Learn about the successful projects that have been completed in our eight districts in recent years. This includes projects that were done as district grants, global grants, as well as local projects.
COVID-19 Disaster Relief Grant
Historic Rotary Foundation Grant Awarded Locally
For the first time in Rotary District 7930’s history, the district has received a global grant from The Rotary Foundation. The grant amount is $94,500. The funds are to be used to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to the medical staff at St. Francis House in Boston and Care Dimension facilities on the North Shore. Ten thousand dollars will be used to supply food for the clients of St, Francis House. In addition to funding from The Rotary Foundation and District 7930, generous contributions from Rotary District 2650 in Kyoto, Japan, and the Rotary Club of Kyoto South made this grant possible. The leadership in Kyoto, Japan we eager to assist their sister city, Boston, with this humanitarian project. Local Rotary Clubs in Boston, Burlington, Burlington Breakfast, Gloucester, Lexington, Marblehead and Topsfield, Boxford, and Middleton also rose to the occasion and financially supported this project.
GUATEMALA WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE PROJECTS
Bringing sustainable clean water & sanitation facilities to the indigenous Mayan
Over the past 13 years nearly 50% of the Rotary Clubs in District 7890 have participated in funding of sustainable clean water, sanitation, and hygiene projects for the indigenous Mayans in the northern highlands of Guatemala. Under the stewardship of Rotarian Rick Lawrence from the Manchester, CT Rotary Club, this has resulted in 25 villages receiving these facilities, serving over 15,000 people. Since 2006 we have partnered with an NGO, ALDEA, which has maintained a stellar reputation for accountability and project management and the Rotary Club of La Antigua, GUA which functions as our “Host”.
Guatemala Stove Project
Humanitarian Project to Improve Health & Combat Poverty in Mayan Villages
District 7910 executed a Global Grant and led a group of RC Westborough and other district Rotarians to install 184 stoves in the homes of Mayan villagers along the shores of picturesque Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Most villagers cook on an open flame inside their homes. Studies by the WHO have determined that smoke inhalation is a root cause of death and poor health in Mayan women and the primary cause of death in their children, ages 1-5. These new efficient cook stoves, however, reduce indoor carbon monoxide by 99% and allow children to go to school - rather than gathering firewood all day - as each cinder block stove burns 85% less wood.
Community Food Collaborative
Rotary Community Corps Helps Build and Sustain a Community Garden
The Rotary Clubs of Sturbridge and Southbridge formed a Rotary Community Corps (RCC) to bring together many community volunteers to create the Community Food Collaborative (CFC), which in turn built a large community garden. This garden provides fresh, organic vegetables for those in need. The CFC helps foster a greater sense of community by involving neighbors, volunteer organizations and mentoring local youth throughout each growing season to produce vegetables for the St John Paul II Food Pantry which serves the hungry in both Sturbridge and Southbridge. In 2019 the garden produced over 3,000 lbs of nutritious produce. The Rotary Community Corps oversees all aspects of the CFC.
D7870 Inbound CoVid-19 $340K Global Grant
Multi-Club IB Global Grant
Rotarians from 35 out of the 59 clubs in District 7870 have participated in three COVID Global Grant Projects and contributed $114,000.00.
Rotary Dairy Projects
Helping Dairy Farmers and the Foodbanks
Martin Cohn of the RC of Brattleboro has completed three dairy products where milk or cheese was purchased from local farmers and converted to products for the State foodbanks of Vermont & New Hampshire.
Rwanda Microcredit GG
Supporting Education buy Supporting Local Businesses
In early 2019 seven New Hampshire Lakes Region Rotary clubs and Meredith Rotary’s Interact club donated $14,000 to the Rotary Foundation. Those donations were matched by District 7870’s District Designated Funds and The Rotary Foundation to create the $49,000 Rwanda Children Education Foundation MicroCredit Global Grant in April 2019.
Vocational Technical Training (VTT) in South Africa
Mitigation of Substance Abuse in Pregnancy
Our VTT was for the purposes of sharing knowledge and research in the area of Fetal Alcohol and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. The use of both alcohol and drugs during pregnancy can cause immediate and long term issues to the fetus in utero and in life after birth.
Desks for Remote Learning
The Rotary Club of Hyannis has been challenged, like all Rotary clubs, with meeting its commitment to doing service projects in its community. Its successful reading program at Hyannis West Elementary school was put on hold along with other ongoing in-person programs serving their community.
In December of 2020, Rotarians learned about the need for support for students experiencing remote learning. One Rotarian who saw the idea for desks on national news repurposed part of his basement into a workshop and purchased needed tools for what has become his new hobby.
Partnering with Hyannis West Elementary School, seven children were identified whose families would benefit from a student desk. This project continues as we wait for more students in need.to be identified.
The initial seven desks were built. Another Rotarian helped stain and deliver them.
If you are interested in learning more about this project or for information on how to build desks, contact Paul Gandillot at: paulgandillot@yahoo.com
Making a Difference in Our Community:
Falmouth, MA
We have dedicated ourselves to making a difference in our community. Our well-respected efforts continue even in the midst of the pandemic. Come and join us in our efforts to reach those who need us most…
FCTV Falmouth in Focus - FCTV October 1, 2020
Outdoor Classrooms Surge in Popularity Amid Virus Concerns - WCAI October 5, 2020
Rotary Club of Falmouth Youth Initiatives - FCTV October 5, 2020
Come visit us at: http://www.Falmouthrotary.com
ROTARY CLUB OF BOURNE-SANDWICH
CAPE KID MEALS
How did our Rotary club get involved?
Five years ago, one of our guest speakers was the director of Cape Kid Meals
(CKM). She was looking to expand the CKM program into the four Bourne and Sandwich elementary schools.
After hearing her speak, our club jumped on the opportunity to become part of this new program and in doing so became partners with Cape Kid Meals. Our first responsibility was to reach out to the 4 elementary schools, explain the program and see if they were interested in becoming part of the Cape Kid Meals community. All four elementary schools welcomed our Rotary club and Cape Kid Meals into their schools.
CKM Mission
Cape Kid Meals mobilizes caring people and communities to provide food over the weekend to food insecure school-aged children across the Cape who might otherwise go hungry.
CKM Purpose
The purpose of CKM is to raise awareness of the reality of food insecurity among a significant number of Cape Cod families, and to provide food for school-aged children of these families on weekends when access to school breakfast/lunch programs is not available.
Cape Kid Meals (CKM) Vision
The vision of CKM is to establish a program in every elementary school where there is a need, and to not have any hungry school-aged children on Cape Cod over the weekend during the school year.
WHAT IS OUR CLUB RESPONSIBILITY?
Our Rotary club shops for the food, packs 120 individual student bags weekly, delivers the bags to the four elementary schools, and runs our CKM chapters. Our club continues to pack the 120 weekly bags for students during the school year, and has continued to pack for the children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as well.
For more information contact us at:
Rotary Club of Westerly: The "Mighty Little Club"
Who says a small club can't do big things?
The Rotary Club of Westerly, RI is proud to have 22 active members. While the pandemic put a serious crimp on fundraising and other annual activities like our Chowder Cook Off, Scholarship Auction, food vendor at the Chorus of Westerly Pops Concert in the Park which draws about 25,000 attendees yearly, the club still managed to do what Rotarians do: “be people of action”.
In March of 2020 Rotarians joined with three local social service agencies to deliver groceries and pick-up prescriptions for those who are shut-in, quarantined, disabled, or otherwise have no means of doing it themselves.
Monthly the club holds a Westerly “Can Do” effort where members bring canned goods and other non-perishables to meetings, and they are delivered back to these agencies to fill in their empty shelves.
Rotarians responded to a donation request from a local family whose son is afflicted with Spina Bifida and in need of a new wheelchair ramp for their van. The club instead worked with the local radio station and presented a daylong 11-hour Radiothon in the middle of downtown Westerly. Hoping to raise close to the $11, 000 needed, the effort has brought in more than $31,000 to date.
Westerly Rotarians are cognizant of the many sacrifices that essential workers make during a pandemic; to recognize their efforts, we designed and produced Thank You signs to our Essential Workers and placed them at the hospital, nursing homes, and congregate settings.
Several months later, we Placed Thank You to Teachers signs at every school in town.
In addition to the above, the Westerly Club spearheaded a blood drive in the fall,
Reinstated our Student of the Month program on Zoom, honoring the best of the best from our high school, and sponsored our 6th Annual Golf Tournament completely socially distanced and without a dinner.
Find a Way? We did! In November we were able to hold our 5th Annual Pasta Dinner as a drive-up event in conjunction with the local Lions Club to benefit the Westerly Community Heating
Fund...raised $5000!
YARMOUTH ROTARY CAPE COD BRITE LIGHTS, Inc.
In 2020 the Rotary Club of Yarmouth formed a new 501c(3) corporation called Cape Cod Brite Lights, Inc. and its mission is “To Help Those In Need On Cape Cod.” It’s main focus to date has been to provide weekend backpacks of nutritional food for needy elementary students in the Dennis/Yarmouth School System. A backpack of food consists of shelf stable milk (white & chocolate), juice carton, cereal, instant oatmeal, two proteins which could be a can of tuna, chicken, pasta, soup or beef stew, a cup of apple sauce, macaroni and cheese, Nutra grain fruit granola bar, cheese it’s, fruit snacks, a pudding cup and 2 pieces of fruit. In addition, to give each student some activities to do during the holiday break we put a coloring book and crayons in each bag. We started with a total of 25 students but have grown to 45, an increase of over 80% in just 3 months.
In addition, to the backpacks we have focused on providing a weekly food bag to adult clients at Community Connections. These clients are ones that are living on their own but are also struggling to keep their heads above water. About 15 – 18 food items are provided each week to each client to help supplement their food insecurities. The number of bags provided average between 15 and 20 each week. For more information visit our website.
http://www.capecodbritelightsinc.com
Water For Cambodia (WFC)
The Rotary Club of Wakefield, RI leads the long term effort……
Riverfront Woods Preserve Boardwalk
District Grant and Clubs Funds at Work
The Rotary Club of Yarmouth, ME recently completed a 170’ boardwalk in the most remote section of Yarmouth’s new Riverfront Woods Preserve. This boardwalk was funded by a combination of a $5,000 District Grant, $1,500 from the Club and $500 from the town. The project also included coordination with town staff and the Royal River Conservation Trust.
Rotary Club of Essex
Service Above Self' Essential Worker Superstars
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rotary Club of Essex elected to pivot our annual 'Service Above Self' recognition to include all essential workers working on the front lines. Nominations were gathered from the public to recognize 2 essential worker superstars from our community for 5 consecutive weeks in the areas of public safety, medical, education, food and service industry. Each winner received gift cards from local businesses, and public recognition with their names displayed on a banner at a busy intersection as well as recognition through several social media outlets.
Little Red School House Wallingford
Paul Harris Memorial Building & Garden
The cherished “Little Red Schoolhouse” was built in the town where Paul Harris grew up and learned some of the most important values of his lifetime. Those values now form the basis of the worldwide service organization he established.
Parish Cupboard in West Springfield
Kitchen upgrade
The Rotary Club of West Springfield, MA Club has utilized the District Grants program, provided by Rotary District 7890, many times to benefit a number of deserving organizations serving the West Springfield community.
The Parish Cupboard is a food pantry in West Springfield, MA. The Parish Cupboard provides meals and groceries to individuals and families in need throughout West Springfield and its surrounding communities. In addition, there is also a homeless population living within one mile of the facility. For this at risk group, the Parish Cupboard is their primary source of food, and serves meals to approximately fifty people per day. The Club utilized the District Grants program to complete two complementary projects to benefit the Parish Cupboard. With the support of a District Grant, the total budget for the two projects increased to $7,500. Pictured here is the kitchen upgrade.
A COVID-19 Pandemic Fundraising Success
Creative South Burlington Rotary Committee Turns Annual Ugly Sweater Fun/Run and Walk into a fun and safe virtual community event called the Ugly Mask.
When COVID-19 restrictions cancelled our South Burlington Rotary Clubs Annual Ugly Sweater Fun Run and Walk event we needed to re-imagine. The result was a new virtual event! We wanted the event to have the same, if not better financial success for our partners, the South Burlington High School Academic Boosters and the other local charities that depend on our support! Our creative committee members decided to do The Ugly Mask Contest, virtually. This event was free to all participants and it helped build community spirit during a very difficult time! Our winners received an Amazon Gift Card and through local sponsorships we were able to raise $7000 dollars and provide $2500 dollars for the South Burlington High School Academic Booster club to support our school community. Please visit our website for more details about our event.
Growing Local Economies
Shimoga, India
The West Springfield Rotary Club utilized the Global Grants Program provided by Rotary International, to benefit the people of Shimoga, India and its surrounding villages. After assessing the community's most critical needs, a project was proposed to empower women who had no vocational skills, and were therefore stigmatized by their husbands, children, and others living in their villages
Water for Tulum
Clean Drinking Water for Elementary Schools
In November of 2018 the Salisbury Rotary Club’s guest speaker was a member of the Tulum, Mexico Rotary Club. Her presentation was in regard to the lack of clean water in the local elementary schools. The water was so poor that students either purchased bottled water, if they could afford it, or were faced with the choice of drinking non-potable water from the fountains or go without. The Tulum club was in its infancy and consisted of only 7 members and very little resources for projects. It was this club’s desire to purchase 10 modern dual filtration water fountains for the area schools at approximately $1,500 USD apiece. This story struck a chord in the hearts of two of the Salisbury Rotarians and the following spring they visited Tulum and stayed at the home of the speaker from the Tulum club.
The Opioid Crisis
During the Rotary Year 2017-2018, Rotary District 7890 began an Addiction Task Force.
While visiting our 59 Rotary Clubs in Northern Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, we were repeatedly asked the question: “What is Rotary doing about the problem of Addiction and the Opioid Pandemic”. Rotarians shared their personal stories of young people who had died of overdoses, families in crises, local businesses struggling with addicted employees, school systems which needed successful prevention and intervention strategies for both their students and the students’ families, a criminal justice system which was not equipped to deal with the behavior (both criminal and non-criminal) of those struggling with addiction, and a health care system facing a huge surge in overdose victims with limited access to long term treatment options. There was also the huge issue of alcohol addiction, as well as, those who suffered from both alcoholism and drug addiction. Finally, addiction is a disease that impacts every country and every community around the globe.
At first glance, addressing the issue of “Addiction” seemed overwhelming. However, as Rotarians we have been successfully tackling big goals such as ending Polio on planet earth. We can clearly see that addiction is an ongoing issue that has horrendous impacts on all of our communities. Rotarians, Rotary Clubs and Rotary International must address Addiction which clearly falls within our areas of focus including Disease Prevention and Treatment, and Peace and Conflict Resolution (gang and drug cartel violence, and addiction fueled domestic violence).
RC Mystic Partners with Three D7980 Clubs to Furnish Kinship Home for Lakota Children
Team Up to do Bigger Jobs than one Club's Resources Permit
RC Mystic Partners with Three D7980 Clubs to Furnish Kinship Home for Lakota Children
Over the last few years the Mystic Club has provided financial and hands-on volunteer assistance to our Lakota friends on the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in La Plant, South Dakota. These efforts have been facilitated by Simply Smiles, a not-for-profit organization that builds villages of foster homes where children are raised by families and in strong intentional communities: http://simplysmiles.org/. Simply Smiles currently operates two Children’s Villages, one in Oaxaca, Mexico and one on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.
Lakota children are removed from their homes on the Reservation at an average of 16 removals per month. They are sometimes placed in juvenile detention when there is nowhere else to place them. Simply Smiles is addressing this tragedy by developing a Children’s Village for the children most at-risk on the Reservation: http://simplysmiles.org/crst-childrens-village.
In 2019, members of the Mystic and Stoningtons Clubs helped with the construction of the first residence in the Children’s Village. In 2020 our Clubs partnered with the Waterford and Tribury Clubs to fund a District Managed Grant to furnish that home. Thanks to TRF matching funds and several unmatched contributions from friends and family members, we were able to leverage our four Clubs’ funding to provide over $17,000, enough to fully furnish the kinship home, just in time for the first children placed.
Helping Cambodian Kids
These children of the CIO Orphanage were living outdoors under blue tarps when they were discovered by the Rotary Club of Bath. Now, seven years later, they have a safe permanent home. Please take a look at the video.
Collaboration with Others Broadens our Reach
Rotary Club of Quincy Massachusetts
The Quincy Rotary Club worked with the South Shore YMCA Germantown Neighborhood Center to provide support and donations. This includes support to the Germantown Food Pantry, including involvement with their Holiday Program and creation of hygiene baskets.
Food insecurity is a fact of life for the residents of the Germantown and Quincy Point neighborhoods of Quincy, Ma. The Germantown area of Quincy represents the majority of the city’s lowest income families, particularly single parent female headed households. Over 65% of the families living in this neighborhood consist of a mother and her children. The mean family income for a family headed household with children under 18 is $10,998. The Median income for all households in Germantown is $22,250.00. Children under 14 make up 40% of the total population, and the number of children living at or below the poverty level is four times greater than in the city of Quincy overall. Housing includes two subsidized apartment complexes of 868 public housing units and two senior housing buildings. The South Shore YMCA’s Germantown Neighborhood Center serves this population. More than 95% of the children that live in Germantown receive the free lunch and breakfast program at the elementary school, 75% of the families depend on the food pantry that is located at the center.