Category Archives: TRF – The Rotary Foundation

District 7980 Global Grant Project in Mombasa, Kenya

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Engage Rotary - Change Lives

Engage Rotary – Change Lives

The 2013-14 District 7980 Global Grant Project in Mombasa, Kenya was introduced during the “Boots Programs” and at The Foundation Dinner last month.

It is an International ‘do good’ project which is designed to Engage Rotarians in the power of The Rotary Foundation while Changing Lives for 800 school children.

Every Club can Save and Change lives for 800 children in a neglected School in Mombasa, Kenya for an investment of $200, $500, $1000 – what ever they think is appropriate.  This school complex of 8 buildings  needs just about everything: Electric power to all buildings, a well pump and new water storage tank, new functioning toilets for students and staff, new roofs, desks, a library, a computer lab, cooking facilities, etc.  Motivate your club by participating in this District Wide Global Grant which focuses on Literacy, Water and Sanitation, and Economic and community development.

Project Files:

Visit the Global Grants Committee to Download and view a short power point presentation with photos and a project outline, to view the scope of the project or to  Download a Project flyer and Contribution Form to submit with your check.

Project Contacts:

PDG Rick Benson

PDG Rick Benson

Tari Marshall-Day

AG Tari Marshall-Day

Contact AG Tari Marshall Day or PDG Rick Benson for more information.

All clubs that participate in this important project will receive recognition points and they will receive periodic updates from both the host and international partners as the project progresses. A frienship exchange will be organized in 2014 to visit the school and possibly help with the renovation.

Disclaimer: This is NOT a Governor’s project, nor the DRFC’s project where the clubs are asked to support a personal project – this is a Global Grant that any of the clubs in our District can participate in.

Naugatuck Rotary hosts Paul Harris Recognition Dinner to honor Larry Erickson

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The Naugatuck Rotary Club honored Larry Erickson as this year’s recipient of the Paul Harris Award during their annual Paul Harris Recognition  The Dinner on November 13th  was held at The Crystal Room, 98 School St in Naugatuck and was attended by over 80 people.

Larry Erickson was honored as a member of the Naugatuck community that has exemplified outstanding professional achievement while maintaining very high ethical standards.

Larry has been the owner of Jesse Camille’s Restaurant in Naugatuck since 1996 and although not a Rotarian (yet), he exemplifies Service above Self. He hosts numerous charity events for local agencies and organizations, donates generously for community fund raising events such as  Naugatuck football, the Naugatuck Historical Society the Naugatuck YMCA and the Naugatuck police. Larry and his family started the Camille Perugini Trust Fund, which was named after his late sister-in-law which reportedly has raised approximately raised $177,000 in college scholarships for graduates of local high schools.

President Jeanine LeVasseur did a fabulous job as the Master of Ceremonies for this recognition event in which numerous dignitaries came to formerly honor Larry Erickson.

Chester Rotary Club hosts their Annual Recognition Dinner

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The Chester Rotary Club held their annual recognition dinner at the Camp Hazen this past Tuesday night where they recognized dozens of community leaders and provided substantial financial support to over a dozen organizations in their community.

The Chester Rotary Club has 22 members who are all actively engaged. The Club does an amazing amount of ambitious events for a Rotary Club their size including; The 4th of July Annual Road Race, Longest Running Lobsterfest in the District and Womanless Beauty Contest. Earlier readers of Chester blog postings may recall that Chester Rotary is the home of PFC = Performance, Fun and Cohesion. Their Rotarians work hard, raise a considerable amount of money and then do an amazing amount of good in their community and the world, all while having fun. They do so as a cohesive group that enjoys each others’ company.

The dinner event was attended by about 100 people who had the pleasure of watching each of the Club members recognize the following groups:

  • Motley Scholarships
  • Shoreline Soup Kitchen
  • Chester Parks and Rec
  • Tri-Town Youth Services
  • Bikes for Kids
  • Chester Backpack Program
  • Early Chilhood Council
  • Camp Hazen
  • Chester Parks & Rec
  • Chester Hose Company
  • Barzilian American Youth Cultural Exchange
  • Boy Scout Troop 13
  • Chester Food Pantry
  • Community Fund

The Club also presented 2 Paul Harris awards; including one to Rotarian Susan Wright and Paul Indorf was recognized by the District for joining the Paul Harris Society and his generous support of The Rotary Foundation. President Ron Woodward gave a moving story which included typical amazing things that Susan Wright does on a daily basis and cleverly ended each anecdote with ‘the she always does the right thing, the Susan Wright thing’.

Many Clubs and Rotarians recognized at The District Foundation Dinner

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Over 200 attendees from 39 Rotary Clubs participated in the District Foundation Dinner on Thursday night (11/7) at the Pine Orchard Yacht Club in Branford Connecticut. Clubs and Individuals were recognized for their outstanding support of the Rotary Foundation over the past year as they enjoyed an entertaining program, nice music, a great meal as well as fabulous fellowship.

The following Rotary Clubs were recognized for their outstanding Foundation support:  Branford, Bridgeport, Clinton, Hamden, Madison, Milford, Monroe, Montville, New Canaan, New Haven, New London, Newtown, Niantic, North Branford, Norwalk, Orange, Ridgefield, Seymour-Oxford, The Stoningtons, Tribury, Trumbull, Westport, Westport Sunrise and Wilton.

The following Rotarians were recognized as Major Donors: Linda Bouvier (Milford) and Angelo and Toni Verdini (North Haven)

Rotarian Cliff Heidinger (Ridgefield) was recognized for running an annual progressive dinner in their club which was raised over $50,000 for the Rotary Foundation.

The following Rotarians were recognized for their efforts in the ‘Boots’ program: Rick Benson (Westport), John Bradshaw (Mystic), Simon Cooper (Ridgefield), Robert Friend (Madison), Donna Gada (Niantic), Colin Gershon (New Haven), Alan Hurst (East Hampton), Jim Lang (Trumbull), Gerri Lewis (Old Saybrook), George Markley (Fairfield), Chip Marsh (Branford), Mukund Nori (North Branford), Julie Reppenhagen (Housatonic-Valley), Nancy Riella (Colchester), Rupi Rupwani (Naugatuck), Jim Satterwhite (Madison), Sheryl Shaughnessey (Fairfield), Gerry Tom (New London) and Dennis Wong (Westport Sunrise).

Former District Foundation Chair Mac Leask summed it up the spirit of D7980’s activity in the  Rotary Foundation perfectly when he said:

“Last year Rotarians from District 7980 and their Clubs were truly dream makers.  District 7980 Rotary Clubs funded in 19 Different District Managed Grants during 2012-13.  We funded 8 different Global Matching Grants including a literacy project in Bridgeport Connecticut that we expect the Rotary Foundation to approve in the 2013-14 Rotary Year.  We funded 2 Global Grant Scholarships, 1 special Initiative Scholarship and 2 Service Above Self Scholarships.  We committed to a Vocational Training Team to Sierra Leone organized by the Norwalk Rotary Club, which we expect to be funded during the 2013-14 Rotary year. The Global Grant Projects funded through the Rotary Foundation totaled $732,114 in global grant projects.  Because of the way our Rotary Clubs use the matching process, to fund these projects our clubs only had to provide $100,522 in new funds from District 7980 Rotary Clubs.  In addition we provided $63,938 for District Grants and Scholarships to projects initiated by our District’s Rotary Clubs.  Each of these projects saved and changed lives here at home and across the world. 

 It’s the dollars given to our Rotary Foundation that allow us to Fund Scholarships, Vocational Training Teams and Grants that Save and Change Lives.  The money Rotarians give is what funds Rotarians efforts to make Rotary’s Dream, a reality.  District 7980 Rotarians understand that.  Over half of District 7980 Rotarians gave at least $100 to the Annual Fund of our Rotary Foundation.  District wide, Rotarians and their Clubs gave $128.96 per Rotarian during 2012-2013.  Our District was 1st in Zone 32 in Total dollars given to the Annual Fund.  Distinct 7980 was 1st in Zone 32 in per capital giving to Our Rotary Foundation.   We had 83 Paul Harris Fellows and 1203 sustaining members, more than any other District in Zone 32.”

THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the success of this event including: Chip Marsh (Branford), Doug Lisk (New Haven), Diane Eger (Orange), Phoebe Leask (Fairfield), Mac Leask (Fairfield), Brian Amey (Newtown), Rick Benson (Westport), Tony Fappiano (Guilford), Jack Srebnik (Branford), George Markley (Fairfield), Jim Lang (Trumbull), Dave Wolfe (Monroe), Alan Hurst (East Hampton), Natalia Svirschevsky (Speaker), Courtney Matson (Speaker), Dale Moore (Madison), Craig & Carolyn Bernard (Madison) and Jim Satterwhite (Madison). Hopefully no one was left out.

The District Foundation Dinner is tonight!!

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At long last the District 7980 Foundation Dinner is finally upon us. The festivities start in just a few short hours!!!

The Dinner’s primary focus is to recognize clubs and individuals who have helped to advance the service work of Rotary International by contributing to the Rotary Foundation during the past year.

Keynote Speaker(s): Courtney Matson, Past Rotary Peace Fellow plus Natalia Svirschevsky, Past Service Above Self Scholar

Location: Pine Orchard Yacht & Country Club – 2 Club Parkway – Branford CT 5:30 p.m. Reception (Cash Bar)    6:30 p.m.

Dinner Foundation Dinner Chair Chip Marsh has been working diligently on this event for months and everything is aligned for this to be one of the best ever, approximately 200 attendees have registered from dozens of Rotary Clubs.

We will post many event photos tomorrow.

‘Boots’ Foundation Program is off to a running start!!!

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Boots on Ground

The All Boots on the Ground Program has already gained significant traction as it has been presented to 12 Clubs as of this morning.

November is Rotary Foundation Month!! As a lead in to Foundation Month our District 7980 Foundation Team has put together a Rotary Foundation program (coded named “All Boots on the Ground“) that is being presented to all of our D7980 Rotary Clubs. The program takes 15 – 20 minutes and is designed to create awareness about The Rotary Foundation (TRF) in easy to understand terms.

Program Rationale: Each year many Rotary Club leaders typically scramble at the last minute for a Foundation speaker to come to their Clubs. Our Foundation Team wanted to proactively get ahead of this annual need by ensuring that our Rotary Clubs received a quality Foundation program delivered by well trained presenters.

‘Boots’ Chair Sheryl A. Shaughnessey (Fairfield Rotarian)

lPDG Rick Benson, District Foundation Chair 2013-16

PDG Rick Benson,
District Foundation Chair 2013-16

The Backstory on the ‘Boots’ name: Delivering the same Foundation program to 61 Clubs in the weeks leading up to Foundation Month is a sizable undertaking that has taken months of planning and organizing by Chair Sheryl Shaughnessey and PDG Rick Benson plus 19 additional volunteers.  At the onset the project was named ‘All Boots on the Ground’ to reflect the aggressive coordinated effort required between content, clubs and committee members (3 C’s).

Boots Rollout:

The three links below demonstrate the execution of the program rollout in different views:

Desired Program Goals:

Special thanks to Rick Benson, John Bradshaw, Simion Cooper, Robert Friend, Donna Gada, Colin Gershon, Alan Hurst, Jim Lang, Gerri Lewis, George Markley, Chip Marsh, Mukund Nori, Julie Reppenhagen, Nancy Riella, Rupi Rupwani, Jim Satterwhite, Sheryl Shaughnessey, Gerry Tom and Dennis Wong for working so diligently on this program to support our Foundation.