The Lynnfield Rotary Club is hosting “Build a Bed” on Saturday, May 21 from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm at the Lynnfield Fire Dept., South Station, 600 Salem St., Lynnfield, MA. We are working with “A Bed For Every Child,” a Lynn based group providing beds for needy children in Essex County.
At this event, all materials will be provided to teams of four. You will construct a bed with lumber, tools, and hardware (and expert instruction) being provided. It will be a wonderful experience for you and a significant resource for the children.
We welcome your financial support and would be pleased to have any or all of you join us for the construction event. The cost to build a bed is $350. Register a team of 4 or more to build a bed for $350. Sponsorships of $350 are also accepted.
The Lynnfield Rotary Club, established in 1963 has a long history of active service in our community and around the world.
Please join us as we celebrate the Installation of District Officers & Club Presidents in Rotary District 7930 on June 30th, 2022, at 6:00 PM at the Danversport, 161 Elliott St, Danvers. Since we are a little bit later than usual with the date of our installation, the theme for this year’s event is “It’s Almost the Fourth of July”.
Accordingly, we will have a summer cookout style dinner buffet with Danversport's own New England Clam Chowder, Warm Dinner Rolls, Strawberry Salad and Caesar Salad, Quinoa and Vegetable Salad, Watermelon Salad, Grilled Steak Tips, Chipotle BBQ Chicken, Hardwood Smoked Pulled Pork, Herbed Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob, and we will finish the evening with Blueberry Tarts and coffee/tea.
Doors will open at 5:30 and we will have cheese platters, vegetable crudites, and a cash bar for fellowship from 6:00 – 6:45 PM. A brief opening ceremony will be held from 6:45 – 7:00 PM followed by dinner starting at 7:00 PM. At 7:45 PM we will begin the installation festivities. The dinner cost per person is $65.
This Tuesday, May 17, 2022, at 7:45am, the Gloucester Rotary is hosting members on the Boneza community on a zoom call during our weekly meeting. Gloucester Rotarian Dave McKechnie -- who introduced us to Boneza and the Kivu Hills Academy -- is visiting Boneza and will be on the zoom call from Rwanda.
Since 2017, the Gloucester and Rockport Rotary Clubs have partnered and obtained grants to support the community of Boneza, Rwanda. This community is roughly the same population as the combined residency of Rockport and Gloucester. But, unlike those of us fortunate enough to live on Cape Ann, there is little infrastructure support in Boneza.
Rotary Peabody is proudly partnering again with the Peabody Area Chamber of Commerce for our annual Torigian Golf Classic. Golfers and sponsorships are still available. Proceeds go back into the community for scholarships for local students. Join us for a morning of golf, food and fun!
The members of Medford Rotary Club wish to congratulate Vin Frattura for being chosen by the Medford Chamber of Commerce's Citizen of the Year! Vin has been a member of the Medford Rotary Club for 29 years. He served as Past President and has been on the Board of Directors many times.
Vinny was chosen by the past recipients of the Citizen of the Year Award and truly exemplifies the Rotary Motto of "Service Above Self," which he referenced in his speech upon accepting the Clippership Award. Vinny is a "doer" and a "giver." You ask him and he is there with his time and energy. Our membership gives a resounding thumbs up to the Chamber for nominating and voting Vinny as their "Citizen of the Year."
Pictured here is Chamber President Maury Carroll presenting Medford Citizen of the Year Award to Vinny Fratura.
As of last Thursday, May 5th, Beverly Rotary Club has inducted a total of 15 new members this year into our club. We feel this is quite a feat! Our membership is now up to 114 members. One of the new memberships is a corporate one, bringing our corporate total to five. Having the ability to have a corporate membership available, has enticed some places to join our club. We will continue in this vein actively to recruit new members into our vibrant club for the next year!
The New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV) is excited to announce that our Community Volunteer Program is resuming with weekday lunch and dinner meal services.
In light of the positive developments of the last two months, the NECHV is looking forward to re-commencing a scaled program of community volunteering here at the Center. The Veteran residents are eager to open up their home as well.
Thank you for all your past engagement and support, and for your continued interest in volunteering to support Veterans at the NECHV. It has been a challenging past two years of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and our focus here at the Center has been protecting the health and wellbeing of Veterans.
Now is the time to get your club qualified for participating in district and global grants for the coming 2022-23 Rotary year. For a club to get qualified you have to have at least two members who have taken the district grant management seminar, and the club's current president for 2021-22 as well as the incoming president for 2022-23 both have to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the district and the club. The signing process is fully electronic, and you can click this link to find the e-signing instructions for Presidents.
Any club member who has already attended the District Assembly on April 27th has already taken the grant management seminar and is already qualified. Those who have missed the assembly, or if you have additional members in your club who want to be qualified to access the grants module in ClubRunner, the grant management seminar is now available online on the district website. If you follow this link you can watch the seminar in a 20 minute YouTube video and then all you need to do is complete a short online quiz.
This spring, the Lynnfield Rotary Interact Club hosted a recycling event for the community. Data Recycling of New England partnered with Interact students to host an event at Town Hall in which Lynnfield residents could safely recycle their electronics, preserving the environment, and providing parts that can be refurbished for future use. The club made a portion of the recycling fees collected, raising over $3,000 to support future community service and Interact Club activities. Kudos to the Lynnfield Rotary Interact!!
The Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor will be holding a two-day yard sale at 217 Humphrey Street in Marblehead on Saturday, May 14, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on Sunday, May 15, from Noon to 4 p.m.
In case of rain, the sale will be conducted on the better of the two days.
The venue is located on the 441/442 bus line at the Humphrey Street / Ruby Avenue bus stop and there is plenty of on-street parking.
Featured items include costume jewelry, small furniture items, artwork, rugs, dishes, holiday décor, clothing, toys, books and more.
All proceeds will benefit the club’s scholarship program and philanthropic projects.
Hobbs Playground will soon undergo a makeover. The new layout and updated equipment will guarantee access to children of all abilities. Leading the way to these improvements is Laney Dowling (center), Marblehead Family Fund's (MFF) Chair, who presented the playground’s final plans to Marblehead Rotary members. The MFF’s mission, since it started as a grassroots organization in 1988, has been to improve Marblehead's playgrounds, parks, and open spaces.
Marblehead Family Fund’s efforts were strengthened by individuals, families, businesses and civic organizations who managed to collectively raise $300,000, in the midst of lockdowns, to make this new playground a reality. The Municipal Americans with Disabilities Act Improvement Project Grant contributed $62,000. Marblehead Rotary capped the goal with a $25,000 sponsorship and also gave contributors an opportunity to benefit from the organization's charitable foundation status, encouraging more generous giving with tax exemption.
Come join us and celebrate the emergence of our clubs from the pandemic. Friday, May 6. We are going to have a special Paul Harris Luncheon where we recognize all those who have generously donated to the foundation over the past year.
The 2022 Rotary International Convention is now just two months away so if you would like to attend, the time to register is now! We are pleased to announce that the Rotary International Board of Directors has confirmed that the 2022 Rotary International Convention will be an in-person event in Houston, TX, June 4th-8th. For more information see also this flyer from Zones 28&32.
There will also be a special District 7930 TexMex dinner on Monday, June 6th, at 7:00 PM local time, at The Original Ninfa’s on Navigation Street in Houston so please make sure to register for that dinner as well.
Returning from a two-year hiatus the Manchester-Essex Club is thrilled to host the 7th Annual Kentucky Derby Party and Auction on Saturday, May 7 from 5 to 8:30! This event brings items from all corners from golf outings and beach barbecues to fine clothing and complete wine cellars. There is a silent auction for smaller items. The live auction features State Senator Bruce Tarr as auctioneer for the big-ticket items, including an 80-inch smart television!
We will watch the Derby race live. There will be a non-betting lottery on the outcome, a hat contest for best women's and men's hats for prizes of a bottle of real Kentucky bourbon and a bouquet of roses. An excellent buffet dinner will be served throughout the evening, cash bar (yes, mint julep). Best of all we are raising money for local scholarships, food banks and international projects.
So, put on your Derby hats and be ready to have a fun time with fun people. Tickets can be purchased online in advance for $30 or at the door for $35.
Join Fellow Rotarians on May 21 on the Ipswich River for a Day of Service. Two Volunteer service opportunities are available:
1. 9am to 12pm Spring 2022 Rotary Club Ipswich River Landings Work Day: approximate teams of 4 people per site. The goal of this project will be to support our River Warden program by helping to prepare canoe/kayak landings on the Ipswich River for the paddling season via picking up trash, pruning and cutting back vegetation, and checking the condition of kiosks and signage at the following landings:
Brookline Rotary is sponsoring an on-line auction as a spring fundraiser. Among the items are tickets for the US Open being held in Brookline June 16- 19, 2022. Other items include gift cards for local restaurants, services such as tutoring and legal, and special opportunities like a luxury Mexican vacation. Enjoy yourself while supporting Rotary.
Join with Rotary to promote the power of vaccines to protect children and save lives
During World Immunization Week, 24-30 April, let’s advocate for polio eradication and the importance of vaccines to the health and well-being of our communities.
So far this year $44,853 has been raised within the district to End Polio Now. That is matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at a 2:1 ratio for $89,706 additional going to Polio Eradication. This means that this year a total of $134,559 is earmarked to provide 224,265 vaccines so far this year. Let's keep collecting our pledges to reach our goal of $100,000.
The District Assembly is our next step in the journey of training incoming club leaders for the upcoming Rotary year 2022-23, including the Grant Qualification Seminar, which is open to all club members. This year we will be in-person again and will be meeting at the Four Points Sheraton in Wakefield on Wednesday, April 27.
For the Grant Qualification Seminar we recommend that each club send at least two members to attend - but there is no limit. If your club grant committee includes multiple members, it would be ideal if they could all attend and get qualified. The District Assembly is open to all Rotarians in our district!
The evening will begin at 6:00 PM with five parallel tracks for: Presidents-Elect, Secretaries, Treasurers, Foundation Chairs, as well as a fireside chat with DG Terry Curran (for all Rotarians who don't fall into any of the previously mentioned four roles).
At 7:00 PM we will be serving a soup & sandwich buffet and continue the evening with a working dinner meeting for all groups together, which includes the District Qualification Seminar and the presentation of the District Budget.
Inspired by the District's Homelessness and Hunger Initiative years ago, the Wakefield Rotary Club made strong connections with the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry. This year, the Club decided to donate half of the income from the Dine Anywhere in the World Raffle to the organization. This past week, we were delighted to present the Wakefield Food Pantry a "big" check. Food Pantry board members and volunteers sold 30 of the 200 tickets. Doreen McGowan, Food Pantry Board President, accepted the check and hopes she can find a big ATM.
Pictured here Wakefield Rotary Club President Bruce Donovan, Food Pantry Board President Doreen McGowan, Club Secretary Suzanne Bowering and Club Treasurer Barbara Worley
We are very excited that our first-ever Advanced RYLA will be held at Camp Glen Brook in Marlborough, NH on May 14–15.
The purpose of this weekend is to support RYLA alumni who wish to continue their leadership journey and to have them help with the relaunch of RYLA for 2023. Since we have not held a traditional RYLA since 2019, we are without student leaders, so we are enlisting the alumni to help!
We are reaching out to RYLA alumni, going back more than 10 years, through Facebook, texts, calls, emails and Instagram. If you are in contact with any RYLA alumni, please feel free to share this information with them and encourage them to visit the Facebook page from their RYLA year or they can reach out to Christina at christina@PartnerWithChoice.com or 978.270.6706.
Our meeting started out as usual, with members trickling in at first to check in. President-Elect Mike Jones gave me a make-up slip which was signed Mickey Mouse from the Lake Buena Vista club. I had remembered that he was at Disney World, so I thought it was a cute joke on the part of the Florida club. Next came in Past-President Marshall Handly, who gave me a make-up slip from Athens, Greece. He went on and told me all kinds of details of his trip and I was telling him how I wanted to go there so badly. A few more members came in and then SEVEN other make-up slips were turned in. It dawned on me that they were all the same style of make-up slip. When I read one of them closely, my suspicions were validated. This one was signed by Glinda Witch, from Oz, Kentucky Rotary Club. Weren't our members from Beverly something else? I had slips from Key West, Berlin Bunker, and the Bowery, New York. They got me good!
Saturday, April 2, Gloucester Rotary put on a hugely successful Polar Plunge. Approximately 200 Rotarians from the District's 45 clubs plunged into the water at Long Beach in Gloucester. In addition to the Plungers were many supporters, on lookers and cheerleaders. The sun was out, but the water and air temperatures were both approximately a chilly 40 degrees.
Gloucester Rotary assembled a command center at the Cape Ann Motor Inn. Gloucester President Tracy Arabian addressed the crowd right before the 11 am plunging time to emphasize that all donations made will be double matched by the Gates Foundation to End Polio.
The Wakefield Rotary Club will be honoring the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day, recognized annually on the last day of April, with a free raffle to win a tree valued at $300 in support of the Town of Wakefield’s CommuniTREE Program. Wakefield Rotary and the Beebe library will have an Arbor Day display with the raffle tickets from April 15th to May 1st. Community members may visit the library during regular hours and register to win. The drawing for the tree is April 29th at the library. This year also marks the club’s 100th year of service to Wakefield and the global communities. Project Chair Gene Mullen noted, “This project falls right in alignment with our club’s 100th anniversary as it fits one of our seven areas of focus.” In addition to the raffle, the Rotary Club will contribute another $300 to the CommuniTREE Program to sponsor a new tree planting on the Beebe Library grounds.
Rotary Fellowships are international groups that share a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends around the world, explore a hobby or profession, and enhance your Rotary experience.
Corks & Caps Local Chapter of Rotary Wine Appreciation Fellowship (RWAF) was founded by two Rotary District Governors during the COVID-19 crisis in May 2019: DG Joan Arsenault (D7930) and DG Suzanne Uhl-Melanson (D7790). Joan and Suzanne share a passion for wine, Rotary and the desire to extend this appreciation to fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarians.
Our objective is to learn more about wine, wine and food pairings and any other topics related to the appreciation of wine so that our own appreciation of good wine will be enhanced.
Join us to learn more about wine and have fun at the same time!! Meet fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarian wine lovers across two districts, two countries and three plus states. We have members from MA, ME, NH, CT, LA, VT, Cananda and FL.
We meet the last Sunday of the month from 5-6 pm on zoom. Email Joan at corksncapswine@gmail.com for more information. All Welcome regardless of wine knowledge!!!!
BE INSPIRED BY ROTARY! BE PART OF A ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE IN THIS DISTRICT...
When: April 30, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Where: Sheraton Four Points, Wakefield, MA
Who: Rotarians from our district and surrounding New England districts. New Rotarians and "Experienced" Rotarians who want to learn more and be re-energized for service
What: Parts I, II, III: A discussion-based, participant-centered curriculum that focuses on the structure of Rotary, implementation of proven leadership skills and methods, and the spirited interchange of ideas for planning and implementing club growth, membership retention, acquiring leadership skills that work! Graduate course will cover the 7 Areas of Focus; Facilitator Training also offered (must have District Governor recommendation and pre-approval).
Fee: $95 Rotarians; reduced fee for Rotaractors. Covers continental breakfast, mid-morning coffee, all curriculum materials, and buffet luncheon. All at a convenient conference center easily accessible via Route 128. Dist. 7930 registrants for Part I and II will receive a $50 reimbursement from Dist. Gov. Terry upon completion. Special rate of $139/night if making a weekend of it (good for two days before 4/30 to two days after. Specify RLI when making the reservation).
How: REGISTER TODAY at www.rlinea.org. Past Institute attendees have given this course rave reviews!
This spring Lynnfield Rotary enjoyed a special presentation on Connor’s Kindness Project (CKP) as part of our Rotary Club lunchtime speaker’s series. Connor Wright, the innovative founder of CKP, is a 12- year-old from Lynnfield MA who is often balancing his academic life, his passion for playing hockey, and his dedication to his successful business venture. Connor’s Kindness Project is about making “Kindness Kits” to help improve the lives of local children who are emotionally, physically, or financially in need.
“When Covid-19 hit things changed for all of us” Connor explained. He decided to launch a non-profit, Connor’s Kindness Project. He started with delivering Covid Care Packages, bags of thoughtful presents, to hospital workers on the frontlines of the Covid pandemic. From that success came Connor’s Kindness Kits.
Connor has delivered boxes for the Woburn police department, local health care centers and for people near and far (Alabama) helping families with chronically ill children. Connor’s Kindness Project starting small but now plans to deliver 2000 Kits!
To support Connor in his mission Lynnfield Rotary donated $1000.00 to his cause.
Pictured here are Sharon Marrama and Connor Wright, from Connors Kindness Project with Lynnfield Rotary President Jack Moynihan.
The Rotary Club of Peabody has put in sweat equity for Habitat for Humanity, working two different projects helping get homes ready for families to move in. These projects are based locally in Peabody and the club is thrilled to give back to their immediate community in such a tangible way.
Pictured here are Peabody Rotarians on their Mar 26 build day. #RotaryInAction
Reading Rotary just completed its Rotary Readers project. Rotary Readers is an annual literacy project where reading books and a backpack are given to each Reading Public Schools student in kindergarten. This year approximately 300 literacy bags will be delivered by Rotarians to the five Reading elementary schools. In addition, Rotarians read to each Kindergarten class as part of Read Across America. It was exciting and fun to be able to read in person this year after doing virtual reading in 2021.
This literacy project has been adapted from Rotary’s previous dictionary and thesaurus giveaways. Teachers expressed their preference to have the younger students receive reading books. Basic Education and Literacy is one of Rotary International's Areas of Focus. This particular project was adapted from a Girl Scout Gold Award literacy project by Mary Kate Kelley, who is a Past President of RMHS Interact and one of its Founding Members.
After a recent fundraiser, the Interact Club at Woburn Memorial High School donated proceeds to the Woburn Dollars for Scholars program. Here, Interact Club President Emily Sullivan presents a check to WDFS Committee President Rosemary Donovan.
The Downtown Boston Rotary is proud to host the Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England at their next speaker meeting on April 5th.
The UCCN has organized various fundraisers for the people of Ukraine during the current war in their country. They have also provided information on the many other organizations helping Ukraine during this conflict and directed many in the Boston-area towards appropriate ways to donate funds and supplies to the people of Ukraine.
The DBRC is thrilled to welcome Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England to discuss the war in Ukraine and what we can do to help, and we hope Rotarians from around the district will join us. The meeting will be taking place downstairs at Elephant & Castle on Tuesday, April 5th, doors open at 6 PM and the meeting will begin at 6:30 PM.
Downtown Boston Hosts Ukrainian Cultural Center of NE
The Gloucester Rotary will hold its annual Polar Plunge on Saturday, April 2, 2022, at 11am at the Cape Ann Motor Inn on Long Beach, located at 33 Rockport Road in Gloucester.
Anyone wishing to support the #EndPolioNow campaign may make a donation online at my.rotary.org/en/donate. Please be sure to select the “Polio Fund.” Each of the D7930 clubs are invited to participate and may register their participation by clicking here.
The Polar Plunge is this coming Saturday in Gloucester. I look forward to seeing you all at the beach. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1500 it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top seven clubs above have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs.
Year to date we have raised $36,734.01 of our $100,000 goal, that’s over one third of the way there. I have heard from many clubs that they are submitting their donations after the plunge, so I will continue to list the clubs as we head toward our goal.
“To support and ensure sustainable long-lasting safe water, sanitation and hygiene programs to communities in need.”
To further this cause, WASH-RAG’s Board of Directors is delighted to announce a one-time, special grant of $25,000 to encourage Rotary Districts and clubs to become active participants in a WASH project. Better still – that $25,000 will be eligible for a dollar-to-dollar match from DDF and/or cash contributions to the Global Grant.
Eligibility
All Rotary Districts and Clubs qualified to participate in The Rotary Foundation’s Global Grants Program can apply for the grant. Clubs who have participated previously in a small WASH project, funded by a District Grant are encouraged to apply.
Danvers Rotary is excited to announce our 2nd Spring Raffle is off to a great start as we approach the first draw date on April 1.
Every day in April a new winner will be drawn at the Danvers YMCA.
Prizes include gift certificates for restaurants, coffee shops and local services and there are also cash prizes of $750 to be won. Tickets are on sale now and through the drawing period for just $10 each and remain in the pot until drawn!
Contact any Danvers Rotarian or call the Danvers YMCA (978-774-2055), 34 Pickering Street, Danvers, MA 01923 to enter. Any questions, please call 978-774-2055 or email DanversRotary@gmail.com.
Raising money for scholarships is one crucial cornerstone activity for Marblehead Rotary Club. Last week, with close to 150 spectators, Marblehead’s Got Talent 2022 was a roaring success at its new venue at The Cabot Cinema in Beverly. Congratulations to the talented winners!
Senior Colby Kramer took in $6,000 first place of scholarship winning. He played Scherzo No. 2 Op. 31 by Frederic Chopin. As second-place winners, Junior Charlie Smith and Sophomore Mona Gelffgatt won $4,000 with an original song titled “Will Get Past This.” Freshman Brady Weed came in third place with $3,000 for his rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire.” Junior Griffen Collins and seniors Olivia Gardener, Audrey Jones, and the duo of Nora Bekkai and Kasey Louden took home a scholarship for fourth place with $500 each.
Dr. Philly Karani, brother of Burlington Breakfast Rotary member Zareen Karani Araoz, has received the Rotary International Service Above Self Award for 2021-22, the highest recognition from Rotary International.
Dr. Karani dedicated much of his life to serving through Rotary. He was the District Governor and also served on the RI Rotaract Committee, among others. He was very loved by the members of the Club he founded in Pune, India. He did and inspired hundreds of projects there, uplifting the condition of many and transforming lives, leading a long-term project to adopt a village and bring all amenities to it.
He continues his good work in New Zealand, since the past 8-9 years. He has attended one of our District Inauguration dinners during one of his visits here. Dr. Karani would welcome meeting and helping any Rotarian from our District visiting New Zealand! Congratulations Dr. Zarani! You are a true inspiration!
Dr. Philly Karani Receives Service Above Self Award
The Arlington Rotary Club is excited to celebrate Earth Month! On April 30th Arlington Rotary Club is teaming up with our new Arlington Catholic Interact Club to hold our 1st Mystic River Clean Up.
10-12pm Mystic River Arlington. Please park on side streets of Webster, Palmer and Beacon.
We are challenging other district clubs along the Mystic River to join us in keep the Mystic River Watershed clean and healthy! If you are not located on the Mighty Mystic, please consider picking a day in April to clean a watershed area in your community.
Thank you to the Greater Salem, Woburn and Salem clubs who have started adding their donations through MyRotary. Donations to this year’s Polar Plunge are being directly made through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1500 it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top six clubs above have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs.
Year to date we have raised $35,559.01 of our $100,000 goal, that’s one third of the way there. There are 15 clubs in the district who have not started making their donations to Polio through MyRotary and I have got questions from many of them and some are planning to attend the plunge in Gloucester and then add their donations in. We cannot count donations and add your club to the list, if your club doesn’t record them through the RI website.
Last week Woburn Rotary donated a defibrillator to Nexus, Inc. Nexus provides residential alternatives for developmentally challenged individuals that promote the highest quality of life possible and opportunities for full integration into the mainstream of life in their home.
Executive Director Greg McGowan was on hand to receive the donation and spoke about Nexus currently serving individuals in Woburn and surrounding cities.
Looking for Rotarians interested in the Environment
As you may have heard, Rotary added the Environment as our seventh ahead of focus and our district is now looking into forming a new District Environmental Committee that will look into what environmental projects we can do locally within our own district, and also what other options may exist to participate in or start a new global grant in our seventh area of focus.
Possible local projects we may want to look into include pollinator habitat restoration (bees, monarch butterflies, etc.), beach cleanups, plantings in parks and on traffic islands, river/watershed restoration, etc. We are also thinking about joining Operation Pollination and potentially partnering with the National Park Service and National Heritage Areas in our region.
Our goal is to ideally have the new District Environmental Committee begin forming this spring and then start their work at the beginning of the new 2022-23 Rotary year on July 1st. If you are interested in participating on this committee, please contact DGE Alexander Falk.
Winchester Rotary club has been blessed with a wonderful core group of members who have help me as President over the past two years to maintain and grow our Club. We are adding four new Service members along with two new Corporate members will be joining us shortly. Thank you, Kurt Heisler, Co-President Elect. What a great way to start off 2022! Keep all members moving forward and engaged!
Rotary International President-Elect Jennifer Jones recently addressed all our Rotary Club Presidents-Elect at the Northeast PETS (President Elect Training Seminar) in early March. Her powerful speech referenced her presidential theme - Imagine Rotary - and also related a story from her first few days in the RI PE office in Evanston and the power of connections across the Rotary world.
Her message is not only inspiring for Presidents-Elect, but for all Rotarians. You can now watch her speech and the following Q&A here: https://youtu.be/Aur2YZXoRNI
Donations to this year’s Polar Plunge are being directly made through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1500 it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top six clubs above have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs.
Year to date we have raised $33,225.01 of our $100,000 goal, that’s one third of the way there. There are 7 clubs in the district who have not started making their donations to Polio through MyRotary. I have got questions from many of them and some are planning to attend the plunge in Gloucester. We cannot count donations and add your club to the list, if your club doesn’t record them through the RI website.
Belle Isle Rotary Club is set to have our Trivia Nite on Friday April 1, 2022, to be held at the Salesians Boys & Girls Club. We are gearing up to have a night full of fun competition with prizes and of course, bragging rights and awards for the winning team.
Friday, April 1. Doors open at 5 pm.
Salesian Boys & Girls Club, 150 Byron Street, East Boston, MA 02128.
Complementary make your own nachos bar. Cash Bar. Prizes and Raffles. Donation/ticket price $25 per person
For info about the event, tickets or sponsorships please contact Joe Steffano (617) 909-5382, Steve Miliotis (781) 731-3057, Vera Carducci (617) 909-5384 or Mike Triant (617) 913-1531.
Dear Rotary Friends, The President of the Rotary Club of Lviv, Ukraine spoke to the NYC Rotary Club today and I was invited to join. Please accept this report on happenings live from the devastation.
-Amy Luckiewicz, Wakefield Rotary Club
The Rotary Club of Lviv International
The Lviv RC is made mostly of international business people and they commonly speak English. Lviv is the largest city in western Ukraine. Lviv Rotary Club President James Joeriman is American and he was the primary speaker. He is currently sheltering in Warsaw, Poland with his wife and small children. He's working through RC networks to raise money for consumable supplies for the military hospitals. $1.2 million Euros has led to 10 trucks of supplies and they are fully stocked at the moment. Overflow is managed by Lviv defense forces and distributed by priority need to Lviv and the entire country. Supplies are sourced from Poland and Germany; he is unaware of any supply shortages. Lviv Rotary is focused on supplying medical aid, not military equipment.
Lviv Rotary Club (in particular his English-speaking club with international members), are utilizing their international networks to maximize effective response. To his knowledge, the other Lviv Rotary Clubs, Ukranian speaking clubs, are still operating.
Donations to this year’s Polar Plunge are being directly made through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1500 it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top six clubs above have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs.
Year to date we have raised $33,550.01 of our $100,000 goal. That’s one third of the way there. There are still 18 clubs in the district who have not started making their donations to Polio through MyRotary. We cannot count donations and add your club to the list, if your club doesn’t record them through RI.
Club officers, “experienced” Rotarians, new and newer members of Rotary...This message is for you! RLI sessions are offered in both internet and in-person venues this year. Meet other Rotarians from different districts and enrich your Rotary experience by sharing leadership styles and program ideas.
Virtual:
March 12, D7870, Southern NH and VT
March 19, D7430, Southeastern PA
April 19, D7475/7490, West Orange, NJ
In-person:
March 26, D7950, Southeastern MA, Cape Cod, RI at Upper Cape Tech, Bourne, register by March 16
OUR HOME DISTRICT... April 30, D7930, Sheraton Four Points, Wakefield (all parts plus Graduate and Facilitator Training). We will be offering Sessions 1, 2, and 3 and also an advanced class and a class for facilitators. Cost for this day (which includes a continental breakfast and lunch) is $95. Those D7930 Rotarians taking Session One or Session Two will receive a $50 refund after attending the session from the District.
Want to complete all three parts in one year? Register for both virtual and in-person Parts I, II, and III at www.rlinea.org.
Leaders know there is always more to learn!
Multiple Opportunities at Rotary Leadership Institute
Rotary Club of Topsfield Boxford Middleton invites you to join them for a fun evening of St. Patrick's Day- themed virtual MUSIC B-I-N-G-O for a great cause!
Sunday, March 13, 2022, 6:00-7:15 PM. Online from your Computer, Phone, or Tablet. Entry id $25.00 per computer.
Proceeds will benefit NEADS. NEADS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located in Princeton, MA that provides highly skilled Service Dogs for people who have a disability.
As in year’s past it would be wonderful if you would bring your club banners to hang over the railings on the back of the motor inn. We have revised the registration sheet so that you can add all who are coming to cheer you on. So, if you are the only member of your club plunging, but you are bringing 5 members/friends/family with you, please go back into the following link and re-register your club. Clubs can register their participation by clicking here. Currently, we have approximately 100 Rotarians, Interactors and friends coming to the beach.
District 7930 District Equity & Inclusion Committee Discussion Series
Join Us for a discussion on Privilege & Belonging.
Guest Speaker: Ricky Meinke
Associate Director of Student Involvement at Berklee College of Music, Ricky is an educator, Community organizer and advocate for change. Ricky’s experience working in cultural and student centers across Higher Education has shaped his goals of creating inclusive environments and breaking down barriers that disrupt communities. Ricky does this by addressing inequity in various ways through critical research, building active collaborations across communities, and targeting toxic elements that lead to disparaging dynamics for community members.
We promise to inspire Presidents-Elect to lead their clubs and to empower them to achieve success as we Imagine Rotary!
This year’s keynote speakers include RI President-Elect Jennifer Jones, Evan Burrell, Dr. Tunji Funsho, and Carolyn Jones. They will aim to inform and reinforce our program and our conversations, inviting us all to consider concepts like “thinking out of the box”; becoming a change agent; leading your club to be more project-oriented; collaboration and flexibility. You will leave this PETS program feeling “fired up” and eager to begin the amazing year ahead as your club’s President!
The Northeast Presidents-Elect Training Seminar (NEPETS) is Rotary’s training program for club Presidents-elect and Assistant Governors throughout New England and parts of Canada. The goal of NEPETS is to prepare Presidents-elect and Assistant Governors for their upcoming roles through provocative plenary speakers and discussions with peers from various districts during breakout sessions. NEPETS is a collaborative effort of seven Rotary districts and includes the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, southern Maine, and southern Quebec.
Even if you are not a President-Elect or Assistant Governor, we invite you visit the NEPETS Virtual House of Friendship to learn more about Rotary Fellowships, Action Groups, and the amazing projects being conducted in our seven districts.
Over 950 Runners have already registered for the Malden Half Marathon + 5 Mile Race being held on Sunday, March 13. The Half Marathon begins at 8:00 am and the 5 Mile Race kicks off at 9:30 am.
The Malden Rotary Club is respectfully asking for volunteers to assist with some Race Day activities that will begin at 7:00 am. Volunteers will receive a shirt, libation, and meal at the Post Race Party circa 11:00 am, right in the heart of Malden's vibrant Downtown Dining and Gaming District.
Please contact Malden President Paul Solano at psfinserve@aol.com or 617-240-4130 by Friday, March 11 to provide the name or names of your volunteers.
We will be most happy to sign off on any Community Service hours! Thank you!
The Gloucester Rotary invites the public to attend their FUNdraising event – “A Night at the Races” on Friday, March 18, 2022, at Cruiseport Gloucester, located at 6 Rowe’s Wharf in Gloucester. Doors open at 6:30 pm. All proceeds from this event will support local and international programs of the Gloucester Rotary.
A Night at the Races is a fun-filled evening for adults with all the suspense and excitement of being at the racetrack. High quality, video-taped horse races are narrated from start to finish by lively announcers. During the evening there will be complimentary hors d’oeuvre, a cash bar, and variety of raffles. At various points during the evening, betters will be able to use their winnings to bid on merchandise and services that have been donated for the event. For the most fun, reserve a table – bring a group.
Gloucester and Rockport Rotaries partnered together, along with funding from a District Managed Grant and several additional individuals and organizations, to purchase and install a standby power generator for Kivu Hills Academy in Boneza, Rwanda. Boneza is a community similar in size to the combined population of Gloucester and Rockport and has limited infrastructure. In the past several years, Gloucester and Rockport have worked with the Arise Rwanda organization to support the installation of a kitchen at Kivu Hills Academy and a well for the citizens of Bugarura District. The well project was also supported with a District Managed Grant.
Arise Rwanda is a multi-dimensional education, community building, and infrastructure improvement organization. They facilitate project selection and completion based on community members' expressed needs and the community's own priority setting. Education has been a leading and pressing need in the region. As a result the Kivu Hills Academy, an accredited Technical and Vocational Secondary School, was founded in 2016 and now serves a student body of 273 high school students. (Kivu Hills Academy is the only high school in the region.) Kivu Hills Academy offers academic programs in Masonry, Computer Systems Technology and Networking, and Tourism.
Consistent electric power is required to maintain the productivity of the academic environment, power the pumps bringing water to the school, provide safety and lighting, and prevent power surges that can destroy expensive computer equipment. The generator installed this winter will meet this need of a stable electrical supply.
Thank you to Gloucester Rotarian David McKechnie for bringing this opportunity to our attention. Thank you also to the District Grants Team for your support with these important projects.
We’re back! In-person Rotary Leadership Institute, Saturday, April 30, 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points, Wakefield, MA. Located just off Route 128 and near the shops of Lynnfield’s MarketStreet, The Four Points is one of the premier conference centers north of Boston and offers ample parking, comfortable meeting rooms, and hotel-wide Wi-Fi for break periods. Parts I, II, III, Graduate and Facilitator training will be offered. The registration fee for the day is $95 which will cover a continental breakfast, all curriculum materials, a mid-morning coffee break, and buffet luncheon. Participants do not have to be club officers – All Rotarians are leaders in their communities and businesses! All leaders know that learning never stops! Rotarians participating in Session 1 or Session 2 will receive a $50 reimbursement after attending from the District.
Mark your calendars and register today at www.rlinea.org. Guided by experienced facilitators, the day will be full of Rotary fellowship and stimulating, challenging discussions about Rotary’s organization, resources for Rotarians about membership, strategic planning, club communication, fundraising, and a host of other subjects. (Curriculum content is available at rlinea.org).
Fellow Rotarians… The first (that I know of) plunging has taken place at St. Camillus parking lot in Arlington, where the Arlington Club members have been plunged into a dunk tank. Don’t think that the dunk tank had any heated water in it. No, on the contrary, these brave Rotarians and friends plunged down into the icy water with President Becca losing her glasses on her tumble. Thankfully one our senior members had their “grabber” handy and was able to fish them out of the tank. If your club is also doing a separate “Plunge,” let me know and I’d be happy to join you, if I’m available.
As in year’s past, it would be wonderful if you would bring your club banners to hang over the railings on the back of the motor inn. We have revised the registration sheet so that you can add all who are coming to cheer you on. So, if you are the only member of your club plunging, but you are bringing 5 members/friends/family with you, please go back into the following link and re-register your club. Clubs can register their participation by clicking here.
Donations to this year’s Polar Plunge are being directly made through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1,500.00, it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top five clubs below have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs.
The list below includes your donations made to PolioPlus from July 1, 2021, as of February 19, 2022. But this is just a list of the TOP TEN. Year to date we have raised $29,250.01 of our $100,000 goal. There are still 20 clubs in the district who have not started making their donations to Polio through MyRotary. We cannot count donations and add your club to the list, if your club doesn’t record them through RI.
If you are planning to go to the RI Convention in Houston, please join us for an evening of relaxation and fun and some awesome Tex-Mex food at The Original Ninfa's on Navigation!
Monday, June 6th, 2022, at 7:00 PM (local time) we will gather for a family style "Fajita Fiesta” meal at a cost of 35.00 per person plus 8.25% tax and 18% gratuity. So we are collecting a $46 per person as a registration fee, which includes tax, gratuity, and the credit card processing fee. Payment is required at the time of registration, and we can only accept credit card payments (sorry, no checks!).
Drinks will be on individual tabs and will be separate.
Seating is limited, so we can only accommodate 40 people at this event. Please click here to register to reserve your spot! We will be opening the registration to friends in other districts in 1-2 weeks, so please register ASAP before the event fills up...
And if you have not registered for the RI Convention in Houston yet, please use this link to learn more. The special low registration rate of $495 is only available until February 28th!
In February 2020, the Interact Club of Marblehead started a fundraising project to build toilets for individual homes in Mewat in the Nuh district, 2 hours south of New Delhi, India. Predominantly populated by Meos (indigenous Muslims), Mewat lags on almost every developmental measure, where sanitary facilities such as toilets and clean drinking water are persistently lacking in homes and schools.
As a result, Mewat is a hot spot for international development assistance. It is also a go-to site for National Immunization Day (NID) in the Delhi region for Rotarians from many parts of the world. The latrine project addresses the multiple issues endemic to poverty-stricken villages like Mewat, in which women often bear the most. Girls have suffered from higher dropout rates, poor maternal health, high infant mortality, and violence when they try to relieve themselves in the open without a closed-in structure.
When the lockdown hit in March 2020, activities across non-essential organizations, schools, businesses came to a standstill. However, as the new virus spread globally, the sponsoring club for the latrine project in India, the Rotary Club of Delhi South Metropolitan, and its lead US partner, Rotary Club of Morgan Hill in California, were committed to seeing this project through. More than ever, it became urgent to build these toilet stations as these communities were reporting an unprecedented spike of Covid 19 cases. As a result, the fundraising efforts for this project took on a pressing turn.
It's 2022, and Marblehead's Got Talent (MGT) is back with $15,000 in performance art scholarships for Marblehead students.
Every year, Marblehead Rotary awards scholarships to qualified students who compete for the top three prizes: $6,000 for first place, $4,000 for second place, and $3,000 for third place. With an additional four runner-up winners of $500.00 each. More and more financial scholarships for the performing arts are hard to come by. But we made it a goal to recognize our talented high schoolers through healthy competition to foster their development in the performing arts and help them pay for college.
As our year-long celebration comes to a end, we reminisce on the past and look forward to the future. We are having our culminating event on the very date that the Beverly Rotary Club was started 101 years prior!
Join us for a fun time of socializing, hors d’oeuvres, dancing to live music and examining our time capsule! The details are on the invitation posted. Click here for the link to purchase tickets. Maybe you’ll join us?
A Ukrainian 12-yr old boy with electrical burns over 90% of his body was recently airlifted from Ukraine and brought to Shriners Hospital (Mass General) in Boston. This was done with assistance from Ukraine Rotary Club Kyiv-Sophia and Rotary Clubs in our neighboring District 7910. Dr. Gennadiy Fuzaylov, who is treating the boy advised that his mother Oksana is staying in Mass General Hospital "parent apartment" available to her only while her son is in the hospital for treatment. However sometime in the next 3-weeks Taras will be released and both mother/Oksana & Son/Taras, who do not speak English, will need a place to stay near Massachusetts General Hospital as Taras needs to receive follow up treatments for up to 6 Weeks then needs to return to Ukraine.
Fellow Rotarians… I hope that you and your club are planning to join us on April 2nd in Gloucester for the Polar Plunge. As in year’s past it would be wonderful if you would bring your club banners to hang over the railings on the back of the motor inn. We have revised the registration sheet so that you can add all who are coming to cheer you on. So, if you are the only member of your club plunging, but you are bringing 5 members/friends/family with you, please go back into the following link and re-register your club. Clubs can register their participation by clicking here.
Donations to this year’s Polar Plunge are being directly made through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1500 it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top four clubs below have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs. The list below includes all donations made to PolioPlus from July 1, 2021, as of February 12, 2022. Year to date we have raised $27,950.01 of our $100,000 goal. There are 20 clubs in the district who have not started making their donations to Polio through MyRotary. We cannot count donations if your club doesn’t record them.
1. Marblehead
2. Rockport
3. Arlington
4. Reading
5. Lynn
6. Chelsea
7. Wakefield
8. Parkway, Swampscott, Amesbury and Gloucester are tied
The Rotary Club of Lynn held its Eighth Grade Recognition Program Thursday, February 10th, at Old Tyme Family Cuisine. This signature program, a staple on Rotary’s annual calendar, seeks to recognize young middle school students from Lynn who, each in their own way, has overcome an obstacle in their lives to achieve success both inside and out of the classroom. This is the first recognition since the start of the pandemic. The Club will have two more before the end of the school year. The program's longtime sponsor is RiverWorks Credit Union.
Seated from L - R: Daniel Brown, North Shore Christian School; Sindy Carbajal Santos, Thurgood Marshall Middle School; Tyler Desmond, St. Mary’s, Marian Division; and Aysia Olaes, Breed Middle School. Back row, Dick Ruth, Rotarian and Program coordinator; Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, Rotarian and Superintendent of Lynn Public Schools; Peter Kopoulos, Chief Financial Officer for RiverWorks Credit Union, and Dr. John Dolan, Rotarian and Head of School at St. Mary’s High School. Absent when photo was taken but recognized for her outstanding achievement was Jazlene Ledesma, Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, Discovery Program.
Increasing Access to Clean Drinking Water for the indigenous Wayuu people
The Chelsea Rotary Club is cooperating with the Fonseca Club in La Guajira, Colombia on a new global grant to bring clean drinking water to the villages of the indigenous Wayuu people on the Guajira peninsula. The area where the Wayuu live is a desert climate and there are over 350,000 indigenous people in this northern peninsula in Colombia. Over 5,000 indigenous children have died in the last few years from lack of water and other diseases derived from lack of water.
Our objective is to build 24 wells that will serve around 7,000 indigenous people, including children. Children and their mothers are the ones who are searching for water, on an everyday basis, they have to walk, ride mules for miles in search of water.
Donations to this year’s Polar Plunge are being directly made through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1500 it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top four clubs below have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs. The list below includes all donations made to PolioPlus from July 1, 2021 as of February 5, 2022. Year to date we have raised $27,716.01 of our $100,000 goal. There are 21 clubs in the district who have not started making their donations to Polio. Please register with the Gloucester Club to let them know the number of participants. Clubs can register their participation by clicking here.
The Greater Salem, NH Rotary Club recently distributed more than $16,000 to area gas and oil companies to support over 60 families in need in its service area with their heating costs. This is the second year the club has offered this Fuel Assistance Program. Special thanks to our partners: B & H Oil, McLean Oil, Palmer Gas & Oil, and Murphy & Sons.
Deb Whitten, Credit and Collections Manager of Palmer Gas & Oil said, “Families continue to struggle during this pandemic and this donation will help tremendously. This is the second year that we have received this extraordinary gift from the Rotary Club, and we could not be more thankful.” Adds John Lilly of the Greater Salem Rotary Club, “This has become one of our major service projects and we are thrilled to work with the Ermer family and Palmer Gas & Oil long with B & H Oil, McLean Oil, and Murphy & Sons.”
Pictured here: John Lilly and Jeanne Geisser of Greater Salem Rotary Club present a check to Deb Whitten of Palmer Gas & Oil.
The Rotary Club of Peabody is hosting its biggest fundraiser of the year "Taste of the North Shore" in person again this year! This popular fundraiser promised an evening of fun, prizes and, of course, delicious food from some of the best restaurants to be found on the North Shore. All proceeds benefit scholarships for Peabody High School children and our other community projects throughout the year.
Join us at 6 pm at the DoubleTree in Danvers on March 1. Raffle tickets for our $10,000 grand prize includes 2 admissions to the event and cost $100. Business sponsorships are still available. For tickets and more information click here.
*Full vaccination or negative COVID test required. Masks will be required at all times, except for eating.*
While we wish it was safe to hold an in-person RYLA for high school students in 2022, we don’t believe we are there yet! Because of that, D7930 will hold an Advanced RYLA for a small group of students who have already participated in RYLA.
The purpose of this weekend will be to continue to develop alumni who wish to continue their journey of leadership development and to support the RYLA program going forward. While RYLA students currently lead families and participate in some of the planning, the event is primarily led by a group of Rotarians. The longer-term goal is to have the weekend be more alumni/student led.
We are hopeful that the weekend will be held at Camp Glen Brook in Marlborough, NH, tentatively on Saturday-Sunday, May 14-15. We are returning to Camp Glen Brook to be good stewards of our resources as we have a deposit there from 2020, when we had to cancel due to the pandemic.
The Gloucester Rotary Club invites the public to attend their FUNdraising event – “A Night at the Races” on Friday, March 18, 2022, at Cruiseport Gloucester, located at 6 Rowe’s Wharf in Gloucester. Doors open at 6:30 pm. All proceeds from this event will support local and international programs of the Gloucester Rotary.
A Night at the Races promises to be a fun-filled evening for adults with all the suspense and excitement of being at the racetrack. High quality, video-taped horse races are narrated from start to finish by lively announcers. During the evening there will be complimentary hors d’oeuvre, a cash bar, and variety of raffles. At various points during the evening, betters will be able to use their winnings to bid on merchandise and services that have been donated for the event. For the most fun, reserve a table – bring a group.
This year our district is hosting six Global Scholars who are here to further their studies in their chosen fields: Deborah Kang (Korea) in Public Policy and Urban Planning, Makiko Mitsunami (Japan) in Maternal and Child Health, Paul Schmidt (Germany) in Bioelectronics, Yumeka Kawahara (Japan) in Refugee Integration, Yusuke Yoshikawa (Japan) in Public Health and Francisco Barrera (Mexico) in Epidemiology.
These scholars all have extensive backgrounds in their specialties and would be delighted to share their knowledge and cultures with you. Please reach out and arrange for them to speak to your clubs. You can access links to their biographies and email addresses on our district website (rotary7930.org), under Our District/Rotary Foundation/Global Scholars.
Our German friends from our Inter-Country-Committee Austria-Germany-USA, for which our district 7930 is a founding member, have organized a great virtual event with Thomas Neubert, Senior Director Strategic Incubation & Innovation, Intel Corp./Silicon Valley as keynote speaker. Please see the attached invitation PDF for more details, including the Zoom link (requires login).
The Inter-Country-Committee Austria-Germany-USA invites you to an emotional and informative presentation via ZOOM on February 9th, 2022, 12:30 PM EST (06.30 PM CET).
Thomas Neubert has lived in Silicon Valley for 30 years and will deliver an inspiring keynote speech "Life lessons - The glass is always half full", which will be held in English. We look forward to welcoming guests from Germany, the USA and Austria.
The Gloucester Rotary will hold its annual Polar Plunge on Saturday, April 2, 2022, at 11am at the Cape Ann Motor Inn on Long Beach, located at 33 Rockport Road in Gloucester. Anyone wishing to support the #EndPolioNow campaign may make a donation online at www.Rotary.org/donate. Please indicate that your donation should support the “Polio Fund.”
The Annual World Peace and Understanding Event on February 3 featured two movies this year. The evening started with the Premiere of a documentary, by Sarah Furie, a member of Boston Rotaract, titled “The Talk With My Black Sons.” This was followed by a lively question-and-answer session with the director. If you missed the event, you can watch the documentary here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JuG2CusHaJo
The second movie was a compilation about the fruits of our Interact MicroFinance grant through the eyes of the Interactors and other young adults; building compassion and understanding around the world and within the students themselves. Our district has provided ten Interact Clubs and other youth organizations with $500 in seed funds each to begin doing Microloans on the Kiva platform. Four of the clubs recorded short video segments of the young adults choosing a microloan to support and explaining why they picked that particular project. You can watch the video here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9F7rx4BXyNA
Building Peace and Understanding in our Communities and Around the World
The Ipswich-Rowley Rotary Club is holding its annual “25 Days of Kindness” food drive this month to help address food insecurity in its communities. Rotary is partnering with The Open Door’s Ipswich community food pantry and local businesses to collect food items for neighbors in need.
“Food needs often increase after the holidays, especially among our fellow citizens whose livelihoods are impacted by the ongoing COVID pandemic,” said a Rotary statement.
Donations will be accepted through February 3 at the Ipswich branches of Brookline Bank, BankGloucester, and the Institution for Savings, as well as at the Ipswich Community YMCA.
The most-needed food items include peanut butter, canned meats (tuna, chicken, and turkey), break- fast cereal, hearty soups, canned fruits and vegetables, spaghetti sauce, boxes of macaroni and cheese, rice, noodles, pasta, and pancake mix.
The donated food will be delivered to the Open Door in early February and distributed to clients of the Ipswich food pantry.
Rotary International President-elect Jennifer Jones wants members to imagine the possibilities in the change they can make to transform the world.
Jones, a member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada, revealed the 2022-23 presidential theme, Imagine Rotary, as she urged people to dream big and harness their connections and the power of Rotary to turn those dreams into reality.
“Imagine, a world that deserves our best,” Jones told incoming district governors on 20 January, “where we get up each day knowing that we can make a difference.”
Jones, who will make history on 1 July by becoming Rotary’s first female president, gave a live online address to precede Rotary’s annual training event for district governors from around the world, the International Assembly. The assembly was rescheduled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and will now be held virtually 7-14 February.
The Salem Rotary Club is thrilled to present our first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training at our Rotary meeting on January 25th. Our training will be conducted by Human in Common. Human in Common is an innovative team of experienced diversity consultants who specialize in providing professional diversity and ethical upstander training for nonprofits, municipalities, businesses and schools.
Members of the Human in Common team who will join us include:
Deborah Cohen, M.Ed. (pronouns: she/her) is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Human In Common. She is the creator of Ethical Upstander training -- a compassionate, experiential model of teaching active bystander intervention skills. For 30 years, Deborah has worked as a social justice educator, integrating community organizing and collaborative arts projects as a vehicle for amplifying diversity, equity & inclusion.
Robert Gordon, B.A. (pronouns: he/him) is a Diversity Specialist at Human in Common. He has a background in organizational planning, education, and multicultural recruitment. His expertise lies in bringing people together across organization levels to develop and strengthen a sense of belonging among people of color within the workplace or community. Robert collaborates with clients to identify and break down systemic barriers, increase cultural humility, and empower people from marginalized backgrounds.
Pictured here is presenter Robert Gordon.
Salem Presents Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training
Camp Rotary is pleased to announce that tickets are now available to our Centennial Gala Celebration! The event will take place on site at our camp in Boxford, in our new dining hall, on the evening of June 11, 2022 from 6 – 11 PM. The committee has planned this event to be a touch of elegance as a formal way of recognizing the achievement of providing 100 summers of camp for generations of children from the North Shore and beyond! The gala is geared towards adults only (21+) with cocktails, dinner and dancing on the agenda. With only 200 tickets available, the event is expected to sell out, so if you are planning on attending, we advise you to purchase your tickets quickly.
Winchester Rotary Club combined with our Interact Club to deliver 85 meals to our Local Housing Authority residents. Then we all gathered for some Christmas Cheer at Sons of Italy for some food and drink and wonderful song from our very talented INTERACT members!
Happy New Year and hoping for a very productive 2022! We kickoff with a big FOOD DRIVE ON 1/22!
Rockport Rotary President Rob Audano and Rotarian Anne Lewis present a check for $50 to Lynne Anderson, the winner of the raffle drawing on January 6. Rockport Rotary’s 2022 Calendar features 13 photographs of the Rockport area selected from over 200 submitted to their photo contest. Every calendar has a raffle ticket that will be entered into a drawing each week of 2022 with winners in the first week of July and the first week of December receiving $250 and all other winners receiving $50. Winning tickets will be reentered for future drawings.
There are a few more calendars left for purchase by contacting Anne Lewis at car4forever@yahoo.com or 603-721-1038.
Donations to this year’s Polar Plunge are being directly made through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. Once a club has donated a minimum of $1500 it qualifies them to receive the End Polio Now Certificate from Rotary International. Last year only four clubs in our district reached that benchmark. I’m pleased to say that the top four clubs below have already surpassed that level. Let’s try to get our District back to more participation throughout the clubs. The “Official” Polar Plunge has been scheduled for April 2nd and is being sponsored by the Gloucester Club. Again we will meet at the beach at the Cape Ann Motor Inn. More information on whom to contact in the Gloucester Club to apprise them how many people will be joining them, and information on how to make reservations at the Cape Ann Motor Inn will be forthcoming. The list below includes all donations made to PolioPlus from July 1, 2021, as of January 14, 2022. Year to date we have raised $24,906.01 of our $100,000 goal.
It's 2022, and Marblehead's Got Talent (MGT) is back with $15,000 in performance art scholarships for Marblehead students.
Every year, Marblehead Rotary awards scholarships to qualified students who compete for the top three prizes: $6,000 for first place, $4,000 for second place, and $3,000 for third place. With an additional four runner-up winners of $500.00 each. Marblehead Rotarian David Deutsch explained, "More and more financial scholarships for the performing arts are hard to come by. But we made it a goal to recognize our talented high schoolers through healthy competition to foster their development in the performing arts and help them pay for college."
How to join? It is open to all Marblehead High School. Send a video audition to us by midnight on January 24. The audience will choose semi-finalists on Thursday, February 3, at the Marblehead High School Auditorium, and then capping the event in the grand finale at Cabot Theatre in Beverly on Thursday, the 17th. For more information and to get an application online, visit: www.marbleheadsgottalent.com.
On January 12, 2022, the Rotary Club of Lynn continued with its tradition of distributing dictionaries to 3rd graders in the 18 public elementary schools in Lynn. Since 2008, the Rotary Club of Lynn, MA has presented over 1,200 dictionaries annually to third-grade students in the Lynn Public Schools. This year marks the 14th consecutive year of this service project for the club and a distribution of nearly 18,000 dictionaries since its inception!
This year the Reading Cooperative Bank (RCB) funded the cost of the dictionaries. The prior sponsor, the Coastal Heritage Bank branch in Wyoma Square was purchased by RCB in 2021. Tess Cunha, VP and Branch Administrator for RCB was more than happy to step-up and sponsor the project. In 2021, due to Covid 19 restrictions, the dictionaries were distributed by the teachers, but this year the Rotarians and employees of RCB were able to personally distribute them.
The deadline to submit a District Managed Grant for either local or international projects is January 31, 2022. Your club must be grant qualified to apply for a grant. District Designated Funds (DDF) can provide 50% of funding up to $3000.00 for local grants and $5000.00 for international grants. For example, if your club contributes $6000 for a local project, then DDF match would be $3000.00. DDF monies are available to distribute once grant applications are closed, our spending plan is approved by RI and monies received. Once the district receives the funding and after your project is completed, you will receive the grant distribution. Please note: due to reduced giving to the Annual Fund Share in year 2018-2020, (Annual Fund Share giving provides our grant monies 3 years later), only one grant is able to be approved per club.
Seven Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor rang in 2022 by cooking and serving a New Year’s Eve dinner to over sixty clients and staff members at Lifebridge, a shelter in the center of Salem, MA. The menu included baked glazed ham, sweet potato, roasted vegetables, and rolls...But the best was left for last...brownie sundaes with homemade chocolate sauce.
Pictured cooks, l. to r., Don and Linda Doliber, Heidi Whear, Judith Black, Mike Elkin, and new Service Members Greg and Jean Cassanos. Not pictured but appreciated for their cooking skills and contributions, President Patricia Sullivan and President Elect Jessica Barnett.
As you all know the Polar Plunge has been scheduled for April 2nd this year in Gloucester, however you can plunge when and where you choose. All Rotarians and their sponsors are donating directly to Polio Plus through the donate button in MyRotary or through your club’s Foundation Chair. This list includes all donations made to PolioPlus from July 1 as of January 7. Year to date we have raised $24,772 of our $100,000 goal.
Join the Party and Raise Money for the Rotary Foundation!!! You are invited to the Gala Fundraiser for the Rotary Foundation with Fellow Rotarians from Zones 28 & 32.
Wednesday, 23 February 2022, 8:00 pm ET. With District 7930’s Pre-Gala Event 7-7:45 pm ET hosted by DG Terry & DGE Alexander
Don’t Miss this Event!!!
Your ticket gets you into the Zone Event as well as the Pre-Gala Event & Matching Points Click this link for detailed program information & ticket pricing: Registration/Tickets for Zone Virtual Foundation Gala. FYI, you will receive a separate Pre-Gala Event Link close to the event.
Because the Coronavirus and its variants have again become more active, I have moved the next two district events back to Zoom.
First is the Mid-Year Leadership and Pre-PETS meeting scheduled for January 27th. This is for all Presidents, Presidents-Elect and future Presidents for the following two years. This meeting is now open for registration at https://rotary7930.org/event/mid-year-leadership-meeting-1/. The agenda is for a welcoming statement and then to breakout rooms with your respective Governor, DGE, DGN or DGND. Each room will have their own agenda with the DGE staying in the main room to have his Pre-Pets presentation with the Presidents-elect.
The second half of the Pre-PETS presentation for the Presidents-Elect is scheduled for February 12 from 3:00 to 4:30pm. Registration is open for this event at https://rotary7930.org/event/pre-pets-part-2/.
The Wakefield Rotary Club recently announced the election of its new officers and directors at its Annual Meeting. The club elects new leadership each year in accordance with its by-laws. The 2022-2023 Board of Directors include Paul Adams, John Dale, Margie Daniels, Wendy Maguire, Jill McWilliam, Bruce Donovan and Amy Luckiewicz. Suzanne Bowering will serve as Club Secretary, Barbara Worley as Club Treasurer and Frank Fiorentino as Sergeant-at-Arms. Glen Duffy was elected Vice President/President-Elect and Gene Mullen will serve as President for the 2022-2023 term. Mullen commented, “I've been so impressed with the meaningful work that our club members have been able to accomplish over the past several years. I’m thrilled to be elected as President in 2022!”
The Belle Isle Rotary typically donates Market Basket gift cards during the Christmas season. Working collaboratively within our community, this year, we decided instead to give five (5) $100 Target gift cards to the Revere High School guidance department and five (5) $100 Target gift cards to the Revere Seacoast Alternative High School guidance departments to be disbursed based upon the needs of their students/families.
The teenage group is often looked over or last thought of when it comes to Christmas generosity by local resources. We wanted to do something in our little corner of the world for these kids. Our newest member John Kingston of the Revere City Credit Union and Revere's newest school committee member was gracious enough to deliver the gift cards for us!
This November and December the Arlington, MA Rotary Club has been busy! The club supported The Salvation Army of Cambridge, Massachusetts by serving Thanksgiving Lunch with students from Arlington Catholic, raising over $400 bell ringing, donating over 100 pairs of socks and creating 20 family game night bags for families in need.
We honored Peter Lundstrom, Lead Teacher of the AHS Alternative Education Program, as a Paul Harris Fellow at Rotary District 7930's Heroes Dinner.
We collected toiletries for a drive set up by one of our members kids through the Martin Richards Foundation.
The club sponsored 10 children and teens engaged with the MA Department of Children and Families through the Wonderfund MA.
Each year Reading Rotary partners with the community for the Adopt-a-Family project for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas distribution day was December 22. Rotary works with the local organization ReadingCares and the Town to coordinate this long-standing community giving program. Receiving families are matched anonymously with donor families and/or groups to provide meal and gifts at Christmas. Donors drop off in the first shift, then recipient families pick up their food and gifts during a later shift.
This year there were approximately 60 families in need and donor families/groups were matched to provide Christmas gifts and holiday meals to these families anonymously. Reading Rotary’s efforts were coordinated by new Rotarian Adam Sandberg.
This is a truly inspirational and humbling event to see the community come together to help others. The generosity of the donors is overwhelming as evidenced by the many smiling faces as well as some tears of thanks. Reading Rotary is proud of and grateful for our partners ReadingCares and the Town of Reading in this community giving event. A huge thank you to all the donor families and groups. Their generosity makes this all possible! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Despite the gray weather, everyone had a festive time on Saturday as the Ipswich community celebrated the annual arrival of Santa Claus. The Jolly Elf arrived at town wharf at 11 am and was escorted by children of all ages, and by the host Ipswich High School Interact elves, along Water Street to Santa’s Village at Town Hall.
At Town Hall, Santa held court to meet the children, who also enjoyed seasonal games provided by Santa’s Elves. Christmas Trees were auctioned off, and the Marines collected 6 boxes for ‘Toys for Tots”. Downstairs at Town Hall, additional elves from the Ipswich-Rowley Rotary Club were on hand to prepare and serve food. Even the Grinch had two green thumbs up for this fun event.
The ‘Jingle Bell Walk’ is an annual gift to the town from Ipswich High School Interact, a school-based club of community service minded young leaders that is supported by the Rotary Club and Ipswich High School. The event also benefits from strong community support and the generous sponsorship of many local businesses.
Beverly's beloved Rotarian Jack Good passed away last year. The project of bell ringing for the Salvation Army was his baby. The tradition carries on and we know that Jack is with us. Rotarians were stationed at two Stop ’n Shops and a Walgreen’s in Beverly. There were shifts throughout the day, organized by Alan Temkin, who has assumed Jack’s job for this project. Some Rotarians wore costumes and were chatting with all the customers going in and out of these businesses. Needless to say, we are a merry group! The question now remains: which location collected the most money......? Time will tell. Thanks to all of our Beverly Rotarians who were part of this project!!!! Happy Holidays!
Manchester-Essex Rotary Club is donating $6,000 to Black Earth Compost, a local food composting facility.
One of the major existential crises we face today is climate change. Whether this is a manmade issue or a global cyclical issue, greenhouse gas emissions are a substantial contributing factor to the warming of the planet. Scientists today are realizing that the predictions of this global warming trend have a much shorter timeline than originally thought and unless we figure out how to produce fewer greenhouse gasses and recapture them resulting in lowering their concentration in our atmosphere there will be catastrophic results to our climate, food and water availability and sea level changes. In response to these issues, the Manchester-Essex Rotary club has submitted a grant to support the Black Earth Composting project.
One of the ways we can contribute to the solutions of this complex issue is composting. Compost reverses global warming through deep carbon storage and reinvigorates our ability to grow food. A major challenge being in Massachusetts, a vast amount of food we eat comes from outside New England. So, we are net importers of nutrients. It is not cost effective to ship compost out of the area. Compost is a nice carbon sink, it stores carbon long term in the soil, and it pulls CO2 out of the air, so it has a net negative impact on the emissions. It’s just the simplest thing people can do right now to have an impact on solving this problem.
This a great opportunity to engage or re-engage your interact advisors and students. The project is simple. I am having one of the clubs put through a District Managed Grant for $6,000, which the District is funding. We are going to use Kiva as a microfinance platform, because we've already had great experience with it both with some Rotarians in our district using it, as well as the Marblehead Interact Club using it successfully for many years. We plan to create separate accounts on Kiva for each Interact Club that wants to participate. The accounts will be set up in the Rotary Club's name but you should provide the Interact Club with the login information and let your Interactors decide which projects to fund. As the loans are repaid over time the funds go back into your account and are available to be re-loaned.
Rotary Clubs need to apply by December 30th to participate in this program. There is an online application here and clubs and interactors should watch the MicroFinance YouTube video on our District Website or by clicking here.
Once we know how many Rotary/Interact Clubs will be participating we will divide the grant money equally and set up the accounts.
District Governor Terry Curran showered our club with recognition in many areas of contributions to Rotary Foundation 2020-2021. Among them: Marblehead Rotary is one of the handfuls of clubs to achieve the district's top three highest per capita on annual giving and for individual member participation. In addition, the Marblehead Rotary was recognized as one of the top contributors to the district’s campaign for the Rotary Foundation’s “End Polio Now” fund-raising campaign.
Accepting these citations is the past 2020-2021 president, Arthur Schwartz (right), whose leadership steered the club in staying the course during the challenging year of the pandemic, and Blair Lord (left) the 2021-2022 club president.
After a recent fundraiser, the Woburn Memorial High School Interact Club presented Woburn Veterans Agent Larry Guiseppe with gift cards for Woburn Veterans.
From left to right: Guiliana Long, Interact Club VP Cece Allen, Interact Club Advisor Devin McDonough, Woburn Veterans Agent Larry Guiseppe, Interact Club President Emily Sullivan, Maelle Pierre, Macayla Hamilton, Caden Fleming and Dawson LeBlanc. (Missing: Rebecca Michel)
The Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor purchased materials for, and is distributing, buckets of sand and pet-friendly ice melt and scoops to local senior citizens. Prevention of falls and serious injuries is a serious issue for the senior population. The Club partnered with the Marblehead Council on Aging, which is delivering buckets via its bus to those seniors who cannot pick them up at the Community Center.
Pictured are two of the several club volunteers, Linda Doliber and Cyndi Kilbarger. Missing from the photo are volunteers Club President Patricia Sullivan, Judith Black, Donald Doliber and Tim Shotmeyer.
Belle Isle Rotary Club has submitted a District Managed Grant to support campers from East Boston to Camp Rotary.
For those Clubs without Interact Clubs (or even for Clubs with Interacts), please consider supporting the District Managed Grant from Belle Isle Rotary Club. It will support 10 students from the Salesian Boys & Girls Club in East Boston to go to Camp Rotary for a week this summer. This experience will make a lasting impact on these children, who otherwise will never experience summer camp. It will also support Camp Rotary as it enters its 100th year.
Donations to support this can be sent to Belle Isle Rotary c/o Tom Hankard, 14 Edgehill Road, Winthrop, MA 02152. Please add Camp Rotary to the memo line.
The Rotary Club of Lynn welcomed seven new members into its ranks at Thursday’s monthly meeting Old Tyme Family Cuisine.
From L to R: Dr. John Dolan, Head of School at St. Mary’s High School; Claire Price, Department Head at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute; Dianna Chakoutis, Ward Five counselor and manager of Old Tyme; Stephen Archer, Lynn Fire Chief; Dr. Patrick Tutwiler, Superintendent of Lynn Public Schools. Administering the oath of office was Rotary President Ray Bastarache. LVTI vice-principal Kerry Hayward, and Asst. secretary for Housing & Urban Development, Danielle Bastarache, were unable to attend due to prior commitments.
On November 18, the Lynnfield Rotary Club hosted its annual Thanksgiving Luncheon at the Salem Country Club. Unique to this event is the celebration of the athletic rivalry between the North Reading and Lynnfield High School football teams prior to the annual Thanksgiving Day Game. Captains of both teams, as well as Captains of the Cheer Teams and the North Reading Band joined the festivities. A letter about sportsmanship written by our Rotary Unsung Hero, Linda Naccara, from the Lynnfield Council on Aging, was read to the group of aspiring young leaders. Coaches from each team spoke about the outstanding camaraderie and growth of student athletes throughout their varsity careers.
In addition, special to this occasion, the Lynnfield Rotary Club gave a check of $5,000 to the Rotary Foundation to support international service projects across the globe. District Governor Terry Rezendes Curran accepted the donation and spoke about the wonderful work of the Rotary Foundation. The young adults at the luncheon got to hear how "Service Above Self" is put into action through Rotary.
The District Governor would like to support the revitalization of our Interact Clubs this fall. To that end we have put together a $100 mini grant for clubs to use to assist their Interact Club in doing a service project. Applications are now available online and close on January 30th. Start talking to your Interact club now and plan a service project with them. This can also include a service project to celebrate World Polio Day on October 24. We are asking all Interact Clubs to plan a project to celebrate our progress towards Polio Eradication.
Mini-Grants for Interact: Deadline Extended to Jan. 30
Has your club recently hosted an event or project or are you planning something in the near future that you would like to share with your fellow District 7930 Rotarians?
The weekly eBulletin depends on the content provided by clubs, so please submit your stories and we will publish them on the district website and in the next eBulletin. Stories that showcase your club or event should be submitted via the website portal at this link.
The deadline for submitting items for the weekly District 7930 eBulletin is Friday morning in order to be included in the following Monday's edition. If the eBulletin being prepared is getting to be too long and the story submitted is not time-sensitive, we may choose to delay including it until the following week.
If you want some guidelines on creating stories, please read more!
The Rotary Club of Chelsea is holding a Sports Raffle to benefit its Charitable Foundation. Proceeds from the raffle will support the amazing work the Rotary Club does in Chelsea and the surrounding communities including sponsoring Chelsea students at a week of overnight camp each summer, scholarships to graduating high school seniors, support of the Jordan Boys and Girls Club, HarborCov, ALS Walk and so much more. There are 9 amazing prizes with the Grand Prize being a trip for 2 to Patriots vs Dolphins on Jan 6-10, 2022. Thanks to our President Dan Pranka for organizing such amazing prizes. Tickets are $50 each. Drawing will be held December 14th. Do not need to be present to win. For tickets please contact Bruce Mauch Secretary Rotary Club of Chelsea at dgmauch@comcast.net or 857 544-9041.
Ipswich, MA – “Jingle Bell Walk” Saturday, December 18 2021, 11:00 am to 2 pm
Join us for a day of holiday festivities and cheer! Greet Santa as he arrives at the Ipswich Town Wharf. Sing carols with Buddy the Elf as we await Santa’s arrival! Jingle bells will be available for purchase. Jingle your bells and follow our honored guest and Buddy the Elf on a festive “Jingle Bell Walk” to the Ipswich Town Hall at 45 Green Street. Keep a sharp eye out for the “Grinch”!
Once Santa arrives at Town Hall, he will receive children, 11 and under to take photos with. Parents are urged to bring a camera! Each child will receive a gift bag from Santa as well. Following their visit with Santa, the children can have their faces painted, play festive games, and create holiday crafts. The Rotary Club will serve pizza, hot cocoa, cookies and more in the cafeteria.
Tickets will be available for purchase in order to enjoy delicious food, face painting, and crafts. There will be free games to play as well as raffles for Christmas trees and other great items!
Attendees are encouraged to bring unwrapped gifts fit for a child to support the Marines in their organization, Toys for Tots! For more information go to www.ipswichrotary.org. Proceeds from the Jingle Bell Walk will be donated to local business and we are working towards funding an international project!
As we close out Foundation Month, I wanted to remind you that #GivingTuesday isthis Tuesday, November 30. This global day of giving is an opportunity for all Rotary members to make a big impact with a gift of any size to our Annual Fund-SHARE. Last year, we raised more than US$800,000 — and we’re asking you to help us raise even more this year! Watch and share our Giving Tuesday video from the Rotary Foundation.
The Foundation will again recognize the top three clubs in fundraising, donor participation, and online giving. See last year’s top performers and set a goal to be on this year’s list.
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep you informed and educated on ways to support The Rotary Foundation, we are pleased to share information on a new initiative that is launching in Rotary District 7930. The 70+ initiative is a district-wide effort to encourage Rotarians to consider the benefits and opportunities of a charitable gift via their IRA.
Starting at age 70 1/2, the IRS allows individuals to make a tax-free distribution or qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from their IRA directly to a charity of their choice. And in the year you turn 72, you can use your gift to satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution (RMD), which is required annually when you reach this age.
Each year Reading Rotary partners with the community for the Adopt-a-Family project for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rotary works with the local organization ReadingCares and the Town to coordinate this long-standing community giving program. Receiving families are matched anonymously with donor families and/or groups to provide meals for Thanksgiving and meals and gifts at Christmas. Donors drop off at the DPW garage in the first shift, then recipient families pick up during a later shift.
Reading Rotary thanks one of our newest members, Adam Sandberg, for coordinating our work with Adopt-a-Family. Along with Reading Cares and the Town of Reading, our goal is to make sure every family in town has a happy Thanksgiving. Pictured here are Rotarians and other volunteers at the Thanksgiving Adopt-a-Family on November 22.
A millennial, two young professionals, two retirees, and three returnees to Marblehead Rotary with a combined 115 years of Rotary experience are among Marblehead Rotary’s new additions. These new members share one common thread: the Rotary brand made a strong impression on them as a touchpoint to make a difference. In addition, they have an enduring connection to the town of Marblehead. “We'll continue to adopt innovative ideas to make our members even more engaged and hope to attract more new talents,” says Blair Lord (top right), our club president. Meet the new team…
(First Row, from Left to Right)
Wilson Lautner grew up in Marblehead through sophomore, moved out to Sonoma Country in California, where he finished high school. Recently, he moved back to Marblehead to begin a career in residential real estate. His mission is to build partnerships with non-profit organizations to bring new opportunities to elevate and extend fine arts' reach to Marblehead.
The Rotary Club of Chelsea recently installed Dr. Aaron Jennings as its newest member. Aaron is the Equity, Diversity and Excellence Officer for the Chelsea Public Schools. Pictured with Aaron is Dr. Almudena Abeyta, Superintendent of the Chelsea Public Schools and Aaron’s sponsor, Allan I. Alpert, the Installing Officer and Richard Gopen, President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Chelsea.
On November 18th our Rotary District 7930 held a webinar to look into Microfinance and how we can easily come together to help to empower people around the globe to lift them out of poverty by providing them with small loans to support them in buying chickens, buying a sewing machine, fabrics, seeds, and many other things that enable them to be more productive members of their societies.
As an example we looked, in particular, at the non-profit organization Kiva that provides a platform to connect borrowers around the globe - via field partners in their home countries - with lenders in the US and Europe who come together to support those loans via crowd-funding.
Microfinance is also a great tool for Interact Clubs: the club can raise some money and then decide which loans to give out and follow those borrowers and their progress. The Marblehead Interact Club has been doing this for many years. This would also be a great opportunity for Rotary Clubs to apply for a Mini-Grant for their Interact Club. Mini-Grants for Interact are still open until December 15...
Posted by Tracy Arabian (she, her) on Nov 16, 2021
The Gloucester Rotary has produced a beautiful 2022 calendar, featuring scenic photography from local artists. In addition to the calendar, each purchase enters the buyer into a weekly raffle. $50 prizes will be drawn each week with two bonus prizes-- a $250 prize in June and a $500 prize in December. Calendars are $25 each, and proceeds from the sale of calendars will be used to support the many projects of the Gloucester Rotary. The calendars are available for purchase online (link: https://gloucesterrotary.org/) or in person at the Weathervane Gift Shop, located at 153 Main Street in downtown Gloucester (phone 978-281-1227), at BankGloucester, located at 160 Main Street in downtown Gloucester (978-283-8200), and from any Gloucester Rotary member.
On Thursday, November 11th the district held our annual Rotary Foundation event “A Celebration of Our Heroes” starting at 5:30 PM at the Danversport. The evening included a social hour, silent auction, dinner, and Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF) presentations from 25 Rotary Clubs honoring 43 community heroes for their work during the pandemic.
This video is a compilation of just a few of the things we have done in our 100 years. Our Rotarians are featured in the video, with some beautiful birthday wishes from our sister clubs.
Thank you to them for being a part of our celebration!
The North Reading Rotary Club is proud to announce a new project with a mission of making this an annual or semi-annual event. Volunteers of all ages are invited to come together for a common purpose of taking responsibility for our town in order to help create a clean, green, litter-free place to live, work and play! While North Reading is a beautiful town, when you start looking for litter, you will see it everywhere – in neighborhoods, parking lots, sidewalks, buried in the woods and along the Ipswich River. From soda bottles to pizza boxes, beer cans and alcohol containers, amazon boxes and bubble wrap, plastic bags and old masks, there is an abundance of trash in our natural habitat.
This video is a compilation of just a few of the things we have done in our 100 years. Our Rotarians are featured in the video, with some beautiful birthday wishes from our sister clubs.
Thank you to them for being a part of our celebration!
This week, Woburn Rotary celebrated Harris "Harry" Cohen who has been a Rotarian for 50 years! Harry joined Rotary Club of Woburn in 1971 and is a Paul Harris Fellow +3. He also served on the Board of Directors for a number of years and has volunteered many hours of service to Woburn, included organizing the annual pancake breakfast. Harry continues to be an active member of Rotary Club of Woburn and comes to almost every weekly lunch meeting. Harry was presented with a proclamation from State Representative Richard Haggerty and a proclamation from Woburn Mayor Scott D. Galvin.
Picture here is Past President Susan Hartmere present presenting Harry with a commemorative clock to celebrates his 50th anniversary as a Woburn Rotarian.
The Wakefield Rotary Club hosted it’s Purple Pinkey event at the Fall In Love With Wakefield event last month. Club Secretary Suzanne Bowering explained, “Our Purple Pinkey event is designed to raise awareness of Rotary’s efforts world-wide to eradicate polio.” She continued, “In countries that experience technology challenges and in some rural areas, children have their pinkey fingers dyed purple to indicate they received a polio vaccine on their immunization day.” Rotary has been a global leader in the eradication of polio worldwide since 1985. Today, 99.9% of the world is polio-free. To learn more, visit endpolio.org.
Thursday, November 11 will be our annual Rotary Foundation event “A Celebration of Our Heroes” starting at 5:30 PM at the Danversport. The evening will include a social hour, silent auction, dinner, and Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF) presentations.
Registration closes Monday, November 8, at 5PM!
Registration is required for this in-person event. There will be no walk-ins permitted!
We will be adhering to all current Covid-19 regulations to make sure this is a safe event for all Rotarians. Any person not vaccinated will be required to wear a mask, and you may choose to wear a mask even if you are vaccinated, if you are concerned about gatherings in indoor spaces. As you know, the Danversport facility has a very large ballroom, so we are confident that we can have people spaced out sufficiently to ensure a safe dining experience.
Newburyport: Come topple the smartest trivia team in the area! The Rotary Club of Newburyport invites you to test the trivia waters, as Newburyport resident and business owner Jill Santopietro Panall hosts and shares her Jeopardy!® expertise with those brave enough to play a local version of the popular quiz show. The games will be held on Thursday, November 18, at the Elks Club on Low Street in Newburyport. Doors open at 6:30 and at 7:00 let the games begin! Jill and her team have prepared questions that will span many categories, so everyone has an opportunity to showcase his or her unique knowledge.
Proceeds will support college scholarships for local students. According to Newburyport Rotary Club President Dan Hartman, “The club contributes up to $9,000 per year in scholarships to local graduating seniors. We are proud of our students and happy to help them. Your continued support is so important!”
Our generous major sponsor again this year is the Institution for Savings. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available, including multiple round sponsorships at $100 each.
It gives me great pleasure to announce the results of the Nominating Committee, who met on November 4th. 2021. After interviewing candidates. the decision was made to nominate Thomas Hankard , past president of The Belle Isle Rotary Club of East Boston, Revere, Winthrop, as the District Governor for Rotary Year 2024-2025.
According to the By-Laws of District 7930, if there are no dissensions by December 31, 2021, Tom will be considered elected by acclimation.
The Beverly Rotary Club is once again having its Turkey Raffle. You can purchase a ticket for $20 and you might win a 40 lb. turkey!!!
The dressed, locally-grown 40 pounds plus turkey will be delivered to the winner's home three days before Thanksgiving with an industrial-sized roasting pan, which will be engraved with the winner's name.
With proceeds from the North of 40 Turkey Raffle, we are partnering with Rotary Clubs around the world to END POLIO NOW.
And, we are also working with local Rotary Clubs to protect the Ipswich River and adjacent watersheds -- the lifeblood of our North Shore communities.
Do you have dinner plans for Tuesday, November 9th? No? Great! Grab a flatbread and enjoy some bowling from 4-10 p.m. at American Flatbread in Somerville.
Boston Rotaract will be holding a fundraiser there. $4 of every large flatbread and $2 of every small flatbread sold that night goes to supporting Afghan Immigrants and Refugees coming to Boston via partnership with Combined Jewish Philanthropies. Spread the word!
Service during COVID is alive and well! Greeted by CEO Janet Nittmann of Windrush Farm, North Andover, members and friends of the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor were joined by Marblehead High School Interactors in spending a day of fellowship and service spreading cushioning mulch on bridle trails, performing light carpentry work, and cleaning out and hosing down the barn.
Windrush, which depends on volunteers to perform many upkeep duties, offers therapeutic horseback riding to children and adults with disabilities and also offers services to veterans dealing with the effects of PTSD. An added plus at the end of the day for the Rotarians and Interactors? They were invited to meet and greet Windrush's handsome horses in their paddocks.
The Wakefield Rotary Club recently completed its annual donation of dictionaries to every third grader in Wakefield. 253 copies were hand-delivered to all Wakefield public schools as well as Odyssey and St. Joseph’s School.
The club would like to thank the following Rotarians for their diligence in delivering the books: Suzanne Bowering, Jim Fitzgerald, Jill McWilliam, John Tramontozzi, Tom Stapleton, Barbara Worley and Catherine Dhingra.
Is your club planning a great community project this year? Consider applying for matching funds from D7930! In the current funding round, the District has approved funding for six projects to support projects that address literacy and education both locally and internationally, and support local food pantries. These projects provide great benefit to our communities, enhance the visibility of Rotary on a local level and provide the opportunity for clubs to demonstrate Rotary "ideals in action" for the benefit of attracting valuable new club members.
Projects are required to fall into at least one of the 7 Areas of Focus, must be a new project for your club, involve broad participation by members, and will be complete by May 15, 2022. If you are considering a project that meets these criteria, you may want to consider this matching grant opportunity. The application can be found here.
Beautiful, crisp, sunny weather was the setting for the PUMPKIN PAINTING IN THE PARK in Beverly Common. The event was hosted by the Beverly Rotary Club in partnership with Beverly Main Streets. 100 children registered to paint their pumpkins at the Gazebo. All of the pumpkins were donated thanks to the State Sheriff’s Department, Smolak Farms and Dr, Bill Beckman. Tables were set up with paint and decorations. After the children finished painting, their pumpkins were photographed for a montage of pumpkins.
Beverly Rotary continues to celebrate its Centennial Celebration with special events happening each month! Happy Birthday all year to the Beverly Rotary Club and its 112 members, serving the community!
Rotarians from Ipswich, Rowley and Wakefield, together with 12 high school students from St. Johns Prep, Danvers, joined Rachel Schneider, Ipswich River Watershed Association, Sat. Oct 23, for an outstanding hands-on training for Keeping Water Clean Day, a Greenscapes program.
Our inter-generational volunteer teams learned about the intricacies of the water cycle through a terrarium-like model, explored the cleaning of drinking water in a wastewater treatment plant, followed the polluting of water within our communities using a model of the local landscapes, and defined our watersheds within the different towns. We are ready to train more volunteers, and put our skills to action in our communities. Contact Ann Witzig, aswitzig@gmail.com.
Learn more about wine and have fun at the same time!! Meet fellow Rotarians and wine lovers across two districts, two countries and three plus states. Monthly tastings are themed and many feature special guests and presenters. We meet every last Sunday of the month from 5-6 pm on zoom for a tasting of two wines -- typically one white and one red varietal. Rotary Fellowships are open to fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarians. There is currently no cost to join our local chapter but we encourage you to join the Rotary Wine Appreciation Fellowship (RWAF). Next meeting October 31. For more information contact Joan at corksncapswine@gmail.com.
D7930 & D7790 Corks & Caps Wine Fellowship
Methuen Rotary Club held its 4th Annual June Jubilee. We choose non-profits that we feel their values align with the mission of Rotary and give away $1,000.00 per week every Friday in June.
This year one of the organizations we chose was On The Move INC. The mission of OTM is First, to promote literacy for children in need, so that they achieve 3rd grade reading proficiency by the end of third grade while simultaneously sparking their interest in reading as one step to becoming life-long learners. Second, to encourage a healthy lifestyle, for these same children, by providing them with bikes to stimulate their bodies as well as their minds. For more info visit www.otminc.org.
Pictured here: Rotarians James Savarino & Erica Hadley & William Haddad BOD from OTM INC.
Dr. Patrick Tutwiler is starting his fourth year as the Superintendent of the Lynn Public School District. Lynn is one of the five largest school districts in Massachusetts with over 2200 teachers and staff, 25 buildings to maintain and nearly 17,000 students to educate. To say he has a lot on his plate would be a massive understatement. However, when he was recently asked by three Lynn Rotarians and former LPS educators, Steve Upton, Dick Ruth and Ray Bastarache, to consider a Rotary Corporate Membership for his school district, he responded with a smile, “Absolutely! Why wouldn’t we team up with Rotary?”
Tutwiler has seen firsthand the many benefits this partnership between Lynn Rotary and the school district has delivered to Lynn students. These include: multiple college scholarships to high school seniors; eighth graders, who have overcome challenges, are recognized three times a year with a special lunch, a citation, a certificate of deposit at a local credit union, and a gift card to Barnes & Noble. In the 18 Lynn elementary schools, over 1300 dictionaries are distributed annually to all third graders through Rotary International’s Dictionary Project, as well as the Club’s 50-year sponsorship of the “Special Games” for the many Lynn elementary students who are challenged by physical or learning disabilities.
Are you a business owner? Do you want to show your creativity and Holiday Spirit? Methuen Rotary Club is holding the 2nd Annual LIGHT UP METHUEN this Holiday Season. December 4th - January 1, 2022 trees will be lit up all over the City.
A google map will be posted on our website and Facebook page with all the tree locations throughout the City. We will ask viewers to vote on the best displays and there are prizes for the TOP 3! Help us and decorate the Downtown, too. Limited number of spots available. Contact methuenrotaryclub@gmail.com or call Julie at 978-835-2819.
Posted by Joan Kelly Arsenault, PDG on Oct 23, 2021
In celebration of World Polio Day, District 7930 hosted “PolioPLUS and its Impact on Covid & Viral Outbreaks” on October 20th from 7-9 pm via Zoom. The featured speakers were Nancy Barbee, Ina Pinkney, and Michael McGovern. This event also set the stage for the return of our Polar Plunge with details forthcoming by DG Terry Curran.
The Belle Isle Rotary Club will hold their Annual Comedy Nite on Wednesday Nov. 3, 2021. Doors open at 6 pm at
Giggles Comedy Club 517 Broadway (Rt 1 S), Saugus, MA 01906.
All You Can Eat Pizza – Cash Bar Prizes and Raffles 3 Great (and different!) talents on the stage
Donation/ticket price $35.00 per person
Venmo Belleisle-rotaryclub or Paypal Rotary Club of Belle Isle Foundation.
Got questions about this event or to purchase tickets, please contact Joe (617) 909-5382, Steve (781) 731-3057, Vera (617)-909-5384 or Mike (617) 913-1531.
The Wakefield Rotary Club is hosting its third contest that offers the winner a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Dine Anywhere in the World Contest offers one lucky winner and a guest the opportunity to win a trip to any destination in the world of their choosing! The winner will receive round-trip airfare for two, an overnight in a 4-star or better hotel and a gift certificate for dinner to the restaurant of their choosing!
Tickets cost $100.00 each and a limit of 250 tickets will be sold. 10-packs of tickets are offered at a reduced rate of $750.00 and are available to a single entrant, not groups. The winning ticket will be pulled on Tuesday, February 15th at the club’s regular meeting at Brightview Senior Living in Wakefield.
You can purchase your tickets now by visiting Holiday Travel of Wakefield, calling (781) 245-5131 or purchasing online at www.wakefieldrotaryclub.org/raffle-2021. Wakefield Rotarians also have tickets available for sale.
Bring a team of up to five players, or we can create a team for you. Topple last year's smartest team on the seacoast and vie for cash and other prizes! Hosted once again by our local Jeopardy!™ winner Jill Santopietro Panall, the evening promises interesting questions, odd historical facts, and lots of friendly competition!
Thursday, November 18, 2021
Elk's Club, 25 Low St., Newburyport
Doors open @ 6:30, Game starts @7:00 pm.
Food and drink available for purchase.
$125.00 per team; up to five people per team. Or $25 to register as a single. Grand Prize for the winning team is $250. Other fun prizes are on tap, too.
Newburyport: Are you as smart as a “Jeopardy!” champ?
Proceeds will support college scholarships for local students. According to Newburyport Rotary Club President Dan Hartman, “The club contributes up to $9,000 per year in scholarships to local graduating seniors. We are proud of our students and happy to help them."
Our major sponsor again this year is the Institution for Savings. Round sponsorships are available for $100 each.
In light of our commitment to support the environment, Marblehead Rotary has been working in partnership with Bike Marblehead and Sustainable Marblehead to provide bike racks throughout town. We were able to fund the project with a matching district grant.
"Installing bike racks sends out the message that we are serious about the reduction of carbon emissions, as well as the personal wellness and health of our community," said Linda Sullivan of Marblehead Rotary. Furthermore, what is a better way to promote and enhance the cycling culture of our town?
Previously, riders would secure their bikes on signposts, fences, or trees, too often causing damage to the makeshift rack. For years, we’ve had the bike path and now we have accessible racks to encourage people to use the path more. We’ve installed the first racks at Shubie’s Marketplace, Beach Bluff Park, Upper, and Lower Stramski Way and at Abbot Hall.
Pictured here are Linda Sullivan of Marblehead Rotary and Ed Futcher of Sustainable Marblehead inspecting the bike rack at Clifton Improvement Association's Beach Bluff Park.
The Board of Directors of Senior Care, Inc, a Gloucester based senior citizen services organization, has awarded Ipswich Rotarian Nat Pulsifer their 2021 ‘Myra L. Herrick Outstanding Older American Award’ for his contributions to the safety and well-being of North Shore citizens, especially in his home town of Ipswich.
According to Scott Trenti, CEO of Senior Care and a Gloucester Rotarian, Nat was recognized for repeatedly volunteering at ‘the COVID-19 vaccination on-site in Ipswich, greeting the participants in the first two waves of vaccinations. He knew most of the people coming in, and welcomed everyone with genuine warmth and efficiency’.
According to Trenti, ‘the Myra L. Herrick Outstanding Older American Award is given yearly to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the welfare of elders in an innovative, creative, or dedicated way, or who is a role model for continuing to live an active, healthy, and purposeful lifestyle.’
One of several recipients recognized this year, Pulsifer has long been an active supporter of numerous environmental and humanitarian non-profit organizations and charitable events in Ipswich and the North Shore. Congratulations Nat on this well-deserved recognition!
In the photo, Scott Trenti presents the award to Nat in front of the Pancake House in Rowley following a recent Rotary club meeting.
The Burlington Breakfast Rotary is taking Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta’s message “Each One, Bring One” to heart. In just 4 months, we have added 4 new members.
Sometimes it is just a matter of being present at an event. We had an opportunity to have a table promoting the Burlington Breakfast Rotary and what we are all about at both the “Celebrate Burlington” event and the “Diwali Festival” on the Burlington Common. We had a poster and flyers with our recent projects and our Banner prominently displayed. We also had a Cornhole game for the children at Celebrate Burlington. Members took different shifts to take charge of the table and share with interested persons how our club “enriches Burlington.” From these two events, we attracted 3 new members.
Recently, new neighbors moved into our area. As we spoke to them during the past few months, my husband and I mentioned that we are Rotarians. They told us that they used to be Rotarians. We invited them to a complimentary breakfast at one of our meetings and to learn about our Club. Next week, our neighbor is being inducted into our “Small but Mighty” Burlington Breakfast Rotary Club!
So be present, spread the word, and “Each One, Bring One” or two, or three! Can’t wait to see what the next 8 months will bring!
On Thursday, September 30th, members of the Lynn Rotary Club gathered at the Old Tyme restaurant for one of its regular meetings. The Club choose to do a service project prior to conducting a regular club meeting. The project was to put together 50 brown bag lunches for My Brother’s Table. The lunches consist of 2 PB&J sandwiches, a drink box, and a nourishing snack. This is an ongoing need at My Brother’s Table. Especially since they are restricted in how they can feed those in need.
Since the Covid pandemic restrictions began, back in March 2020, the Table has relied on volunteers to make and deliver to the Table the brown bag lunches. Since that time members of the Rotary Club of Lynn have made well over 5,000 sandwiches.
If you are interested in helping the Table, please feel free to contact Meredith Nash at: Meredith@mybrotherstable.org. If you would like to join the Rotary Club of Lynn please send a note to: lynnrotaryclub@gmail.com.
Pictured here are various Rotary Club members hard at work making the 100 sandwiches for the bag lunches.
Lynn Club Makes PB&J Sandwiches for My Brother's Table
Posted by Leila Brandao dos Santos on Oct 09, 2021
Boston Rotary #7 members are taking their fight against polio to Club Cafe during the Pints for Polio 2021 fundraising event set for the month of October.
Pints for Polio is an annual fundraiser that raises money to help in the global fight against polio. For every pint purchased, $1 will be donated to Rotary International’s Polio Plus campaign.
Club Cafe is located at 209 Columbus Avenue in Boston's Back Bay/South End.
Rotary International and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988, at a time when there were 350,000 cases of polio in 125 countries every year. Since then, Rotary has been internationally recognized as a leader in eradicating polio across the globe, and cases have been reduced by 99.9%. Just two countries continue to report cases of wild polio virus — Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Creating successful and sustainable eco-tourism and micro enterprise among extremely poor mountain villages. Build on proven initiatives started in the Makalu and other parts of Nepal over the past 20+ years, harness a proven Appreciative Planning and Action (APA) development methodology along Nepal’s 1000 mile Great Himalaya Trail (GHT)—spanning the entire 500 miles from East to West Nepal.
This proposed Economic Development International Project, supported by District 7930 and Amesbury Rotary, is being designed by Amesbury Rotarians Malcolm (Mac) Odell, Mark Bean, and Sandy Carlisle from the Amesbury Rotary Club, who would love to present this project to your Rotary Club with an awesome PowerPoint presentation.
On October 23, 1-4 pm, Ipswich / Rowley Rotarians are looking for volunteers to help work hands-on-science activities that support watershed education for 5th graders. This Greenscapes program was cancelled last year due to COVID - https://greenscapes.org/your-school/ .
The Ipswich River Watershed Association is offering, instead, an afternoon of family activities developed for 5th grade classrooms across the county. Volunteers are needed to lead / direct a table (total of 8 tables) that has a Greenscapes hands-on watershed activity.
Please email Ann Witzig at aswitzig@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering Oct. 23, 1 pm-4 pm. The location will be determined shortly.
Looking for Volunteers! Imagine a Day without Water.
This is a fun suggestion for all the clubs in our District:
On Sunday October 24th, which is World Polio Day, organize a Paws For Polio walk in your town! This can be a simple but fun event, and won’t take a lot of planning. Find a starting point, take donations for Polio, give out some dog treats and take a walk with friends! This will be good exercise for you and your dog (s), and raise community awareness for Rotary’s mission to eradicate Polio world wide all in one easy package!
The Belle Isle Rotary had a Fall Fair event for the children and families of East Boston Revere and Winthrop. We aimed to bring some of the highlights of the Topsfield Fair to our neighbors that may not be able to go to Topsfield for a variety of reasons, we helped subsidize this event by selling squares for Goat Pebble Bingo and the lucky winner was John Francis.
We had baby goats, baby pigs and bunnies as well as a two chickens and two ducks The kids had a great time hand feeding and getting to sit down and spend time with the small animals, hold them and learn about them.
We also offered treats hot dogs, hot apple cider donuts, popcorn and chocolate milk and lemonade from Peabody's own Dujanski Farm. It was a real joy to be able to bring a little bit of Fall Fair to our friends and neighbors in the Belle Isle Rotary region and we look forward to having this event again next fall.
Did you know that we have a gem right here in District 7930? Camp Rotary, located on Stiles Pond in Boxford, MA, is the longest running, consecutive service project of any club! It started back in 1921 when several members of the Lynn club were approached by the secretary of the Lynn YMCA (who happened to be a past president of the Lynn club) with the idea to purchase land that could be used to open up camping opportunities for boys from the Lynn area.
Over the past 100 years, much has changed (the camp is coed; cabins have replaced tents; the facility has continuously been upgraded – most recently with a new, spacious dining hall) but through it all, the club has ensured that the vision of those original founders would continue. This year, after being forced to close for a summer due to COVID, the camp reopened and nearly 1000 campers enjoyed part of their summer making new friends while experiencing a sheltered independence, personal growth and a lot of fun!
The camp’s board of directors have planned a gala event for June 11, 2022 to celebrate the 100th year anniversary. More information on that event, as well as other centennial activities will be coming over the next few months.
In May, as the state relaxed COVID restrictions, the Reading Rotary was met with a challenge. Could they pull of planning the Fall Street Faire in just three months? Fall Street Faire Co-Chair Gregg Johnson explains, “It was never a question of what we wanted to do. Of course, we wanted to hold the Faire. But it usually takes six months of planning and organization. We were all aware that trying to do it in three months would be hard. But we decided to just go for it and try to pull it off.” The Faire was held on September 12 from noon to 5 pm.
The team of more than 20 Rotarian and other volunteers mobilized, set up the website, got the word out to vendors and sponsors, and worked with Reading Town officials on logistics. John Feudo, Fall Street Faire Co-Chair said, “We’re lucky that this event was well supported by the Town. We have a long history of working well together. We couldn’t do this without their support and coordination.”
The Belle Isle Rotary Club is gearing up for their annual Goat Pebble Bingo Bash on Saturday Oct 2, 2021 to be held at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, 150 Byron St East Boston, MA.
The goats will be arriving and be let loose on the bingo squares and a lucky $20 ticket holder will win $1000!
We will have a petting zoo, Fall Fair treats, face painting and pumpkin decorating.
Every week you read this newsletter learning new and wonderful things about Rotary. Some members feel comfortable in their local group, some seek more from the district and other can’t stop until they’ve circled the globe again and again. Regardless of the depth or the topic, Rotary International offers a remarkable amount of information.
Start by clicking https://my.rotary.org/en/news-media/newsletters log into “MyRotary,” and then click on the blue “Manage Subscriptions” button to subscribe. Here are a list of some of our current newsletters:
The Belle Isle Rotary had a wonderful night Wednesday, September 15, 2021 at the Marina Wharf Restaurant in Revere presenting member and Past President Ashley Melnik with a Paul Harris Fellow. Many Rotarians including DG Terry Rezendes Curran were in attendance as well as many of Ashley's friends and family. In addition, Ashley Melnik was recognized as an Unsung Heroine Award in June 2021 presented at the State House for her community of Revere where she works as City Clerk and does a lot of good deeds for local Veterans.
Posted by Bill Tobin, ShelterBox USA on Sep 17, 2021
Here is an update of current ShelterBox response work. Except for Haiti, all our current response work is due to people displaced by conflict. Our work in areas of conflict displacement has twice earned the Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Shelter is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone for peace. At ShelterBox, we work tirelessly each day to provide displaced families with shelter and basic household items. We have also implemented COVID-19 mitigation items in our aid packages. Items such as soap, wash basins and face coverings are helping to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Let this sink in…There are over 3 times as many Rotarians in District 7930 than in the entirety of any of the countries covered in this report. You can help us extend Rotary’s reach.
We are available for online meetings to clubs, and district leaders. We have a critical need for funding, your support is very much appreciated. www.shelterboxusa.org
HAITI – Earthquake
ShelterBox has a team in Haiti after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the country on Saturday 14 August. Buildings have been flattened and hospitals already under strain from COVID-19 are overwhelmed. Days later, Tropical Storm Grace dumped more than a foot of rain over some of the worst affected areas. Families face an impossible choice: shelter in their damaged, dangerous homes, or shelter outside at risk of rains and floods. We are partnering with Habitat for Humanity Haiti, who have strong local connections and knowledge of communities. They will help us identify the most vulnerable people in the local communities who need support, and who are not being served by other agencies. We have a ShelterBox team in country who are working closely with Habitat for Humanity Haiti to coordinate assessments, practical training, running distributions and post distribution monitoring activities. Our aid has arrived in Haiti, has passed through customs, and distributions will take place imminently.
Rotary International requires Rotary Clubs to segregate their financial activity between Operations and Charitable Activities. At a minimum, this should be done by utilizing separate bank accounts for operating funds (dues, meal income and expenses, etc.) and charitable activities (donations received and project expenses incurred). However, even with this clear segregation between operations and charitable activities, donations made to Rotary Clubs are generally not tax-deductible, because Rotary Clubs are organized under chapter 501(c)4 of the IRS code.
For this very reason, several Rotary Clubs have successfully created a separate second legal entity, typically called the "Rotary Club of XXX Charitable Foundation" and then applied for section 501(c)3 status with the IRS for that second entity. This setup then allows Rotary Clubs to fund-raise for charitable projects through this charitable non-profit organization and thus provide their donors with the benefits of those donations generally being tax-deductible.
On September 16th, District 7930 hosted a Zoom webinar where we discussed in more detail what a 501(c)3 charitable / non-profit entity is, what the minimum requirements are to operate one, and how to set one up. Our speakers, Elizabeth Roth, Esq. and Ed David, CPA - members of the Rotary Club of Greater Salem, NH - are experienced in the process of setting up such entities and consulting with non-profit organizations. We also had members of Rotary Clubs attending, who have set up their own 501(c)3 charitable entity in the past, and spoke about their experience and results.
My name is Anne Lewis of the Rockport Club and I am pleased to be serving as your D7930 Global Grants Chair this year, working with Foundation Chair Joan Arsenault and DG Terry Curran. I would be glad to help with any of your application, implementation and reporting questions.
Links to many excellent Global Grant resources will be posted on our district website soon but in the meantime, a good place to start is with “A Guide to Global Grants”. To find the link, just go to rotary.org, My Rotary, The Rotary Foundation, Apply for Grants and then Global Grants.
Please be sure to contact me early in your application process to discuss funding and the availability of DDF (District Designated Funds). Only Global Grants that originate within our district will be eligible for DDF this year. There have also been other changes in the funding model from Rotary International that we can discuss.
On Tuesday, October 5th the Rotary Club of Arlington will hold its Annual Paul Harris Fellow Award and Community Persons of the Year recognition banquet at St. Eulalia's Church, 50 Ridge St. Winchester. Cocktails start at 5:30 followed by dinner and program.
We welcome you to join us in celebrating the outstanding service that each of our award recipients have contributed to our community. (See attached invitation for all the details.)
Our water sources, the Ipswich River and adjacent watersheds, the Parker and the Essex, are threatened and may disappear if conservation action is not taken.
Please join us on September 30th on Zoom, 7-8 pm to hear about the In-District Global Grant “Save the Ipswich River and Watershed: The Lifeblood of our Communities”. Find out how you and/or your club can participate in this grant including a District Rotary Day of Service. This global grant is the second In-District Global grant that our district has ever undertaken. Be a part of this historic moment and help us save our River and water supply!!! Registration required in order to receive the zoom link, which will be sent the day of the event. Questions? Contact Joan Arsenault (joan@massteximaging.com), Ann Witzig (aswitzig@gmail.com) or Ingrid Miles (ingridmiles@kw.com).
The Manchester-Essex Rotary Club is pleased to honor two great residents from Manchester-by-the-Sea: Sue Thorne and Tom Kehoe.
Most recently, this impressive pair were the Co-chairs of the town's 375 Committee starting in 2019 that is still working together in 2021. Their skill and dedication to this milestone celebration has been exemplary. They brought together a cross section of town citizens to their 375 Committee that produced and excellent program of events, fundraising, gatherings and historical updates and education.
The District 7930 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee is proud to announce that seven (7) Clubs have achieved the District 7930 Governor’s 20-21 DEI Citation.
The following clubs achieved at least 13 of the 25 action steps are:
Burlington Breakfast
Cambridge
Lynnfield
Malden
Manchester/Essex
Marblehead
Peabody
When told about the achievement of the seven clubs, PDG 20-21 Betsy Manzelli remarked “I am very proud of the efforts of the seven clubs; not only the achievement the DEI Citation but also that their efforts highlight the work they perform in their communities.”
Over the next several weeks PDG Manzelli and District 7930 DEI Committee Chair will be visiting the above seven clubs to present their District 7930 DEI 20-21 Citation.
Ipswich Rotarian Keith Harris will soon hop up on his bicycle and tow his faithful dog around 70 scenic miles west of Boston.
Owner of Harris Graphics in Rowley, Keith and doggie Cheyenne will cycle through Lincoln, Sudbury, Acton and Concord to raise money to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS.
“If anyone else is so inclined to join as a rider, the course is gorgeous,” Harris said of the Sept. 19 event.
Posted by Joan Kelly Arsenault, PDG, DRFC on Sep 07, 2021
Support Rotary’s Foundation year-round by making an automatic recurring gift with Rotary Direct. You choose how much and how often to give. It’s a simple and secure way to make a big impact!
Online credit card contributions can be made monthly, quarterly, or annually, with a US$10 transaction minimum. Donors can also enroll using the Rotary Direct enrollment form, The Rotary Foundation Contribution Form, by calling the Support Center at +1-866-9ROTARY, or by going online here.
Donors can change or cancel their recurring giving online at any time through My Rotary. After you sign in, go to Account Settings by following the link in the upper right. Then choose the Donor Self Service tab. Rotary Direct is safe, secure and easy… Sign up today!
Rotary International has recently updated Rotary's Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with this new DEI statement that was just released this summer:
At Rotary, we understand that cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realizing our vision of a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
We value diversity and celebrate the contributions of people of all backgrounds, across age, ethnicity, race, color, disability, learning style, religion, faith, socioeconomic status, culture, marital status, languages spoken, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as well as differences in ideas, thoughts, values, and beliefs.
Sign up now for The Rotary Club of Cambridge’s annual event Chalk on the Walk. Chalk on the Walk is the Cambridge version of an Italian street painting festival.
This year’s event will be held at Oktoberfest on October 10th in Harvard Square. We are looking for artists who will have the unique opportunity to draw their work right on the street in designated squares. Artists can choose to reproduce existing artworks or create their own. This event is lots of fun! Both individuals and families with no training in art are especially encouraged to participate. It can be a great team building exercise as well.
With the help of a District 7930 Managed Grant, the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor purchased a commercial refrigerator for North Shore Families Together Food Pantry in Lynn.
Since March 2020, after specific food insecurity was brought to their attention, North Shore Families Together has been providing food to local families in need. The refrigerator will enable the organization to extend and expand the storage of perishable foods including fresh vegetables, fruits and dairy items.
The refrigerator is a double-glass-door, full-height commercial unit manufactured by True Appliance. Tom Kulevich and Rick Cohen of Tri-City Sales in Salem facilitated the purchase. Tri-City Sales, a third-generation, family-owned discount appliance store, has been a landmark in Salem since 1959 with a second location in Ipswich, serving customers throughout New England.
Salem Rotarian Bruce Whear, founding president and owner of Wire 4 Hire in Salem, was a consultant on the project.
The Marblehead Harbor Rotary Club has made food insecurity its primary focus during COVID-19 by helping to support the work of The Marblehead Food Pantry, Casa Mariposa in Lynn, and Salem State University in addition to securing the refrigerator for North Shore Families Together.
Club Foundation Chair Linda Doliber and Maestro Dirk Hillyer received the delivery of the refrigerator to North Shore Families Together. Proceeds from the club’s annual Holiday Pops conducted by Hillyer funded the club’s contribution to the purchase.
Marblehead Harbor Receives District Managed Grant for Commercial Fridge
Posted by Joan Kelly Arsenault, PDG, DRFC on Aug 31, 2021
The Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotary members and friends of The Rotary Foundation who elect to contribute $1,000 or more each year to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, or approved global grants. The purpose of the Paul Harris Society is to honor and thank individuals for their generous, ongoing support of The Rotary Foundation.
Paul Harris Society contributions also count toward Sustaining Member (Annual Fund contributions only), EREY (Annual Fund contributions only), Paul Harris Fellow, and Major Donor recognition. Paul Harris Society members are listed in the Paul Harris Society Report. Recognition consists of a chevron style pin and a certificate provided by your District Paul Harris Society Coordinator Maria Bertolone.
Medford Rotary members are very generous when it comes to helping those with food insecurity. Every year for more than 40 years they give away 200+ food baskets to families in Medford with all the fixings for a Holiday dinner; including the turkey. Even last year, the committee decided the pandemic wasn't going to stope their efforts. So $50 gift cards were given to 226 local families in lieu of the actual basket.
The committee again wanted to do something to help those still in need. So it was decided to help others through 4 of the pantries housed in Medford. A check for $2500 was presented to: Community Cupboard located @ the Unitarian Universalist Church on High St., Saint Raphael Food Pantry on Boston Ave., W Medford, Mystic Community Market on Mystic Ave and Bread of Life, Malden, who serves the Medford, Malden & Everett Communities
Attention Professional and Recreational Photographers Gloucester Rotary 2022 Raffle Calendar Submissions
The Gloucester Rotary is looking for photographs to include in our 2022 calendar. A raffle ticket will be attached to each calendar and a winning number will be chosen each week in 2022. All profits from the calendar sales will go to the Gloucester Rotary Club’s efforts to raise money that supports the many community and international activities in which the club is involved.
Thursday, November 11 will be our annual Rotary Foundation event “A Celebration of Our Heroes” starting at 5:30 PM at the Danversport. The evening will include a social hour, silent auction, dinner, and Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF) presentations.
All Rotary Club have been invited to nominate a hero from their community to present them with a PHF recognition at the event. Candidates could be doctors, nurses, teachers, crossing guards, emergency services personnel, veterans, or anyone else whom the Rotary Club believes to be a community hero. The online nomination form has been sent to Club Presidents earlier this summer, and the nomination deadline is October 11th.
We would also like to ask all Rotary Clubs to start thinking about silent auction items: we would ideally like to see items with a minimum value of $100, so that people will be eager to bid high! All monies raised in the silent auction will directly go to The Rotary Foundation! Details about how to submit the silent auction items will be announced in September.
Program Book Ads can now be purchased
There will be a program book for the event that will contain the photo and bio for each hero as well as ads from event sponsors and local businesses to help reduce the cost of the event and to support our foundation fund-raising efforts. Sponsorship and program book ad details are now available, and we hope that many of you who run businesses in our communities will consider putting in an ad for your business to help support this event. Please click on the Read More button (or see further below, if you are already on the detailed article page) to learn about sponsorship and ad options.
The Parkway Rotary Club will be packing and distributing back to school supplies to local elementary students in West Roxbury and Roslindale. The club has partnered with the local food pantry, Rose's Bounty and the Chittick Elementary School to provide kids with things they want, but can't afford -- stickers, cool erasers, key chains, scrunchies. You know, the exciting stuff that makes young kids feel special when they return to school. Our goal is to not only provide those supplies, but also to draw families into the food pantry to eliminate their food insecurity.
We would be ever so thankful if you were able to donate to the project.
You can send monetary donations to our PO Box 320552, West Roxbury, MA 02132.
Or you can order directly from our Amazon wish list here: tinyurl.com/ParkwayBacktoSchool2021 Make sure to select "add to cart" directly from the list. If you click on the item first, it will ship to your house and not Rose's Bounty.
The club will be accepting donations until Saturday 9/4. Thank you for supporting Boston kids in need.
During Beverly Rotary's 100th anniversary celebration year, we are doing activities each month especially connected to our community. August is absolutely no exception.
The Beverly Rotary Club was a part of the Arts Fest event held in downtown Beverly this past weekend. We set up our tent and had a day filled with volunteers from the club to facilitate children painting T-shirts to take home. This is always a happy event but it was extra special this year because the weather cooperated with us and we had a beautiful crowd appreciating what we do! We also distributed ice cream to senior citizens at Homecoming! We love our community!
August is Membership and New Club Development Month.
On August 19 we held a Membership Forum on Zoom. In case you missed it, we invite you to view the recording on YouTube to help you grow your Rotary clubs. We had three speakers present on August 19, 2021, and you can find links to their presentations here:
Alexander Falk, DGE, presented the new fillable membership brochures created in cooperation between the District Membership and Public Image committees.
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Haiti on Saturday, August 14, 2021, causing widespread destruction in the Caribbean country, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The death toll has risen to more than 2,000 as search and rescue teams are racing to find survivors in collapsed buildings and rubble. At least 6,000 are injured and many more are still missing.
Many Rotarians have asked how they can help, and Rotary International is coordinating global relief efforts through Rotary District 7020, which includes Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, St. Barth, St Maarten, St Martin, The Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, US Virgin Islands, and Haiti. District 7020 - in cooperation with the Disaster Network of Assistance Rotarian Action Group - has set up the Haiti Earthquake Disaster Recover Fund and is asking for donations. You can donate via PayPal, Credit Card, by wire transfer, or by sending a check. Please click on the flyer on the left for detailed instructions for wire transfer or for mailing check.
The Wakefield Rotary Club recently returned to his “home” at Brightview Senior Living on Crescent Street. On Tuesday, August 17th, the club moved offline and returned to in-person meetings after over a year of online meetings. Although there were less handshakes than usual at a meeting, club members were thrilled to see each other in person. Past President Mario Portillo shared, “After a year and a half of Zoom meetings, which I was grateful we did to stay active, it was wonderful to meet face to face again, share a meal and discuss how we can be of more impactful service during a time of great need.”
In preparation for the transition back, Wakefield Rotary Club President Bruce Donovan met with Brightview staff to establish safety protocols. Each fully vaccinated member is allowed to meet in the meeting room after providing their vaccination card, an arrival check-in, and a temperature check. Masks will remain in place in common areas of the facility.
The Lynnfield Rotary Club recently held their annual (except for last year during COVID) Concerts on the Common. In addition to bringing in some terrific musicians for everyone to enjoy, the club also awarded two $2,500 cash prizes to local nurses as part of a raffle fundraiser that raised over $14,000.
As club President Jack Moynihan shares “Lynnfield Rotary created the raffle in order to honor the first responders, doctors and nurses that have served our communities selflessly over the past year. We are thrilled that two nurses won. They deserve every accolade we could give them.”
Lynnfield Sponsors Concerts Honoring First Responders
Several Lynn Rotarians, as well as Assistant Governor Peter Majane, supported Lynn’s Salvation Army Captain Kevin Johnson with its drive for school supplies for students returning to school in the fall. The annual campaign is known as Stuff the Bus! The drive was conducted August 6th thru the 8th. This is the third year that the Lynn Club assisted in this project.
The Rotarians distributed flyers to people entering Walmarts in Lynn and Saugus asking if they could buy much needed schools supplies and donate them to the Salvation Army. There were bins at the store exit where they could place the items. In one three hour shift of distributing flyers, 6 large storage bins were full of donated supplies. The Rotarians were there for 4 three hour shifts and similar results were seen in all shifts. It helped that Walmart had several aisle of supplies available, many at a discounted price. The donated supplies will be put in backpacks and distributed to school children later in August; it is an annual event the children look forward to.
If you were unable to donate supplies, you may contribute funds to the Salvation Army by mailing a check to 1 Franklin Street, Lynn Mass. 01901
The Rotarians assisting in the distribution were: Pater Majane, Rotary District 7930 Assistant Governor; Ray Bastarache, Lynn Rotary Club President; Alex Sanchez and Bill Reilly both members of the Lynn Club.
Pictured here is Lynn Rotary President Alexandra Sanchez.
Lynn Partners with Salvation Army on School Supply Drive
Join us on September 17th, (7-11pm) at Woburn/Stoneham Elks #908, 295 Washington St. Woburn for a fundraiser featuring Irish/American Entertainer Mossie Coughlan. Tickets are only $40 per person and includes dinner: Garden Salad, Pasta and Meatballs w/house made sauce, Chicken stir fry w/white rice, cookies/brownies, Coffee from Dunkin', Cash Bar and dance floor. There will also be silent auction items to bid on and a 50/50 raffle. Fun for the whole family! Contact Bill Sullivan for tickets: Email: sully1980@comcast.net Phone: (781) 686-0317. Woburn Rotary fundraisers benefit Council of Social Concern, Woburn Student Government Day, Veterans, Seniors, etc.
Ipswich Rotary is seeking Club/individual contributions for Global Grant 2229621 “Saving the Ipswich River & Watershed: The Lifeblood of Our Communities.”
This global grant is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ipswich East, Ipswich England in District 1080 and hosted by the Rotary Club of Ipswich, in District 7930. With a budget of $34,000.00 all Rotary Club and individual contributions will be impactful in raising the funds needed to finance this in-district global grant.
The Ipswich River is the lifeblood of our region providing drinking water to 350,000 people and businesses daily, including 30 communities within Rotary District 7930.
The Wakefield Rotary Club is pleased to announce that it completed 421 hours of community service, 9 service projects and donated over $16k last Rotary year, which ended on June 30, 2021. Immediate Past President John Tramontozzi commented, “During the pandemic, we’re especially thrilled that we were able to remain active and impactful as a club.”
Projects were completed using social distancing with a priority on safety, allowing Rotarians who chose to attend in-person projects to feel safe. Projects included writing cards for the veterans of Wakefield, creating blankets for the Special Care Nursery at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, and packaging party-to-go bags for the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry. Club Service Chair Judy Gordon noted, “These projects helped others and lifted our spirits during a very challenging time for everyone."
With limited opportunities for in-projects, the club focused its donations on impactful projects. Locally, gifts were made to the Scholarship Foundation of Wakefield, the town’s virtual Mental Health Community Forum, and supporting holiday gifts for Wakefield families to name a few. The club also contributed funds to the Rotary Foundation’s efforts towards disease prevention and treatment, supported a project to buy respirators for India’s COVID patients and the Chelsea Rotary Club’s trip to Texas to assist with a winter storm’s damage to water service.
The club will be returning to in-person meetings full time starting August 17, 2021 with safety rules in place.
The Belle Isle Rotary members (Sterling Sobey, Joe Steffano, Mike Triant, Tony Zambuto Tom Hankard and Vera Carducci) and the great staff from the Salesian's Boys & Girls Club (Zoe Bakos and Damian Salgado) collected food items at Market Basket in Revere to donate to the East Boston Salesian's Boys & Girls Club camp to help offset their summer camp food budget. Belle Isle Rotary is so grateful to Market Basket Revere for letting us collect the food items at their store and we were blown away by the generosity of the shoppers on Friday July 16th 2021.
Belle Isle Teams up with Camp Staff for Food Collection
Reading Rotary is holding the 13th annual Reading Fall Street Faire, as extremely popular event that brings together local restaurants, retail businesses, and community groups for a fun-filled, family-friendly day.
Downtown Reading streets will shut down for the public to stroll and enjoy local shops, restaurants, musical and dance performances, and community group booths. Planned events include a tailgate area, cornhole tournament, children’s activity area, a vintage car show, and three stages with performances going throughout the afternoon. There is something for everyone.
The Reading Fall Street Faire Committee is looking for help! Here’s how you can show your support:
Sponsor: The Fall Street Faire is an enormous undertaking. It wouldn’t be possible without the sponsorship of local businesses and organizations. This is an opportunity to get your business in front of thousands. Many sponsorship levels are offered, to ensure all local businesses can participate. See fallstreetfaire.com or contact Jenniffer Rogers for more information.
District 7930's RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) program is a two-year program. High school students attend the RYLA weekend as first-time attendees--participating in several leadership development activities and discussions. The following year, selected participants are invited to spend 20+ hours over five months training to be Youth Facilitators at the next RYLA weekend. Young adults who participate in both years come away with an amazing skill set and great friends from among their peers and from the Rotarians who help guide the program!
Due to COVID, RYLA was certainly different this year! Instead of inviting Sophomores and Juniors in High School to attend, we invited back our RYLA Alumni. The program was held over two weekends. In late July, a Zoom session with special speaker Tisha Hood was held. Last weekend, an all-day in-person RYLA day was held with twenty young adults and the D7930 RYLA Committee. The day started with a paddle on the Ipswich River, various leadership activities and sessions, special guest speaker, a BBQ, and campfire at Camp Cedar Mill in Rowley. Our guest speaker was the extraordinary endurance athlete Katie Spotz, who inspired the entire group with her efforts to raise funds and awareness of the issue of clean water around the world. Learn more about Katie at www.katiespotz.com.
The RYLA Reunion was a wonderful success. All who attended were inspired to continue to serve their communities and the world beyond, and several of the attending young adults agreed to help with RYLA in the coming year!
A special Thank You to the Rotary Clubs of Malden and Ipswich for their support of our impactful day!
Wakefield Rotarians have been hosting a table at the Wakefield Movies By The Lake. The group has been promoting memberships as well as their Red Sox Raffle to raise funds for their local projects. To learn more about the Red Sox Raffle, visit
The drawing is Thursday, August 5. Get your tickets today.
Back row: President Bruce Donovan, new member Susan Hubbard, our first female President Judy Gordon, Past President Tom Stapleton, Past President Anthony Guardia. Front Row: Past President Barbara Worley and President-Elect Gene Mullen.
On August 5th we will be having a District Business Meeting, on Zoom, to take care of administrative tasks. All club Presidents and Secretaries have been emailed the credentials for electors for their clubs and asked to return them to Tom Hankard, Chair of the Credentials Committee at TomHankard@yahoo.com. Any member of the District is welcome to attend this meeting and learn more about the state of the District.
Also sent to the Clubs was a revision to the existing ByLaws of the District which will need to be approved by the majority of Electors present. We will also be confirming the appointment of Lori Karas as District Governor Nominee, and the positions of Assistant Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary as well as a new member of the Permanent Fund.
The Zoom link will be sent out on August 5th to all those who have registered on the district homepage in ClubRunner at:
The Medford Rotary Club recently presented $11,500 in scholarship awards to graduating seniors from the City of Medford. The students were recognized for their academic achievement, community service and leadership. Congratulations to our recipients for their hard work, leadership and dedication to our community. Ed Hackett and his committee diligently reviewed all of the applications and chose the following recipients:
Leo McCabe Memorial Scholarship – Ruby Piscatelli
John C. Kirwan Memorial Scholarship – Jack Benoit and Rian Benoit
Joe Carr “Spirit of Life” Scholarship – Josephine Rizzo
Medford Rotary Leadership Award – Amy Orcutt
Mark Egitto “Service Above Self” Scholarship – Talia Ritchie
The Medford Club welcomed District Governors of District 7930.
Pictured here from left to right Marnee Walsh, Asst. District Governor, Alexander Falk, District Governor Elect, Terry Rezendes Curran, District Governor and Doug Shoop, President, Medford Rotary Club.
Terry greeted the members of the Medford Rotary thanking them for all their hard work and service over the past 18 months, especially during the Pandemic. She encouraged them to "keep helping" others through the many service projects that we undertake annually. The club is currently planning their annual Dictionary Giving, where they provided each 3rd grader in Medford with a student dictionary. Also in the works is their Annual Charter Night to celebrate their 98 anniversary as a Chartered Rotary Club.
Reading Rotary’s Reading Fall Street Faire will return on Sunday, September 12 from noon to 5 pm in Downtown Reading.
The 13th Annual RFSF, hosted and coordinated by Reading Rotary, is an annual community event bringing together local restaurants, retail businesses and community groups for a fun-filled, family-friendly day. The Faire route will feature numerous vendors and community group booths to visit. This is always a fantastic day to celebrate community and to meet and mingle with friends and neighbors.
The Faire also features: Children’s Area, Kids’ Zone, performances on three stages, a Car Show, Football Tailgate, Cornhole Tournament, dunk tank, food, fun and much more.
This is Reading Rotary’s biggest event and fundraiser of the year and the Town’s biggest community event.
Event Chair John Feudo says of this year's Faire: “After we have had to cancel or change so many community events, it is so exciting that we can put on the traditional Faire in the Downtown. We are faced with the difficult task of cramming 6 months of planning into about 2 months, though. So we hope vendors and sponsors will sign up in force!”
The Greater Salem NH Rotary Club committed to a multi-year program to support dental care through the Children’s Dental Network.
According to Dianne Powers, Program Director of the Children’s Dental Network, the program provided care to 142 Salem, NH students in Pre-K through Grade 12 towards the end of last year.
The program’s success is a result of the tremendous support provided by Dr. Michael Delahanty, Salem NH school superintendent. It should be noted that Dr. Delahanty is a also a member of the Greater Salem, NH Rotary Club.
The program enhanced its infection control protocols to operate safely. It is estimated that the value of services, not including the network's education piece was $45,458.52.
This effort covers 8 schools in Salem. In addition to the Greater Salem Rotary Club it is supported by other local community groups. In addition, the program is highly grateful for the dentists and their staffs who donate their time and expertise to this important health effort.
The Children’s Dental Network has functioned for 13 years. It provides dental care to children who don’t have access to dental coverage.
New Manchester-Essex Rotary President Jennifer Doane comes from a Rotary family. Her parents, Tom and Barb Guebert are lifelong Rotarians and both are past Presidents of the Carlyle, IL Rotary club. Tom is a past District Governor (2015-2016) of Southern IL, District 6510. They reside in Griffin, GA. Jennifer was a Rotary International Exchange Student in 1988-89, and spent her junior year of high school studying in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Jennifer in married to Michael Doane and has two children, Finn and Ava and is a resident of Manchester.
On June 29th the District 7930 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee hosted our final event for the 20-21 Rotary year: a panel discussion about how your Club and/or District can start or enhance DEI initiatives.
The DEI Committee had secured four great panelists and DEI subject matter experts, who shared some great ideas and initiatives.
The four Panelists were:
Lexi Kantor – District 7930 DEI Committee Member, Boston Rotaract Club member and Human Resources professional for Ovia Health.
Bill Paulson - Rotary Club of Needham member, Past President, and Chair of the Rotary District 7910 Social Equity Task Force.
Earl Miller - Greater Newburgh Rotary Club member, past President, past Assistant Governor and currently leads the Rotary District 7210, “Think Differently,” DEI Team.
The recording only includes the panel discussion of the evening, and does not include the Q&A session to preserve the privacy of the attendees and allowing them to ask questions in a safe space.
The Wakefield Rotary Club will be hosting a Red Sox ticket raffle at the WCAT Movies by the Lake. Thanks to a generous donation from Rotarian Frank Fiorentino and Mahoney, Fiorentino, and Co., PC, raffle participants can win a pair of tickets for the Red Sox versus Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Club President Bruce Donovan explained, “These tickets are a great way to support our local projects and enjoy our first place Sox. Your twenty dollar donation can win you great seats between the visitor on-deck circle and home plate and all proceeds will benefit our humanitarian projects.”
Project Coordinator Barbara Worley added, "We are excited to have the ticket donation from Rotarian Frank and his firm to kick off the Wakefield Rotary year with a fun and easy fundraiser. It's a good warm up to get in the swing of bringing in funds for local Rotary projects."
Tickets are on sale during the Movies by the Lake on the Common on July 8th, July 22nd, and August 5th. Visit the Rotary table to grab your chance to win. Tickets are also available at Holiday Travel (402 Main Street) and at WCAT (24 Hemlock Road). You can also Venmo the club @wakefieldrotaryclub. Indicate “sox raffle” in the memo and provide your contact information. Only 120 chances will be sold and the winning ticket will be pulled at 8:00p, on Thursday August 5th at the Movies by the Lake event.
Rotarians, if you are in touch with any of your former RYLA participants (particularly from 2017 - 2020), please reach out to them to make sure they have heard about the RYLA Reunion!
RYLA Reunion 2021 - July 25th via zoom (with Tisha!) and in person July 31st all day!
The Rockport Rotary Club, with matching D7930 grants, has seen to completion the renovation of the House of Joy in the Village2Village Project Children’s Center in northeastern Uganda. The Village2Village Project is a charitable organization based in Indiana and serves children in an area of Uganda where four out of five families live in devastating poverty. Their House of Joy is not only a kitchen but a dining and activity center for nearly 200 children, their families and the community.
Rockport Rotary’s first district matching grant in 2019-2020 was designated for complete renovation of the ten year old building. But significant structural problems were discovered that had to be addressed. So a second grant in 2020-2021 provided funds for new countertops and cabinets, painting and the purchase of two high efficiency cook stoves, 15 tables and 150 chairs.
The House of Joy is now double the original size, more easily cleaned and structurally sound. It has enhanced lighting, arched open air windows and a new paint job inside and out. Food storage, eating and cooking are much more hygienic. The new Rocket Stoves are 90% fuel efficient and produce little to no indoor smoke.
Today the House of Joy is not only a place to eat but to learn, sing, dance and grow.
On June 14, 2021, the Town of Ipswich dedicated a field of 100 flags to honor heroes. A stunning display of large flags on ten foot poles will grace one of the main gateways of our town, the beautiful and historic South Green, until July 10.
Ipswich-Rowley Rotary developed this field of honor so that citizens could remember the heroes in our lives. The field recognizes anyone who made a difference in their life, such as a first-responder, medical professional, teacher, essential worker or someone who served in the military. It is an especially poignant year to begin this annual project to honor heroes given the COVID pandemic.
The flags were dedicated during a special ceremony on Flag Day, June 14.
Spend a beautiful day in Gloucester! Start with pancakes, visit the Waterfront Festival and Gloucester's many attractions, and end your day with the District Cruise in Gloucester Harbor aboard the Beauport Princess.
The Gloucester Rotary will hold its annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser on Saturday, August 21, 2021, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in Stage Fort Park, located on Hough Avenue in Gloucester, MA. This popular event takes place concurrently with the Gloucester Waterfront Festival, which is sponsored by the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce and is held in Stage Fort Park on Saturday-Sunday, August 21-22, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both days. A special free parking area is available for Pancake Breakfast attendees. For information on Gloucester attractions, visit www.capeannvacations.com. For information on the District Cruise, visit https://rotary7930.org/event/pdg-joan-arsenault-s-district-conference/ (information and registration should be online shortly).
Tickets for the Pancake Breakfast are $8 per person, $5 for children six and under, and are available in advance online at www.gloucesterrotary.org or from any Gloucester Rotarian. Tickets will also be available on the morning of the breakfast.
The District Installation celebration at Danversport Yacht Club was a fun and inspiring night for District 7930’s first large face-to-face gathering since the pandemic hit. Congratulations to incoming DG Terry Curran, her team of District Leadership and all the incoming Club Presidents for a wonderful evening.
Cowboy hats off to DG Betsy and her team for persevering and achieving so much through a most unusual, Zoom-filled year.
It was an uplifting and promising kick off to the 2021-22 Rotary year. This year’s theme is Serve to Change Lives
Reading Rotary recently presented Boy Scout Charlie Lloyd with a donation supporting his Eagle Scout Project. Charlie is a Life Scout in Troop 702 in Reading working to complete the Eagle Scout rank. Charlie's Eagle Scout Project is to repair and replace a trail boardwalk in Reading's Town Forest. Charlie's project will add to the network of boardwalks throughout the Town Forest. Charlie had to plan with and get the approval of the Town Forest Committee, the Trails Committee and Conservation in Town.
A Boy Scout Eagle Project must help a non-profit or community entity for the improvement of the community. Troop 702 Boy Scouts have completed many Projects in the Town Forest. This boardwalk will be of service to hikers, campers, mountain bikers, dog walkers, cross country skiers, runners and many other types of people who use the Town Forest.
Reading Rotary's donation is part of an initiative to forge a partnership with Boy and Girl Scouts as there is a natural commonality of purpose in these organizations. Reading Rotary is happy to be able to help Charlie achieve his lifelong goal of obtaining the Eagle Scout Rank.
Charlie's Project is scheduled to be completed this summer.
The Rotary Foundation’s year-end is 30 June. Click below for important year-end deadlines and information on ways to give. Make sure to share these resources with your club and encourage them to use the addresses shown on the Year-end deadlines document to prevent delays in giving.
As you know while the Corona crisis in the US is getting under control and life is getting back to old norm, situation in India is getting worse and currently it is absolutely devastating! The suffering and pain of people are beyond imagination. They are fighting for life with a huge need of Oxygen Concentrators, Oxygen Generators, Vaccines and many other essential medical supplies.
JOYGURU HUMANITARIAN SERVICES and Boston Rotary #7 have taken the initiative to help hospitals in India to purchase life saving items such as:
Oxygen concentrators, Ventilators, installation of oxygen generators and other essential medical supplies.
There are so many people who are gasping for air and battling to survive. JOYGURU has already sent $50,000.00 to one hospital in Calcutta. There are two other hospitals who have requested help.
We would like bring awareness of the situation to District 7930 and to possibly join us and serve humanity.
On June 5 2021, Camp Rotary had the ribbon cutting to open its new dining hall and to start its centennial year celebration. It was one hundred years ago, in April 1921, when the Rotary Club of Lynn purchased 48 acres, including a small camp, bordering Stiles Pond in West Boxford and Camp Rotary was born. That first year of Camp Rotary a dining hall was built to provide meals for the campers. In 2020 that hall was razed and construction began on its replacement.
This year marks the centennial year of the operation of the Camp. It is believed that Camp Rotary in West Boxford is the oldest continuous Rotary Camp/project in the world. It is amazing to think that over 100 years ago a relatively new Rotary Club was formed in 1918 in Lynn. Those members of the Club had the foresight to envision a Camp which could be used to give underprivileged boys of Lynn an opportunity to experience an overnight camp in the woods of West Boxford. Some of those boys may have lost a father during the Great War.
The Greater Salem NH Rotary Club has been doing "Hybrid" meetings since August 7th. Crazy to think that was 10 months ago. Certainly there was a lot of guidance and guidelines to adhere to, as well as some trial and error. Rather than backtrack and talk about what was, I feel it more pertinent to offer considerations for groups now as they are working their way back.
Location
Our meetings are at the Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, NH. The space is large enough to allow members to have their space and respect distance. It's very important for it to feel like ONE meeting, not just those on Zoom and those in person. Then you really have two meetings and a disjointed group. The room we use has the ability to put Zoom up on multiple TV screens with a HDMI connection and use the TV audio. Members on Zoom can feel seen and interact with each other AND those who are in person. Happy "dollars" (we haven't gotten back to using cash) have a Zoom table when we go around. By tilting the computer, those on Zoom can see around the room to whoever is speaking. We focus on the flag during pledge of allegiance, crowd during meal, and podium during presentation. An unexpected benefit is our speaker ability has really grown. Speakers also have the choice of in-person or Zoom, so we've been able to get folks across the country. They can share their screen if on Zoom, or we share their presentation if in person.
Since the Governor’s announcement that “business is back to normal,” the Danversport Event Center has relaxed their COVID requirements and reopened to full capacity. What that means for us is that those incoming Presidents can invite their family, friends and fellow Rotarians to come and celebrate the upcoming Rotary year. Consider skipping your Club meeting that week and instead join us for the installation on June 24. We also want to thank those Presidents who have guided our Clubs through the pandemic this past year. Since the International Convention next year is in Houston Texas our theme will be country, so feel free to come in your jeans, cowboy boots, bolo ties and/or cowboy hats. The cost is $50.00 per person and can be paid during your on-line registration. Please don’t wait until the last minute as walk-ins will not be allowed. We need to give the facility firm numbers several days before.
In 2019, the Amesbury Rotary Club and Police Department rebooted Bike Safety Day (BSD) thanks to a District Granted supported by contributions from the Rotary Foundation. And then in 2020 the pandemic hit, and we were in lockdown. But the good news is that on a sunny Saturday in May 2021 we were able to be outside and reinstate BSD once again.
The Rotary Club provided free bike helmets and fitted all participants, conducted a free equipment check, and helped children complete a bike rodeo course. On the course, children were able to practice their skills and learn about riding their bicycle safely.
At the completion of the course, students were awarded a certificate of completion and a goodie bag. The goodie bag included information about road safety, Rotary, and a 4-Way Test coin.
As a special treat, all participants were entered into a drawing with a chance to win a bicycle; one for boys and one for girls. It was wonderful to see Bike Safety Day start again as we all begin our return to normalcy. All of this because of our contributions to the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund.
For the first time in 14 months, the Rotary Club of Lynn met in person Thursday night, May 20, 2021, for the purpose of awarding scholarships to five students.
Though all five of this year’s winners come from Lynn schools, Scholarship Committee Chairman Raymond Bastarache said that all students who live in the city, regardless of high school, are eligible to win the $1,000 grants. In addition to Ray, three other Lynn Rotarians were part of the committee and are in the picture, left to right: Jeff Weeden, Jean-Marie Minton, Ray, and Richard Ruth. The students pictured are: Thanayri Ortiz, Samantha Parker, Kevin Biv, and Noah leGal.
The winners are Noah leGal and Matthew Sanchez from Classical, Samantha Parker and Kevin Biv of English, and Thanayri Ortiz of KIPP Academy.
Thank you to everyone in D7930 who attended The Rotary Foundation Virtual Gala! The event as a whole raised $183,680 for TRF with over 1,500+ viewers. For Zone 32, our District raised the highest amount of money ($12,680) and were the second largest ticket sellers. Our pre-party was a huge success and we were able to meet new Rotary friends from D7790! Thank you again for your generous support of Our Rotary Foundation!!!
$183,680 Raised for Our Foundation at Virtual Gala
As the Rotary year 20-21 is coming to an end, I would like to remind every Club of the District Governors DEI Citation. As of May 21, four (4) Clubs have submitted their DEI Goal Tracking Sheet to Governor Betsy and myself.
Please remember that the DEI Goal and Tracker sheets are located on the District 7930 website. I know based on conversations I have had and emails I have received we have more than four Clubs out there that are working on their DEI initiatives.
Our goal is to announce to the District all Clubs that have achieved the District 7930 District Governors Diversity Equity and Inclusion Citation 20-21 by June 30th.
On Tuesday, June 29, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM the District 7930 DEI Committee will be hosting our last event for the 20-21 Rotary Year. This event called “DEI Think Tank” will be a moderated panel discussion on what otherRotary Clubs are doing to identify and enhance their DEI initiatives.
The Panel Discussion will be for approximately 20-30 minutes and then be opened up to you for questions. To register go to the District 7930 website as registration is now open.
Further information and the panelist bios will be shared in the coming weeks
Congratulations to the 13 clubs in the District who applied and executed a mini-grant this spring. Grants were available in three categories: Public Image, Membership and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Marblehead Harbor and Danvers clubs did grants in the Membership Area. They updated and published a new tri-fold brochure for one club and produced flyers, invitations and business cards in the other.
Two clubs, Gloucester and Peabody, chose to do grants in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Area. In Gloucester the $200 District Seed Grant will be used so that they may contribute to the equity initiative underway in the Gloucester School system. Mila Barry, a Gloucester HS student received a grant from Gloucester Educational Foundation this year for seed funding towards her Art for Equity project. Art for equity is totally youth-driven, and works to diversify bookshelves in the Gloucester Public School libraries by raising funds and purchasing books that empower people of color and celebrate the narratives of diverse voices. Gloucester Rotary will speak with Mila about her book wish list and then purchase books for her endeavor with the $200. So that each member of Rotary is involved in the process and not just giving money aka lip service, we will ask each contributor to buy a book whether in their name or in Gloucester Rotary name. This effort will match the seed money and give us the purchase power to make a difference in our schools libraries. When the Interact Club restarts, our next phase will be to continue this work through the Interact population.
You are cordially invited to a presentation by the Inter-Country Committee (ICC) USA-Germany-Austria on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021, from 12:00 - 1:00 PM CDT (1:00 - 2:00 PM EDT), hosted by the Rotary Club of Chicago, on Zoom. Our district 7930 is one of the founding districts of the ICC USA-Germany-Austria, which was initially established at the RI Convention in Hamburg in 2019.
Speaker: James D Bindenagel, Senior Professor, Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn, Germany
James Bindenagel is a former U.S. Ambassador and career U.S. diplomat. He is currently Senior Professor and was the founding Henry Kissinger Chair at Bonn University in Germany.
One of the questions of our time is the future of the liberal order. In "Germany From Peace to Power? Mr. Bindenagel posits a new role for Germany. More than ever, the transatlantic partnership, whose core is the German-American relationship needs to re-invent itself to deal with 21st-century diplomacy. This book makes the case for Germany playing a more significant leading role in Europe.
Have you chosen a President for the next Rotary year yet? If not, the clock is ticking! Have you run through the possibilities? Will a Past President step back up? Will a few members split the year up and tackle a few months at a time? Check out this interview with Tim Kelley from the Public Image Committee and Terry Curran, the District 7930 Governor Elect. I ask them questions about what multiple club presidents look like. How do they split up the work? How do they represent their club at the district level? How would they even get started? Learn the answers to these questions and more here.
The Rotary Club of Chelsea is running a raffle to raise funds for scholarships, sending children to Camp Rotary and other community projects. Go to the Rotary Club of Chelsea website www.chelsearotary,org for raffle rules and list of prizes being offered.
Total of 77 Prizes.
75 prizes valued at $77 or more.
Prize pool to exceed $7777.
Only 777 tickets to be sold. $25 per ticket. Purchase book of 4 for $100 and receive one free ticket.
At a recent virtual meeting of the Rotary Club of Lynn, some of the Skills USA team from the Lynn Vocational Technical Institute presented a workshop to the members. The workshop presentation was entitled Building Tolerance and Inclusivity. The presenting team members were: Juan Cubides-Ramirez, Nyssa Lewis, Brian Lopez-Mejia, assisted by Alexandra Rodriquez and Ambar Rodriquez. SkillsUSA is a national partnership, with over 20,000 chapters all over the country, formed by students, teachers and industries working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce. . The Lynn chapter creates dozens of programs every school year.
In this time of racial divide and the issue of White Privilege the team of students led by faculty advisor Jason McCuish and co-advisor Claire Price decided on a presentation of Building Tolerance and Inclusivity. The objectives were as follows:
1. Grow in your understanding of empathy.
2. Define: marginalization ,micro aggression, implicit bias, and privilege.
3. Engage in reflections that will support your progression toward more tolerance and inclusivity.
We are so excited to announce the plan that is underway for RYLA 2021! This year, instead of inviting new participants, we will be focused on our RYLA Alumni (initially from the past 3 years) inviting them to participate in additional leadership training (and lots of fun!) with our RYLA Reunion 2021!
The Reunion will start off with an on-line leadership training session on July 25th. This session will focus on Resilient and Adaptive Leadership and will be led by Tisha - a superstar RYLA presenter from our 2019 RYLA!
Marblehead Rotary Service Dog Project is thrilled to announce its latest success in uniting nine-year-old Gabriel Bachour with his specially trained furry friend, who will help him navigate his world. Gabriel is autistic and has special needs that impose extra challenges on his everyday routines. His mom, Angelica Bachour, learned that he could thrive with a service dog. After surmounting many hurdles, heightened by a pandemic year, and with the combined efforts of Marblehead Rotary Club and Chelsea Rotary Club, Gabriel and Kacey are ready to take on their world - or, at least, the fourth grade.
The World Class Service Dogs organization, NEADS, matched Gabriel with Kacey 8 months ago. And just two weeks ago, the two finally completed their training and held an official graduation from the program. Arthur Schwartz, Marblehead Club president, recognizes the financial challenges of bringing a well-trained service pet into a family. “But its enormous benefits to people with disabilities to improve their day-to-day function and secure their safety and well-being is well documented. So for us, it is a compelling decision.”
Reading Rotary with Reading High Senior Class Parents and volunteers planted an array of lawn signs with each graduating Senior’s picture and the message “We Love Our Seniors Reading Memorial High School Class of 2021.” The signs were arranged in front of the Town Hall and Town Hall Annex facing the Reading Common. The display is sponsored by Reading Rotary. The set up was coordinated by Senior parent Mrs. Maria Casarano. The signs were printed by Boyd’s Direct in Stoneham.
Rotarian Mike Collins, who chaired this project said: “We are so happy to be able to provide these signs for the Seniors who have faced a lot of adversity this year. It makes it worth our efforts to see so many people enjoying them.”
"Our Foundation is the Grease on the Axle to Make the Wheels of Rotary Turn Round"
Dean Rohrs, Trustee of The Rotary Foundation
Annual Fund-SHARE The Annual Fund is the main funding source for Foundation programs. Your gift empowers Rotarians to carry out sustainable service projects in your community and around the world.
At the end of each year, contributions directed to Annual Fund-SHARE from all Rotary clubs in the district are divided between the World Fund and the District Designated Fund.
The Rotary Foundation uses the World Fund to support Rotary’s highest-priority grants and programs, which are available to all Rotary districts.
Our district uses the District Designated Fund to pay for Foundation, club, and district projects the clubs in choose.
EARLY REGISTRATION IS OPEN NOW instead of May 3rd as was announced earlier!
BBRC would appreciate District and other clubs participation and help in order to achieve our common Rotary Goals!
The Burlington Breakfast Rotary Club presents its first, nationwide Virtual Art Auction. The online auction will take place on “bid.marlinart.com” for one day on Saturday, May 15 at 7 pm.
Funds raised will benefit local charitable causes as the Breakfast Rotary Club continues to enrich Burlington with several community initiatives. Enjoy a lovely evening from the comfort of your home.
Share this event with friends, family, and acquaintances nationwide.
Rotary District 7930 Event at Granite Coast Brewing Company
Sunday, May 2, 2021 at 1 PM EDT – 5 PM EDT
Price: Free
Join us at Granite Coast Brewing on Sunday, May 2 from 1p-5p and help us End Polio!
All bartender tips will be donated to The Rotary Foundation’s End Polio campaign. Invite your friends, family, colleagues and clients to join you for a pint and help us end polio! Tip your bartenders well and help us inch closer to a polio-free world! Each $1 raised will be matched 2:1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation!
District Assembly is coming up on April 20 on Zoom.
What is the District Assembly you may ask? It’s when we start training for the upcoming Rotary year. This year we will again be on Zoom. The evening will begin at 6:00 p.m. First up is the Club Secretary Training. Learn how to navigate through Club Runner and the important aspects of your job. Next is the Club Treasurer Training. One of our current club treasurers will give you tips and hints on how to keep your club up and running. Don’t remember how to get into your My Rotary account to make your donation to the Annual Fund? PDG Joan Arsenault will show you and answer any questions you may have. After that Alexander Falk and I will take you through the PowerPoint for the District Qualification for next years District Managed Grants. Everyone who is present will get credit for attending the qualification and those clubs with at least 2 members will get the memorandum of understanding sent out to them. After this session Rotarians will need to go online and view the training and take the quiz at the end of the session. The final session for the evening will be the district budget. District Finance Committee Chair, PDG Peter Simonsen will take us through next year's budget. Please note that a quorum of Presidents Elect need to be present to approve the budget. Please register to attend the assembly on the District Webpage. The morning of the assembly the Zoom link will be sent to all registrants.
Rotarians bringing skills to aid Texas Disaster Plumbing Project.
Join Juan Gallego, Chelsea Rotary, on Thursday, April 29, 7:30 a.m. to learn about his team's experiences in Texas. Juan will share his story with the Ipswich Rotary and hopefully other interested Rotarians in District 7930. Contact aswitzig@gmail.com for the zoom link.
Juan Gallego, Chelsea Rotary, financed and contributed his skills to a crew of volunteers fixing the broken plumbing created by the deep freeze in Teas. Join Ipswich Rotary Zoom to hear his story.
Join the District Membership Committee on Star Wars Day, Tuesday, May 4th, at 7:00 PM for an informative evening to discuss the results of our recent District Exit Interview Survey. In January 2021 we contacted former members of Rotary Clubs in district 7930, who left the district during 2018, 2019, and 2020. We received an amazing number of responses and will present a detailed analysis of why people leave Rotary Clubs in our district - and then facilitate a discussion on what we can learn from those answers. This evening is primarily intended for Club Presidents, Presidents-Elect, Club Membership Chairs, and Assistant Governors, but any Rotarian interested in Membership is invited to join!
As some of you may know, our district 7930 is one of the founding districts of the new Inter-Country-Committee (ICC) Austria/Germany/USA that was established at the RI Convention in Hamburg, with PDG Joan Arsenault being one of the initial signatories on the ICC's founding documents representing the USA. As part of our membership in this ICC we recently heard from our friends in Germany that the newly formed Rotary Club Leverkusen Rhein-Wupper (located in Leverkusen, Germany) is looking for an International Rotary-Contact Club to manage joint projects and to cultivate friendship across the borders.
For more information, please see this PDF Flyer, which includes website links and contact information. If your club is interested in such a partnership, please reach out to this new club directly and reference that our district is a member of the ICC Austria/Germany/USA.
Rotary Club Leverkusen Rhein-Wupper is looking for a partner club
Since the Fall of 2020, the Greater Salem Rotary Club has amped up its support of the 5 New Hampshire towns it serves. "Even though we were limited in certain activities, the Club decided that we needed to kick it up a notch with our support," said Club President Chris Adams. The Club decided to extend direct help to groups and residents impacted during the past year. This support came in the form of direct grants to provide fuel assistance, grocery store gift cards, food for the holidays and gift baskets. The Club also purchased personal protection equipment for local police and fire departments. The Club also provided 20,000 masks that were distributed throughout the community.
Importantly, these efforts involved cooperation with local groups and businesses. For example, the Club worked with local energy companies to identify people who needed fuel to stay warm. The Club also negotiated discounts with the companies so the donations had even more impact.
Each year the Wakefield Rotary Club hosts a spring and fall food drives to benefit the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry. With COVID-19 concerns still on everyone’s mind, the club got creative. Past President Barbara Worley explained, “We didn’t want to add contact points between our members and grocery store shoppers this year, so we did something a little different. Traditionally the Wakefield Rotary does a food drive at Shaw’s in March however this year we thought we might be able to make an impact another way. We created an Un-Food Drive.” In March, Rotarians were asked to make a direct financial gift to support the pantry and the results were amazing. Worley added, “We raised way more than we expected.”
Reading Rotary just completed our Rotary Readers project. Rotary Readers is an annual literacy project where two reading books and a backpack are given to each Reading Public Schools student in kindergarten and first grade. This year over 550 literacy bags were delivered by Rotarians to the five Reading elementary schools. Due to the pandemic, Rotarians delivered them to the school offices rather to each classroom. In non-pandemic times, the books and bookbags would be delivered in conjunction with a time where Rotarians would read to each class. This year the reading is being done virtually.
This literacy project has been adapted from our previous dictionary and thesaurus giveaways. We heard from teachers that they preferred to have the younger students receive reading books. Basic Education and Literacy is one of Rotary's Areas of Focus. This particular project was adapted from a Gold Award literacy project by Mary Kate Kelley, who is a Past President of RMHS Interact and one of its charter members.
Pictured here is President Elect John Douglass delivering bookbags to Killam Elementary School.
Did you know that there are 5 Rotary Clubs of Winchester in the world? Four are in the USA (Kentucky, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia) and one is in the UK. The 5 Presidents of these decided it would be interesting and fun to start holding regular informal get togethers this Rotary year, hosted by the UK Club. So far, we have held 5 of these using zoom, just for the 5 Presidents, making the discussions easier. We hope these will continue into the next Rotary year, with 4 of the 5 Presidents changing and one doing a second term. We have discussed and shared a whole variety of topics such as the many different and innovative ways to fundraise, how to attract new members especially younger ones, projects and, of course, how we have all coped during the pandemic. We also managed to take a lovely screenshot photo with local landmarks for our respective backgrounds.
And a paragraph introducing each of the Clubs and Presidents:
Social media and online presence are important components of getting the word out about Rotary’s Service Above Self.
The Public Image Committee has recently reviewed the online PI of Rotary 7930’s Clubs for good examples of Club websites, Facebook and Instagram Pages. There are a lot of excellent examples of online social media, the PI Committee would like to encourage Rotarians to take a look at our top 2 ranked Clubs for website, Facebook and Instagram.
The following first and second place Clubs will receive Paul Harris Points for jobs well done.
Many additional Clubs are also doing an excellent job in maintaining a consistent and updated info online. Congrats and thanks to all Clubs who successfully promote their Public Image online.
Posted by Holger Knaack, RI President on Mar 28, 2021
In these difficult days, we are so heartened to receive such uplifting reports on the unrelenting efforts of our Rotary members who have responded in their communities against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today, the single question we hear time and again is, “Are we getting involved with COVID vaccination?”
The answer is yes.
This does not mean we will deviate from our commitment to eradicating polio, which remains our highest priority and continues to be our only corporate program. Polio vaccinations must continue unabated, as must our effort to raise $50 million per year for this effort.
This year, the Peabody Rotary club hosted guest speakers from the sensational group, CultureHouse. It is a non-profit which improves livability in local communities by transforming unused spaces into vibrant social infrastructure. In layman's terms, CultureHouse is an urban living room where there is free wifi, no need to pay to visit or sit awhile, and the space can be used flexibly for events, workshops, test kitchens, or play (think small trampolines for kids of all ages). Basically, in partnership we will dream it with our community members, and we will do it.
By researching the community's needs, engaging community members through advisory groups and participatory action, building spaces which foster community, and then operating those spaces to collect data for the city, they help folks and their municipalities find a path forward for continued development. The Peabody CultureHouse crowdfunding campaign launched on Monday, March 22nd and has already seen vital support from Rotarians. Please visit the crowdfunding page (https://www.patronicity.com/project/culturehouse_peabody) to help bring this lively, creative, joyful, much needed project to our district.
Manchester-Essex Rotarians volunteered their services to pack and distribute food to 160 households as part of a District Grant. Families received produce, dry goods, fish, meat, specialty items like olive oil, coffee and baking mixes. It was a fabulous spring day to be outside. Manchester-Essex Rotary Club received a matching grant from Rotary District 7930. Our $2,000 investment became $4,000 for the Open Door.
Pictured: Stacey Scott, Judy Laspesa, Joanne Donnelly and Marcia Hubbard.
After learning that the traditional district-wide Polar Plunge event to raise money for the End Polio Now campaign was canceled for 2021 because of COVID-19, the Rotary Club of Arlington decided to organize its own event. The result is the Polar Dunk, which will take place on Saturday, March 13th. Volunteers from the club will be plunged, one by one, into a carefully-scrubbed carnival-grade dunk tank filled with chilly water. The Arlington Media Center will be on hand to record the event for posterity -- which is particularly important this year, because COVID-19 restrictions do not permit the usual crowd of spectators!
If your club hasn't been able to organized its own End Polio Now fundraiser, the Arlington club invites you to sponsor one of our dunkers at the following web page: https://raise.rotary.org/Daniel-Ellard/fundraiser
March is Women's History Month and honors and celebrates the achievements and struggles American women have endured in the United States. Throughout history, American women have faced obstacles in gaining rights not only for themselves but for a variety of other under-represented and disenfranchised groups in America.
I felt it was most appropriate to celebrate the women in Beverly Rotary Club’s history, since it was a long time before women were allowed to be members of the Club and not just “Rotary Anns.”
The 1989 Council on Legislation of Rotary International vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary. “My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world,” said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01. Not all of the members in the Beverly Rotary Club were happy with this RI decision, but the majority prevailed.
Our first female President, Kim Mannetta, was in office for the 2000-2001 year. Since then, we have had three more women as our Leaders and one more to take the leadership role next year: Jo Broderick, Sarah Macburnie-Liporto, Maureen Trefry and Diane Howard.
The Beverly Rotary Club is a growing club, with 113 members and 40 of them are women. What an accomplishment! So during this month of Women in History, we salute the 40 women who are a part of an outstanding, enthusiastic Beverly Rotary Club! Congratulations on being an amazing part of history!!!
Juan Gallego, Chelsea Rotarian, has sent a brief update on the great need in Texas for disaster relief.
Here is today's message. Many families are in great need of plumbing repairs. The homes we are fixing need re-piping and that takes lots of work. It normally takes us 4 to 5 hours to do one house. Lots of the homes are trailer homes, very uncomfortable to work, other homes work are attics but, attics here are very low. The main thing is we are helping these families and we are happy to do it. We are working with organizations like - 4Bresponse.org and The Fuller Center for Disaster Rebuilding (https://fullercenter.org/disaster-rebuilders/)
Will send you pics later.
Juan
If you would like to assist the Chelsea volunteers, the websites listed represent the groups organizing some of the relief efforts, and are in need of funds. Or you can donate through the Chelsea Rotary Venmo, noting that your funds are meant for the Texas Plumbing Project. Venmo account @Chelsea-RotaryClub. Please make sure to note donation as Texas Plumbing Project.
2021 Getaway Raffle: Two Nights with Dinner at the beautiful Beauport Hotel in Gloucester, MA!
Raffle proceeds will fund scholarships for graduating seniors at Newburyport High School and at Triton Regional High School!
Are you ready to break out of the everlasting winter and stay at the beach with your favorite getaway partner?
For tickets got to https://newburyportrotary.org or mail check to Rotary Club of Newburyport, PO Box 831, Newburyport, MA 01950. Your email or mailed receipt serves as your ticket.
$20 = 1 ticket. $50 = 3 tickets. Raffle tickets available between February 23 and May 1! Mother's Day is Sunday, May 9. Win and take a loved one away.
Two night stay in a Classic City view room with Sunday through Friday check-in. Includes $150 gift certificate to 1606 Restaurant and Bar. Value may fluctuate on dates. No cash value. You must call in advance to schedule. Expiration Date is May 31, 2022.
When it comes to parties, the Beverly Rotary Club sure knows how to throw them, whether it’s in person or remotely. February 24, 2021 was the 100th Birthday of our club. We had a kickoff celebration at our meeting on the night of the 25th. Every member, past and present, had a delivery of a special cupcake with our Birthday logo, a party blower and a copy of our goals this year. A wonderful video recalling the past 100 years was played at our party meeting. State Representative Jerry Parisella and Mayor Michael Cahill both had proclamations for our Club. We were honored with special guests: Betsy Manzelli, Alex Falk, Lori Karas, David Deutsch and Joan Arsenault. We had a champagne toast given by our longest serving member, John Glovsky. Lastly, we had a “workshop" about bubbly drinks at the end of the celebration. One ongoing activity for the club is to have each member perform at least 100 hours of community service this upcoming year.
We are also planning an event for each month until we have a culminating celebration next February (hopefully all together in person). Some of the monthly plans include a time capsule, scavenger hunt, 100 lights into the sky, an activity with our Interact Club and a special Literacy activity with the schools. We have more in the works but that’s just a tease.....maybe our sister clubs can join us in the fun! Happy Birthday, Beverly Rotary Club!!! Here’s to the next 100!
If you would like to see our video, go to YouTube and look for Beverly Rotary Centennial. I’m sure you will know many people in it!
On February 17th The Rotary Club of Malden, donated $600.00 to the Malden Warming Center. The Malden Warming Center is located in the Church of The Nazarene in Malden headed by Pastor Gerry Whetstone. The Warming Center provides the homeless community in and around Malden a place to get in out of the cold overnight, dinner, and breakfast (provided by local partners).
The donation came from the sale of “Malden Thanks You Essential Workers” signs to the community of Malden. The work that the Malden Warming Center does is both vital and essential to the homeless and the community.
The AHS Interact Club has been very active during the 2020-2021 school year even with Covid-19. Although we had to make several changes to accommodate the virus, we were still able to have an eventful fall/winter. We started the year by building our annual scarecrow for Andover’s scarecrow festival. We met outside Andover high school, underneath one of the open tents, to build our project. We had around 15 to 20 student participants. We made sure to take precautions as we socially distanced ourselves while we built our scarecrow.
Thanks to Rotary member, Michelle Houlihan, Interact connected with Hannah Finn from the One Wish Foundation. Together, we teamed up to organize a toy drive through the school. Due to some administrative complications, we had to run the drive outside of school. Although we had to deal with some obstacles, the toy drive was still a huge success! We were able to collect over 180 toys. As we worked on the drive with One Wish, we were also planning to make a few donations for Andover’s Seniors. Interact came together and wrote holiday letters for the Seniors at Marland Place (Assisted Living)! Aside from the letters, we donated over 200 hats to the Senior Center for the holidays. None of this would have been possible without the generous help of Jane Burns, Director of Elder Services. She was kind enough to give us another amazing opportunity to work with our seniors. Together, we are creating a student senior mentor program to help guide seniors through technology! We are planning to launch this in January of 2021. We are still working out the details. We cannot wait to work together after the new year!
International Women’s Day is held every year on March 8th, a day to celebrate the social, political, economic, and cultural achievements of women around the world. The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 world. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted women and girls in significant ways, amplifying the inequalities they face every day. It is fundamental that women’s voices and experiences are central to national and global recovery plans. A key contributor to a more equal COVID-19 world is increasing women’s access to leadership roles. There is much to be done, in addition, we recognize the women around the world who are challenging gender bias and inequality and are changing the world as we know it. Even year on this day, we come together to celebrate achievements and to promote awareness about the importance of an inclusive world by making strides in women’s rights.
Brunswick Rotary Club met Lonnie Hackett on March 31, 2014 when Lonnie was a Senior at Bowdoin College. He brought us an opportunity to help the poorest children in Lusaka through an innovative program which trained classroom teachers as front-line health care workers.
Twelve clubs in District 7780 supported this program, now called Healthy Learners, and it has grown from serving 12,000 school-age children and will soon scale to serve a million children. The Rotary Club of Ipswich Massachusetts and Rotary Club of South Berwick-Eliot joined the Brunswick Rotary Club as International partners for a total of five Global Grants.
Join us for our virtual World Peace and Understanding event on March 3, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Our speaker for the evening will be 2018-2019 Global Scholar recipient Seamus Matlack. Seamus, a native of Boston, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2018 and went on to pursue a Master’s of Science Degree in Defense, Diplomacy and Development at Durham University in England. Rotary Foundation’s Area of Focus of Peace and Conflict Resolution. The Durham University Master’s Program provides specific expertise in conflict prevention and sustainable peace, conflict intervention, and post conflict reconstruction as well as diplomacy and peace building. The thrust of the Master’s program is how to include and incorporate diverse members of local communities into peacekeeping operations.
Posted by Joan Arsenault & Annual Fund Subcommittee on Feb 21, 2021
Did you know that our Annual Fund giving supports many local and international projects? Your member benefit is truly at work in D7930!!
Last year, we spent $58,323 on club and district projects from our district designated funds, with 85% of the grants spent locally, including $13,500 for grants specific to COVID food relief, and approximately 15% spent internationally in Bangladesh, Uganda and Columbia. 27 total Grants were awarded in total, 17 to clubs and two to the district as a whole (Service Dog & Backpacks for Wonderfund Charity).
In addition, for the first time in history our district received a $94.950.00 global grant to be used within our district for PPE for Care Dimensions and PPE/food relief for St. Francis House.
Looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon? Looking to connect with fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarians from our district, Maine, Quebec, Louisiana, the Cape and Florida? Like or Love Wine? Then D7930/D7790 Corks & Caps Wine Fellowship is for you!!
Please join us the last Sunday of the each month from 5-6 pm EST. This fellowship is open to all Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike, so share with friends and family members.
Next wine fellowship is Sunday February 28th 5-6- pm. Our varietals for tasting will be a Merlot from California and a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.
Chelsea Rotarian Juan Gallego is again looking to put the Rotary commitment to "Service above Self" to work. Due to the extremely cold weather in Texas and loss of electricity to heat homes thousands of Texans are living in homes with broken water pipes. There are not enough plumbers available in Texas to rapidly repair the frozen pipes. Juan is looking for support from Rotary District 7930 to raise funds to fly local plumbers to Texas to help repair repair the frozen pipes. Juan has pledged $5,000 of his own funds to incubate the fund raising and has committed to get a minimum of 20 plumbers to give one week of their time to travel to Texas. The funds raised would be used for airfare to fly the plumbers to Texas. Anyone interested in assisting Juan with this project please contact Juan at juangallego@comcast.net.
District 7930 is pleased to offer all clubs a one-time mini grant starting now!!!
Starting this week the District is offering all clubs a one-time reimbursement mini grant in the amount of $200. We are focusing on the areas of Membership, Public Image and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Just fill out the application online, and your approval will be quickly forthcoming.
What can you do? Replace those club flyers that you have run out of. Make new t-shirts for your club with the correct logos from Brand Central. Have a friendraiser, as your club starts to meet in person again later this spring, inviting them to a social to learn about Rotary. Develop and print an orientation package for new members joining your club. Sponsor a new diverse member to your club ($200 max) who might not be able to afford your regular club dues. Host a DEI training for your club... These are only a few examples, your imagination is the limit.
Spring 2021 Mini-Grants for Membership, Public Image, and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
If you missed the New Member Welcome & Rotary Membership Benefits webinar that the District Membership Committee hosted on January 25th, you can now watch a recording of the event on YouTube and also download the PowerPoint slides from the event, which include many useful links to Rotary International and district website resources.
This presentation covered all the amazing membership benefits that are all included in your Rotary membership. We discussed benefits on the district level, zone level, education benefits, Rotary Foundation benefits, and benefits on the RI (Rotary International) level. Please feel free to share this information with your Rotary Club, and especially with new members who have recently joined or event prospective new members!
New Member Welcome & Rotary Membership Benefits
Burlington Breakfast Rotary Club, once again, made the Headline News of the Burlington Cable Access Television (BCAT). BBRC’s ‘Tech Assist for Seniors’ program is appreciated and is expanding.
A video with interviews was broadcast by BCAT TV on 01/20/2021.
Senior citizens in the area are benefitting from the Burlington Breakfast Rotary Technology Assistance Initiative program.
BHS student volunteers have been instructing senior citizens in the technologies imperative to keeping connected in the COVID culture.
We are excited to start this new year with great news: The Rotary Foundation has been honored with Charity Navigator's Four Star rating for the 13th year in a row.
"Your achievement and 4-star rating will enhance your organization’s fundraising and public relations efforts,” says Michael Thatcher, president and chief executive officer of Charity Navigator. "This exceptional designation sets the Foundation apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness."
Click the link below for the full story to share on Facebook, your district webpage, and wherever you reach donors.
Environmental Justice is the fair treatment of all people with respect to environmental politics and their implementation. A hallmark of environmental injustice is the persistence of geographic inequalities in the distribution of environmental burdens or amenities.
Who is our Guest Speaker?
Dr. Marcos Luna, Salem State University, Professor of Geography and Sustainability, describes the geography of environmental justice in our own backyard.
This presentation will illustrate how Environmental Justice is an important part of the struggle to improve and maintain a clean and healthful environment, especially for those who have traditionally lived, worked and played closest to the sources of pollution.
Join the Ipswich/Rowley Rotary, Thursday, Feb 25 at 7:30 a.m. on ZOOM.
Marblehead Harbor Rotary Club is proud to announce Marblehead's 100th Eagle Scout, Liam Conley. Rotary's own Don Doliber was the Chair of the Eagle Board for this momentous occasion.
Liam is a Marblehead High junior and is a mature, outstanding young man who is reliable, patient, responsible, and has an excellent sense of self. He is beginning to think about life after high school which might include enlisting in the Marine Corps.
Liam's project was to restore the public benches at Fort Sewall. Once all stakeholders were on board, the service team that he recruited needed to disassemble, sand, replace damaged boards, reassemble, and place them back into the proper location. Each of these benches provides phenomenal views of Marblehead Harbor for residents and visitors to enjoy. This project consumed a total of 230 hours of planning and implementation.
Want to read more about Liam's Eagle Scout service project or Fort Sewall, click on Read More...
Each year Reading Rotary partners with the community for the Adopt-a-Family project for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rotary works with the local organization ReadingCares and the Town to coordinate this long-standing community giving program. Receiving families are matched anonymously with donor families and/or groups to provide meals for Thanksgiving and meals and gifts at Christmas. Donor drop off in the first shift, then recipient families pick up their food and gifts during a later shift.
There were approximately 60 families in need and donor families/groups were matched to provide Christmas gifts and holiday meals to these families anonymously. Reading Rotary’s efforts were coordinated by Gregg Johnson and John Douglass.
Rotary District 7930 received a grant from The Rotary Foundation to help with COVID relief and was able to provide St. Francis House (SFH) personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff who engage in face-to-face mental health services, and to assist with its food program. St. Francis House, in Downtown Boston, is the largest day shelter in Massachusetts, serving an average of 500 poor and homeless men and women a day, 365 days a year.
The funding District 7930 received from the Foundation was augmented by donations from a number of local Rotary Clubs, as well as from Rotary Clubs in Kyoto, which is Boston’s sister city. The other local beneficiary of the Rotary grant is Care Dimensions, which offers hospice and palliative care services throughout Eastern Massachusetts.
Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor Presents a Free Concert For All! Virtual Benefit Concert on December 12
Dear friends near and far: this has been a difficult year, and many of our beloved holiday traditions have had to be set aside. With this in mind, the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor is offering a special gift to all music lovers who want a virtual way to celebrate the holidays. The annual Holiday Pops Concert for 2020 will be offered online at no cost. This is our way of making the season bright!
ClubRunner has done a pretty amazing job improving their mobile app this year. We highly recommend that you install the new ClubRunner mobile app on your phone so that you can interact better with your own Rotary Club as well as with District 7930.
The new mobile app now also includes all the information that you would normally look up in the printed district directory, but you can now have it all right in your pocket on your phone all the time.
Join the Peabody Rotary Club on Monday, November 23, 2020 for our 2nd Virtual Trivia Night! Kick back with a beverage or two and help the Peabody Rotary Club in supporting service projects throughout the City.
What a perfect way to kick off a week of giving thanks!
"Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast." --William Shakespeare
The Bishop Fenwick Interact Club, along with the assistance of members of the Peabody Rotary Club, provided leaf cleanup services to four homes needing assistance, where the homeowners are currently going through Cancer treatments. The Interact Club was able to assist, following all Covid-19 safe measures. Nice work BFIC!
TBM Rotary is conducting a fundraising raffle to benefit the Tri-Town Food Pantries and other community programs sponsored by the Club. The prize is a 2.1cubic foot freezer (Valued at $250) plus $250 in food gift cards. You can order your entries by email by sending a message to TBMRotary66@gmail.com. Tickets are 1 for $10 or 3 for $20. The drawing will be held live on Facebook @TBMRotary on December 20, 2020.
The Wakefield Rotary Club recently hosted its second hybrid meeting since COVID-19 restrictions began. Meeting both in-person, with socially distanced protocol, and offering a simultaneous meeting online, the group gathered to greet one another and complete a double service project. Wakefield Rotary President John Tramontozzi explained, “During these difficult times, Wakefield Rotarians recognize the need and desire to connect with our members regularly. About once a month, when we perform a service project, those who are able to participate in person are welcome to do so with proposer CDC guidelines including face coverings and social distancing.”
Danvers Rotary Club recently held a ceremony at Endicott Park to donate a covered picnic pavilion to the Town of Danvers. The dedication was attended by the Town Manager, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, town employees, and Rotarians. The $78,000 project was started in the spring of 2019 and required approval from numerous town boards. Coordinated by Danvers Rotarians, the 24’ x 44’ structure was ordered from Engineered Wood Structures in Holland, Michigan and assembled by a local contractor. Park staff will rent the pavilion for family reunions, birthday parties, and other events.
If you can imagine a Winter Wonderland filled with beautiful children’s voices, holiday stories, lovely orchestral music, solos and duets, Santa Claus and Chanukah, all sprinkled with Marblehead memories and tributes, then you will begin to see what HOLIDAY POPS REIMAGINED 2020 will be. The virtual concert will take on Saturday December 12 at 7:00 pm. It’s FREE, though donations are welcome. The virtual concert can be viewed on Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor Facebook page.
This informative evening will be led by Elizabeth Davis, Rotary International Annual Giving Officer and will focus on your Annual Fund and how to use these funds to make an impact in your community and around the world!
This month’s meeting will feature guest speaker Fred Mullins, who works for VIAS Imports, a wine importer; and wine varietals from the Piemonte (Piedmont), Italy region.
The Marblehead Rotary Club and Lynch van Otterlook YMCA will host a Red Cross Blood Drive on Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10am-3pm.
Advance appointments are required. No walk-ins will be accepted. Visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter “schedule an appointment” or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). All Successful Donors will get a free COVID antibody test.
Congratulations to all Rotarians in District 7930 for their contributions, hard work and commitment to our Foundation, with special thanks to the District Foundation Committee, the District Million Dollar Journey committee and the District Polio/Polar Plunge committee for making our year a huge success!
Ipswich High School Interact is a Rotary sponsored service club sanctioned by the Ipswich Public Schools and advised by Ipswich Rotary. Last week, the club leaders presented their plans for two new service projects at the weekly meeting of the Rotary club, currently held on Zoom.
Just in time for the holidays, the Ipswich Rotary Club has announced its new “IpswichRowley-opoly” game for $30 per game. All proceeds from the sales of the game will benefit the on-going work of the club during the pandemic.
Like its predecessor issued many years ago, this collector game board features many local businesses and professionals who generously support our club during this fundraiser. Be among the first to collect $300 when you pass “Bank Gloucester,” receive a Chamber Card from the “Ipswich Y,” or purchase the “Institution for Savings Depot Square” branch for just $200. All in play money, of course. If you enjoy “Monopoly”, you’ll enjoy playing this game with all the local fun built in.
The Rotary Club of Marblehead has been hard at work reimagining its traditional Holiday Pops Concert, to continue its long-standing tradition of community celebration at holiday time. Despite the challenges of these times. Rotary Club President Patricia Sullivan and Concert chairs Judith Black, Betty Lautner and Jessica Barnett have created a new virtual format that will be full of music, local talent, sing- a-longs and holiday memories from Marbleheaders.
Holiday Pops Reimagined 2020 will take place on Saturday evening, December 12, at 7:00 pm. Gather together with a few special friends and family to enjoy a delightful evening of holiday cheer. A donation of $50 will reserve a space for you and your group, providing access to the concert.
The Wakefield Rotary Club never stopped meeting during the COVID-19 crisis. Like many, it just moved online, and members have been meeting weekly each Tuesday. Club President John Tramontozzi commented, “I looked forward to these meetings every week. Being disconnected from people, this was a welcome interaction.” But recently the club decided to try to host a hybrid meeting, an effort to ensure safety while giving an opportunity to do a service project. Members were offered a socially-distanced in-person meeting as well as an opportunity to attend the meeting virtually via Zoom.
Please enjoy an introductory talk by Connor Lapresi, Area Director and Club President of The Last Word Toastmasters International in Burlington, MA, as well as two breakout sessions on Membership and Transitioning during the Pandemic. (click read more to skip to a specific point in video)
The Cambridge Rotary Club invites you to support local charities and showcase your artwork by participating in the virtual "Chalk on Your Walk" event. Due to COVID, the annual "Chalk on the Walk" fundraiser in Harvard Square was cancelled. However, the groups served by the Cambridge Rotary need help more than ever!
The event will showcase artwork by artists and children online. Not only will this support many local charities, it will be a great way to document this unusual time through art.
With the assistance of a special District grant for First Responders, the Rotary Club of Cambridge donated much needed disposable gloves and face masks to Cambridge's Finest.
It's time to connect again to achieve our common goals of community service projects!BBRC appreciates the opportunity of helping other Rotary Clubs in fundraising projects and now BBRC needs your help fundraising to help support-- 1. National Ataxia Foundation 2. Rise Against Hunger 3. ongoing assistance to local senior citizens, scout troops, and more
This year's Flags for Heroes Dedication Ceremony will be held on November 8 at 1pm. Arlington Rotary has dedicated this year's installment to the Corona Virus Heroes and in memory of Corona Virus Victims.
Please consider sponsoring a flag in honor or memory of your hero. They may be men and women who are serving or have served as members of the military, first responders, parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, community leaders, or other heroes.You may sponsor as many heroes as you want, and a flag with the name of your heroes will be flown at Park Circle on Park Avenue from October 25th through November 11th. To sponsor a flag for $30 or more info please visit http://arlingtonmarotaryflags.org for details.All proceeds of this fundraiser will help support Arlington Rotary Club Scholarship program and other projects the club supports in Arlington.
Members of Arlington Rotary Club answered the call for donations from the Bedford VA Hospital. The club and the Arlington community came together to donate over 400 books, 400 DVDs, 100 pairs of sweatpants and 100 CDs.Thank you for club member, Paul Buckley, for spearheading this effort. The Bedford VA has provided Paul with a list of other items the hospital is in need of, if you are interested in joining the cause please contact him at arlexins@gmail.com for more info.
The Burlington Breakfast Rotary, a small but mighty Club, once again is shining brighter. BBRC is expanding and thriving. Its "People of Action" honor Rotary’s motto of "Service Above Self." As Rotarians, in our quest to make a difference in society, Rotary indeed opened opportunities by installing its first International Satellite member in India. This showcase project may present a template/model for other clubs as well in Rotary District 7930 and beyond.
The Newburyport Club has a great service project coming up Saturday, September 26, 2020. The club will be helping Operation Warming Hearts and the Salvation Army preparing, assembling and delivering 300 meals to the greater Newburyport area as well as notes and cards with positive messages, words of encouragement or even a homemade greeting card. Volunteers are needed to pick up food, prep and package food and deliver meals. Could you or your family write notes or cards? What a fun family project it could be! For information or to volunteer, contact Marion Spark at marion.spark@nemoves.com.
The Peabody Rotary Club and Granite Coast Brewing Company will host an online general knowledge trivia game on Thursday, September 24, to benefit the club’s local scholarship fund.
Teams of up to six players will use their preferred digital device to compete in several rounds of trivia from the comfort of their own home. Hosted by Crew Ryan of Captain Crew’s Question Cruise, participants will have the opportunity to discuss their answers with their teammates, even if they are not playing from the same physical location. Prizes and raffles will also be awarded.
Receiving the Rotary Citation is an honor bestowed on clubs who have achieved the goals set forth by the RI President. I am honored to announce that 24 Clubs in D7930 received the Rotary Citation from Past President Mark Maloney for Rotary year 2019-2020!
All Rotarians and friends/families are welcome to join us. Fellowships no longer require you to be a Rotarian, to join so please invite friends/family who are wine lovers!
Our September and October virtual tasting program will be led by Rotarian Gene Pellerano from Ellsworth/D7790. Gene has worked in a wine shop for 20 years and will be organizing the meetings/speaker/wine varietals. More info to follow. If you wish to join us in September please email Joan Arsenault at CorksNCapsWine@gmail.com.
The District 7930 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee will host a workshop and discussion on Diversity Equity and Inclusion featuring Dr. "Bowtie" Todd Jenkins, Founder and CEO of Bowtie Leadership and Development, Inc., a global leadership management training and coaching firm with a focus on bringing diverse people together to increase individual or organizational productivity and performance.
Although a date has not been set the DE&I Committee is anticipating late October or early November. This will be a virtual event via Zoom and all Rotarians are invited to attend. When you register for the event you may also submit any questions for Dr. Jenkins and the DE&I Committee.
Further details and information will be released shortly.
22 clubs responded to participate in the 25K Disaster Grant awarded to D7930 from RI. Each club will be reimbursed $426 for the purchase of PPE for Police/Fire Departments and First Responders. Congratulations to the following Rotary Clubs:Amesbury, Belle Isle, Burlington Breakfast, Burlington, Cambridge, Chelsea, Gloucester, Gr. Salem, Hamilton-Wenham, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lynn, Manchester-Essex, Marblehead, Marblehead Harbor, Methuen, Peabody, Reading, Boston Rotaract, Salem, TBM and Winchester.
Deadline to submit photos extended to Sunday, September 27, 2020.
The Gloucester Rotary Club will publish a 12-month Cape Ann photo calendar for 2021 as a fundraiser. All profits will go to the Gloucester Rotary Club’s many community and international activities. In Order to publish a beautiful calendar, the Club is requesting high quality digital photos that reflect the amazing communities of Cape Ann throughout the year—photos that reflect what the photographer feels “community” means to him/her, whether it is a person, place or event. As we will be featuring one photo per month, we need images from each season: winter, spring, summer and fall. Photographs from Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester will be accepted. Click here for full contest rules and requirements. All entries must be received by Sunday, September 27, 2020.
The Boston 7 Rotary Club is excited to welcome Rotary International Vice President, Johrita Solari as a special speaker to their October 7 zoom meeting at 6:30pm. Visitors are encouraged and may register for this meeting here. For information, contact Boston 7 President David Manzi at david.manzi201@gmail.com.
Johrita Solari is board chair and chief visionary officer of Solari Enterprises Inc., a property management company with 300 team members specializing in affordable rental housing. The company, which she co-founded with her husband, Bruce, was inspired by Rotary’s guiding ethical principles. “The Four-Way Test hangs in our lobby, and every team member sees it as they come into work,” Solari says.
The Burlington Breakfast Rotary Club in an effort to assist seniors and others having difficulty with technology and how to use a variety of electronic devices, is introducing a “Technology Assistance Program” This novel community service initiative is designed to connect seniors and computer challenged individuals with others via technology. This service is especially timely during this unprecedented period of the coronavirus in place of traditional, person to person meetings and get-togethers.
22nd Annual Manchester Essex Rotary / Landing Restaurant Golf Tournament Tuesday, October 6, 2020 12:30 Shotgun Start Florida Scramble or Best Ball Format The Meadow at Peabody Golf Course 80 Granite Street, Peabody MA 01960
It our pleasure to announce to you that the African region has just been certified wild poliovirus-free.
Rotary members have played an invaluable role in the effort to rid the African region of wild polio. We should be proud of all the hard work that we’ve done to eliminate the wild poliovirus throughout Africa and in nearly every country in the world.
This progress is the result of a decades-long effort across the 47 countries of the African region. It has involved millions of health workers traveling by foot, boat, bike and bus, innovative strategies to vaccinate children amid conflict and insecurity, and a huge disease surveillance network to test cases of paralysis and check sewage for the virus.
Over the last two decades, countless Rotary members in countries across the African region and around the world have worked together to raise funds, immunize children, advocate with local and national leaders, and raise awareness about the importance of vaccination, enabling the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to effectively respond to and stop polio outbreaks.
This milestone is an incredible public health achievement for Rotary members, the African region, and our GPEI partners, and a huge step forward on the road to global polio eradication. But we still have important work to do in order to eradicate wild polio in the last two endemic countries.
We have faced many challenges in our journey to eradicate polio. But we’ve made remarkable progress, and the polio infrastructure that Rotarians helped build will serve as a lasting legacy that will continue to help protect vulnerable children against other diseases for decades to come.
We are calling on you today to recommit yourselves to ending polio. We need each and every one of you to help finish this fight and continue raising $50 million each year for PolioPlus. The eradication of wild polio in the African region shows us that polio eradication is achievable, and shows how our hard work, partnerships and financial commitment continue to propel us forward, even during a global pandemic.
Thank you for your continued efforts, for achieving a wild polio-free African region, and for remaining committed to fulfilling our promise of a polio-free world.
Sincerely,
Holger Knaack President, Rotary International
K.R. Ravindran
Chair, The Rotary Foundation
Rotary International President Holger Knaack and Nigeria National PolioPlus Chair Dr. Tunji Funsho congratulate Rotarians on eradicating wild polio in the African Region. Watch here.
In 1996, the great African leader Nelson Mandela launched the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign with Rotary International’s support, setting out a vision for a polio-free Africa. At the time, wild polio paralyzed 75,000 children each year. Today, August 25, 2020, after
Monday June 13. The Meadow at Peabody. 
As of last Thursday, May 5th, Beverly Rotary Club has inducted a total of 15 new members this year into our club. We feel this is quite a feat! Our membership is now up to 114 members. One of the new memberships is a corporate one, bringing our corporate total to five. Having the ability to have a corporate membership available, has enticed some places to join our club. We will continue in this vein actively to recruit new members into our vibrant club for the next year!
Now is the time to get your club qualified for participating in district and global grants for the coming 2022-23 Rotary year. For a club to get qualified you have to have at least two members who have taken the district grant management seminar, and the club's current president for 2021-22 as well as the incoming president for 2022-23 both have to 
This spring, the Lynnfield Rotary Interact Club hosted a recycling event for the community. Data Recycling of New England partnered with Interact students to host an event at Town Hall in which Lynnfield residents could safely recycle their electronics, preserving the environment, and providing parts that can be refurbished for future use. The club made a portion of the recycling fees collected, raising over $3,000 to support future community service and Interact Club activities. Kudos to the Lynnfield Rotary Interact!! 
Hobbs Playground will soon undergo a makeover. The new layout and updated equipment will guarantee access to children of all abilities. Leading the way to these improvements is Laney Dowling (center), Marblehead Family Fund's (MFF) Chair, who presented the playground’s final plans to Marblehead Rotary members. The MFF’s mission, since it started as a grassroots organization in 1988, has been to improve Marblehead's playgrounds, parks, and open spaces.
Brookline Rotary is sponsoring an on-line auction as a spring fundraiser. Among the items are tickets for the US Open being held in Brookline June 16- 19, 2022. Other items include gift cards for local restaurants, services such as tutoring and legal, and special opportunities like a luxury Mexican vacation. Enjoy yourself while supporting Rotary.
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Past District Governor Jack Maloney of Lexington. A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, April 30 at St. Brigid Church in Lexington. 
Inspired by the District's Homelessness and Hunger Initiative years ago, the Wakefield Rotary Club made strong connections with the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry. This year, the Club decided to donate half of the income from the Dine Anywhere in the World Raffle to the organization. This past week, we were delighted to present the Wakefield Food Pantry a "big" check. Food Pantry board members and volunteers sold 30 of the 200 tickets. Doreen McGowan, Food Pantry Board President, accepted the check and hopes she can find a big ATM. 
Chelsea Rotary presents Stand With Ukraine Telethon on April 29 from 4-7 pm.
Our meeting started out as usual, with members trickling in at first to check in. President-Elect Mike Jones gave me a make-up slip which was signed Mickey Mouse from the Lake Buena Vista club. I had remembered that he was at Disney World, so I thought it was a cute joke on the part of the Florida club. Next came in Past-President Marshall Handly, who gave me a make-up slip from Athens, Greece. He went on and told me all kinds of details of his trip and I was telling him how I wanted to go there so badly. A few more members came in and then SEVEN other make-up slips were turned in. It dawned on me that they were all the same style of make-up slip. When I read one of them closely, my suspicions were validated. This one was signed by Glinda Witch, from Oz, Kentucky Rotary Club. Weren't our members from Beverly something else? I had slips from Key West, Berlin Bunker, and the Bowery, New York. They got me good! 
Saturday, April 2, Gloucester Rotary put on a hugely successful Polar Plunge. Approximately 200 Rotarians from the District's 45 clubs plunged into the water at Long Beach in Gloucester. In addition to the Plungers were many supporters, on lookers and cheerleaders. The sun was out, but the water and air temperatures were both approximately a chilly 40 degrees.
Rotary Fellowships are international groups that share a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends around the world, explore a hobby or profession, and enhance your Rotary experience.
The Rotary Club of Peabody has put in sweat equity for Habitat for Humanity, working two different projects helping get homes ready for families to move in. These projects are based locally in Peabody and the club is thrilled to give back to their immediate community in such a tangible way. 
Reading Rotary just completed its Rotary Readers project. Rotary Readers is an annual literacy project where reading books and a backpack are given to each Reading Public Schools student in kindergarten. This year approximately 300 literacy bags will be delivered by Rotarians to the five Reading elementary schools. In addition, Rotarians read to each Kindergarten class as part of Read Across America. It was exciting and fun to be able to read in person this year after doing virtual reading in 2021.
After a recent fundraiser, the Interact Club at Woburn Memorial High School donated proceeds to the Woburn Dollars for Scholars program. Here, Interact Club President Emily Sullivan presents a check to WDFS Committee President Rosemary Donovan. 
The Downtown Boston Rotary is proud to host the Ukrainian Cultural Center of New England at their next speaker meeting on April 5th.
Danvers Rotary is excited to announce our 2nd Spring Raffle is off to a great start as we approach the first draw date on April 1.
The top ten clubs in giving this week are:
Last week Woburn Rotary donated a defibrillator to Nexus, Inc. Nexus provides residential alternatives for developmentally challenged individuals that promote the highest quality of life possible and opportunities for full integration into the mainstream of life in their home. 
Looking for Rotarians interested in the Environment
Winchester Rotary club has been blessed with a wonderful core group of members who have help me as President over the past two years to maintain and grow our Club. We are adding four new Service members along with two new Corporate members will be joining us shortly. Thank you, Kurt Heisler, Co-President Elect. What a great way to start off 2022! Keep all members moving forward and engaged!
The top ten clubs in giving this week are:
Belle Isle Rotary Club is set to have our Trivia Nite on Friday April 1, 2022, to be held at the Salesians Boys & Girls Club. We are gearing up to have a night full of fun competition with prizes and of course, bragging rights and awards for the winning team. 
As our year-long celebration comes to a end, we reminisce on the past and look forward to the future. We are having our culminating event on the very date that the Beverly Rotary Club was started 101 years prior!
A Ukrainian 12-yr old boy with electrical burns over 90% of his body was recently airlifted from Ukraine and brought to Shriners Hospital (Mass General) in Boston. This was done with assistance from Ukraine Rotary Club Kyiv-Sophia and Rotary Clubs in our neighboring District 7910. Dr. Gennadiy Fuzaylov, who is treating the boy advised that his mother Oksana is staying in Mass General Hospital "parent apartment" available to her only while her son is in the hospital for treatment. However sometime in the next 3-weeks Taras will be released and both mother/Oksana & Son/Taras, who do not speak English, will need a place to stay near Massachusetts General Hospital as Taras needs to receive follow up treatments for up to 6 Weeks then needs to return to Ukraine.
The Rotary Club of Lynn held its Eighth Grade Recognition Program Thursday, February 10th, at Old Tyme Family Cuisine. This signature program, a staple on Rotary’s annual calendar, seeks to recognize young middle school students from Lynn who, each in their own way, has overcome an obstacle in their lives to achieve success both inside and out of the classroom. This is the first recognition since the start of the pandemic. The Club will have two more before the end of the school year. The program's longtime sponsor is RiverWorks Credit Union.
The Rotary Club of Peabody is hosting its biggest fundraiser of the year "Taste of the North Shore" in person again this year! This popular fundraiser promised an evening of fun, prizes and, of course, delicious food from some of the best restaurants to be found on the North Shore. All proceeds benefit scholarships for Peabody High School children and our other community projects throughout the year.
With a total of $27,091.01 raised towards our $100,000 goal this week's new listing of the top ten clubs in the district for donations are as follows:
The Annual World Peace and Understanding Event on February 3 featured two movies this year. The evening started with the Premiere of a documentary, by Sarah Furie, a member of Boston Rotaract, titled “The Talk With My Black Sons.” This was followed by a lively question-and-answer session with the director. If you missed the event, you can watch the documentary here on YouTube: 
The Salem Rotary Club is thrilled to present our first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training at our Rotary meeting on January 25th. Our training will be conducted by Human in Common. Human in Common is an innovative team of experienced diversity consultants who specialize in providing professional diversity and ethical upstander training for nonprofits, municipalities, businesses and schools.
Winchester Rotary Club combined with our Interact Club to deliver 85 meals to our Local Housing Authority residents. Then we all gathered for some Christmas Cheer at Sons of Italy for some food and drink and wonderful song from our very talented INTERACT members!
Rockport Rotary President Rob Audano and Rotarian Anne Lewis present a check for $50 to Lynne Anderson, the winner of the raffle drawing on January 6. Rockport Rotary’s 2022 Calendar features 13 photographs of the Rockport area selected from over 200 submitted to their photo contest. Every calendar has a raffle ticket that will be entered into a drawing each week of 2022 with winners in the first week of July and the first week of December receiving $250 and all other winners receiving $50. Winning tickets will be reentered for future drawings.
Seven Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor rang in 2022 by cooking and serving a New Year’s Eve dinner to over sixty clients and staff members at Lifebridge, a shelter in the center of Salem, MA. The menu included baked glazed ham, sweet potato, roasted vegetables, and rolls...But the best was left for last...brownie sundaes with homemade chocolate sauce.
Because the Coronavirus and its variants have again become more active, I have moved the next two district events back to Zoom. 
The Belle Isle Rotary typically donates Market Basket gift cards during the Christmas season. Working collaboratively within our community, this year, we decided instead to give five (5) $100 Target gift cards to the Revere High School guidance department and five (5) $100 Target gift cards to the Revere Seacoast Alternative High School guidance departments to be disbursed based upon the needs of their students/families.
Each year Reading Rotary partners with the community for the Adopt-a-Family project for Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas distribution day was December 22. Rotary works with the local organization ReadingCares and the Town to coordinate this long-standing community giving program. Receiving families are matched anonymously with donor families and/or groups to provide meal and gifts at Christmas. Donors drop off in the first shift, then recipient families pick up their food and gifts during a later shift. 
Despite the gray weather, everyone had a festive time on Saturday as the Ipswich community celebrated the annual arrival of Santa Claus. The Jolly Elf arrived at town wharf at 11 am and was escorted by children of all ages, and by the host Ipswich High School Interact elves, along Water Street to Santa’s Village at Town Hall.
Beverly's beloved Rotarian Jack Good passed away last year. The project of bell ringing for the Salvation Army was his baby. The tradition carries on and we know that Jack is with us. Rotarians were stationed at two Stop ’n Shops and a Walgreen’s in Beverly. There were shifts throughout the day, organized by Alan Temkin, who has assumed Jack’s job for this project. Some Rotarians wore costumes and were chatting with all the customers going in and out of these businesses. Needless to say, we are a merry group! The question now remains: which location collected the most money......? Time will tell. Thanks to all of our Beverly Rotarians who were part of this project!!!! Happy Holidays! 
District Governor Terry Curran showered our club with recognition in many areas of contributions to Rotary Foundation 2020-2021. Among them: Marblehead Rotary is one of the handfuls of clubs to achieve the district's top three highest per capita on annual giving and for individual member participation. In addition, the Marblehead Rotary was recognized as one of the top contributors to the district’s campaign for the Rotary Foundation’s “End Polio Now” fund-raising campaign.
After a recent fundraiser, the Woburn Memorial High School Interact Club presented Woburn Veterans Agent Larry Guiseppe with gift cards for Woburn Veterans.
The Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor purchased materials for, and is distributing, buckets of sand and pet-friendly ice melt and scoops to local senior citizens. Prevention of falls and serious injuries is a serious issue for the senior population. The Club partnered with the Marblehead Council on Aging, which is delivering buckets via its bus to those seniors who cannot pick them up at the Community Center.
The Rotary Club of Lynn welcomed seven new members into its ranks at Thursday’s monthly meeting Old Tyme Family Cuisine.
The District Governor would like to support the revitalization of our Interact Clubs this fall. To that end we have put together a $100 mini grant for clubs to use to assist their Interact Club in doing a service project. 
Has your club recently hosted an event or project or are you planning something in the near future that you would like to share with your fellow District 7930 Rotarians?
As part of our ongoing efforts to keep you informed and educated on ways to support The Rotary Foundation, we are pleased to share information on a new initiative that is launching in Rotary District 7930. The 70+ initiative is a district-wide effort to encourage Rotarians to consider the benefits and opportunities of a charitable gift via their IRA.
Wishing you all the joys of the Holiday Season.
The Rotary Club of Chelsea recently installed Dr. Aaron Jennings as its newest member. Aaron is the Equity, Diversity and Excellence Officer for the Chelsea Public Schools. Pictured with Aaron is Dr. Almudena Abeyta, Superintendent of the Chelsea Public Schools and Aaron’s sponsor, Allan I. Alpert, the Installing Officer and Richard Gopen, President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Chelsea. 
The Gloucester Rotary has produced a beautiful 2022 calendar, featuring scenic photography from local artists. In addition to the calendar, each purchase enters the buyer into a weekly raffle. $50 prizes will be drawn each week with two bonus prizes-- a $250 prize in June and a $500 prize in December. Calendars are $25 each, and proceeds from the sale of calendars will be used to support the many projects of the Gloucester Rotary.
This week, Woburn Rotary celebrated Harris "Harry" Cohen who has been a Rotarian for 50 years! Harry joined Rotary Club of Woburn in 1971 and is a Paul Harris Fellow +3. He also served on the Board of Directors for a number of years and has volunteered many hours of service to Woburn, included organizing the annual pancake breakfast. Harry continues to be an active member of Rotary Club of Woburn and comes to almost every weekly lunch meeting. Harry was presented with a proclamation from State Representative Richard Haggerty and a proclamation from Woburn Mayor Scott D. Galvin. 
The Wakefield Rotary Club hosted it’s Purple Pinkey event at the Fall In Love With Wakefield event last month. Club Secretary Suzanne Bowering explained, “Our Purple Pinkey event is designed to raise awareness of Rotary’s efforts world-wide to eradicate polio.” She continued, “In countries that experience technology challenges and in some rural areas, children have their pinkey fingers dyed purple to indicate they received a polio vaccine on their immunization day.” Rotary has been a global leader in the eradication of polio worldwide since 1985. Today, 99.9% of the world is polio-free. To learn more, visit 
Gobble… Gobble… Gobble…A 40 pound turkey??!!
Do you have dinner plans for Tuesday, November 9th? No? Great! Grab a flatbread and enjoy some bowling from 4-10 p.m. at American Flatbread in Somerville.
Service during COVID is alive and well! Greeted by CEO Janet Nittmann of Windrush Farm, North Andover, members and friends of the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor were joined by Marblehead High School Interactors in spending a day of fellowship and service spreading cushioning mulch on bridle trails, performing light carpentry work, and cleaning out and hosing down the barn.
The Wakefield Rotary Club recently completed its annual donation of dictionaries to every third grader in Wakefield. 253 copies were hand-delivered to all Wakefield public schools as well as Odyssey and St. Joseph’s School.
Beautiful, crisp, sunny weather was the setting for the PUMPKIN PAINTING IN THE PARK in Beverly Common. The event was hosted by the Beverly Rotary Club in partnership with Beverly Main Streets. 100 children registered to paint their pumpkins at the Gazebo. All of the pumpkins were donated thanks to the State Sheriff’s Department, Smolak Farms and Dr, Bill Beckman. Tables were set up with paint and decorations. After the children finished painting, their pumpkins were photographed for a montage of pumpkins. 
Rotarians from Ipswich, Rowley and Wakefield, together with 12 high school students from St. Johns Prep, Danvers, joined Rachel Schneider, Ipswich River Watershed Association, Sat. Oct 23, for an outstanding hands-on training for Keeping Water Clean Day, a Greenscapes program.
Methuen Rotary Club held its 4th Annual June Jubilee. We choose non-profits that we feel their values align with the mission of Rotary and give away $1,000.00 per week every Friday in June.
Are you a business owner? Do you want to show your creativity and Holiday Spirit? Methuen Rotary Club is holding the 2nd Annual LIGHT UP METHUEN this Holiday Season. December 4th - January 1, 2022 trees will be lit up all over the City.
The Belle Isle Rotary Club will hold their Annual Comedy Nite on
On Thursday, September 30th, members of the Lynn Rotary Club gathered at the Old Tyme restaurant for one of its regular meetings. The Club choose to do a service project prior to conducting a regular club meeting. The project was to put together 50 brown bag lunches for My Brother’s Table. The lunches consist of 2 PB&J sandwiches, a drink box, and a nourishing snack. This is an ongoing need at My Brother’s Table. Especially since they are restricted in how they can feed those in need.
The Belle Isle Rotary had a Fall Fair event for the children and families of East Boston Revere and Winthrop. We aimed to bring some of the highlights of the Topsfield Fair to our neighbors that may not be able to go to Topsfield for a variety of reasons, we helped subsidize this event by selling squares for Goat Pebble Bingo and the lucky winner was John Francis. 
The Belle Isle Rotary Club is gearing up for their annual Goat Pebble Bingo Bash on Saturday Oct 2, 2021 to be held at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, 150 Byron St East Boston, MA.
The Belle Isle Rotary had a wonderful night Wednesday, September 15, 2021 at the Marina Wharf Restaurant in Revere presenting member and Past President Ashley Melnik with a Paul Harris Fellow. Many Rotarians including DG Terry Rezendes Curran were in attendance as well as many of Ashley's friends and family. In addition, Ashley Melnik was recognized as an Unsung Heroine Award in June 2021 presented at the State House for her community of Revere where she works as City Clerk and does a lot of good deeds for local Veterans. 
Here is an update of current ShelterBox response work. Except for Haiti, all our current response work is due to people displaced by conflict. Our work in areas of conflict displacement has twice earned the Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Shelter is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone for peace. At ShelterBox, we work tirelessly each day to provide displaced families with shelter and basic household items. We have also implemented COVID-19 mitigation items in our aid packages. Items such as soap, wash basins and face coverings are helping to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
My name is Anne Lewis of the Rockport Club and I am pleased to be serving as your D7930 Global Grants Chair this year, working with Foundation Chair Joan Arsenault and DG Terry Curran. I would be glad to help with any of your application, implementation and reporting questions.
Our water sources, the Ipswich River and adjacent watersheds, the Parker and the Essex, are threatened and may disappear if conservation action is not taken.
Ipswich Rotarian Keith Harris will soon hop up on his bicycle and tow his faithful dog around 70 scenic miles west of Boston.
Support Rotary’s Foundation year-round by making an automatic recurring gift with Rotary Direct. You choose how much and how often to give. It’s a simple and secure way to make a big impact!
At Rotary, we understand that cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realizing our vision of a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
The Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotary members and friends of The Rotary Foundation who elect to contribute $1,000 or more each year to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, or approved global grants. The purpose of the Paul Harris Society is to honor and thank individuals for their generous, ongoing support of The Rotary Foundation.
Medford Rotary members are very generous when it comes to helping those with food insecurity. Every year for more than 40 years they give away 200+ food baskets to families in Medford with all the fixings for a Holiday dinner; including the turkey. Even last year, the committee decided the pandemic wasn't going to stope their efforts. So $50 gift cards were given to 226 local families in lieu of the actual basket.
Attention Professional and Recreational Photographers Gloucester Rotary 2022 Raffle Calendar Submissions
During Beverly Rotary's 100th anniversary celebration year, we are doing activities each month especially connected to our community. August is absolutely no exception.
Several Lynn Rotarians, as well as Assistant Governor Peter Majane, supported Lynn’s Salvation Army Captain Kevin Johnson with its drive for school supplies for students returning to school in the fall. The annual campaign is known as Stuff the Bus! The drive was conducted August 6th thru the 8th. This is the third year that the Lynn Club assisted in this project.
Join us on September 17th, (7-11pm) at Woburn/Stoneham Elks #908, 295 Washington St. Woburn for a fundraiser featuring Irish/American Entertainer Mossie Coughlan. Tickets are only $40 per person and includes dinner: Garden Salad, Pasta and Meatballs w/house made sauce, Chicken stir fry w/white rice, cookies/brownies, Coffee from Dunkin', Cash Bar and dance floor. There will also be silent auction items to bid on and a 50/50 raffle. Fun for the whole family! Contact Bill Sullivan for tickets: Email: 
The Wakefield Rotary Club is pleased to announce that it completed 421 hours of community service, 9 service projects and donated over $16k last Rotary year, which ended on June 30, 2021. Immediate Past President John Tramontozzi commented, “During the pandemic, we’re especially thrilled that we were able to remain active and impactful as a club.”
District 7930's RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) program is a two-year program. High school students attend the RYLA weekend as first-time attendees--participating in several leadership development activities and discussions. The following year, selected participants are invited to spend 20+ hours over five months training to be Youth Facilitators at the next RYLA weekend. Young adults who participate in both years come away with an amazing skill set and great friends from among their peers and from the Rotarians who help guide the program! 
On August 5th we will be having a District Business Meeting, on Zoom, to take care of administrative tasks. All club Presidents and Secretaries have been emailed the credentials for electors for their clubs and asked to return them to Tom Hankard, Chair of the Credentials Committee at 
Reading Rotary’s Reading Fall Street Faire will return on Sunday, September 12 from noon to 5 pm in Downtown Reading.
New Manchester-Essex Rotary President Jennifer Doane comes from a Rotary family. Her parents, Tom and Barb Guebert are lifelong Rotarians and both are past Presidents of the Carlyle, IL Rotary club. Tom is a past District Governor (2015-2016) of Southern IL, District 6510. They reside in Griffin, GA. Jennifer was a Rotary International Exchange Student in 1988-89, and spent her junior year of high school studying in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Jennifer in married to Michael Doane and has two children, Finn and Ava and is a resident of Manchester. 
On June 29th the District 7930 Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee hosted our final event for the 20-21 Rotary year: a panel discussion about how your Club and/or District can start or enhance DEI initiatives. 
The Wakefield Rotary Club will be hosting a Red Sox ticket raffle at the WCAT Movies by the Lake. Thanks to a generous donation from Rotarian Frank Fiorentino and Mahoney, Fiorentino, and Co., PC, raffle participants can win a pair of tickets for the Red Sox versus Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Club President Bruce Donovan explained, “These tickets are a great way to support our local projects and enjoy our first place Sox. Your twenty dollar donation can win you great seats between the visitor on-deck circle and home plate and all proceeds will benefit our humanitarian projects.”
On June 14, 2021, the Town of Ipswich dedicated a field of 100 flags to honor heroes. A stunning display of large flags on ten foot poles will grace one of the main gateways of our town, the beautiful and historic South Green, until July 10.
Rotary Club of Newburyport presents Beer and Hotdogs Fundraiser.
The Rotary Foundation’s year-end is 30 June. Click below for important year-end deadlines and information on ways to give. Make sure to share these resources with your club and encourage them to use the addresses shown on the Year-end deadlines document to prevent delays in giving. 
The Greater Salem NH Rotary Club has been doing "Hybrid" meetings since August 7th. Crazy to think that was 10 months ago. Certainly there was a lot of guidance and guidelines to adhere to, as well as some trial and error. Rather than backtrack and talk about what was, I feel it more pertinent to offer considerations for groups now as they are working their way back.
Since the Governor’s announcement that “business is back to normal,” the Danversport Event Center has relaxed their COVID requirements and reopened to full capacity. What that means for us is that those incoming Presidents can invite their family, friends and fellow Rotarians to come and celebrate the upcoming Rotary year. Consider skipping your Club meeting that week and instead join us for the installation on June 24. We also want to thank those Presidents who have guided our Clubs through the pandemic this past year. Since the International Convention next year is in Houston Texas our theme will be country, so feel free to come in your jeans, cowboy boots, bolo ties and/or cowboy hats. The cost is $50.00 per person and can be paid during your on-line registration. Please don’t wait until the last minute as walk-ins will not be allowed. We need to give the facility firm numbers several days before.
In 2019, the Amesbury Rotary Club and Police Department rebooted Bike Safety Day (BSD) thanks to a District Granted supported by contributions from the Rotary Foundation. And then in 2020 the pandemic hit, and we were in lockdown. But the good news is that on a sunny Saturday in May 2021 we were able to be outside and reinstate BSD once again.
For the first time in 14 months, the Rotary Club of Lynn met in person Thursday night, May 20, 2021, for the purpose of awarding scholarships to five students. 
Thank you to everyone in D7930 who attended The Rotary Foundation Virtual Gala! The event as a whole raised $183,680 for TRF with over 1,500+ viewers. For Zone 32, our District raised the highest amount of money ($12,680) and were the second largest ticket sellers. Our pre-party was a huge success and we were able to meet new Rotary friends from D7790! Thank you again for your generous support of Our Rotary Foundation!!! 
Have you chosen a President for the next Rotary year yet? If not, the clock is ticking! Have you run through the possibilities? Will a Past President step back up? Will a few members split the year up and tackle a few months at a time? 
The Rotary Club of Chelsea is running a raffle to raise funds for scholarships, sending children to Camp Rotary and other community projects. Go to the Rotary Club of Chelsea website 
We are so excited to announce the plan that is underway for RYLA 2021! This year, instead of inviting new participants, we will be focused on our RYLA Alumni (initially from the past 3 years) inviting them to participate in additional leadership training (and lots of fun!) with our RYLA Reunion 2021!
"Our Foundation is the Grease on the Axle to Make the Wheels of Rotary Turn Round" 
Ipswich Rotary welcomes Heather McMann, Executive Director, Groundwork Lawrence,
Rotary District 7930 Event at Granite Coast Brewing Company
District Assembly is coming up on April 20 on Zoom.
Rotarians bringing skills to aid Texas Disaster Plumbing Project.
DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP COMMITTE SPRING WEBINAR
As some of you may know, our district 7930 is one of the founding districts of the new Inter-Country-Committee (ICC) Austria/Germany/USA that was established at the RI Convention in Hamburg, with PDG Joan Arsenault being one of the initial signatories on the ICC's founding documents representing the USA. As part of our membership in this ICC we recently heard from our friends in Germany that the newly formed 
Manchester-Essex Rotarians volunteered their services to pack and distribute food to 160 households as part of a District Grant. Families received produce, dry goods, fish, meat, specialty items like olive oil, coffee and baking mixes. It was a fabulous spring day to be outside. Manchester-Essex Rotary Club received a matching grant from Rotary District 7930. Our $2,000 investment became $4,000 for the Open Door. 
After learning that the traditional district-wide Polar Plunge event to raise money for the End Polio Now campaign was canceled for 2021 because of COVID-19, the Rotary Club of Arlington decided to organize its own event. The result is the Polar Dunk, which will take place on Saturday, March 13th. Volunteers from the club will be plunged, one by one, into a carefully-scrubbed carnival-grade dunk tank filled with chilly water. The Arlington Media Center will be on hand to record the event for posterity -- which is particularly important this year, because COVID-19 restrictions do not permit the usual crowd of spectators!
2021 Getaway Raffle: Two Nights with Dinner at the beautiful Beauport Hotel in Gloucester, MA!
When it comes to parties, the Beverly Rotary Club sure knows how to throw them, whether it’s in person or remotely. February 24, 2021 was the 100th Birthday of our club. We had a kickoff celebration at our meeting on the night of the 25th. Every member, past and present, had a delivery of a special cupcake with our Birthday logo, a party blower and a copy of our goals this year. A wonderful video recalling the past 100 years was played at our party meeting. State Representative Jerry Parisella and Mayor Michael Cahill both had proclamations for our Club. We were honored with special guests: Betsy Manzelli, Alex Falk, Lori Karas, David Deutsch and Joan Arsenault. We had a champagne toast given by our longest serving member, John Glovsky. Lastly, we had a “workshop" about bubbly drinks at the end of the celebration. One ongoing activity for the club is to have each member perform at least 100 hours of community service this upcoming year.
On February 17th The Rotary Club of Malden, donated $600.00 to the Malden Warming Center. The Malden Warming Center is located in the Church of The Nazarene in Malden headed by Pastor Gerry Whetstone. The Warming Center provides the homeless community in and around Malden a place to get in out of the cold overnight, dinner, and breakfast (provided by local partners). 
International Women’s Day is held every year on March 8th, a day to celebrate the social, political, economic, and cultural achievements of women around the world. The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 world. The coronavirus pandemic has impacted women and girls in significant ways, amplifying the inequalities they face every day. It is fundamental that women’s voices and experiences are central to national and global recovery plans. A key contributor to a more equal COVID-19 world is increasing women’s access to leadership roles. There is much to be done, in addition, we recognize the women around the world who are challenging gender bias and inequality and are changing the world as we know it. Even year on this day, we come together to celebrate achievements and to promote awareness about the importance of an inclusive world by making strides in women’s rights.
LIVE!!!!! From Lusaka, Zambia!
Join us for our virtual World Peace and Understanding event on March 3, 2021 at 7:00 pm. Our speaker for the evening will be 2018-2019 Global Scholar recipient Seamus Matlack. Seamus, a native of Boston, graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2018 and went on to pursue a Master’s of Science Degree in Defense, Diplomacy and Development at Durham University in England. Rotary Foundation’s Area of Focus of Peace and Conflict Resolution. The Durham University Master’s Program provides specific expertise in conflict prevention and sustainable peace, conflict intervention, and post conflict reconstruction as well as diplomacy and peace building. The thrust of the Master’s program is how to include and incorporate diverse members of local communities into peacekeeping operations.
Did you know that our Annual Fund giving supports many local and international projects? Your member benefit is truly at work in D7930!!
Looking for something to do on a Sunday afternoon? Looking to connect with fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarians from our district, Maine, Quebec, Louisiana, the Cape and Florida? Like or Love Wine? Then D7930/D7790 Corks & Caps Wine Fellowship is for you!!
District 7930 is pleased to offer all clubs a one-time mini grant starting now!!!
Each year Reading Rotary partners with the community for the Adopt-a-Family project for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rotary works with the local organization ReadingCares and the Town to coordinate this long-standing community giving program. Receiving families are matched anonymously with donor families and/or groups to provide meals for Thanksgiving and meals and gifts at Christmas. Donor drop off in the first shift, then recipient families pick up their food and gifts during a later shift. 
Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor Presents a Free Concert For All!
ClubRunner has done a pretty amazing job improving their mobile app this year. We highly recommend that you install the new ClubRunner mobile app on your phone so that you can interact better with your own Rotary Club as well as with District 7930.
Join the Peabody Rotary Club on Monday, November 23, 2020 for our 2nd Virtual Trivia Night! Kick back with a beverage or two and help the Peabody Rotary Club in supporting service projects throughout the City.
The Bishop Fenwick Interact Club, along with the assistance of members of the Peabody Rotary Club, provided leaf cleanup services to four homes needing assistance, where the homeowners are currently going through Cancer treatments. The Interact Club was able to assist, following all Covid-19 safe measures. Nice work BFIC!
TBM Rotary is conducting a fundraising raffle to benefit the Tri-Town Food Pantries and other community programs sponsored by the Club. The prize is a 2.1cubic foot freezer (Valued at $250) plus $250 in food gift cards. You can order your entries by email by sending a message to 
The Rotary International Guide to achieving the 
The Wakefield Rotary Club recently hosted its second hybrid meeting since COVID-19 restrictions began. Meeting both in-person, with socially distanced protocol, and offering a simultaneous meeting online, the group gathered to greet one another and complete a double service project. Wakefield Rotary President John Tramontozzi explained, “During these difficult times, Wakefield Rotarians recognize the need and desire to connect with our members regularly. About once a month, when we perform a service project, those who are able to participate in person are welcome to do so with proposer CDC guidelines including face coverings and social distancing.”
Danvers Rotary Club recently held a ceremony at Endicott Park to donate a covered picnic pavilion to the Town of Danvers. The dedication was attended by the Town Manager, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, town employees, and Rotarians. The $78,000 project was started in the spring of 2019 and required approval from numerous town boards. Coordinated by Danvers Rotarians, the 24’ x 44’ structure was ordered from Engineered Wood Structures in Holland, Michigan and assembled by a local contractor. Park staff will rent the pavilion for family reunions, birthday parties, and other events.
Holiday Pops Reimagined 2020
The D7930 PI & Technology Committee, in cooperation with our District Membership Committee, has published a 
Show Me the Money” 
Corks & Caps Local Chapter
The Marblehead Rotary Club and Lynch van Otterlook YMCA will host a Red Cross Blood Drive on Sunday, October 25, 2020, 10am-3pm.
Ipswich High School Interact is a Rotary sponsored service club sanctioned by the Ipswich Public Schools and advised by Ipswich Rotary. Last week, the club leaders presented their plans for two new service projects at the weekly meeting of the Rotary club, currently held on Zoom.
Just in time for the holidays, the Ipswich Rotary Club has announced its new “IpswichRowley-opoly” game for $30 per game. All proceeds from the sales of the game will benefit the on-going work of the club during the pandemic.
The Rotary Club of Marblehead has been hard at work reimagining its traditional Holiday Pops Concert, to continue its long-standing tradition of community celebration at holiday time. Despite the challenges of these times. Rotary Club President Patricia Sullivan and Concert chairs Judith Black, Betty Lautner and Jessica Barnett have created a new virtual format that will be full of music, local talent, sing- a-longs and holiday memories from Marbleheaders.
The Wakefield Rotary Club never stopped meeting during the COVID-19 crisis. Like many, it just moved online, and members have been meeting weekly each Tuesday. Club President John Tramontozzi commented, “I looked forward to these meetings every week. Being disconnected from people, this was a welcome interaction.” But recently the club decided to try to host a hybrid meeting, an effort to ensure safety while giving an opportunity to do a service project. Members were offered a socially-distanced in-person meeting as well as an opportunity to attend the meeting virtually via Zoom.
Moving from Diversity to Inclusive Opportunities for All!
The Cambridge Rotary Club invites you to support local charities and showcase your artwork by participating in the virtual "Chalk on Your Walk" event. Due to COVID, the annual "Chalk on the Walk" fundraiser in Harvard Square was cancelled. However, the groups served by the Cambridge Rotary need help more than ever!
With the assistance of a special District grant for First Responders, the Rotary Club of Cambridge donated much needed disposable gloves and face masks to Cambridge's Finest.
Burlington Breakfast Rotary Club 
This year's Flags for Heroes Dedication Ceremony will be held on November 8 at 1pm. Arlington Rotary has dedicated this year's installment to the Corona Virus Heroes and in memory of Corona Virus Victims.
Members of Arlington Rotary Club answered the call for donations from the Bedford VA Hospital. The club and the Arlington community came together to donate over 400 books, 400 DVDs, 100 pairs of sweatpants and 100 CDs.Thank you for club member, Paul Buckley, for spearheading this effort. The Bedford VA has provided Paul with a list of other items the hospital is in need of, if you are interested in joining the cause please contact him at 
The Burlington Breakfast Rotary, a small but mighty Club, once again is shining brighter. BBRC is expanding and thriving. Its "People of Action" honor Rotary’s motto of "Service Above Self." As Rotarians, in our quest to make a difference in society, Rotary indeed opened opportunities by installing its first International Satellite member in India. This showcase project may present a template/model for other clubs as well in Rotary District 7930 and beyond.
The Newburyport Club has a great service project coming up Saturday, September 26, 2020. The club will be helping Operation Warming Hearts and the Salvation Army preparing, assembling and delivering 300 meals to the greater Newburyport area as well as notes and cards with positive messages, words of encouragement or even a homemade greeting card. Volunteers are needed to pick up food, prep and package food and deliver meals. Could you or your family write notes or cards? What a fun family project it could be! For information or to volunteer, 
Trivia for a Cause
22 clubs responded to participate in the 25K Disaster Grant awarded to D7930 from RI. Each club will be reimbursed $426 for the purchase of PPE for Police/Fire Departments and First Responders. Congratulations to the following Rotary Clubs:Amesbury, Belle Isle, Burlington Breakfast, Burlington, Cambridge, Chelsea, Gloucester, Gr. Salem, Hamilton-Wenham, Haverhill, Ipswich, Lynn, Manchester-Essex, Marblehead, Marblehead Harbor, Methuen, Peabody, Reading, Boston Rotaract, Salem, TBM and Winchester.
Deadline to submit photos extended to Sunday, September 27, 2020.
The Boston 7 Rotary Club is excited to welcome Rotary International Vice President, Johrita Solari as a special speaker to their October 7 zoom meeting at 6:30pm. Visitors are encouraged and may 
The Burlington Breakfast Rotary Club in an effort to assist seniors and others having difficulty with technology and how to use a variety of electronic devices, is introducing a “Technology Assistance Program” This novel community service initiative is designed to connect seniors and computer challenged individuals with others via technology. This service is especially timely during this unprecedented period of the coronavirus in place of traditional, person to person meetings and get-togethers.
22nd Annual
