Rogers wins District 5950 awards

District Conference honors 5950 clubs’ accomplishments during the 2012-13 Rotary year. What could be more fun than snagging two awards for the Rotary Club of Rogers?!

Congratulations for winning an Award of Excellence for Community Service, accepted by President Lenny Kirscht. This award acknowledged the entire club’s participation and Floyd Ingersoll’s leadership  in securing lighting for high school theater and music performances.

In the individual Service Above Self award category, Gaylene Olson was recognized for stepping forward to lead the Pancake Breakfast,  join the Rogers Rotary Foundation board following several years on the club’s board of directors, and working at and provide materials for club events since joining in 2007. Congratulations, Gaylene!

Another highlight of the District Conference was awarding
Presidential Citations to club presidents who fulfilled service project and strategic planning requirements* during their year. Congratulations to Lenny Kirscht for receiving a 2012-13 Presidential Citation!

Only 20 of District 5950’s 64 club presidents achieved this distinction.
We celebrate with our Area 4 neighbors, the Rotary Clubs of Maple Grove, Northwest Hennepin County, and Crystal-New Hope-Robbins-dale, who also earned the distinction. (*The criteria is on the district website.)

Rotary is recognized by ShelterBox USA

— RI News

Rotary received a special recognition award from ShelterBox USA during its Humanitarian Awards Dinner in San Francisco. Rotary was singled out for its commitment to disaster survivors around the word.

Rotarians have been working with ShelterBox USA’s parent, ShelterBox, since the grassroots disaster relief organization was founded in 2000.

Rotarians are often ShelterBox’s first point of contact, helping to assess the impact of a disaster and to identify communities most in need of assistance. Rotarians and Rotaractors work with ShelterBox in a variety of ways,
including funding relief kits, providing logistical support during a deployment, and distributing aid as a member of a ShelterBox Response Team.

Recently, Rotarian ShelterBox volunteers provided shelter to hundreds of families in the Philippines displaced by a typhoon. In October, after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of the northeast coast of the United States, Rotary districts 7500 and 7640 worked with ShelterBox Response Teams to identify the most vulnerable families and distribute aid.

In July 2012, the Krasnodar region of Russia saw the worst flooding in the country’s history. A ShelterBox Response Team worked closely with the Rotary Club of Krasnodar to conduct needs assessments, coordinate transportation, and help with logistics for deployments to Russia. Forty-three families received emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies.

See pictures from the District 5950 Friendship Exchange

—Rotary5950.org

A group of 17 Dist. 5950 Rotarians and family members journeyed to India in March 2013 on a Friendship Exchange, visiting fellow Rotarians and touring projects that our matching grant dollars have helped fund. Many memories were made, including:

  • Immunizing children against polio
  • Cutting the ceremonial ribbon on bathrooms at a girl’s school built with our help, which will give the students access to sanitation and boost their confidence and self-esteem
  • Visiting the International Village Clinic, founded and run by our friend and fellow District 5950 Rotarian, Abul Sharah.

Check out some photos of our trip in a new photo album on our website. If you’re interested in having one of our group come talk to your Rotary club, contact Sam Dalal.

Lessons learned from the International H2O Collaboration

—RI News

Dozens of broken hand pumps dot villages in Ghana
as evidence of well-intentioned efforts gone awry
because sustainability wasn’t built into the projects that installed them. School latrines also fail at a high rate, as projects often overlook the fact that they must be emptied periodically.

These are just two of the findings from a recent review of the International H2O Collaboration, a partnership between Rotary
International and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Report findings:

The report praised Rotarians’ expertise, noting that equipment like wells, pumps and water systems have been well designed and meet all technical standards. But it found weaknesses such as:

  • Collecting tariffs or user fees is important for long-term success. In many of the projects reviewed, user fees were either not collected or were set too low to provide enough money to replace worn-out equipment and parts. Considering the life cycle of equipment, and having discussions about what costs will be faced and by whom, can help projects avoid failure.
  • Implementing projects in an institutional or policy vacuum increases the risk they will simply “fall through the cracks” once the project partners leave. In some communities, no agency was assigned to oversee results.
  • The ability and willingness of local agencies to provide long-term follow-up are critical to sustainability. Support is often absent in rural areas. Training local
    government staff to manage and administer projects, and improving supply chains and services, can help. 

Cleanup project with Kohl’s Team is April 20

We’re joining forces! The Kohl’s Team and Rogers Rotary will work together on Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to noon to clean Henry’s Woods for summer hikers and visitors. Invite your family and friends to work shoulder-to-shoulder in this community activity.

The project will last three hours.  Plan to wear outdoor work clothes, protective gloves and sturdy shoes. Bring a bucket or heavy plastic bags for carry trash back to a collection point.

Henry’s Woods park is located on Brockton Lane just north of County Rd 81, about one block east of Cabella’s. This park features the original Henry “Sugar Shack” used to process maple syrup on the site.  Because there are only 13 off-street parking spots, members may want to coordinate carpools as the date gets closer.