This is a very special time of year. The upcoming holiday season is an ideal time to reflect on the powerful role that Rotary and the Rotary Foundation play in promoting peace worldwide. It is what Rotary is all about. Our founder Paul Harris was motivated by the warmth of friendship and the love of community when he proposed forming an organization around these principles.
When Arch Klumph advocated for a reserve fund to assure Rotary’s ability to continue doing good, he set the groundwork for that guarantee. Today our contributions to The Rotary Foundation address seven (7) areas of the world’s most pressing needs. Among them, our contributions continue to help support Peace Fellows and the formation of Peace Centers.
Peace Fellows are trained, skilled peacebuilders, mediators, and leaders in conflict resolution. They work on the frontlines, often in areas of extreme poverty, inequality, and instability. Rotary’s investment in these future leaders and in the seven (7) Rotary Peace Centers enables communities to rebuild and thrive long after conflicts subside.
Foundation-funded initiatives support peacebuilder clubs, Rotary District peace projects, and young people through peace-focused Rotary Youth Leadership Awards(RYLA).
In Rotary ‘tis the season to always be building Positive Peace as we work to encourage trust, bridge divides, and encourage a culture of inclusion and goodwill to all.
I hope when we hear “Peace of Earth” being sung this year, we will each take pause to remember how precious is the gift to be able to live and work in peace.
Approaching the winter solstice, as the days grow colder and darker, let’s honor and celebrate the two things we all share – this beautiful planet, our one home - and Rotary for bringing us together as family. On behalf of Lawrence and myself, we wish you all a joyous holiday season. May this December bring our world closer to a spirit of caring and the blessings peace.
Happy Holidays everyone!
Happy Thanks!!!
… to all the clubs I have had the opportunity to visit (so far)
this Roary year!
Sincere thanks for the warm welcomes,
the generous expressions of appreciation and support,
but mostly,
Thank you for the engaging conversations,
Your passion for Rotary,
How deeply you care for the needs of others in your community.
I’m looking forward to meeting with just a few more of the Clubs in District 6650
And then celebrating our year together at District Conference
May 24, 2025, at the Tyler History Center in Youngstown, OH
Greetings from the Foundation Committee,
In the fall and early winter season we celebrate some of the most anticipated holidays of the year. It is during this holiday season of family, friends, and celebration that we realize how very fortunate we are. In Rotary we celebrate by conducting our annual Paul Harris Challenge Fund Raising Campaign. In a few days you will receive a letter from the District asking you for a contribution to the Rotary Foundation.
Rotary is not just a service club it is a humanitarian organization with an office in the United Nations Building. Our areas of focus include fighting disease, providing clean water and sanitation, protecting the environment, saving mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies, and protecting the environment.
The money you contribute doesn’t just go to other places. A portion of your contribution will come back to your club in the form of district grants that will support your projects in your community.
Any Rotarian who gives $20 or more will have his or her name put in a drawing and may win a Paul Harris Fellow. At the bottom of the letter you are able to transfer the points from your contribution to another Rotarian. This is a gift you can give to a fellow Rotarian who is saving points toward a Paul Harris Fellow.
We also want to recognize those clubs that have every Rotarian in the club make a contribution. This is quite an accomplishment and certainly an example of the hard work club officers do in communicating the project’s importance. `
Our District Governor Elayne wants to ask that every Rotarian consider giving $66.50 or more in honor of District 6650.
Please consider your contribution carefully. Your gift to The Rotary Foundation is a gift to the world.
Sincerely, Linda Henderson Rotary Foundation Chairperson, District 6650
Rotary International Service Projects Center
Rotary members and program participants are improving lives in communities around the world every day through thousands of service projects
. Explore the good work that we’re doing locally and globally, and share these projects through social media
https://spc.rotary.org/
Managing and sharing information about your service project is now a faster, easier, and better experience with Service Project Center, Rotary’s new service project hub.
Dynamic and with new features, Service Project Center allows you to log projects, find opportunities for collaboration with other clubs, and find inspiration for your club’s next project. You’ll also be able to:
Manage your projects from any mobile device
Easily share projects by email and social media platforms
Manage your club’s service projects if you are one of the club officers.
Add project locations using Google Maps
Service Project Center represents a significant development in Rotary International’s continual efforts to support our clubs and the communities they partner with. Added features help you tell your club’s project stories, giving you greater credibility with potential members, partners, and donors. And you’ll have more opportunities to include photos and details, better capturing your work and talking about it more transparently.
My Club Projects – If you would like to view or search the service projects posted on Showcase by your club, click on My Club Projects at the top of the page.
Adding a project – Any active Rotary or Rotaract member can post projects in Rotary Showcase.
Editing, copying, and deleting projects – The member who posted the project, members added as project contacts, and the current club president can edit, copy, or delete a project.
Engagement tracker – When you add an end date to your service project, an engagement tracker appears at the bottom of the page (part 7) where you can track the number of volunteers, volunteer hours, funds raised, etc.
As we welcome in a new Rotary year with District Governor, Elayne Bozick, we look forward to making her signature project Operation Pollination a success. This initiative aligns with Rotary International’s 7th area of focus, supporting the environment and is an ESRAG (Environmentally Sustainability Rotary Action Group) initiative.
The District Environmental Committee has decided one of the best ways to be successful is by creating a district challenge to motivate and incentivize clubs to get involved in a fun and engaging way. The club that wins the challenge will receive a $1,000 Paul Harris Fellow to give away as they choose. With this in mind, all points should be reported by May 31, 2025. This challenge will support the two main goals of Operation Pollination:
Restoring habitat
Educating others
The District Environmental Committee has created a resource packet to support the efforts of the clubs as they find creative ways to meet the goals of this important initiative.
The very first step is to develop an environmental committee in your club and to sign a pollinator pledge briefly outlining some of the ideas your club will adopt to support Operation Pollination. Please provide the name of your committee chairperson and the pledge to Christine Cope or another member of the district committee. The chairperson can also be the club president if it is easier due to the size of your club. Skipping this step will not disqualify your club from winning the challenge but it will be helpful to have a plan. I can also share the Google Drive folder instead of just providing a link. This can make it easier for some people to access.
Included in your packet:
Pollinator Pledge
Sign the pledge to give examples of how you intend to support OP in 2024/2025. It can be signed by your environmental committee chairperson or the club president. Y
Operation Pollination Action List to Earn Points
This gives you information on how to earn points.
Minimum points are not required to win the district challenge. The club with the most points will win.
Suggestions for Programs, Events, Speakers, etc…
There are countless ways to restore habitat and educate. This is by no means a comprehensive list. It is meant to provide guidance.
Scoresheet
You can use this spreadsheet to keep track of your points. Print it out or use it electronically.
The clubs will self-report.
Example of Calendar to Plan for Points
Included is an example of how I personally plan to make the most points for our club. I have some work to bring us up to the maximum!
List of 2024 Awareness Dates
These can be used for social media posts, special programs, speaker topics, newsletters, fellowship and more.
Examples of Pollinator Events in the Area
These are current events in the area that will become outdated quickly. They serve as examples of programs and events. However, they also count for points if a member of your club participates. I Googled pollinator events and these are what I got.
Other resources are available in this Google Drive folder. There are also folders for each club to share their final score sheets and photos. Make sure you keep the link somewhere accessible!
Bonus points are provided for photos! Take as many as you can. Share them on social media but make sure to share them in your folder so we can share our success at the end of the Rotary year.
On behalf of District Governor Elayne Bozick and the District Environmental Committee, we want to say THANK YOU for making this initiative a success. It is through the Magic of Rotary that so many people can come together to make a difference!
Christine Cope
Chairperson
District 6650 Environmental Committee
330-207-2065
ccope@unedwaytrumbull.org
Q & A’s
Q: if my idea is not on the list, how do I know how may points our club will receive?
A: Look to see what action item it is most similar to, but when in doubt reach out to Christine Cope at 330-207-2065 or ccope@unitedwaytrumbull.org. You may also reach out to another district committee member.
Q. Does our club have to earn the minimum points to qualify to win?
A. No! The club with the most points will win regardless of if they reach the minimum points threshold. Minimum points just give you an idea of what points are possible and how to plan to get the most points.
Q. Can our club collaborate with another club for an event or program?
A. Absolutely! It is encouraged.
Q. When is the challenge over?
A. All points will need to be reported by the end of May. If you have social media posts, programs or events scheduled in June 2025, you may include the points when reporting.
Q. Where do we send pictures?
A. There is a folder for each club in the District Environmental committee folder. You may also text or email them to Christine Cope. 330-207-2065. Ccope@unitedwaytrumbull.org.
In spite of the chill, it was a nice hay7 ride through the countryside around Malvern and we were accompanied by one of the fire vehicles from the Great Trail Fire Department. Along the route students learned about the local agriculture and the development of mineral resources in the area, including oil drilling and fracking, pipelines to move oil and gas to collection points and shipment to Texas refineries. They were told of the history of coal mining, both deep wells and strip mining. And clay mining.in the area. Another industry important to the development of the area was clay mining, Malvern was built along the Great Trail, created originally by the Native Americans and used by the French and British out of what was then Ft. Pitt. Later the Sandy Beaver Canal was built to ship goods to the Ohio River and then converted to a rail line.
The students participated in two team building exercises: building the tallest structure using only paper towels, then tearing off lengths of toilet paper and telling something about yourself for each sheet you tore off. Excellent English skills were demonstrated by all the students.
The evening started with welcoming the students, then Louisville Rotarian Denny Valentine took their senior photos. While one was being photographed, the rest of us were enjoying dinner of pizza, chips, pop, apples, and cookies. After everyone was photographed we left for the hayride.
A good time was had by all, and we wished everyone a successful year as an exchange student.
FOUR-WAY SPEECH CONTEST
April 12, 2024
TIMELINE: 2024-2025
December 2024: Contacts should be made to high school. Club competitions should be completed .
Names of local club winners must be submitted to Elwood Walker or Sandra Lang
March 1, 2025: Club competitions completed March 15, 2025: Names of District Club winners submitted to Elwood Walker or Sandi Lang
If your Club is not participating this year, we would appreciate it if your Club would contact one of us as soon as possible with that information. It will save us from contacting your Club. We want all the contestants to be listed in the program and It
is the Club's responsibility to be sure that their contestant is registered. Complete information and forms have been emailed to all District 6650 Presidents
Led by Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick, the 2025 Rotary Presidential Peace Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye, 20-22 February 2025, will be an opportunity for the Rotary community and our partners to build on Rotary’s contributions to promoting peace by exploring:
Peace in a polarized world
Technology, media, and peacebuilding
Environmental issues in peacebuilding
Making peace last
The conference will also recognize the launch of the new Otto and Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center in partnership with Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul.
The Peace Conference page, rotary.org/istanbul25, was recently updated and registration is now open.
Thank you for your help!
Beth Stubbs,
Director 2023-2025, Rotary International
(865) 207-8772 beth@cpaoffices.com
ROTARY MONTHLY THEME
PHOTO OF THE MONTH
Rotary ...Christmas Parade 1959
DISTRICT CLUBS IN ACTION
Please share your club’s stories by the 1st of the next month for inclusion in the next monthly bulletin
email: rotarydistrict6650@gmail.com
BOLIVAR ZOAR ROTARY
We are incredibly proud of Rotary Park at Canal Lands Park—a space we’ve transformed from overgrown land into a beautiful park with a scenic trail and a picnic shelter for everyone to enjoy.
CANTON ROTARY
CORTLAND ROTARY
HOWLAND ROTARY
NILES ROTARY
Tis the Season...decorating the Rotary Tree at the McKinley Memorial for the "Festival of Trees"
NORTH CANTON ROTARY
PERRY TOWNSHIP ROTARY
PLAIN TOWNSHIP ROTARY
After a several years hiatus, we are again helping to serve a hot meal to the poor and homeless of Canton. They are in a new facility with a new kitchen and storage. A lot of the staff are the same serving, hard working, and caring people. But sadly, the "clientele " look the same. Poor, homeless, maybe without hope, but trying to survive.
SALEM ROTARY
Every year, our club gifts dictionaries to EVERY 3rd grade student at Reilly Elementary, St. Paul School, and United Local. There were over 200 dictionaries gifted this year.
YOUNGSTOWN ROTARY
ROTARY…WHAT WE CARE ABOUT
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