC, there have been 20 graduating classes of 12th-grade students, with 421 graduates. Of these, 298 completed college with a professional degree, 116 are currently attending university, and seven pursued vocational training and secured good careers.
Sichiv, herself from a poor rural family, started with SC as a student, graduated from grade 12, and went on to a Cambodian university on an SC scholarship. She graduated from the University of Management and Economics and returned to become part of the SC team. She is married and has a son. Sichiv has been working for SC since 2016. Her first position was as a librarian, and she was trained by the SC education team and international Rotary volunteers. In 2017, she was promoted to be an English teacher, and in 2019 she became a vice principal. In 2022, she became the Sponsorship Manager, responsible for identifying sponsors to support the education of rural children. In her role as Sponsorship Coordinator at SC, she personally helps connect hundreds of children in each of SC’s two main schools with their international sponsors.
She is part of the young leadership team inspiring hope, confidence, and determination for the local villagers and children to create a better life and future for themselves.
If you would like Sichiv to speak at your Club meeting, please contact Mike Orbin at 610-703-4292 or via email at morbin@ptd.net. Please stop by the Sustainable Cambodia Information Table at the Conference and say hello to Sichiv.
Katie Farrell, Gwenn Carr, Cindy Hornaman, Amy Sheller, Mary Cook, Bill Tuszynski,
Terry Reed, Michael Orbin, Carol Ferguson, David Weiskotten, Loretta Ottinger
Questions or concerns about this issue? Contact the editor at: marleneheller@mac.com
ary Leadership Institute (RLI) is planned for you on Saturday, March 22, at DeSales University Center, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley, PA. The sessions will start at 8:00 a.m. and run through 2:30 p.m.
ics and returned to become part of the SC team. She is married and has a son. Sichiv has been working for SC since 2016. Her first position was as a librarian, and she was trained by the SC education team and international Rotary volunteers. In 2017, she was promoted to be an English teacher, and in 2019 she became a vice principal. In 2022, she became the Sponsorship Manager, responsible for identifying sponsors to support the education of rural children. In her role as Sponsorship Coordinator at SC, she personally helps connect hundreds of children in each of SC’s two main schools with their international sponsors.
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