Tag Archives: club innovation

Video spotlights preserve history, connect members

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Two members discuss the video spotlights
Lancaster Noon Rotary Club President-elect Jamie Culver interviews Christine Collins for one of the member spotlights.

By Laura Tussing, Rotary Club of Lancaster, Ohio

What can you do when a global pandemic shuts down international and regional travel, the ability to visit your favorite restaurants, or even the ability to attend your regular Rotary club meeting?

Two members of our club came up with an ingenious answer that has engaged our members and captured the attention of new members. Matt Wideman, immediate past president, and Jamie Culver, president-elect, felt that profiling long-time members with a video interview would be the perfect solution to keep members connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continue reading →

Ideas for staying connected during social distancing

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Ingrid Waugh

By Ingrid Waugh, Assistant Rotary Coordinator and Past Governor of Rotary District 9920

During this time of physical separation and social distancing, it is more important than ever to keep our social connections. Rotarians join Rotary to do good in their community. They stay because of the connections they make. Our relationships are important, and we need to strengthen the ones we have and to build new ones. What might this look like in our changed world? Continue reading →

Embracing virtual meetings for your club

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District 6440 Governor Suzanne Gibson

By Suzanne Gibson, governor of District 6440 (northern Illinois, USA)

For many of us, our Rotary family is an important part of our lives. These friendships connect us to our communities and the world and provide avenues of soul-enriching service.

These uncertain times caused by the coronavirus pandemic challenge us to be innovative and adaptable. In District 6440 (Illinois), all our clubs have canceled in-person meetings, following the advice of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and the need for social distancing. But that does not mean we have to give up on regular fellowship opportunities. Several of our clubs have already met this week virtually using Zoom. Continue reading →

How to engage members during the coronavirus pandemic

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Keep members engaged through virtual meeting platforms.

By George Robertson-Burnett, Zone 34 Rotary Coordinator and past governor of Rotary District 6890

These are certainly interesting times we live in. None of us could have foreseen these extraordinary circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus. Rotary clubs everywhere are wrestling with the question, How do we maintain membership engagement during the pandemic?

Well, this is Rotary and I am sure that these challenges will bring out our considerable strengths – ingenuity, decisiveness, flexibility, and integrity. Continue reading →

Creating a family-friendly vibe with your Rotary club

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The Bonfa family at a food drive

The Bonfa family at a club-sponsored food drive to benefit families in South Orange County, California, USA.

By Anabella Bonfa, Rotary Club of Irvine, California, USA, with Anthony Bonfa

My husband and I and our teenage son Anthony all volunteer at 30 or more projects every year. We consider ourselves a Rotary family. All three of us are hands-on because we come from a smart club that engaged our son in Rotary projects at a young age.

We all enjoy Rotary because it gives us a joint activity where we can spend time together with mutual friends, contribute our individual talents, and create a better world. My club went out of their way to include Anthony from day one. This is how he explains it: Continue reading →

What is inspiration?

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The Rotary Club of Kingsville Southshore, Ontario, Canada, involves children in all club activities.

By Stacey Jones, Rotary Club of Kingsville Southshore, Ontario, Canada

What is inspiration? To me it means that we are so moved by something, that we are compelled to act. Almost without a conscious thought.

That was my experience in Italy in the summer of 2018. While attending an event at the Coliseum, I had the opportunity to speak to Connie Nielsen about her charity called the Human Needs Project. They work primarily in the slums of Nairobi assisting people with the very basics of human needs. And as I stood there, literally rubbing elbows with these celebrities listening to them speak so passionately about their charity work; and staring out into the city from this private gala, I couldn’t help but question what I was doing with my life. And so at that moment my question became my answer. Continue reading →

Innovation through Rotary

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Rotaractors

RI President Barry Rassin and Rotary directors with Rotaractors at the Rotaract Turns 50 Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

By Alexandria Ritchie, a member of the Rotaract Club of Virginia Commonwealth University and the Rotary Club of James River, Richmond, Virginia, USA

Both Rotary and Rotaract have contributed so much to who I am as a young person. The spirit of innovation that I’ve found in this family has been instrumental to my journey.

During my very first meeting as a member of an Interact club, I listened as our faculty adviser talked about the project the club had just finished. They had raised funds to provide livestock to a family in South America. The livestock would benefit the family for years to come because it would help provide goods that they could sell in a local market for profit. I remember thinking how amazing and different this type of service seemed.  Looking back, I now realize that I was falling in love with this idea of sustainability. Continue reading →