March 8 2017
Posted by Carlos Obregon
At this Wednesday's meeting, we had 18 members present as well as 3 guests, Sophie Gloy from the Rotary club of Victoria and Nic Davies who belonged to the Whistler Rotary club. Both of them have recently moved to Vancouver and are looking for a new club, wink, wink :). We also had James Fox for the last time as a guest since he was inducted today!
Today being International Women's day, we asked our lady Rotarians to recite the 4-way test.
Rotary Moment:
James Fox jumped right into his club duties by providing us with a Rotary moment today. He told us about a project done by Rotarians from Taipei.
In January 2014, a report titled “Child Welfare League Foundation” noted a considerable gap between urban and rural areas. The lack of resources in remote areas led to poorer performance by children, many of who were aborigines. Since these children could never catch up, roughly a quarter of them consider dropping out of elementary school. Improving basic education seemed to be extremely crucial in helping eliminate poverty in these areas.
To make the project sustainable, they support teachers specialized in this creative science approach not only to teach fourth through sixth graders, but also train the local teachers in order that they can carry on the training for future classes.
In three years, they used Rotary Foundation funds to reach 20 schools. The program continues to grow today.
Announcements:
- The Gates foundation recently published their yearly public letter with updates on the work they do. This year they mention, and give credit, to Rotary for the fight to end polio.
- Club members who are interested in visiting the upcoming RYLA can do so. You just need to let them know in advance, it will be on March 15th in Gibsons, BC. Contact info can be found in this link: http://ryla5040.org/contact/
Meeting - Our guest speaker today was Philip Burgess, from the Bottom Up Foundation.
From The Bottom Up Foundation is a registered non-profit providing diaper assistance to the families of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Diapers are expensive—they can cost $70 to $80 or more each month. As a result, parents with limited means often try to make do without them, try to stretch their supply by leaving babies in dirty diapers longer or re-use disposable diapers. A diaper is a small thing, but can make an impact in a big way.
The need is tremendous— healthy child will require an average of 50 diaper changes a week, translating approximately 2600 diaper changes a year.
To find out more, visit their official website: https://www.bottomsupfoundation.com/
And their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fromthebottomupfoundation/
Pic from our meeting:
Thought of the day:
"Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our mental attitude." - Dale Carnegie
Next 2 Speakers:
March 15 - Business meeting
March 22 - Dominic Rubino - Van Entrepren Assn - Global Student of the Year Award
Important Links:
Set up your Rotary foundation donation via credit card: Just click here