- Rotary District 5970 Membership Mini-Grant Challenge is underway. Read more in the September newsletter
- The District Auction is online this year. Click on this link to view the items. The auction will open for bidding on April 23 and bidding will end on May 7.
- Interested in attending the Zone Institute in Houston as a Future Leader? Apply here
See District Governor Lowell Stoolman's April Newsletter here.
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May, 2021 A Note from Your District Governor Thanks for Joining the Virtual District Conference! Though we would have enjoyed seeing each other in person, I’m pleased that our second virtual District Conference was a success. That’s thanks in large part to all the hard work of our conference committee. If you missed the conference — or just want to relive the excitement — here is a quick recap of the highlights of the virtual event:
We’d love your feedback, too. What was your favorite part of the conference? What events or speakers would you like to see next year (hopefully in person again)? Please reply to this email with your thoughts and suggestions. PS: Registration is now open for the 2021 Rotary Virtual Convention. Register by May 7 to get the lowest rate. Sign up today. |
(Read more in the newsletter here.)
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Don Meyer, District 5970 Foundation Chair.png){kind=logo}
Dear Rotarians,
This pandemic has certainly caused us all to reflect on the mortality of our lives. We wonder, what can we do to connect us to something that lives on past our lives, something that has a lasting impact into the future. That’s exactly what the Rotary Foundation does for us. It connects each one of us to the future. It helps us transcend ourselves and become part of something really big.
Here Is Something Really Big!
“We are excited to announce a very special opportunity in our District to increase the impact of our giving to the End Polio Now campaign.
Jon Luckstead, longtime member of the Dubuque Rotary Club, and a polio survivor, is challenging our clubs to reach their PolioPlus goals for this year with a matching gift challenge. Jon has agreed to match all gifts to the PolioPlus fund between now and June 30, 2021, dollar for dollar, up to $25,000. When we meet Jon’s challenge and match his $25,000 gift, we will have exceeded this year’s District goal. Thank you, Jon!
Please remember that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also matching gifts to PolioPlus 2 to 1. Thanks to Jon, your gift to PolioPlus will now be matched 3 to 1! The real winners are the tens of thousands of children that will be vaccinated because of your gifts, and whose lives will be saved from the deadly polio virus.
All gifts from clubs and from individuals will count toward meeting this challenge.
You will be hearing more from your club leadership soon! Help us End Polio Now!”
Yours in Rotary,
Don Meyer
District 5970 Foundation Chair
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nternational is launching a campaign called, “Countdown to History.” Goals were set and pledges were made, the and we can’t do it without you, as Rotarians. We are asking for Rotarians across District 5970 to give a minimum of $40 to End Polio Now. This will get our District to the goal set by Rotary International.A New Polio Banner is available for Club Events! See it here. Contact foundationchair@district5970.com to borrow it!
The Rotary Zone 28 Institute is a gathering of Club and District Leaders , in Houston on September 9-12, to share, to learn and become better equipped as Leaders. We welcome all "Future Leaders" to apply to join the Institute with their expenses paid by our District.
Please make this opportunity known to everyone who meets the following criteria:
- Is a Rotarian, Rotaractor, or Rotary alumni living within District 5970 and interested in assuming a future leadership role in Rotary; and
- Is able to attend the Zone Training Institute in Houston, September 9 - 12, 2021.
Application:
Each applicant should complete the Application Form (below) and submit it by email to Suellen Kolbet at des@district5970.org on or before June 30, 2021. (Each applicant must also submit a short video presentation as described in the application form).
VIDEO CHALLENGE – BEGAN: 01.01.2021, ENDS: 31.03.2021
As Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors, you are no stranger to working to make the world a better place together with likeminded people.
Now we are facing a brand new set of challenges, helping fix the environment and the future for us all.
Rotary International has risen to that challenge by declaring a new seventh Area Of Focus – “Protecting the Environment”
But how?
In ESRAG – The Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group – we are working together to provide a platform for the Rotary family around the world to get engaged.
Our challenge is to create a video, ideally seventy seconds long (but no more than 100 seconds), where you show us an environmental project you are working with, have worked with, or are planning to work with.
Publish that video to this site (www.ifixtheplanet.org), and when that is done, look around and see what your fellow Rotarians are doing.
Then vote for the videos you like best.
Challenge your club members to do the same. Challenge everyone!
The more votes we get, the more people see and get inspired from our films, the more we will all help fix the planet with this competition.
In three months time, a representative jury of the Rotary family will select a group of winners from the top voted.
Holger Knaack
President 2020-21
President 2020-21
May 2021
For years, Susanne and I hosted many Rotary Youth Exchange students in our home. This program was an entry point to Rotary for me, and my heart is truly in it. When Rotary’s exchange programs were suspended because of COVID-19 to keep students and families safe, we felt sorry, especially for the participants, because those years cannot be repeated.
Because of the many uncertainties of the pandemic, the Rotary Board has decided to suspend in-person exchanges through June 2022. As we look ahead with hope, we thank Youth Exchange officers, host families, and volunteers for their contributions in years past, and we encourage districts to offer virtual exchanges as a way of connecting students around the world with each other and with our communities.
For those who are not able to participate in Rotary Youth Exchange, Rotary offers other opportunities. New Generations Service Exchange (NGSE) is a Rotary program that deserves wider recognition: It is an excellent opportunity for young people ages 18 to 30 to participate in community service as individuals or in a group and to gain internship experience. Simukai Matshalaga, a Rotaractor from Zimbabwe, stayed with us in Ratzeburg during her NGSE experience three years ago.
Jennifer E. Jones, a member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada, has been nominated to become Rotary International’s president for 2022-23, a groundbreaking selection that will make her the first woman to hold that office in the organization’s 115-year history.
Jones will officially become president-nominee on 1 October if no other candidates challenge her.
Read more here.
RI President-Elect Shekhar Mehta theme for 2021-22 - "Serve to Change Lives"
