Rhodes State College's Borra Center for Health Sciences is scheduled to open for the fall semester.
Construction of the Borra Center for Health Sciences is nearly complete and Rhodes State College's Dean of Health Sciences and Public Service, Angela Heaton, told us that the grand opening is scheduled for August. Angela told us the building utilizes the latest technology for education and collaboration. including a room with interactive video walls, an anatomage table on which students can virtually dissect a cadaver, physical and occupational therapy programs, a 3-D printer for creating prosthetics, a medical/surgical suite, emergency department/ICU simulation suite, obstetrical suite, nursing lab, respiratory lab and an ambulance simulator. Rhodes State College President Dr. Cynthia Spiers told us that Rhodes is excited to open this campus in downtown Lima. "Together we are innovative dreamers and actionable believers and Rhodes State is very proud and humbled to be a part of this community and to make the revitalization of downtown be part of our dream."
Rhodes is also offering an Ag Tech program to help farmers learn how to utilize technology such as drones, robots and computers on their farms to increase yield. Dr. Jim Uphaus told us that the program will be training tomorrow’s technology savvy farmer, developing agriculture technicians to analyze data from precision equipment technology and teaching technicians to repair high-tech farm equipment. Programs offered will be an Associate Degree in Agriculture Technology and certificates in Agriculture Business, Agronomy, Prescription Mapping, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. The James J. Countryman building on the Rhodes campus will be redesigned to accommodate the new Ag Tech program.
Make your reservations now for the Changing of the Guard
Please plan to attend the Changing of the Guard - Monday June 28th at the City Club. The program starts at noon. There will be sign-up sheets at the meeting on Monday June 21st or take time to RSVP to Mary or Rita. We hope to see you there as we thank John for a terrific year and welcome Jeff as he starts a new one.
Register now for the Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing on July 21 and support our scholarship fund!
This year marks the 21st anniversary of the annual Rex Perry Memorial Golf Outing. It will be held on Wednesday, July 21st at Hidden Creek Golf Course with a rain date of Wednesday, August 25th. The Golf Committee is working closely with Hidden Creek Golf Course to again ensure our participants' safety against COVID.
Last year we had 27 teams competing and raised over $40,000, all of which went to benefit the Rotary Foundation Scholarship Fund. The Rotary Memorial Scholarship Fund selects persons who live or work in Allen County who are in pursuit of a degree or certification and will attend a school or college in Allen County. The intent of the scholarship is to encourage Allen County employees and residents to work and plan for their futures within our county. As of March 2021, over 1,089 adults wishing to continue their education have received scholarships from the Lima Rotary Club. These scholarships total over $817,250. Degrees or certifications can be achieved at the Apollo Career Center (Adult Education), Bluffton University, Rhodes State College, The Ohio State University at Lima and the University of Northwestern Ohio. All residents who live in and employees who work in Allen County are eligible.
The golf outing is open to the public so please invite your friends to join us. Contact Andy Wannemacher today to register or click here to register online.
See the results of nearly four years of research in water, sanitation and hygiene in the WASH Webinar on June 29 at 8:00am.
Join Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership (SWS) practitioners for an overview of results and insights on its nearly four years of intensive research on the use of collective action and collaborative systems approaches in water, sanitation, and hygiene and for a robust discussion of its findings.
ABOUT SWS. Under the Sustainable WASH Systems Learning Partnership, eight partners are working with USAID to test new ideas, approaches, and tools to strengthen local WASH systems — comprised of actors, factors, and the dynamic interrelationships among them — and improve service sustainability. Technical areas of focus include professionalized maintenance for rural water services, collective action approaches, and systems understanding and engagement.
Thanks to the support of Rotary and Rotaract clubs around the world, ShelterBox has now supported more than 2 million people across 98 countries.
Together, we have provided 2 million people with emergency shelter aid, essential items and training to help recovery after disaster or conflict.
Phuleswari is one of the 2 million people supported by ShelterBox. When Cyclone Amphan hit India, it destroyed Phuleswari’s home and most of what she owned. The rains devastated the entire region, with floodwaters coming up to Phuleswari’s knees. The storm left the family with nothing.
As the floodwaters receded, Phuleswari and her children needed emergency shelter to survive in the aftermath of the storm. ShelterBox provided them with tarpaulins, ropes and tools, as well as essential household items.
“Everybody wants a beautiful home for themselves. A home is a place for shelter and support. Throughout the entire day no matter where we are, we all want to come back home. A place for shelter, where the entire family can safely stay together and live happily.”
The ShelterBox and Rotary partnership
ShelterBox began in 2000 as the millennium project of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in the UK. They aimed to provide shelter support to 8-10 families a year.
Since then, ShelterBox has become an internationally recognised disaster relief charity. Due to the support of Rotary members and clubs around the world, in 2012 ShelterBox became Rotary’s Project partner in Disaster Relief.
It is thanks to Rotary that we have been able to grow into the global organisation we are today. We now have 15 international Affiliates, each of which were founded by Rotarians and Rotaractors and enable us to support those who have lost their home following conflict and disaster.
The partnership between Rotary International and ShelterBox has a meaningful impact globally. Rotary and Rotaract clubs around the world provide invaluable support to ShelterBox responses, from clubs that offer on the ground assistance to individual Rotary members who volunteer as ShelterBox Response Team members.
Throughout a response, Rotary members can help ShelterBox make community contacts, organize logistics, and support distributions. Rotary members can also take part in hands-on service in community assessments after a disaster, project implementation, or even monitoring and evaluation. Rotary members can also take action through the partnership by connecting their own community with disaster-affected communities worldwide.
“Our responses in Sri Lanka and Honduras are shining examples of the Rotary International and ShelterBox Project Partnership working together for the good of the community”. Alex Youlten, Rotary Partnership Manager, ShelterBox.
In May 2016, when Sri Lanka was hit by heavy flooding and devastating landslides, ShelterBox couldn’t have responded without the support of Rotary International and The Rotary Club of Capital City Sri Lanka. The Rotary Club of Capital City provided essential logistical support, by helping them find accommodation, transportation, translation and by liaising with the ministry of Disaster Management, the local military and authorities.
Rotarian Supem de Silva, who was ShelterBox’s main in-country Rotary contact, said:
“The local knowledge and contacts that Rotary has in the country will definitely help open doors and get things done for ShelterBox. For Rotary...[the partnership] help[s] elevate the social standing and acceptance of Rotary as a service organization. The synergies of working together will undoubtedly help both organizations to provide a more efficient and effective response in the aftermath of a disaster.”
Throughout the last year, our partnership with Rotary International has been more important than ever. As coronavirus travel restrictions stopped ShelterBox being able to deploy, Rotary and Rotaract Clubs around the world provided essential in-country support.
When Honduras was devastated by two consecutive hurricanes at the end of 2020, The Rotary Club of San Pedro Sula contacted ShelterBox to see how we could best work together to support those whose homes were destroyed by flooding and landslides. We partnered with the Rotary Club of San Pedro Sula, Habitat para la Humanidad Honduras and Habitat for Humanity International to support those who could return to their homes to clean up and repair their houses.
The Rotary Club of San Pedro Sula has played a vital role in the response, acting as consignee and taking on the large and complicated task of getting our aid into the country. They coordinated the arrival of eleven 40ft containers, provided and managed a warehouse for safe and secure storage and organized onward logistics. They also utilized their Rotary networks and coordinated other Rotary clubs around the department (district) to support Habitat for Humanity to select recipients, mobilize communities and to distribute aid.
‘Throughout the response, Rotary did amazing behind the scenes work. Without Rotary we would have struggled to get aid into the country.’ Celine Chhea, Operations Coordinator, ShelterBox
The Rotary Club of San Pedro Sula’s in-country knowledge and connections have been invaluable throughout the Honduras response, they have helped us to communicate with communities and understand their needs and establish what support was most appropriate.
Rotary has been instrumental in ShelterBox’s growth, helping to transform ShelterBox into an internationally recognised disaster relief charity. Rotary is truly in the DNA of everything that ShelterBox does.
Sanj Srikanthan, ShelterBox CEO said, ‘It is incredible to have supported 2,000,000 people since a group of Rotarians who understood ‘service to others’ formed ShelterBox 21 years ago. There is so much more that will be asked of us in the years to come. We will be reminded of our shared values time and time again and tested to live by them. We are incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together, and we are ready to stand with you to change the world for the better for families affected by disaster and conflict.’
5 tips for making your training available to those with disabilities.
5 tips for making your training accessible
What are you doing to accommodate members with disabilities at your training events? According to the World Bank, about 1 billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability. So it’s quite likely that there are members in your district who have one. What can you do to make your next training event accessible? Try these five tips:
Add captions to videos and turn them on during online training. This helps people who have hearing impairments know what the speaker is saying, and you can do it easily on YouTube and Zoom. Members who have cognitive issues may also be able to process the information more easily.
Make sure to have video transcripts available on request. That way, people with hearing or cognitive impairments can read the script and refer to it later if they need to. This can also help non-native speakers and anyone else who needs more time to process the content.
Use contrasting colors in your presentations or other visual content. Some people have difficulties distinguishing between certain colors. Make sure there’s sufficient contrast between the font and the background colors you’re using in presentations and other materials. You can review it at contrastchecker.com.
Choose your fonts carefully. For people who have cognitive issues like dyslexia, certain font types and colors may be distracting. Avoid using red, orange, and yellow, and use simple fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Tahoma, Times New Roman, and Verdana.
Use short paragraphs. This also helps people with cognitive issues process information.
Each year, Rotary supports the development of more than 350,000 young leaders through our youth programs. Now, we’re combining community service and learning objectives that empower young people to develop real-world leadership skills. This is service-learning, Rotary’s approach to youth service!
You can find interactive courses and downloadable workbooks about service-learning for both adult advisers and youth program participants who are 16 and older in Rotary’s Learning Center. Click the banner below to find out more.
Accountability and Inclusion: A DEI Webinar Series
Are you looking for materials on diversity, equity, and inclusion? Explore how Rotary supports our DEI Statement by reviewing these webinar recordings:
Downloading course materials from the Learning Center
If you download course materials from the Learning Center to your computer, you may likely find them in your Downloads folder — unless you’ve designated another folder for files you download from your browser. From there, you can open the files or move them to a folder of your choice.
How did the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians grow during the pandemic?
It is said that the secret to feeling good and enjoyment consists of the ease and speed of adaptation to new situations. And that we have done at the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians (IYFR). Despite the pandemic, we have continued to work in service to our communities, meeting and growing.
In our fellowship, we have detected an urgent issue on a global scale. This involves the 139 fleets that we have in 42 countries and impacts each community in which our fleets work. This issue is about the plastic pollution of rivers, seas and oceans. In keeping with the spirit of our fellowship, this concern for our inland waters and oceans has been turned into an international service project.
The IYFR has created a strategic plan for this service initiative that is adapted by each fleet for their particular needs. Our fellowship also has other service projects, such as nautical therapy, sea scouts, scholarships for young people to navigate, teaching sustainable fishing, health care in islands, etc. Our Plastic Free Waters (PFW) program differs from other service projects because it involves fleets from different countries with the same objective. Many District Governors have supported our Plastic Free Waters program, declaring it of district interest. Therefore, having detected this urgent need to contribute to the cleaning of rivers, seas and oceans, we have turned it into a worldwide service. For our International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians, the oldest and largest of the more than 90 Rotary fellowships, this is a great challenge.
We have more than 3,800 members around the world, therefore coordinators of this PFW program have been appointed in three major areas on the planet and a general coordinator. We have developed strategic alliances with different institutions and organizations (partners). In this way, we extend our reach and spread our public image.
For many years, following our development in so many countries, we have enjoyed the internationality of our fellowship. During the pandemic, we were able to continue with our international development without great difficulties and met the challenge of improving our IYFR. The pandemic has also not stopped us from developing our camaraderie and friendship. With fleets in so many countries, we meet once a month with a large number of members from different fleets, putting into practice the system of "visits" to hosts in different countries. In these numerous meetings, we meet again with dear friends and discuss the news. Each host welcomes us with a “welcome party”. We enjoy traditional music from that country, the most outstanding places for tourism, the most spectacular nautical narratives in those seas, or with the most notable local speakers. This has been a year in which we have had to maintain isolation; however, friendship and camaraderie have grown and strengthened.
In terms of membership, these multitudinous events have served to invigorate it, increasing the desire to meet again. And we have gone further. Through technology, it has been possible to create new fleets around the world. This is how the new fleets of Hawaii, Tokyo, Taiwan Voyager, Taiwan Polaris, Kyivska Rus Ukrainian, Black Sea Ukrainian and Dubai fleet have been formed. In some cases, the charter has been delivered through the virtual system and when the pandemic allowed it, they have been personally chartered. Although we have suffered the pandemic like everyone else, our fellowship has remained active, developing an international program, strengthening its membership, and growing in the number of fleets through technology.
We invite you to contact us on our website www.iyfr.net and enjoy this wonderful Rotary nautical world with us. We will be happy to welcome you and let you know more about our Plastic Free Waters global service program.
Lifting the Charter for the Taiwan Voyager FleetTaiwan Voyager Fleet
The Programs of Scale grant application process is starting.
The application process for the 2021-22 Programs of Scale grant starts now!
Program concept notes are due to The Rotary Foundation 2 August.
The $2 million Programs of Scale grant will be awarded to a member-led, evidence-based program that is ready to scale up over three to five years to increase its impact in one or more of Rotary’s areas of focus. We’re excited to see the work Rotary members are doing to solve problems, improve communities, measure results, and increase our impact.
In the first step of the 2021-22 Programs of Scale competitive grant process, The Rotary Foundation will accept concept notes — summarizing scalable programs — now through 2 August. Applicants should be qualified Rotary clubs and districts that have long-term plans to greatly expand their successful service projects in partnership with other organizations to help more people.
The deadline to submit your concept note is by end-of-day, 23:59 (UTC-5) Chicago time, on 2 August 2021.
To get started, download Rotary’s Programs of Scale Grant Competition Handbook for details on the application and selection process. One member who represents your program will submit the concept note through Embark, an application tool outside of My Rotary. First, you’ll need to register for an account, if you don't already have one.
The Rotary clubs or districts that submit the strongest concept notes — as determined by members of the Foundation’s Cadre of Technical Advisors and subject matter experts — will be invited to submit full proposals. If you are invited, your proposal should include comprehensive details about your program.
The main dates in the application process are:
Now until 2 August — concept notes accepted
October to December — full proposals accepted
December to March — full proposals reviewed
April — grant recipient announced
Due to the competitive nature of this grant, Rotary staff cannot provide guidance on applications. We do encourage applicants to reach out to the Cadre of Technical Advisers, Rotary Action Groups, or their District International Service Chair for resources during program design or completion of the application.
Programs of Scale grants support the growth of successful member-led service projects in our areas of focus. They empower Rotary members to work with experienced partner organizations to implement large-scale, high-impact programs that address a critical, community-identified need for large numbers of people across a significant geographic area.
The Rotary Foundation awards one $2 million Programs of Scale grant each year to support the expansion of a member-led program over three to five years to create lasting change. The program that receives the grant will demonstrate that it has co-funding commitments from other organizations and implementation support. Strong monitoring and evaluation systems will measure the program’s impact, and the knowledge gained from it will be shared with other Rotary clubs and districts to strengthen their local and international service work.
Did you miss these recent webinars about increasing the impact of your local and international service projects? In them, experts explained how to make change successfully on a larger scale and how to design programs that achieve results.
Lifting the Charter for the Taiwan Voyager Fleet
Taiwan Voyager Fleet
.png)
