During our last Rotary meeting, we held our annual Club Assembly during which we discussed our club’s goals and objectives for the coming year and how they apply to Rotary’s Avenue of Service. According to Rotary International, “We channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity.” Following is a brief recap of some of the ways we will be fulfilling our Rotary mission this year:
Club Service – A committee of club members is already hard at work revising our Club Bylaws and Foundation Bylaws to update and modernize them to fit the current needs and operating conditions of our Club and Foundation.
Vocational Service – We will be donating approximately $2,000 from our Bob Logsdon fund to the local Garner Holt Foundation, which is “dedicated to increasing hope, igniting imagination, and inspiring creativity in the lives of young people through hands-on, career-focused learning experiences in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.” Our donation will support the vocation of photography in particular. https://garnerholtfoundation.org/
Community Service – Our club is sponsoring two important local nonprofit organizations through the donation of funds. First, we are supporting Habitat for Humanity of San Bernardino with a donation of $1,500 to help fund ongoing local housing projects. https://habitatsb.org/ We are also supporting the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley with a donation of $1,000 towards the annual “Howler” Ween Casino Night and Dog House Auction on October 12, 2024, which hopes to raise significant funds for this great organization focused on animal welfare. The Humane Society is treating our gift as a full $1,500 sponsorship, which will advertise our club in the printed program, newsletter, TV displays, and tabletop displays. https://www.hssbv.org/
International Service – We have approximately $650 in District Designated Funds, which we will be allocating to Rotary’s Polio Plus campaign to help eradicate polio from our planet.
Youth Service – Our dedicated Rotary Life team is making great progress on a plan to partner with Cajon High School for a school-based Rotary Life program this year. This is a twist on our standard Rotary Life operation, which we hope will keep this wonderful youth service and leadership program thriving into the future.
District Governor Visit This Week
This coming Tuesday will be another very important meeting! Our District 5330 Governor, Judy Zulfiqar, will be our special guest. Judy is taking the time to visit every one of the 60 or so clubs in our District to ensure our voices are heard at the district level and to bring her message directly to all Rotarians in the District. This is certainly a meeting you will not want to miss. Board members should arrive no later than 10:30 a.m. for a special meeting with Governor Zulfiqar prior to our regular meeting at noon. See you all there!
September is Rotary’s Basic Education and Literacy Month
With local schools in full swing, it is no coincidence that September is Rotary’s Basic Education and Literacy month. Did you know that more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate? Many of those people are right here in the United States. Rotary has many programs focused on teacher coaching and training, student mentorship, adult literacy education, refugee education, and providing scholarships to students who demonstrate the potential to change communities. Here are some notable projects sponsored by Rotary that are focused on basic education and literacy:
Opening schools: In Afghanistan, Rotary members opened a girls’ school to break the cycle of poverty and social imbalance.
Teaching adults to read: Rotary members partnered with Pro-Literacy Detroit to recruit and train tutors after a study showed that more than half of the local adult population was functionally illiterate.
New teaching methods: The SOUNS program in South Africa, Puerto Rico, and the United States teaches educators how to improve literacy by teaching children to recognize letters by sounds instead of names.
Making schools healthy: Rotarians are providing clean, fresh water to every public school in Lebanon so students can be healthier and get a better education.
Enhancing educational systems: In Kenya, Rotary clubs are working with the Global Partnership for Education and local and national governments to advance life-long learning opportunities for poor and marginalized children
Monday, September 2 is Labor Day, a celebration of workers' social and economic achievements in the United States, contributing to America’s prosperity, strength, and well-being. Labor has come a long way in our nation’s history. At the start of the Industrial Revolution, many American workers suffered through 12-hour days, seven days a week to earn a basic living. Children as young as 5 or 6 worked in mills, factories, and mines while earning a fraction of an adult wage. Education was a luxury for many. The idea of a “workingman’s holiday” caught on in various industrial centers around the country, leading to the recognition of some form of Labor Day in certain states and communities. Following the Pullman strike and riots in Chicago in June 1894 during which members of the American Railway Union fought for better wages and improved working conditions, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill into law on June 28, 1894, making Labor Day a national holiday in effort to repair ties with American workers. We have celebrated American workers on this holiday every since and are grateful for the sacrifice of so many to make our country the great nation it is today.
President, Bill Orr 2024-2025
Rotary Club of Downtown San Bernardino
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Featured Guest
Judy Zulfiqar, District Governor for Rotary District 5330
During our last Rotary meeting, we held our annual Club Assembly during which we discussed our club’s goals and objectives for the coming year and how they apply to Rotary’s Avenue of Service. According to Rotary International, “We channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity.” Following is a brief recap of some of the ways we will be fulfilling our Rotary mission this year:
This coming Tuesday will be another very important meeting! Our District 5330 Governor, Judy Zulfiqar, will be our special guest. Judy is taking the time to visit every one of the 60 or so clubs in our District to ensure our voices are heard at the district level and to bring her message directly to all Rotarians in the District. This is certainly a meeting you will not want to miss. Board members should arrive no later than 10:30 a.m. for a special meeting with Governor Zulfiqar prior to our regular meeting at noon. See you all there!
With local schools in full swing, it is no coincidence that September is Rotary’s Basic Education and Literacy month. Did you know that more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate? Many of those people are right here in the United States. Rotary has many programs focused on teacher coaching and training, student mentorship, adult literacy education, refugee education, and providing scholarships to students who demonstrate the potential to change communities. Here are some notable projects sponsored by Rotary that are focused on basic education and literacy:
