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VIRTUAL ROTARY MEETINGS
No Rotary meeting Friday September 18th!
 
Please join us NEXT Friday, September 25th at 12:30pm
 
Joining us will be Vitaliy Bezrodnov Founder and Coordinator of Rotary Children's Fund.
The “Rotary Children's Fund” exists to promote good will between countries by funding organizations that
contribute to peace, cultural understanding and appreciation through the arts.
 
To join the zoom meeting please use the link below
 
Meeting ID: 483 994 1111

By phone: 1-929-205-6099

We hope you can attend!
 
Read more...
ROTARY CLUB OF SPRINGFIELD, MA UPDATES
Moving forward we will be having our Rotary Club Virtual meetings bi-weekly, and the Bulletin will be sent during the opposite week.
Virtual meeting links will be sent out a couple days prior to the meeting, but you can always find them on the Rotary Club of Springfield Clubrunner or in the Bulletin.
Thank you!
FILL THE PLATE, FEED A FAMILY CHALLENGE
 “Fill the Plate, Feed a Family Challenge,”
The Gray House has kicked off its sixth annual on-line fundraising initiative to support the Market at Gray House.
Their goal is to raise $12,000 to help feed families in need throughout our community during the month of September.
 
As you can imagine, the need is greater than ever as a result of the current pandemic. In late August, they had their greatest single-day distribution where they served over 266 households in a matter of 3 hours! In the past 6 months, they’ve served 1,255 more people than they did in ALL of 2019! 
 
The Gray House has asked The Springfield Rotary Club to help them reach this goal and Sue Mastroianni has agreed to help them gather donations as Captain for "Team Rotary". 
All proceeds will directly support their Market.
Please consider making a donation by clicking on this link https://www.mightycause.com/team/Springfieldrotary   
 Donations can be made to the general fund or allocated for Team Rotary. 
Please feel free to share the above link with friends and family.
We need your support to ensure these individuals and families have nutritious food to fill their plates.
 
Once you've made your contribution, you can help spread the word by taking a photo of yourself with an empty plate to represent all of the families that would go hungry without The Gray House.
Post it to social media, encouraging your network to join you!
Be sure to tag @TheGrayHouseInc on Facebook, use #FillThePlate and include the donationURL: https://bit.ly/31Lt9Gc 
Don't forget to make your post public so we can all share!
 
Here is our Rotary Team Captain joining in the challenge!
 
Since beginning this fundraising initiative in 2015, The Gray House has raised over $55,000 to support the food assistance operations.
“The donations from “Fill The Plate” are leveraged to provide food to families in need, individuals who are homeless, the elderly, veterans and folks from all walks of life.
We encourage donors to post on social media and share with their networks so that we can raise awareness of food insecurity in our community and raise the much needed funds to support these efforts,” says Kristen McClintock, Executive Director at The Gray House. 
 Cash and checks are also welcomed and can be allocated to Team Rotary.
All donations can be mailed to The Gray House 22 Sheldon St, Springfield, MA 01107
 
Please reach out if you need assistance donating.
 

MESSAGE FROM ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL UPDATE FROM MARC GLASS:
Jennifer Jones was nominated to be President of Rotary International for the year 22/23.
This could be a historic moment in Rotary as she, if elected would be the first women President.
 
Thank You!
Because of your commitment to the Rotary Foundation, our district is one of the top 3 districts for total Rotary Foundation giving in Rotary Zone 32. Our district reached a total of $515,814.
 This figure includes donations to: the Annual Fund, Polio Plus, the Endowment, the Disaster Response Fund and Global Grants.  
What other districts are in our zone?  Our zone is comprised of districts in Southern Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Bermuda. Plus a few clubs in Quebec are thrown in to make us a cross border zone.
 
Polio Update
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) abruptly halted all mass vaccination campaigns in March, worried they could inadvertently spread the novel coronavirus.
The move further imperiled the troubled 3-decade drive to wipe out polio.
 
But now, armed with new data and perspective, GPEI and the countries it supports are resuming vaccination campaigns. Burkina Faso was first out of the gate in early July; Pakistan last week. Polio cases are surging in many countries, and models paint a “pretty bleak picture” if campaigns don’t restart soon, says Michel Zaffran, who heads the effort at the World Health Organization (WHO). For now, countries will only be responding to outbreaks; preventive campaigns remain on hold.
 
Vaccinators get temperature checks before getting to work in Karachi, Pakistan, on July 20th.
 
We Did It! 
Our District and the Amherst Rotary Club recently applied for a Disaster Response Grant. The grant was recently approved by the Rotary Foundation to purchase a  Zoll ZVent MRI Compatible Portable Ventilator for Cooley-Dickinson Hospital, in Northampton. The ventilator features a full range of ventilation options, making this portable ventilator not only easy to use but also MRI-conditional, providing patients with high-quality ventilation all the way to the MRI suite. Many thanks go to DRFC Prasad Menon and Amherst Rotarian Georgia Moore for their hard work in getting this grant approved.  
 
Rotary disaster response grants support relief and recovery efforts in areas affected by natural disasters within the past six months. Qualified districts in affected areas may apply for grants of up to $25,000, based on the availability of funds. Grant funds can be used to provide basic items such as water, food, medicine, and clothing.
Rotary ClubRunner
Clubrunner Member Account Information
 
Fellow Rotarian's when you have a moment please log in to your Rotary Clubrunner account and make sure that your contact information is up to date.
Please look at addresses, phone numbers and emails.
More and more correspondence will be over email or phone since we are unable to meet face to face.
If you need assistance please let us know.
 Thank you!
 
Birthdays and Milestones
Member Birthday
 
Lamont Clemens, September 12th
Rowland Hawthorne, September 21st
 
Anniversaries
 
No anniversaries
 
Joined Rotary Anniversaries
 
 Alan Popp- 12 years
Gillian Amaral- 4 years
John Perez- 4 years

Grab & Go Lunch Program for Seniors Beginning

In partnership with Greater Springfield Senior Services, The Gray House will be offering prepared lunches for senior citizens age 60 and over. The curbside, no contact distribution for these meals will be every Tuesday and Friday from 12pm-1pm. This program requires you to make a reservation in advance.

If you would like to make a reservation to pick up on a Tuesday, please call or complete this form no later than 8:30am on the Monday before.

If you would like to make a reservation to pick up on a Friday, please call or complete this form no later than 8:30am on the Wednesday before.

Reservations can be made by calling 413-517-6137 and leaving a voicemail with your first and last name, phone number and date you would like to pick up your meal. You can also make your reservation by completing this form: tinyurl.com/GHReservations

After making your reservation by phone or online, you will receive a confirmation call from The Gray House to confirm your reservation and provide you with instructions on how and when to pick up your meal.

WANT TO REACH ROTARIANS? 
 
Do you have some news or information that might be of interest to fellow Rotarians?*
 
If so, please email Samalid Hogan at smhogan413@gmail.com by TUESDAY of each week for inclusion in Friday's bulletin.
Our weekly Bulletin goes out to more than 70 local leaders every week and is a wonderful way to spread your message. *All submissions are subject to approval. 
PHOTOS FROM CHALK IT UP! 2019
 
RSS
Jennifer E. Jones makes history, becomes first woman named Rotary president-nominee

Jennifer Jones, of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2022-23.

Clubs made to order

These clubs keep things fresh with new ideas and new members.

The world stopped. They didn’t

These 10 workers put service above self when it counted most

 
Questions to Join Springfield Rotary:
Enter your email address and the message you want to send.
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President's Message

John Perez

Click to send email

 
 
 
Speakers
Upcoming Speakers
TO BE ANNOUNCED
Oct 02, 2020
TO BE ANNOUNCED
Oct 09, 2020
TO BE ANNOUNCED
Oct 16, 2020
Past Speakers
Vitaliy Bezrodnov
Sep 25, 2020
Rotary Children's Fund Cultural Exchange Program Golden Gates
TO BE ANNOUNCED
Sep 18, 2020
Lydia Martinez Assistant Superintendent
Sep 11, 2020
Springfield Public Schools
View entire list...
Club Officers & Directors
President
John Perez
President Elect
Maurice Powe
Secretary
Keri Davidson-Bravman
Treasurer
Michael Kelley
Immediate Past President
Bert Carter
Membership
Sue Mastroianni
Sergeant-at-Arms
Michael Cooley
The Rotary Foundation
Jack Toner
Service Projects
Marie Angelides
Public Relations
Samalid Hogan
Second Vice-President
Richard Fulkerson
Assistant Treasurer
Bernie Spirito
Director
Gillian Amaral
Director
Valerie Dulude
Rotary Online
 
 
Club Information

Rotary Club of Springfield - Meeting Fridays-12:15 PM

Springfield Rotary

Service Above Self

We meet In Person & Online
Fridays at 12:30 PM
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
1150 West Columbus Ave.,
MassMutual Room
Springfield, MA 01105
United States of America
Until further notice, our club meets online using Zoom. Our meeting ID and Password are viewable to Rotarians within our Rotary District. For other access, please contact President John Perez: john.perez@consiliumopis.com
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