Our next regular meeting will be Friday (9/2) at Newcastle Place - 12600 N. Port Washington Road, Mequon, WI 53092.
Our speaker will be Barb Fischer from Advocates of Ozaukee. Advocates of Ozaukee is an agency that provides services for those who may be experiencing domestic or sexual violence.
The greeter will provide either the thought, a Rotary minute, share a family moment or a cultural tradition ... anything they would like to start off the day positive.
Upcoming "It's your Rotary moment" assignees:
Dave Kliber (9/2)
Bob Leonhardt (9/9)
Note: If you are unable to to act as "It's your Rotary moment" assignee when scheduled please arrange for your replacement.
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy early Wednesday, killing more than 240 people and trapping an unknown number beneath rubble. Tremors were felt as far away as Rome, 100 km (65 miles) southwest of the quake's epicenter.
International disaster relief agency and Rotary International project partner ShelterBox is sending a response team from its headquarters in the United Kingdom to the remote mountainous area of Italy where the destruction is most severe. The response team will arrive Friday, 26 August, to assess the area's needs.
Luca Della Volta, president of ShelterBox Italia, the affiliate organization in Genoa, will accompany the response team. Della Volta is working with the Rotary Club of Rieti in District 2080, the club closest to the earthquake-affected sites, and will meet with officials of the Italian Civil Protection Department, fire department, and Red Cross to coordinate efforts.
If families and individuals made homeless by the disaster need emergency shelter, ShelterBox will send tents and other equipment from its locations in Italy and other sites across Europe. Della Volta says the most urgent need is for tents and relief supplies for the hospital of Rieti, where most of the patients from the destroyed hospital in Amatrice were taken.
"I am truly heartbroken over what has happened," says Della Volta, charter president of the Rotary E-Club of 2042 Italia. "As Rotarians, we are always available to help people in need."
Libraries changing in digital age By Rachel Minske
Libraries have long played a role in providing free information and education to communities, but with ever-changing technology, some libraries have shifted how they've offered access to their materials in an effort to keep up with the dynamic digital age.
Staying on top of technology is a large focus for the Cedarburg Public Library moving forward, said director Linda Pierschalla. The library already has two 3-D printers, funded by the Cedarburg Friends of the Library, a group of citizens dedicated to supporting the library through fundraising, volunteer support and community events.
The 3-D printers have drawn a wide range of people; from business owners looking to make something for their own companies to students working on a school project. Some community members have printed phone cases using the machines and others have printed Pokemon balls, following suit with the ever-popular Pokemon Go augmented reality game available for iOS and Android devices.
"It's attracted a lot of parents working with their kids on a project," Pierschalla said of the printers. "Now we want to find what other technology we could acquire that would be useful to people."
Pierschalla said when it comes to embracing new technological advances, the library, W63 N589 Hanover Ave., will likely work with the school district and other community groups to learn how it can better serve Cedarburg.
You may be surprised to learn that in 1905, when Rotary began, it was not based on the idea of Service Above Self. Instead, the two main aims of the Chicago club were “the promotion of the business interests of its members” and “good fellowship and other desiderata ordinarily incident to Social Clubs.”
But for Paul Harris, that wasn’t enough. He wanted a club that would get involved in civic affairs and benefit the community.
A prospective member, Chicago attorney Donald Carter, had been “struck by the selfish character of the organization,” according to Harris biographer Fred A. Carvin. The two conspired to introduce a Third Object of Rotary: “the advancement of the best interests of Chicago.” As Harris later remembered, “I concluded that the most practical method of introducing community service would be to find a worthy cause and then induce members to work for it.”
The club began by buying a horse for a farmer whose animal had died. Members also provided a newsboy with a suit of warm clothes. All along, Harris was planning bigger things, creating a committee to find civic projects for Rotary to participate in. The first issue it addressed was the lack of public restrooms downtown. There was only one choice at the time – a saloon. Once there, it was said, men could be tempted to take a drink or two. As for women, entering such an establishment was simply out of the question.
So Harris and his committee persuaded the Chicago City Council to fund public facilities to the tune of $20,000 (almost $500,000 today) in taxpayer money. And Chicago Rotarians got so much satisfaction out of seeing their work get results that “Service Above Self” became an operating principle, although it didn’t become one of our official mottoes until 1950.
Brenda Peterson of the Volunteer Center of Ozaukee County wants to see if a small group of Rotarians would like to participate in a fundraising event they have coming up in November called “Let’s Dance Lip Sync.” She said that the Cedarburg-Grafton Rotary group will be participating and it might be healthy competition between the two Rotary groups.
.jpg)
.png){kind=small}
.jpg)
