Archive for March, 2024
We are looking forward to our speakers today for our Rotarians and Guests! There have been a lot of updates with the Chamber of Commerce and Riverfest recently so we are excited to hear about them.
3/26/24 3/26/24 Riverfest Committee
4/2/24 Digi-Key update by Shane Zutz
4/9/24 Travis Giffen – Public Works Director, hosted by Richard Baker.
4/20/24 Not on Tuesday or at the legion – Social at our fellow Rotarian’s home, Dave Beito, for the King of Wings competition preparation and sauce picking.
4/23/24 Close-Up Students hosted by Rhonda Stucy.
4/30/24 Guest Rotarian – Joe Wiegand, Theodore Roosevelt Reprisor & Goodwill Ambassador. Hosted by Rhonda Stucy.
Whether you are already a Rotarian, have been a rotarian, or want to learn more about what being a Rotarian is all about. We would love to have you join us for our meetings.
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary
Week FOUR of RI’s Month of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH).
Nobody takes water for granted in Zimbabwe, least of all the residents of Musekiwa and Mushaki. Located about 160 kilometers (99 miles) from the capital of Harare, the two villages have been drastically affected by the country’s water shortage. Until recently, many residents walked five kilometers (three miles) or more to find water every day. “They were getting some water from open wells, some from rivers,” says Trymore Tafadzwa Kabanda, a counselor for Mushaki. That changed when two Rotary clubs thousands of miles apart decided to collaborate on a grant-funded project. Members of the Rotary Club of Saint Helena, California, USA, learned about the villages’ situation in 2020 from a guest speaker whose wife had grown up in the area. They found out about the devastating effects climate change has had on rainfall in rural Zimbabwe, where more than 90% of households depend on agriculture for their main livelihood. “They had a horrendous water problem,” says John Muhlner, a past president of the Saint Helena club. “Women, for the most part, were walking miles every day to bring water back to their homes. Often, they would go and wouldn’t find water, or maybe the water they found would be contaminated.”
The Saint Helena Rotarians contacted the Rotary Club of Harare CBD, Harare, Zimbabwe, which conducted a community assessment. After that, the clubs raised funds and applied for a Rotary Foundation Global Grant. The US$82,000 project plan was to dig two wells, install solar-powered pumps and a water piping system, train residents to maintain the equipment, and conduct an educational campaign about the importance of hygiene….“Water touches on all of Rotary’s areas of focus,” says Mary Beth Growney Selene, chair of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group. “Children are not being pulled away from school to go fetch water in a local river. Parents don’t have to spend time fetching water, so they can be more productive economically. People aren’t as susceptible to waterborne diseases. ‘It all starts with water,’ is what we say.” That was certainly the case in Mushaki and Musekiwa. “Now, most of the villagers don’t have to go more than a few meters to fetch water,” Kabanda says. “Also, diseases like cholera are prevented.”
Source [https://www.rotary.org/en/value-well]
Submitted by: Christopher W Knapp, District 6000 Foundation Chair
#ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #rotaryinternational
Did you know that today is World Water Day?
Water is something we all need to survive. But 2.2 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water. That’s more than 1 in every 4 people.
Rotary members work to keep people healthy and can even strengthen communities through projects that help people get access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Rotary also has a new collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program that empowers members to clean up, protect, and monitor their local waterways.
#WorldWaterDay #Rotary #TRFRotary #ServiceAboveSelf
#Water
Did you know???
“It’s Week THREE of RI’s Month of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
The lack of access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene resources is one of the world’s biggest health problems—and one of the hardest to solve. According to a UN statistic:
About 663 million people do not use an improved drinking water source, most of whom are poor and in rural areas.
2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries
Almost 950 million people still practice open defecation.
81% of species dependent on inland wetlands have declined since 1970
At least 3000 children die every day from diarrheal diseases—an avoidable consequence of poor water, sanitation and hygiene.
Over the past several years, Rotary has shifted its focus to also emphasize education, collaboration, and sustainability in WASH. With Rotary Foundation Global Grants, a dedicated Rotarian Action Group, and a partnership with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Rotary’s water, sanitation, and hygiene programs are achieving greater, longer-lasting change.
When people have access to clean water and safe sanitation:
waterborne diseases decrease
children stay healthier and attend school more regularly
mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.” – Olabisi Gwamna
#ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary
We are excited about what our neighbor Rotarians are up to!! The Rotary Natural Play Hill and Bike Park, sponsored by the FM Rotary Foundation (the charity established by the 5 Rotary Clubs of Fargo-Moorhead), in partnership with Moorhead Parks. The Play Hill is perched atop one of the few hills in Fargo-Moorhead and overlooks the Red River, including over 20 Play features to bring out the sense of adventure and freedom we remember from our childhoods. This $1 million project that will open in June involved hundreds of planning meetings over a 5-year period, 300 donors (and counting!), dedicated leadership by many volunteers, and a strong attention to detail.
https://www.fmrotaryfoundation.org/page/natural-playground
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary #community
Thank you Tessah Vikre – Director of LifeCare Pregnancy Center, for being our guest speaker at our Rotary meeting yesterday! Here’s the website if you want to learn more about the work they do lifecaretrf.org
Exciting news, they will have a new name and location soon.
Thank you Teri Averill for hosting Tessah!
Also, happy belated birthday to Jim Daag on Monday and congratulations on your 22 year Rotary anniversary Kermit Genereux!
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary
We are looking forward to our speaker today for our Rotarians and Guests!
3/19/24 Tessah Vikre – Director of Lifecare Pregnancy Center hosted by Teri Averill
3/26/24 3/26/24 Riverfest Committee
4/2/24 Digi-Key update by Shane Zutz
All at the Legion at Noon.
4/9/24 Field Trip – Airport Tour at the Thief River Regional Airport
4/20/24 Not on Tuesday, Social at our fellow Rotarian’s home, Dave Beito, for the King of Wings competition preparation and sauce picking.
4/23/24 Close-Up Students hosted by Rhonda Stucy.
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary
Thank you, Gretta Grzadzielewski, for sharing your essay, “Begin With the End in Mind” and Brynn Olson for sharing yours, “What is The Miss America Organization?” At our Rotary meeting on Tuesday. It was our pleasure to hear your essays in person and we were all extremely impressed by your passion plus the content and quality of your essays.
Thank you to Katie Hahn, LHS Interim Dean of Students, and Lisa Semanko, LHS English Department Head and Adjudicator, for attending our meeting and helping us celebrate Gretta, Bryn, and Gracie Jensen (who was not able to make it) as well. Lisa was even kind enough to step in and read Gracie’s essay for us and she did a phenomenal job.
Last but not least, thank you to our Rotarian and Rotary Essay Contest Chairperson & Adjudicator, Paul Burnett for hosting our guests and executing this contest so we could celebrate these impressive students. The future is bright with students like them.
The essay could deal with any topic of the student’s choosing, but they must have applied the principles of The Rotary 4-Way Test: 1) Is it the TRUTH?, 2) Is it FAIR to all concerned?, 3) Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? and 4) Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Our upcoming meeting schedule for our members and guests:
3/19/24 Tuesday Vikre – Director of Lifecare Pregnancy Center hosted by Teri Averill
3/26/24 Riverfest Committee
4/2/24 Digi-Key update by Shane Zutz
All at the Legion at Noon.
#TRFRotary #LHSSTudents #BrightFuture #ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #truth #fair #goodwill #friendships #beneficial
https://www.facebook.com/events/1056151312122356/
Did you know???
Friday was International Women’s Day in the month of Women. Rotary will celebrate its second international woman President in July and women are in leadership positions at all levels in Rotary. Women are the fastest growing demographic in Rotary worldwide.
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary #rotaryinternational #InternationalWomensDay #women #Leadership
We are grateful for our local and International female Rotarians and leaders plus enjoy the opportunity to support them!
In fact, our current president is a woman (Rhonda Stucy – Wings Financial Credit Union) and we appreciate her leadership!
“Rotary members work with local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, to strengthen local economies and reduce poverty. On this International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating women around the world who are achieving economic independence and helping their communities thrive.
Economic development projects led by Rotary members connect people with tools and education that create opportunities. These projects include:
Ecotourism Economic Development Project
Ten electric rickshaws and the training to use them that now provide a regular source of income for women in Kollam, India. The women and their families enjoy not only the higher income but a better quality of life.
Vocational training in hairdressing and other salon services for people in Jeonju, Korea. Some participants in the training are now earning an income for their work.
Production equipment and training in business skills for 50 female farmers in Menya Governorate, Egypt, to form a community kitchen and food businesses. Their packaged foods will be sold at a local market.
Donations to The Rotary Foundation fund global grants for life-changing projects like these that empower women with sustainable ways to earn a living and support their families. When Rotary members like you contribute, you’re actively investing in brighter futures for communities near home and around the world.
Won’t you join us in supporting economic progress for women?
Sincerely,
The Rotary Foundation”
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary #rotaryinternational #internationalwomensday #RotaryFoundation
