Welcome to the 2020-21 Rotary Year!  We made it through this past year that was a year like no other.  Despite the challenges, we will finish the year with respectable results in our giving to The Rotary Foundation.  On behalf of our District Foundation Team, I thank you for your ongoing support.  Thank you to all the Presidents, Presidents-Elect, Club Treasurers and Club Foundation Chairs for promoting the Foundation giving in your clubs this past Rotary year.  It takes teamwork, and your efforts are greatly appreciated.  Thanks also to those on our District Foundation Team—John Wasta, Amy Weber, Jim Coloff, Rebecca Schultz, Erik Miles, and DG Michelle Bell, DGE Lowell Stoolman and DGN Jeff Hassman for their work promoting the Rotary Foundation across the District.  It will be a few weeks before the final totals are in as it takes the Foundation staff longer to record the large number of gifts they receive at year-end.

 

As of June 20 you have given $216,624 to the Annual Fund, which is 89% our District goal.  Thank you!  Once all of June’s totals are added, I’m confident we’ll meet our goal!  

 

As of June 20 you have given $379,005 to the PolioPlus fund, which is 99% of our District goal.  Thank you once again!  That number will also grow once all of June’s totals are added.  The children of the world are safer from contracting polio because of you!   Final totals coming next month! 

 

 

Yogi Berra once said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going because you might not get there."   I’m a huge fan of his quotes.  How important it is for each of us to know our club’s Foundation giving goals.  If we don’t know the goal, we’ll never know when we get there!  I challenge you to learn, and memorize, your club’s goals for 2020-21.  Then make sure your club leaders keep them in front of the club!

 

We’ll be working closely with the Club Presidents, Club Foundation Chairs and Club Treasurers in setting reachable goals and in helping them get there.  If you haven’t already, Presidents, become best friends with your Club Foundation Chairs and Treasurers.  And Club Foundation Chairs, become best friends with your Presidents and Treasurers!  

                                                                                                                                                             

 

Thanks to the 18 clubs who submitted requests for a 2020-21 District Grant.  This is a wonderful resource for clubs to make a difference through a project in your local community. The District Grants Committee will be meeting on July 14 to review and evaluate the requests, and distribute over $66,533 in grant awards.  We also extend our thanks to the 38 clubs who took advantage of the $1,000 Covid-19 grants.  Our District was able to distribute $38,000 in April and May to help those communities respond to the coronavirus pandemic. 

 

 

Our District 5970 is partnering with District 4590 in Brazil in a $57,600 global grant project that will serve Health Care Centers and Hospitals that are part of the Brazilian Public Health System by providing them Personal protective equipment (PPE) such as masks N95, 3-layer masks, long-sleeved aprons, latex gloves, oximeters and infrared thermometers, to protect the health care professionals that are treating Covid-19 patients and helping to detect the disease among the population. The project will serve every city with a Rotary Club in District 4590.  All 40 cities that are a part of District 4590 have coronavirus cases.  District 5970 has committed $10,000 in DDF (District Designated Funds) to this project that will have a strong impact in helping our Brazilian friends fight the pandemic. 

 

This is a wonderful method of giving that you’ll be hearing MUCH more about this year.  It’s Rotary’s recurring giving program which makes giving easy, fast and secure.  You can sign up here.  You can schedule a monthly, quarterly, or annual donation that empowers Rotarians to change lives in communities around the world and at home. 

 

Congratulations to the members of the Dubuque Rotary Club on completion of their 2019-20 District Grant project.  The project involved reconstructing and refurbishing the Children’s Room at the Fountain of Youth Center in downtown Dubuque.  The mission of the Center is to help people who have been incarcerated develop a life plan to succeed and change their lives.  They often bring their children when they attend class and this room provides a place for them.