When? Thursday, July 2nd, 6pm Central Time (US and Canada)
Don't miss our First Meeting of the 2020-2021 Rotary Year!
About our Speaker - KimDiane Rogers With 30 years of experience in world travel, KimDiane Rogers is a past Rotary Exchange Student or Ambassador for World Peace sent to Rancagua, Chile in 1987. She is also a proud graduate of Brigham Young University Hawaii campus.
Her love for people and service shines through in her current endeavor as Founder and Director of her nonprofit organization "Heart for Guatemala", which support two schools and over 500 children living in extreme poverty.
Click here for all Rotary International Convention information!
Mark your calendars for June 20-26 for an exciting opportunity to gather online with the family of Rotary for our first FREE ONLINE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION!
Now More Than Ever, Rotary Connects the World: The 2020 Rotary Virtual Convention will join you with Rotary participants around the world during a time of unprecedented challenges.
Together, we’ll still experience the spirit of Rotary, be inspired by innovation, celebrate our resilience, and explore how clubs are addressing COVID-19. Experience Rotary in action during our Flag Ceremony, witness the power of connection during our general sessions, learn new ways to engage with Rotary during our breakout sessions, find inspiration from our global speakers, and much more.
We have never needed Rotary — and we have never needed each other — more than we do now. We hope to see you online, because Now More Than Ever, Rotary Connects the World.
With the cancellation of the Rotary International Convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, the Honolulu Host Operating Committee (HOC) has suffered a huge loss. With the International Convention coming to Houston in 2022, Past District Governor Rhonda Kennedy and her committee are working very hard to raise money for a variety of expenses we must cover. Honolulu is the same. Their HOC has worked hard to advertise and encourage folks to register for the convention. Now that it is cancelled, they have no way to recoup their losses. Many small businesses will be hurt.
I’d like to ask for your help. With our climate Hawaiian shirts are always appropriate. Rotary shirts are a great way to tell the world you are a Rotarian. How about a Hawaiian Rotary shirt? 2020AlohaShirts.com is one of those vendors we can help. PLEASE order a Rotary Hawaiian shirt or a Bobble Head of President Mark wearing his Rotary Hawaiian shirt. Their products are marked down dramatically because there won’t be 40,000 Rotarians there to buy them.
Everything is on sale now! Please go to 2020AlohaShirts.com and order one today. You will be helping fellow Rotarians who have worked hard, invested their money but cannot have the convention they planned. It’s a great price and it's helping fellow Rotarians so I’ve ordered 4. Please join me! We’ll wear them at District Conference. Gary Gillen
The District Installation is now rescheduled for Thursday, July 9th., via Zoom. The meeting will open at 6:00 PM to allow for entry and fellowship time with the ceremony starting at 6:30 and ending by 7:30 PM. Please see the below link to the meeting.
Time: Jul 9, 2020 06:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
The Rotary e-Club of Houston is proud to announce that our first shipment of boxes to Barquisimeto, Venezuela have arrived! These boxes contained materials and supplies for the implementation of the pilot project ‘Deworming Venezuela’.
This program aims to implement a mass deworming strategy to reduce the state of malnutrition associated with intestinal helminth and protozoan infections in school-age Venezuelan children. And why start with deworming you may ask?
A study from National Bureau of Economic Research (https://www.nber.org/papers/w22382.pdf) estimated that the average weight gain per dollar expenditure from a Mass Drug Administration (MDA) is more than 35 times that from school feeding programs. Why? Because parasites rob children of the few essential nutrients they may be consuming from feeding programs.
As we move along with this project, we are also seeing an urgent need for adequate access to hygiene in public spaces, such as schools and hospitals. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an imminent risk because schools and hospitals do not have adequate access to clean water and soap. We are looking at the possibility of donating a small Electrolyzed Water System that can generate hypochlorous acid for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces, with only salt and water!
If you are interested in participating, please contact our President Elect, Dr. Isis Mejias
In the name of the "Deworming Venezuelan" team, we want to thank all the contributing donors that have made this possible so far. Watch this video to learn more about this exciting project!
About a year ago we met Rotarian Damir Karin for lunch when he brought a visiting youth baseball team to Houston. We have heard recently that their club has met misfortune related to Coronavirus. The Rotary Club of Karlovac-Dubovac in Croatia held a fundraiser on March 9. It was a tennis tournament and dinner afterward to raise funds to help less fortunate attend summer school programs. Two attendees were positive for Covid-19 without symptoms. In a few days there were six Rotarians who became ill. Damir was one who suffered with fever and body aches for several days. Two more remain hospitalized with fever, and two are critical and on respirators. Another Rotarian, Zeljko Belavic, has lost his battle after two weeks of fever and pneumonia. Damir has been re-tested to determine if he is not clear of the virus. Like many of us, he is working from home and his children are completing schoolwork online. Their Rotary club is now meeting online va zoom like our own e-club. Our sympathy is extended to our Rotary family in Croatia. Our world changed suddenly and unexpectedly with the pandemic and it is important to stay connected with others just to let them know they are thought of and missed. Many of our Rotary family will be struggling with losses, losses of business or losses of friends and family members. If you know of someone who is struggling, lets try to be supportive and caring, and encourage them to let us know of their needs. Robin Charlesworth
Our most sincere appreciation to Val Thompson, Editor of International Focus IF Magazine for highlighting e-Club of Houston member, Cristal Montanez, in publishing the article “My Humanitarian Work in Pakistan Prepared me to help Venezuelan Refugees in Colombia.” Thank you for creating awareness among our diverse international community of the crisis affecting thousands of Venezuelan refugees in Colombia and how the Rotary e-Club of Houston, Rotary Club of Cúcuta 1, Rise Against Hunger, and partners are responding to this humanitarian emergency. Cristal Montanez
Cristal Montanez's interview with Mike Bell during the Rise Against Hunger Giving Tuesday Live broadcast. Our partnership with Rise Against Hunger enabled the Rotary e-Club of Houston "Hope for Venezuelan Refugees Project” and the Rotary Club of Cúcuta 1 to respond to the food insecurity emergency by providing RAH meals to thousands of Venezuelan refugees, migrants, and walkers ‘caminantes,’ and Colombian returnees in Cúcuta and Pamplona through the existing food distribution centers and shelters preparing and serving food to this target population. Please watch the interview at this link.
Hope For Venezuelan Refugees Phase 3 - Our partner, Sister Rocio and her volunteers from the food distribution center Comedor Santo Domingo Savio, distributed food bags to Venezuelan refugees, Colombian returnees and extremely vulnerable Colombian families in Los Olivos in Cúcuta.The Rotary e-Club of Houston and Rotary Club of Chanhanssen made possible this donation. Thanks to Cristal Montanez for the update and photos.
Rosmery Mendozaof the Centro de Apoyo Mery prepares boxes with a nutritious meal and drinks for the Venezuelan refugees walking back to Venezuela and those fleeing from the regime and walking to other cities or countries. This is the first meal many of them had as they walk between cities since the refugees and migrants don’t have any money. This critical situation is a combination of migration crisis+pandemic=emergency humanitarian tragedy!! Cristal Montanez
Unfortunately, due to the flow of hungry and desperate regufees, Albergue Fundar 1 just ran out of food. The only product they have is a rice donated by the Diócesis of Cucuta. Cristal Montanez
Back in 2010, composer/conductor Eric Whitacre created a virtual choir with 2,000+ singers from around the world. Who knew that 10 years later the entire world would be communicating in much the same way. Here is Eric's TedTalk about the amazing process to create his virtual choir.
Calling all e-Club members! We've added new photos to our member mosaic! Please email your photo to Charles Mickens for our online Member Directory and to be included with the group below!
Members, please send us articles about your service or community projects and include a photo or video of you doing Rotary work. We would love to receive feedback from our subscribers on how we are doing, and content you would like to see published. Be the inspiration! Please send your info to Lori Prouty at lbprouty@comast.net. Thank you!
Please use the following link when shopping on Amazon and select the Rotary E-Club as your charity to support. The E-Club will receive quarterly donations based on the amount of sales made through AmazonSmile. Every little bit helps! Sign up now at this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/38-3915709