Author: SRCrotary

A volunteer service club located in Rensselaer County, NY, that is part of Rotary International, the 1.23 million-member international organization of men and women serving their community and their world.

RI creates simplified Grants Center

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Rotary Grants fund many undertakings.

Rotary International has just announced the debut of the new Grant Center, formerly known as the Grant Application Tool.

The new site, says RI, “has a fresh look and better organization. The grant application includes clearly defined steps so it’s easier for you to track your progress.

“The Rotary Foundation offers grants that support a wide variety of projects, scholarships, and training that Rotary members are doing around the world. Explore the grant types and find one that’s right for your project.”

Details are available online.

Lake jumpers, bowlers shoot for $30K mark

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The participants before the plunge.

On New Year’s Day, a hardy band of District 7190 Rotarians participated in the annual “Polar Plunge” at Shepard Park in Lake George.

The go-jump-in-the-lake event in frigid waters is a major fundraiser for Rotary’s anti-polio efforts.

To warm up afterward, they joined other Rotarians in the annual “Bowl Over Polio” event.

Says District Governor John Mucha, “We’re hoping to exceed $10,000 with pledges and donations, and with the [Bill & Melinda] Gates [Foundation] match, that’s $30,000 to fight polio. ”

 

RI float a winner in Tournament of Roses parade

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The 2017 Rotary International float

The Rotary International float in Monday’s 2017 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, CA, emerged with a major trophy.

The smoke-breathing floral dragon float, titled “Doing Good In the World,” was awarded the Princesses’ Trophy which goes to what the judges consider the best float in the 35-feet-and-under category.

 

Big stuff this week, so please RSVP ASAP

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• Ready to vote?

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• Ready to discuss?

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• Ready to chow down?

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All three activities are on the agenda for this Thursday’s 6:15 p.m. SRC dinner meeting at Quigley’s.

• The vote will be on proposed changes to the Club Bylaws (everyone was sent copies back on December 5, but you can see them online by clicking here if you need to.) Originally, we were planning a vote on December 15, but did not have a quorum at that meeting.

• The discussion will be part of President Debbie Rodriguez’s plan to break up into committee groups to go over plans for the remainder of the 2016-17 Rotary Year.

• The chowing down will be on beef tips and mushroom sauce, along with chef’s choice of sides, salad, bread, dessert and beverages.

We expect, and need, a strong turnout this week since we have such important matters to attend to. But, if you have not yet emailed dinner coordinator Debbie Brown (mdbrown@nycap.rr.com) with your RSVP, please do so no later than Tuesday evening. We need to give an accurate headcount to the Quigley’s kitchen staff first thing Wednesday morning.

 

What are these Rotarians doing?

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They are putting the finishing touches on signs that will adorn the Rotary International float in the 123rd annual Tournament of Roses Parade, scheduled for Monday, January 2, in Pasadena, CA.

If you want to know about the tremendous effort from scores of volunteers that it took to put together the Rotary float, you can go here for a first-person account from a member of the Pasadena Rotary Club.

And, if you want to see their final product, and lots of other imaginative floats, you can tune in to ABC (WTEN Channel 10 in these parts) beginning at 11 a.m. Monday.

 

 

Right after the holidays …

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screen-shot-2016-12-23-at-3-17-08-pmWe’re putting together our January meeting programs so you can mark your calendars and get back in the swing of participating as often as your busy schedules allow. Here are a few of the things we already have lined up:

• January 5 — President Debbie Rodriguez will conduct a session that will allow our various committees to have individual in-person discussions, then report back to the full group on what they’re doing. PLUS, we will hold a vote on the proposed changes to the Club Bylaws, postponed from its original December date.

• January 12 — Charlie Foote has arranged for James Arrington of the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center to speak about the many and varied services the center offers to veterans of all branches of our military.

• January 19 — This is one of those double-duty days. At 7 a.m., our monthly breakfast meeting at the Greenbush Area YMCA will feature Executive Director  Jim Butterworth speaking on his work with CASDA — the Capital District School Development Association. Then, after the 6:15 dinner meeting, we’ll have a hands-on, how-to presentation by our webmaster Bill Dowd on how you can better utilize our website, Facebook page, and Twitter account. Please plan to bring your cellphones, iPads, laptops, etc., so you can follow along.

Be assured we’ll keep you updated as more programs are added. We hope to have strong turnout for all of these events to make the Rotary experience richer for everyone.

Scenes from our Holiday Party 2016

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The annual “SRC Holiday Party & Gift Basket Silent Auction” took place Thursday evening to a packed house — Murray’s and Maggie’s house, to be specific.

In addition  to the usual suspects, this year we had an international flavor with our Youth Exchange student and a Rotarian from South Africa by way of Delmar and then back to South Africa. And, we were graced with the presence of almost the entire Rosetti family who are hosting our Brazilian student while their eldest daughter is an Exchange student in Italy for a year.

Here are some scenes from the evening. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year to all. See you again on January 5.

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ShelterBox aid finally reaches Aleppo refugees

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Syrian youngsters pick up blankets from ShelterBox aid points.

Thousands of youngsters in Aleppo, Syria, have reached relative safety and been given warm clothing after their families received aid from the ShelterBox disaster relief agency.

The tents, tools, blankets and other non-food relief supplies had been positioned for months outside the city as warfare raged between government and rebel forces as city dwellers tried to stay safe.

When the brief ceasefire began and thousands of beleaguered families were evacuated, facing snow and icy winds, they quickly were taken in by ShelterBox and other relief agencies.

ShelterBox perations coordinator Sam Hewett said, “The fighting in and around Aleppo that has been broadcast in recent weeks is indicative of the intolerable position that people throughout Syria are forced to endure.

“Due to the support of our generous donors, ShelterBox has been able to support people as they are evacuated from the city with items such as clothing and bedding, to shelter them from the cold winter conditions.

“This would not be possible without the presence of our partner organizations, whose staff share the same fatal risks as the people they are trying to help.”

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A frigid scene in a ShelterBox tent encampment outside besieged Allepo.