April is Maternal and Child Health Month
What a difference a month can make! Many people have been laid off, working from home or working on the front lines in supermarkets, hospitals or essential businesses or institutions. Rotary meetings and events have been cancelled and we are all trying to adjust to a new virtual reality. Rotary is more important than ever. It is in times like this Rotarians step up to the plate, show leadership, compassion and strength.
Rotary International is similarly adjusting and trying to accommodate the ever-changing needs of the Clubs and Districts. Access funds have been made available for emergency District Grants and our District Grants Committee is accepting applications and will payout grants as soon as possible. It would be great to have more funds available, but this is a reminder of how important it is to donate to the Rotary Foundation.
It is important we continue to meet and do good work. If not in person, then virtually. Don Griffing and Andy DeWitt have offered to help Clubs sign up with Zoom, please see contact information below. Several Clubs have already started to meet on-line with great success, and I encourage you to sign up. For some of us it is outside our comfort zone, but we can all learn, and we will be better for it when this is over, and the virtual environment is part of our everyday life.
Don Griffing Don.griffing.rotary@gmail.com
Andy DeWitt aadewitt@gmail.com
It is important we learn from each other and the District has established two folders on the District website where Rotarians and Clubs can post and exchange ideas, projects and best practices. Please communicate with each other, it will increase our reach and impact.
Rightfully so, we are caught in the very serious current situation, but we also must think long term and cannot forgot the projects and goals we have set. Polio is an example of the healthcare crises that started in 1940-1950s and is still present in the world. We need to finish the job; we are so close. Please keep donating to PolioPlus.
The programs of The Rotary Foundation continue to need your support. Janice and I just returned from a field trip to Guatemala with a group of Rotarians and Rotaractors from Fond du Lac and Milwaukee. The impact Rotary has is impressive. I would like to tell you and your Club more about it.
It was very difficult to cancel our District Convention, and so it must have been to cancel the International Convention. Janice and I looked forward to seeing you and celebrating an otherwise successful year.
Stay active and healthy and let Rotary Connect the World.