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Sunday Musings - February 28

Water and Sanitation Month

The month of March is Water and Sanitation month in the Rotary world. In fact, March 22nd is World Water Day. Since 1993, the United Nations has observed March 22nd as World Water Day as a way to highlight the importance of clean water. This year's theme is "Valuing Water."

Important District 5340 Grants Update

For the 2020-21 Rotary year, some District Grants may not be possible due to COVID restrictions and cancellations. We understand that clubs may want to reallocate funds to another project.

District Training Session Slated for April 10

The District Training Assembly offers training for ALL Rotarians including club officers, directors, committee & program chairs to help them be effective club leaders.

Rancho Bernardo Rotary Neighborhood Watch Sign Mounting

Pictured left to right Jim Hyldahl, Dave King, Alan Turner & Stuart Turner (photo by Don Glover).

Every day we see more and more signs that we are starting to return to "normalcy". One sure indicator is Rotarians back out in the community helping people and fulfilling their calling to be "People of Action". Here is the Rancho Bernardo Rotary Club team under the direction of Jim Hyldahl with coordination from Alan Turner (Seven Oaks) and Cathy Glover (Mirador) that mounted 19 new Neighborhood Watch Signs in the Seven Oaks Community and two in the Oaks North Community of Mirador.

This is the second time in the last few years that Rotarians from the Rancho Bernardo Rotary Club have mounted Neighborhood Watch Signs and they remain available to help any other Rancho Bernardo Community that needs assistance in mounting such signs.

25th Annual Jim Laslavic Charity Golf Tournament

It’s Tee Time! The Rotary Club of Coronado is presenting its 25th Annual Jim Laslavic Charity Golf Tournament at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course on Friday, March 19, 2021.

Anti-Human Trafficking Educational Videos Now Available

Together, we possess the ability to break the cycle!

District 5340's dedicated Anti-Human Trafficking task force proudly launches a series of initiatives that are designed to increase the awareness of San Diego County's human sex trafficking scourge and generate measures to help prevent individuals -- primarily young people -- from becoming victims.

The Rotary Foundation Approves Changes to Funding Model

To better support the growth of global grants, The Rotary Foundation Trustees recently approved policy changes to help balance financial resources with program demands. These changes will take effect 1 July 2021.

The global grants program has been a tremendous success since it launched in 2013-14. That first year, the Foundation awarded 868 global grants worth $47.3 million. By 2019-20, the number of global grants awarded increased to 1,359, worth $95.6 million. While global grant funding increased by more than 100%, contributions to the Annual Fund, which is the primary source for global grant funding, did not keep pace. The demand for global grant funding is far greater than what is available.

Sunday Musings - February 21, 2021

"This week's Sunday Morning Musing we have as our guest columnist District Governor-Elect Dan Gensler from the Coronado Rotary club. Dan will offer his Musing which I am sure is outstanding."

Binational Virtual Project Fair

It is our pleasure to invite you to learn about District 4100 Global Grants. Do you want to make a global grant? Do you know the role of CADRES in the Rotary Foundation? Would you like to know how Rotary projects contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals? Their Project Fair will have workshops and conferences to educate you on all the above and more.

THEY ARE WAITING FOR YOU! Register at: https://forms.gle/7Az5MsrSpT8bP3TYA

Old Mission Rotary Conducts Club Round of Four Way Speech Contest

Old Mission Rotary conducted its club round of the District 5340's Four Way Speech Contest on February 16th. They look forward to this important and impressive event every year and this was their first time ever to have the contest on Zoom!

Old Mission Rotary is one of many clubs across Rotary District 5340 to sponsor a first round contest. The rules are all the same throughout the district and students have between five and seven minutes to deliver a talk that is judged on content, organization, delivery and application of the of the Rotary Four Way Test.

Year after year, this event has been flawlessly organized and executed at Old Mission Rotary by Eric Benink. As is their club’s tradition, students from the Reality Changers Program participated in Old Mission Rotary's club round.

Reality Changers was founded in May 2001. The program gives students living in areas targeted by gang culture an opportunity to become the first in their families to attend college and provides a positive peer culture. Many Old Mission Rotarians have served as mentors and tutors over the years.

The founder, Chris Yanov, used money he won on the TV game show Wheel of Fortune to launch his dream! Reality Changers has a 98% success rate of getting participants into college and many are the first in their family to do so!

Sunday Morning Musings - February 14

Erika Rodriguez

This month we profile Erika Rodriguez, the District’s new administrator. We want the membership to get to know Erika as she will become a great asset to our clubs and membership.

Without further ado, let’s meet Erika.

Cross Border Efforts - Grains of Hope

Since the pandemic started, more connections have been made between the Rotarian clubs of San Diego and Tijuana in order to provide much needed assistance to Tijuana. Fernanda Torres (Peace Chair, San Diego Coastal Rotary Club and D4100 and D5340 liaison) and Carlos Carrillo (D4100 International Service Chair and Pro Peace Committee Chair) spearheaded these collaborative efforts. Last April, DDFs sent thousands of pieces of PPE to frontline workers in Tijuana and then, beans and rice were distributed to people unable to obtain food during the lockdown. Last Thursday, another 3370 pounds of food was distributed to at risk communities on Tijuana. The Rotary Club of Tijuana Milenio Minarete helped channel the funds from San Diego clubs to buy food.

This project would also not have been possible without the support of Mark McAnelly of Old Mission Club of San Diego, the main sponsor. Mark led the effort to obtain funds from his club and drove his own truck to deliver the food. This new campaign is called Granitas de Esperanza or Grains of Hope. The aim of the campaign is not just to provide food, but to spread the message of hope to the community of Tijuana and build binational collaboration among clubs.