April is Maternal and Child Health Month – A fitting selection for this month as we all deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic that is affecting all of our lives.
With all the layoffs and furloughs that have been occurring since the outbreak of the coronavirus, families are faced with the loss of paychecks that normally support them. With federal checks to individuals and families still weeks away, many families lack the basic food needed to sustain them.
Food pantries in all of our towns are being stretched to the limit due to a large increase of new individuals and families applying for assistance from them.
It is up to all of us to help each other during this pandemic in any way that we can.
- Consider donating to your local food pantries.
- Hold a club food drive by designating a drop off point at one of your club members’ home or your normal meeting place and have all of your members drop off food items. (Remember, practice good social distancing skills and wash those hands).
- Set up a go fund me account and collect funds to donate to your food pantry.
Any little bit that you can do will make a huge difference in somebody else’s life. Food items always needed are: Shelf Stable Milk; Cereal; Peanut Butter; Jelly; Pasta; Canned tuna or chicken.
What is the District Doing?
The district leadership team and foundation committee have been busy trying to secure funds to help food pantries and baby centers provide food items to their needy clients.
To date, I have made $7,000 of our District Designated Funds (DDF) available for grants so some of our clubs can help food pantries in their areas. More info will be sent to club presidents within the next few days as we finalize this.
The second thing that I have done is apply for a $25,000 grant from The Rotary Foundation Disaster Grant Fund. I was notified on Friday that our that our grant request has been approved.
So currently we have a total of $32,000 to use for grants to help purchase food for food pantries and baby centers. This is the only thing this money can be used for. We have set each grant limit at $1,000 and the clubs DO NOT have to provide matching monies for any of these grants. It would be great if your club can add or match funds, but that is not a requirement.
Once a grant is approved, clubs will first have to expend the money to purchase the food items and then apply for reimbursement. Reimbursement will be quick as we will already have these funds in our bank.
In addition, I have taken $3,000 from DDF funds and earmarked it for an international project selected by the District Foundation Committee. The chosen project is Safe Passage in Guatemala, which is experiencing a huge humanitarian disaster. The Guatemalan dump which provides the income source to thousands of families has been closed during this crisis, leaving these families no way to make a living.
I ask all of you to consider donating to the Disaster Response Grant Fund. You can go to the Rotary Foundation website and make your donations there.
The third thing that I did was to ask our district treasurer to set up a way for all of us to donate to the district to assist the food pantries and baby centers in their areas. If you would like to donate that way please make your check payable to: Rotary District 7950. Include in the memo area: COVID-19 and send your check to:
Rotary District 7950
Roger Cabral, Treasurer
c/o Bristol County Savings Bank
215 Pleasant Street
Fall River, MA 02721
It’s Only a Plane Ride Away
We have heard this phrase many times when we talk about Polio and the need to continue our efforts to eradicate Polio from our world. The current pandemic sweeping the world only strengthens the need and the urgency to continue our efforts at eradication in the last few hot spots.
We cannot and will not give up our efforts to eradicate Polio from the world, because we know if we stop now, when we are so close, yearly infections could reach 250,000 in just a few short years. To donate to the Polio Plus effort, please go to the Rotary Foundation Website and contribute to the Polio Eradication effort. All contributions are matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2 to 1.
District Conference is Cancelled – Due to the coronavirus, we have had to cancel the District Conference for this year which was scheduled for May 1-3. The committee had put in a lot of effort to bring you a great conference and I thank all of the members of that committee for the many hours and hard work that they put into it.
If you signed up to attend the conference, refunds are being made to you. IF YOU RESERVED A ROOM AT THE CAPE CODDER RESORT, PLEASE CANCEL YOUR ROOM RESERVATION NOW SO YOU ARE NOT CHARGED FOR IT.
District and Global Grant Training
The District Foundation Committee has scheduled two webinars so clubs can qualify for District and Global Grants. At least ONE, preferably TWO members of a club must participate in one of these webinars. See the dates and login information below.
If you attended the Grants Training in February at White’s, that counts as attending a training seminar. If you are applying for a Global Grant,
THREE members of your club must take the Global Grant Training Seminar located in the Learning Center on MyRotary.org. This is in addition to attending one of the Grant Training seminars or webinars. When you complete that training, please send your certificate of completion and to Steve Certa at
scerta@comcast.net. If your club name is not on the certificate, please write it in.
District 7950 is inviting you to attend either of these scheduled District Grant Qualification Webinars:
District Awards -As previously stated the paperwork and applications for District Awards have been mailed to all club presidents. I have extended the date for submission of the award paperwork until May 1, 2020.
These awards were originally scheduled to be given out at the District Conference so I will make other arrangements to present clubs and individual members with these awards. Please do not forget the prestigious Dr. Percy Hodgson Memorial Award which is awarded to one individual who has contributed exceptional service to his or her club or the district during the preceding years.
Keep the light on!
In a recent Zoom meeting with our Zone Director Jeffry and our Zone Director Elect Valerie, we talked about not letting our clubs go dark. I have turned that phase around to a more positive one in saying Keep the light on!
At this time, it is so important for all of us to keep in contact with each other and to stay focused on what we do. A couple of ways to do so:
- Hold club meetings by using ZOOM. We now have two district accounts that we are happy to share with you for this purpose. Contact District Governor Nominee Billy Roberts for information on these.
- Reach out to one or two of your members by phone each day to see how they are doing.
We will get over this pandemic, but we want to and need to Keep the Light On so it is already burning brightly when we return to a more normal life.
If you haven’t tried holding a Zoom meeting yet, please consider it.
A quote I saw on Facebook this morning that was shared by my fellow DG Mark Brady:
You’re not stuck at home,
You’re safe at home.
One word can change your attitude
and one cough can change your life.
My last wishes are for all of you and your families to stay safe and healthy. Wash those hands and now wear those masks. You’ll be glad you do.
STEVE
District Calendar 2019-20
April, 2020 Maternal and Child Health Month
May, 2020 - Youth Services Month
June, 2020 - Rotary Fellowship Month
June 26 District Officers Installation
White's of Westport, MA
July 2020
Beginning of a New Rotary Year
with DG Charlene Jarest
