January 2009 Toolbox

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WATERVLIET CLUB The Watervliet Rotary Club is holding their ANNUAL 20 WEEK RAFFLE TICKET FUND RAISER - They sell $20.00 Raffle Tickets ~ Weekly drawings for 20 weeks - It starts in March and concludes in June and the odds of winning at least once is 4 to1 - Grand Prize drawing of $300.00 ~ In all, there are 41 chances to win $10.00 or $20.00 during the 20 weeks ~ Purchasers can send an E-mail to dkhavnen@nycap.rr.com and provide a name and address. They will send the requested tickets to you with a stamped return envelope to be returned with a check for the number of tickets requested ~ Checks will be sent to all winners.

DISTRICT EVENTS •

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RACING CITY ROTARY PRESENTS…

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Last Saturday of the Month Breakfast

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WHERE: Senior Citizens Center of Saratoga Springs 5 Williams Street, Saratoga Springs call Bill Davis at 584-1621 for more information COST: $6 per adult and $5 for seniors & children 5-12 Scrambled Eggs, French Toast, Pancakes, Sausage, Hash, Pastries, Fruit Cocktail, Cereal, Milk, Juice, Coffee, Tea

January 5th - Monday - New Member Orientation - Shenendehowa Methodist Church - 6:00 to 7:30 PM - Shenendehowa Methodist Church - Route 146 in Clifton Park - A light Supper will be served January 10th - Saturday - RYLA - 9:00 AM 5:00 PM January 14th - Wednesday - President-elect Training - Colonie - 6:00-8:00 PM January 15th - Thursday - President-elect Training - Queensbury - 6:00-8:00 PM January 18th-24th - Sunday-Saturday International Assembly - San Diego , CA February 7th - Saturday - RYLA - 9:00 AM-1:00 PM February 7th - Saturday - RYLA - 12:00-5:00 PM February 7th - Saturday - Gift of Life Annual Dinner/Dance at The Marriott on Wolf Road in Colonie February 11th - Wednesday - President-elect Training - Colonie - 6:00-8:00 PM February 12th - Thursday - President-elect Training - Queensbury - 6:00-8:00 PM

THE GLENS FALLS CLUB The Glens Falls Rotary Club announces Saturday May 9, 2009 for the WATER WALK ~ To be held at Crandall Park

MENANDS CLUB April 3rd - Friday - The Menands Rotary Club will hold their ANNUAL SPRING CHICKEN BARBECUE Menands School.

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GIFT OF LIFE DINNER DANCE To benefit Rotary District 7190 Gift of Life,Inc. at the Albany Marriott 189 Wolf Road, Albany, NY 6:00 pm Cocktails, 7:00 pm Dinner SAVE THE DATE 2/7/09 After the Social Hour, ballerinas from the Guilderland School of Ballet will entertain us. Fourteen-year-old students along with a routine by FOUR-year-old ballerinas will perform selections from the Nutcracker Suit.

We will again be honored with the presence of two Gift of Life children. They will have life saving operations at Albany Medical Center sometime in January.

After dinner, music for dancing will be provided by the Dino Cimino Band.

GLENVILLE ROTARY IMPROVES TOWN The Rotary Club of Glenville has recently completed two park improvement projects in the Town of Glenville.

One project added landscaping, fencing and signage to the town-leased property on Rt. 50 in front of Price Chopper. Hewitt’s Garden Centers, Inc., donated trees and shrubs to the project, and Glenville Rotary Club members performed the hard work.

ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD In order for anyone to be a good leader they first have to believe in themselves. We ended 2008 with RYLA sessions that looked at self-esteem and planning.

The adventure of the day began with students exploring their own personal self-esteem. They answered and discussed a number of questions that covered such topics as how you deal with mistakes, how your wants and needs are met, what happens when people talk about you, and how you handle your commitments. Once we had a better understanding of self-esteem we tackled created group pictures of how our life structures and how we are all connected. The variety of ideas used emphasizes our diversity of thoughts and experiences.

After that we tackled planning, both personal and expanded. Once of the highlights of our program every year is the final celebration. This event is fully planned and executed by our RYLA students. Once they learned about the planning process they jumped in and began putting together all the aspects of their event from budgeting to facilities to food to marketing to the program. This is real life experience of the skills they are learning.

Our next sessions will be Saturday, January 10 at Skidmore College. The groups will be combined for the whole day to learn about Ethics and Service. We welcome all Rotarians to join us for the day and be a part of the learning. If you would like to be involved as a team coach or guest instructor please contact Nick George at Nick@KineticSymmetry.com or 926-8688.

GLENVILLE ROTARY CLUB ZITI DINNER

Pictured, L-R: Charles Palmer, Larry Jones, James Golden, Dave Hennel

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Twentieth Annual ZITI DINNER Entertainment, Prizes & More!

Friday, February 6, 2009 • 4:00 – 7:30PM Glenville Senior Citizen Center next to Glen Worden School, Worden Road Take - Out Dinners Available Adults $8.00 Senior Citizens / Children(12 & under) $6.00 To Benefit Northeast Regional Food Bank, Scotia-Glenville Food Pantry and other Rotary Service Projects Rotary International District 7190

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SHANE NOLAN, DISTRICT 7190 AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLAR For those of you who do not know me, I am the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar for District 7190.

I am originally from Saratoga Springs, New York and currently study at the American University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. After fifteen months of researching and applying for the scholarship, I was very eager to start this amazing experience. No matter how much research and preparation I did it was impossible to be completely prepared for the obstacles that lay ahead and the exact experience that I would have. This experience would be dependent on the quality of the study program I chose, how involved I would be able to be in the Rotary when abroad, and my cultural and community experiences.

In December 2007, I found out that I would be assigned to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

I immediately started to use the contacts that I received through Rotary of people in this area on a frequent basis. By the time I left for the UAE I felt I was very well prepared because of what my sponsor rotary district got me involved with before my departure.

I arrived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on August 27th. Once stepping off the plane it felt like you were walking into a sauna due to the humid heat. It was 2 a.m. and it was still about 110 degrees. The adjustment to the heat was an obvious challenge since I have lived in Upstate New York my whole life. Within a few days of arriving, I ran into my first obstacle.

Housing on campus at the American University was full, so I had to live off campus and Dubai is probably the toughest place in the world to find short-term affordable housing. The first two weeks of arriving in the country involved me trying to find a place to live for the semester. At this time I was staying with a fellow Rotarian named Cherry Baumbusch. She was originally a Rotarian in Virginia who moved to Dubai nine months ago. She was my first personal introduction to the Rotary here, and welcomed me in with open arms. Once I got settled in to my new place she started inviting Brain (another Ambassadorial Scholar studying at the American University in Dubai), and myself to Rotary meetings and events. Only one event was planned for Rotary in the month of September because of Ramadan.

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The first event that we attended was a Suhoor dinner towards the end of September. A Suhoor dinner is generally the morning meal before sunrise during Ramadan. However, this event took place in the late evening. This event gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of other Rotarians in the Dubai Rotary Club and also Rotaract members. The food and the event were great. Since this meeting, I have attended both the Dubai Rotary Club, and Jumeirah Rotary Clubs weekly meetings, and have given speeches at both of them.

Both Rotaract and members of Rotary have given us several ideas and opportunities to get involved with the community and start our service project. Two examples of this are the Burj Al Arab swim, which is one of the largest charitable events in Dubai. This event consists of over 1000 people who swim about 1km in the ocean around the Burj Al Arab. This occurs in November and both Brian and I will be volunteering at it. Also, a member of Rotary got us recently in contact with special needs schools were we will start volunteering. We have also been involved in starting a new Rotaract Club for the Jumeirah Rotary Club.

Because of these opportunities, I am very excited to see what else I am able to accomplish with Rotary while here.

During this time, I have also been focused on my academics. I have met some amazing people within the university. It was great getting to watch the United States’ presidential election at the university.

The university provided such a diverse group of people who would be affected by the results. This diversity has also given me even more of an incentive to get involved with clubs in the university, such as the MBA Club. Getting involved this way will help the university and I reach the original expectations I set for my academic experience.

Finally, I will discuss my first cultural experiences. As mentioned, I arrived at the start of Ramadan. This gave me the opportunity to get the true understanding of this holiday and get involved with it. The prime example of this was attending iftar dinners nearly every night. An iftar is the meal served at the end of the day to break fast during Ramadan. The school hosted one every night and occasionally had speakers to talk about a variety of religious topics. This was the best cultural experience I have had so far since it combined culturally significant things, such as food, history, and religion into one event. Once Ramadan ended EID began. Since we did not have school during this week, several of us toured all seven emirates. This broadened my understanding of the Rotary International District 7190

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region. Whether it was going to historical museums in Al Ain and seeing an oasis for the first time, or going to Abu Dhabi, and getting a better understanding on how its government functions. Overall, this experience has already surpassed my expectations and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.

For more information on my Rotary Ambassadorial experience, visit my blog at: http://rotaryblogfromdubai.blogspot.com

SPIRIT OF THANKSGIVING This year’s Spirit of Thanksgiving dinner Hosted by Salty’s Pub and Bistro and sponsored by the Twin Bridges Rotary Club fed close to 300 people in the restaurant and home deliveries. With the help of the members of the Southern Saratoga Interact, the club members, and staff at Salty’s kept the food coming, and the guests smiling

ROTARIAN OF THE YEAR AT THE JOE Glenville Rotary held their Second Annual "Rotarian of the Year" Recognition Night at a Valley Cats game at the Joe Bruno Stadium (HVCC in Troy, NY). The weather was beautiful, the honorees were in rare form, and the comraderie was warm and wonderful.

Pictured above are the rotarians recognized this year and last (and the year they were honored.) If your club would like to be included in this fun event next year, please send your contact information to Barbara Wyllie at bw4rotary@gmail.com . Thank you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Dawn Vavala '07 (Twin Bridges), Christine HarveyBerry '08 (Twin Bridges), Barbara Wyllie '08 (Glenville), Larry Jones '07 (Glenville), Laura Witkowski '08 (Delmar), and Vicky Plotsky '07 (Delmar)

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THE SEARCH FOR OUR GSE TEAM HAS BEGUN! In 2009, District 7190 has arranged for a Group Study Exchange with District 3460 in Taiwan. The District is asking each club to spread the word between their club members to location people in our District that are interested in participating in an Adventure of a Lifetime. Our team consisting of a Rotarian Team Leader (already chosen) and 4 non-Rotarian team members will arrive in Taiwan on March 1st 2009 and depart on March 30th 2009, spending 30 days learning about the culture, business practices and history of Taiwan while sharing their own knowledge with the people of that nation. Attached are applications for an alternate team leader and the 4 team members Please circulate them to anyone interested in either position.

Return the completed applications to Ellen Schaefer, District 7190 GSE Chair, 28 Sevilla Dr, Clifton Park NY 12065. Or if there are any questions she can be contacted at 371-0364 or greg.ellen.Schaefer@verizon.net GSE Team Member Requirements • Be currently employed for at least two years in any recognized business or profession on a full-time basis and be 25 to 40 years of age at the time of application • Work or live in the sending district • Be citizens of the country in which they reside • In good health • Neat in appearance and able to express themselves clearly and logically • Of a sound, general educational background and cultural awareness • Interested in and clearly enthusiastic about their chosen vocations, and possess outstanding vocational skills • Open-minded, tolerant, and flexible • Proficient (preferably fluent) in the major language(s) of the host district • Able to travel for four to six weeks with their employer’s consent • Able to receive a visa to the host country or already have one • Able to depart from the same location and on the same date as the rest of the team

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Team Members cannot be: • A Rotarian or honorary Rotarian • A member of a provisional Rotary club, or an employee of a Rotary club, district, or other Rotary entity or Rotary International • Any Rotarian’s (or honorary Rotarian’s) or Rotary employee’s spouse, ancestor (parent or grandparent by blood), lineal descendant (child or grandchild by blood and stepchild of a Rotarian, legally adopted or not), or spouse of a lineal descendant • The spouse of another team member • A former Rotarian (or honorary Rotarian) or Rotarian’s spouse, ancestor (parent or grandparent by blood), lineal descendant, or spouse of lineal descendant (child or grandchild by blood and stepchild of a Rotarian, legally adopted or not) who resigned for the express purpose of becoming a team member.

A former Rotarian must have been resigned from Rotary at least three years at the time of application for him or her or any of the previously mentioned persons to be eligible for team membership.

HOW FOUNDATIONS DOLLARS ARE SPENT PolioPlus. Rotarians have mobilized by the hundreds of thousands to ensure that children are immunized against this crippling disease and that surveillance is strong, despite the poor infrastructure, extreme poverty, and civil strife of many countries. Since the PolioPlus program’s inception in 1985, more than two billion children have received oral polio vaccine. To date, 210 countries, territories, and areas around the world are polio-free, and 134 of these have been certified. As of June 2007, Rotary has committed more than $633 million to global polio eradication. 2006-07 expenditures: $23.7 million. (includes PolioPlus Partners grants) PolioPlus Partners is a program that allows Rotarians to participate in the polio eradication effort by contributing to specific social mobilization and surveillance activities in polioendemic countries. As of 30 June 2007, over 6,000 clubs in 502 districts have contributed to 470 PolioPlus Partners projects, supporting National Immunization Days and other polio eradication activities around the world.

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Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants fund large-scale, two- to four-year projects that enhance health, help alleviate hunger, or improve human development. Since 1978, 305 projects in 77 countries have been funded at a cost of $74 million. In 2006-07, 18 new projects were approved. Program awards were $4.2 million.

Matching Grants provide matching funds for international service projects of Rotary clubs and districts. Since 1965, almost 27,000 Matching Grant projects in 171 countries have been funded at a cost of more than $291 million. In 2006-07, 2,008 new grants were approved for projects in 124 countries. Program awards were $34.3 million.

District Simplified Grants support the short-term service activities or humanitarian endeavors of districts in communities locally or internationally. This program began in 2003-04, and over 1,500 grants have been awarded to 473 districts in 64 countries totaling more than $21 million. In 2006-07, 379 grants were approved. Program expenditures were $5.1 million.

Volunteer Service Grants support the international travel of qualified Rotarians and their spouses to provide a needed service to a community or to plan the implementation of a needed project. This program began in 2006-07, and 202 grants were awarded to support travel to 47 countries. Program awards were $1.0 million.

Solidarity in South Asia. Shortly after the deadly tsunami struck south Asia on 26 December 2004, The Rotary Foundation established the Solidarity in South Asia fund to assist Rotarians in supporting long-term recovery efforts in affected communities. In 2006-07, program expenditures were $0.1 million.

over 50 different countries have participated at a cost of more than $18 million. In 2006-07, 50 peace fellows from 27 countries began studies at the six Rotary Centers totaling $4.3 million for the two-year program.

Ambassadorial Scholarships. The Foundation sponsors one of the largest international scholarship programs in the world. Scholars study in a country other than their own where they serve as unofficial ambassadors of goodwill. Since 1947, more than 38,000 scholars from over 100 countries have received scholarships at a cost of more than $490 million. In 2006-07, 822 scholars from 50 countries studied in 80 countries. Program awards were $13.9 million.

Rotary Grants for University Teachers are awarded to faculty members to teach in a developing nation for 3 to 10 months. Since 1985, 460 university teachers have shared their expertise with a college or university in a developing country at a cost of $4.5 million. In 2006-07, 29 university teachers from 9 countries taught in 22 countries. Program awards were $0.4 million.

Group Study Exchange (GSE). These annual awards are made to paired Rotary districts to provide travel expenses for a team of non-Rotarians from a variety of professions. Rotarian hosts organize a fourto six-week itinerary of vocational, educational, and cultural points of interest. Since 1965, about 60,000 individuals (about 12,500 teams) from 100 countries have participated at a cost of more than $96 million. In 2006-07, 558 teams traveled abroad.

Program awards were $4.3 million.

Disaster Recovery. Created in 2005-06, this program allows Rotarians to contribute funds in response to specific disasters. During 2006-07, the Foundation administered three Disaster Recovery sub-accounts: Hurricanes Stan and Wilma (Guatemala and Mexico), Hurricane Wilma (USA), and the Earthquake in India and Pakistan. In 2006-07, there were no program awards.

Rotary World Peace Fellowships. Each year, up to 60 fellows are sponsored to study at one of the six Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution for a master’s-level degree. Since the program’s inception in 2002-03, 283 fellows from The Toolbox: Volume 62

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FUND RAISE WITHOUT FEAR

that they become this fundraising machine and get so good at fundraising that they forget their mission.”

Marc Pitman realizes that most people don’t enjoy asking for money. Although he uses words like “electric” and “fun” to describe the joys of fundraising, Pitman, a professional fundraising coach and a member of the Rotary Club of Waterville, Maine, USA, acknowledges that not everyone feels the same way.

As the Rotary Club of Waterville was gearing up for its annual auction, the president asked members to write what they love most about Rotary on a Post-it note and share them with one another. Responses included community involvement, international service, and the chance to hang out with fellow Rotarians. “It was so neat to see,” Pitman says. “I’d rather connect people with the passion of their cause. When you ask people to give, you resell yourself on your cause. You realize, ‘I’m supporting a really important thing in the community and the world.’”

“I think ‘asking for money’ even outranks ‘public speaking’ and ‘untimely death’ on the list of things people are most afraid of,” he writes in a slim volume titled Ask without Fear: A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors with What Matters to Them Most.

In the book, he offers up a simple philosophy to get over that fear. Members of a nonprofit such as Rotary, he tells The Rotarian, know there is a need to raise money. “We usually put it off because of our dislike of asking,” he says. “We procrastinate until it’s a crisis. I wanted to give people some practical tools to tell their stories in a natural way, so when it comes to asking, it’s not so daunting.”

To

be successful at fundraising, he says, you don’t have to change your personality.

“I want people to feel that they could do this the way they are.

They don’t have to become some sort of huckster or carnival barker.”

Pitman, whose club raises $100,000 every year through events such as a radio auction, notes that Rotarians must also assess what will work in their own community. “It’s important for clubs to know their members – and the members they want to attract,” he says. “Stuff that worked 50 years ago might not work now. If you’re trying to attract younger members, it may work to have an online component to a radio auction.”

People intimidated by the idea of fundraising, Pitman says, should keep in mind that the exciting part is what the fundraising leads to. “There are two dangers for nonprofits,” he says. “One is that they go down the road of not funding their mission, and then they can’t accomplish anything and they fall apart. The other is The Toolbox: Volume 62

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Want the latest on what’s happening in District 7190?

How about starting your own blog, sharing photos and listing events to share with your fellow Rotarians?

Check out http://rotary7190.ning.com! Anyone in the district can join, share thoughts, photos, videos and more! http://rotary7190.ning.com/ Check it out today!

BIRTHING KITS Goal: To provide 50,000 birthing kits at $3 a piece to Ethiopia.

Community based reproductive health workers based at the Hamlin Fistula Hospitals with traditional birth attendance will teach the community how to use the birthing kit.

Rotary Foundation Matching Grant Process: Rotary Club of Addis Abba with International Partner Twin Bridges Rotary Club. Both District 7190 and District 7150 have committed monies from the Designated Ffund.

Your club can be involved in this life saving project by contacting PDG Anne Cargile at annec@nycap.rr.com and Heather Yarker, General Coordinator, Health and Hunger Resource Group yarkerhi@onthenet.com.au.

The funds donated by you or your club will receive a 50% match!

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65 Robinwood Drive Clifton Park, NY 12065

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