From Haiti to Rotary: Thank You, Thank You

Chicken Skin, Chicken Skin!  (Hawaiian verbal response to a goose-bump-stimulating event).  I first experienced this about half way through a meeting with visitors from Haiti.  I was in a small conference room in the School of Business on Westminster College in Salt Lake City on March 8, 2012.  In attendance were five visitors from Haiti, three men and two women, comprising a contingent brought in by the U. S. State Department under the auspices of the International Visitor Leadership Program (more on this program and its similarity to the Rotary peace initiative later).  Also in attendance were an English to French simultaneous translator and a French to English simultaneous translator.  The meeting was arranged by the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy (see http://www.utahdiplomacy.org ), one of several organizations in the U.S. that cooperate with the State Department to provide relevant programs for the visitors.  I serve on their board as vice president.

The purpose of the meeting was for me to explain the purposes and functioning of Rotary at the local and international level to the visitors.  They were in the U. S. studying the topic “Changemakers:  The Impact Of Social Entrepreneurs In The U. S. (Haiti), A Project For Haiti.”  There were four goals: 1)  Introduce how social entrepreneurs recognize, create, manage, and sustain solutions to social problems; 2)  Examine the culture of service in the U.S. as reflected in government initiatives for civic engagement and innovation;  3)  Explore business strategies for using new and social media for fundraising, grassroots mobilization and strategic collaboration;  and 4)  Discuss the role of social entrepreneurs in job creation and how business community benefits from the work they do.

I did all the talking for the first part of the meeting.  I used “Guiding Principles” from http://www.rotary.org/en/aboutus/rotaryinternational/guidingprinciples/Pages/ridefault.aspx.  It is a perfect talking point source when introducing Rotary.  When I got to the point to discuss some of the international projects that Rotary does, I started with Polio Plus, then moved on to the Shelter Box program.

That was about the last thing I got to say.  The visitors began to speak.  The Chicken Skin came first when the two women announced that they lived in Shelter Box tents for over 2 months.  Understand that these visitors were selected by the U.S. State Department as up and coming individuals in the infrastructure of Haiti, not someone off the street!  Not only did the two women live in the tents, they said the tents were far superior to tents provided by other aid organizations. They mentioned the importance of the various utensils and the water purification system packed in the Shelter Boxes.  And, they, and others took the time to repack the Shelter Boxes when better housing was available.  In one instance, the tents were used a second time after a severe after shock threatened their fixed shelter!

Utah Chili Open distributes funds to charities on March 22

The premier fundraising event for the Rotary Club of Sugar House is the Utah Chili Open. The funds raised during our 21^stannual event in January will be distributed this coming March 22^nd. Because of additional guests, our meeting will be held at the Sons of the Utah Pioneers building. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP with Glenn Mills at gfminc@xmission.com .

The charities receiving funds on March 22 are:

Carmen B. Pingree Center for Children with Autism – Valley Mental Health

Cancer Wellness House

People Helping People

Reach Out and Read Utah

SPLORE

Teen Challenge New Hope House

The Sharing Place

 

Sugar House Rotary hosts Benefit Concert for Adoption Awareness

Last September, The Rotary Club of Sugar House held a party.  The honorees were either “adoptable children” in northern Utah or families hoping to adopt.  The party lasted two hours.  The results will last multiple life times.  A 17 year old girl met a family and magic happened.  5 months later, she was part of that family.  A girl who in only  a few short months would have turned 18 and become a legal adult, thereby leaving the Child Protective Services safety net, now has parents who love her, a family relationship for life, and grandparents for any future children she may have.  Obviously, the event was a success.

To insure other children will have this same opportunity, Sugar House Rotary is holding a benefit concert to raise funds to secure a healthy future for this event.

The concert will star Ricci Martin, son of Dean Martin, remembering his father through song and stories.  The date is April 28^th, 2012 7:30pm in the Vieve Gore Concert Hall at Westminster College.

I believe you would enjoy attending this event; but even more, I hope you would like to feel that you have done something to help a youth in the care of the Child Protective Services find HOPE that they, too, will find a family to love them.

There are two ways to support this program:

Utah Rotary wins an award for its excellent Rotary Youth Exchange program

What a big smile I have on my face as I send this out to everyone to let them know the great news! District 5420 was given the Gold Award at the North American Youth Exchange Network this past weekend in Anchorage, Alaska. This award is based on many different areas of Rotary Youth Exchange but focused on youth-centered, Rotarian and Non-Rotarian involve in the local, state, national and international level! There were 2 Silver and 35 Gold Awards given out to Districts in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Out of hundreds of districts, Utah was singled out as one of the best programs in RI. Way to go Utah! Way to go Youth and Way to go every Rotarian, volunteer, host family, counselor and all the others who put tons of hours into helping our youth become tomorrow's leader!

Again, Congrats to all!!!

Yours in Rotary,

Terri Nicole Sawyer
District 5420 Rotary Youth Exchange - Outbound Coordinator

Past Utah District Governor earns national award for efforts following Japan earthquake and other disasters

SARASOTA, Fla. March 5, 2012 – Murray area volunteer, Wally Brown has been recognized by President Obama and ShelterBox USA with a Presidential Volunteer Service Award for his efforts during 2011 to provide shelter, warmth and dignity for survivors of natural and other disasters worldwide.

In the aftermath of disasters such as the Japan earthquake and tsunami last March, many watched on the television wishing they could make a difference. Brown knew ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity, would be on the scene delivering it’s iconic green box containing a family tent, water purification, a cook set and stove along with other lifesaving supplies. Through Brown’s efforts of raising awareness and funds for ShelterBox, the organization was able to provide more than 17,600 ShelterBoxes to families throughout the world in 2011, including the tornadoes in the southern U.S., drought and famine in East Africa, widespread flooding in the Philippines and the subsequent earthquakes in Turkey.

“I am truly proud to honor our volunteers, who work hard year-round to support ShelterBox and our efforts to help families rebuild their lives across the globe,” said Emily Sperling, ShelterBox USA President. “It’s because of the continuous efforts of our volunteers such as Wally that we are able to help so many vulnerable families each year.”

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is a special recognition presented on behalf of President Barack Obama. The award is part of a national recognition program created in 2003 through the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation for individuals of all ages who contribute a significant amount of time to volunteer activities.

Interact Club of Cottonwood-AMES, sponsored by the Hispano-Latino Rotary Club, on Telemundo!

Though this story is in Spanish, we guarantee you will get the whole idea from the video! Congratulations to the Interact Club of AMES-Cottonwood for volunteering at Globus Relief in February, accompanied by members of the Hispano-Latino Club. They collected and organized many necessary items for developing countries, everything from clothes to wheelchairs. And there efforts were recognized by Telemundo. Great job, everyone!

Watch the video

http://www.telemundoutah.net/Noticias/tabid/58/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2048/Para-las-personas-que-mas-lo-necesitan.aspx

Westminster Rotaract Speed-Mentoring Activity

Friday, February 24th was our long awaited speed-mentoring activity. This activity was to connect Rotaractors with Rotarians and help us get to know them, learn more about Rotary, and expand our professional networks.

We met at 6:00 PM in the HWAC at Westminster and had some great food, provided by members of our Rotaract Club. There were lemon squares, oreo balls, wrapped sausages (which I call piggies in a blanket), cookies, rootbeer, and more! It was all delicious!

(So delicious it nearly killed Dave)

We had each of the Rotarians split up and sit at one of 6 different tables. We then all picked tables and commenced in a speed-dating type setup where we asked the Rotarians questions for an allotted amount of time and then rotated when the time was up. That way we all had the opportunity to ask each of the Rotarians questions about their profession and how to be successful. Some of the questions that were provided were:

-What are the best/worst parts about your occupation?
-What mistakes have you learned from?
-How long have you been in your profession?
-How did you get involved with Rotary?
-How did you decide on your profession?
-What did you want to be when you were 5?
-What’s your favorite thing to do to relax?
-What was your most embarrassing moment?
-What would you buy if you won the lottery?
-What is something unique about you?
-What is one skill I should have in order to excel in the ‘real world?’

We were not restricted to these questions, of course, but they certainly helped to start off some great conversations. Among the Rotarians present we had representatives from all types of professions. There were a few engineers, financial advisors, teachers of various sorts, a nurse, a real estate agent, a dermatologist, and a few others. They were all amazing and have had such successful careers! It was great to have the opportunity to get to know each of these Rotarians from the Sugarhouse and Millcreek Rotary Clubs so well. I feel much closer to them as an individual and as a club, and I’m sure many other Rotaractors feel the same.

We all had a blast, and I learned that the Rotarians have a fantastic sense of humor. They were more than willing to answer questions about their mistakes, embarrassing moments, and the fun questions like what they would buy if they won $6 million in the lottery. It was an amazing, rare opportunity to get to hear the wisdom of so many happy, successful people who are great humanitarians as well as great professionals. I’m so glad I was able to attend this speed-mentoring activity and I’m sure I speak for all of us Rotaractors when I say I hope we do something like this again soon!

-Katie Hathaway

Westminster Rotaract Secretary