LITERACY
ROTARY MAKES HELP HAPPEN
February – 4 Way Test Speech Contest
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4 Way Speech Contest Manual
February 2025 – Corona Golf Tournament
Pollinators: The Little Things That Move the World
Jack Fitzsimmons
Rotary Club of Palm Desert
“Do you like to eat?”
Ask that question of a classroom full of third graders and you can imagine the response! I ask a second question: “Do you like to eat apples, or pumpkin pie, or watermelon?” Enthusiastic hands shoot up in the air. And then a final question, “Who helped make that apple that you eat?” Shouted responses include “Mommy! Abuela! Albertson’s!” You can hear a pin drop when I say, “That apple actually starts with a bee!” Thus begins the students first introduction to pollination.
So, what on earth does pollination have to do with Rotary? Quite a lot, it turns out.
On June 25, 2020, Rotary President Mark Maloney announced Protecting the Environment as our Seventh Area of Focus. Of course, Rotarians have been involved for decades with projects involving the environment. It many cases, the health of the environment is inseparable from issues of maternal health, water and hygiene, community building, and increasingly, peacebuilding. According to a World Bank estimates, by 2050 as many as 216 million people could be internally displaced by climate change. Tragically, the impact of a changing climate, compounded by habitat loss, pesticide misuse, and plant disease, is hitting our pollinators. Hard. Decline in pollinators varies according to species, but losses have exceeded 40% in the last decade – with no end in sight.
Consider the apple again. Most people are not aware that one out of every three bites of food we eat depend on pollinators. Some crops, like almonds, are entirely dependent on pollinators. In fact, 85% of the plants on Mother Earth depend on pollinators. With our food security facing an existential crisis of such magnitude, what can we do? Plenty!
People of Action Step Up
The first Operation Pollination (OP) project was launched in August 2015 in the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A group of concerned citizens organized to collectively address the issue of pollinator loss and began restoring and creating pollinator habitats in their backyards, city parks, and schoolyards.
The organization blossomed and on September 24, 2022, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG), a division of Rotary International, and its Pollinator Task Group organized the signing of a multitude of pollinator partnership resolutions between Rotary districts and National Heritage Areas and other partners throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. This historic signing was done in coordination with the whistle-stop campaign of Rotary International’s first female president, Jennifer Jones.
Today, OP has 253 signed Pollinator Resolutions with Rotary Districts, individual clubs, water agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. There are currently 175 OP “ambassadors” on six continents who have been trained to act as a catalyst for engagement and education. I have the great fortune to be one of the most recent ambassadors.
On December 27, 2024, District 5330 Governor Judy Zulfiqar signed the Pollinator Resolution. The Resolution is simple: it acknowledges the critical importance of pollinators and the crisis that we are facing, and that the leadership and impact of Rotarians volunteering to improve communities is a hallmark of Rotary International.
It is important to note that ESRAG’s Operation Pollination is a truly inclusive framework that helps recruit a diverse array of organizational partners willing to engage in the framework’s two goals: pollinator habitat restoration and education projects. Anyone can join; you do not have to be a Rotarian.
Personal Action
You can help pollinators at a personal level by a few simple steps:
- Plant a pollinator garden in your window box, patio, or backyard. Use native plants as much as possible because some pollinators won’t visit the “foreign” exotics that you find in nursery centers and big box stores, leading to a further loss of pollen and nectar food for local species.
- Provide nesting materials such as a small pile of brush or a hollow bamboo or yucca stem. Provide a shallow dish of water and most importantly, leave some of the soil of your yard or potted plants bare. Many of the local pollinator species nest in the ground.
- Eliminate the use of pesticides wherever possible since they poison both harmful and beneficial insects – and us!
- Learn about and get involved with the many like-minded organizations in your area – garden clubs, butterfly networks, native plant societies, and botanical and demonstration gardens.
- Buy organic produce from small local farms who use sustainable pollinator practices.
Club Action
On their websites, ESRAG and Operation Pollination offer a comprehensive Project Planning Toolkit and numerous examples of pollinator projects. These can range from establishing a pollinator demonstration at a local grade school, church or assisted living facility and sponsoring native plant sales and seed swaps, to advocating for open space and responsible land management at local government agencies. At a larger scale, there have been District and multi-district efforts to create pollinator garden “pathways” across state and country borders to support Monarch butterfly migration. And in Europe, there is a four-country project that gave away flowering plants to improve declining honey production. The project even collected and sold honey to enable the project’s sustainability. Large or small, there is nothing that People of Action cannot accomplish.
Want to know more?
Watch this short video produced by Operation Pollination and this interview with Past President Jennifer Jones. You can always contact me at [email protected] if for further information about Operation Pollination.
February 2025 – Palm Desert
Pollinators: The Little Things That Move the World
Jack Fitzsimmons
Rotary Club of Palm Desert
“Do you like to eat?”
Ask that question of a classroom full of third graders and you can imagine the response! I ask a second question: “Do you like to eat apples, or pumpkin pie, or watermelon?” Enthusiastic hands shoot up in the air. And then a final question, “Who helped make that apple that you eat?” Shouted responses include “Mommy! Abuela! Albertson’s!” You can hear a pin drop when I say, “That apple actually starts with a bee!” Thus begins the students first introduction to pollination.
So, what on earth does pollination have to do with Rotary? Quite a lot, it turns out.
On June 25, 2020, Rotary President Mark Maloney announced Protecting the Environment as our Seventh Area of Focus. Of course, Rotarians have been involved for decades with projects involving the environment. It many cases, the health of the environment is inseparable from issues of maternal health, water and hygiene, community building, and increasingly, peacebuilding. According to a World Bank estimates, by 2050 as many as 216 million people could be internally displaced by climate change. Tragically, the impact of a changing climate, compounded by habitat loss, pesticide misuse, and plant disease, is hitting our pollinators. Hard. Decline in pollinators varies according to species, but losses have exceeded 40% in the last decade – with no end in sight.
Consider the apple again. Most people are not aware that one out of every three bites of food we eat depend on pollinators. Some crops, like almonds, are entirely dependent on pollinators. In fact, 85% of the plants on Mother Earth depend on pollinators. With our food security facing an existential crisis of such magnitude, what can we do? Plenty!
People of Action Step Up
The first Operation Pollination (OP) project was launched in August 2015 in the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A group of concerned citizens organized to collectively address the issue of pollinator loss and began restoring and creating pollinator habitats in their backyards, city parks, and schoolyards.
The organization blossomed and on September 24, 2022, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG), a division of Rotary International, and its Pollinator Task Group organized the signing of a multitude of pollinator partnership resolutions between Rotary districts and National Heritage Areas and other partners throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. This historic signing was done in coordination with the whistle-stop campaign of Rotary International’s first female president, Jennifer Jones.
Today, OP has 253 signed Pollinator Resolutions with Rotary Districts, individual clubs, water agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. There are currently 175 OP “ambassadors” on six continents who have been trained to act as a catalyst for engagement and education. I have the great fortune to be one of the most recent ambassadors.
On December 27, 2024, District 5330 Governor Judy Zulfiqar signed the Pollinator Resolution. The Resolution is simple: it acknowledges the critical importance of pollinators and the crisis that we are facing, and that the leadership and impact of Rotarians volunteering to improve communities is a hallmark of Rotary International.
It is important to note that ESRAG’s Operation Pollination is a truly inclusive framework that helps recruit a diverse array of organizational partners willing to engage in the framework’s two goals: pollinator habitat restoration and education projects. Anyone can join; you do not have to be a Rotarian.
Personal Action
You can help pollinators at a personal level by a few simple steps:
- Plant a pollinator garden in your window box, patio, or backyard. Use native plants as much as possible because some pollinators won’t visit the “foreign” exotics that you find in nursery centers and big box stores, leading to a further loss of pollen and nectar food for local species.
- Provide nesting materials such as a small pile of brush or a hollow bamboo or yucca stem. Provide a shallow dish of water and most importantly, leave some of the soil of your yard or potted plants bare. Many of the local pollinator species nest in the ground.
- Eliminate the use of pesticides wherever possible since they poison both harmful and beneficial insects – and us!
- Learn about and get involved with the many like-minded organizations in your area – garden clubs, butterfly networks, native plant societies, and botanical and demonstration gardens.
- Buy organic produce from small local farms who use sustainable pollinator practices.
Club Action
On their websites, ESRAG and Operation Pollination offer a comprehensive Project Planning Toolkit and numerous examples of pollinator projects. These can range from establishing a pollinator demonstration at a local grade school, church or assisted living facility and sponsoring native plant sales and seed swaps, to advocating for open space and responsible land management at local government agencies. At a larger scale, there have been District and multi-district efforts to create pollinator garden “pathways” across state and country borders to support Monarch butterfly migration. And in Europe, there is a four-country project that gave away flowering plants to improve declining honey production. The project even collected and sold honey to enable the project’s sustainability. Large or small, there is nothing that People of Action cannot accomplish.
Want to know more?
Watch this short video produced by Operation Pollination and this interview with Past President Jennifer Jones. You can always contact me at [email protected] if for further information about Operation Pollination.
February 2025 – Polio Plus
2025 February – DEI
THE PAUL HARRIS WAY
Classifications. Remember those? Virtually all membership in Rotary was based upon a “classification” that described the distinct and recognized business or professional service that the Rotarian renders to society. Rotary International ended required classification designations a few years ago, and many clubs no longer require that either.
How diverse are the business classifications in your club? Does your Rotary club represent a cross section of the business and professional service of your community. Does your club have a member directory identifying members’ businesses so that members can patronize them?
Diversity is also about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences in our members and in our communities.
Setting aside the divisive discussions on diversity, consider it in the context of business classifications and how a wide variety of classifications benefits your club. Paul Harris found Rotary on the premise that Diversity is also about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences based on people of good will and diverse backgrounds should come together in the spirit of friendship to foster better understanding. He believed that clubs should represent and embrace the diversity in their communities.
January 2025 – Club Event Temecula Sunrise
January 2025 – 4 Way Speech Test
January 2025 – Poetry Awards
January 2025 – Vocational Service
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
As this year’s Vocational Service Chair, I have wanted to write about so many different topics relative to this important Avenue of Service this year but have very little time to do it because I have only 6 months left to achieve my goal! This month I want to focus on the topic of Ethical Leadership.
All of us have been leaders at one time or the other. During our leadership responsibilities, how often have we thought about the part “ethics” plays in our situations?? I have to confess that I have taken “ethics” for granted, but it is important to remind ourselves, from time to time, of the benefits it plays in our respective leadership roles.
Ethical leaders demonstrate honesty, integrity and transparency. These characteristics strengthen trust among members and the communities they serve. By setting high ethical standards, leaders create a culture of respect, inclusivity, and motivation. The end result is an organization that is more effective and cohesive.
Ethical leaders are focused on aligning all their actions on the organization’s mission and values. The Rotary International Foundation’s mantra, as of late, has been “sustainability”. They now award grants to clubs only if the projects are “sustainable”. And so, in the vein of leadership, ethical leaders create sustainable practices like responsible resource management and transparent reporting, ensuring the longevity of the organization.
Communities recognize and appreciate ethical organizations and, therefore, want to engage with them in meaningful and productive projects. Ethical leaders mentor and inspire others. They are transformational and not merely transactional.
One of the apparent characteristics of ethical leadership is that it reduces the risk of internal conflict, favoritism, or mismanagement, ensuring fairness and justice within an organization.
Ethics is such an integral and necessary part of leading. One can only hope that all leaders embrace the concept of ethics!
Bill Chase, PDG
December 2024 – Vocational Service
As the district’s Vocational Service Chair, it seems fitting that my December article for the Digest is focused on Vocational Training Teams (VTT), because our district team is in as you read this Brazil!
VTTs are comprised of a group of professionals in their field who travel to different countries to lend their knowledge and skills to others within that similar discipline. It is an educational program of The Rotary Foundation.
Teams must ensure that their mission is in alignment with one or more of Rotary’s 6 Areas of Focus, i.e. benefitting the community and have a sustainable, measurable impact. VTTs must be sponsored by Rotary clubs or districts from 2 countries. The 6 Areas of Focus are:
Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
Disease prevention and treatment
Water and sanitation
Maternal and child health
Basic education and literacy
Economic and community development
Teams must consist of at least 2 members (Rotarians or non-Rotarians) with at least two years of professional experience in the designated area of focus.
The D5330 team is made up of: DG Judy Zulfiqar, Team Captain; Jennifer Loretta, Team Co-Captain; Carissa Gerry, Team Secretary; Glen Brock, Member; Dan Hudec, Member; and Maryalice Owings, Member.
Our team is focusing on Mental Health Awareness and Education in Maringà, Brazil. Their focus is to learn about the current initiatives that community currently has in place. Our team promises to “facilitate a productive idea exchange” with them.
VTTs are important in Rotary’s quest to promote one of the least understood Five Areas of Service-Vocational Service. Teams like this prove that a Rotarian’s background and experience in a business or a profession are vitally important to enhancing the knowledge base of communities in need.
Please remember that at the end of this Rotary year, DG Judy will be recognizing an outstanding business/profession in our district with the Rotary Award of Vocational Excellence so start thinking of who you’d want to nominate. More information will be coming out from me!
Sincerely,
Bill Chase, PDG
D5330 Vocational Service Chair
[email protected]
DISCOVER MORE
February – 4 Way Test Speech Contest
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
4 Way Speech Contest Manual
February 2025 – Corona Golf Tournament
Pollinators: The Little Things That Move the World
Jack Fitzsimmons
Rotary Club of Palm Desert
“Do you like to eat?”
Ask that question of a classroom full of third graders and you can imagine the response! I ask a second question: “Do you like to eat apples, or pumpkin pie, or watermelon?” Enthusiastic hands shoot up in the air. And then a final question, “Who helped make that apple that you eat?” Shouted responses include “Mommy! Abuela! Albertson’s!” You can hear a pin drop when I say, “That apple actually starts with a bee!” Thus begins the students first introduction to pollination.
So, what on earth does pollination have to do with Rotary? Quite a lot, it turns out.
On June 25, 2020, Rotary President Mark Maloney announced Protecting the Environment as our Seventh Area of Focus. Of course, Rotarians have been involved for decades with projects involving the environment. It many cases, the health of the environment is inseparable from issues of maternal health, water and hygiene, community building, and increasingly, peacebuilding. According to a World Bank estimates, by 2050 as many as 216 million people could be internally displaced by climate change. Tragically, the impact of a changing climate, compounded by habitat loss, pesticide misuse, and plant disease, is hitting our pollinators. Hard. Decline in pollinators varies according to species, but losses have exceeded 40% in the last decade – with no end in sight.
Consider the apple again. Most people are not aware that one out of every three bites of food we eat depend on pollinators. Some crops, like almonds, are entirely dependent on pollinators. In fact, 85% of the plants on Mother Earth depend on pollinators. With our food security facing an existential crisis of such magnitude, what can we do? Plenty!
People of Action Step Up
The first Operation Pollination (OP) project was launched in August 2015 in the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A group of concerned citizens organized to collectively address the issue of pollinator loss and began restoring and creating pollinator habitats in their backyards, city parks, and schoolyards.
The organization blossomed and on September 24, 2022, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG), a division of Rotary International, and its Pollinator Task Group organized the signing of a multitude of pollinator partnership resolutions between Rotary districts and National Heritage Areas and other partners throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. This historic signing was done in coordination with the whistle-stop campaign of Rotary International’s first female president, Jennifer Jones.
Today, OP has 253 signed Pollinator Resolutions with Rotary Districts, individual clubs, water agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. There are currently 175 OP “ambassadors” on six continents who have been trained to act as a catalyst for engagement and education. I have the great fortune to be one of the most recent ambassadors.
On December 27, 2024, District 5330 Governor Judy Zulfiqar signed the Pollinator Resolution. The Resolution is simple: it acknowledges the critical importance of pollinators and the crisis that we are facing, and that the leadership and impact of Rotarians volunteering to improve communities is a hallmark of Rotary International.
It is important to note that ESRAG’s Operation Pollination is a truly inclusive framework that helps recruit a diverse array of organizational partners willing to engage in the framework’s two goals: pollinator habitat restoration and education projects. Anyone can join; you do not have to be a Rotarian.
Personal Action
You can help pollinators at a personal level by a few simple steps:
- Plant a pollinator garden in your window box, patio, or backyard. Use native plants as much as possible because some pollinators won’t visit the “foreign” exotics that you find in nursery centers and big box stores, leading to a further loss of pollen and nectar food for local species.
- Provide nesting materials such as a small pile of brush or a hollow bamboo or yucca stem. Provide a shallow dish of water and most importantly, leave some of the soil of your yard or potted plants bare. Many of the local pollinator species nest in the ground.
- Eliminate the use of pesticides wherever possible since they poison both harmful and beneficial insects – and us!
- Learn about and get involved with the many like-minded organizations in your area – garden clubs, butterfly networks, native plant societies, and botanical and demonstration gardens.
- Buy organic produce from small local farms who use sustainable pollinator practices.
Club Action
On their websites, ESRAG and Operation Pollination offer a comprehensive Project Planning Toolkit and numerous examples of pollinator projects. These can range from establishing a pollinator demonstration at a local grade school, church or assisted living facility and sponsoring native plant sales and seed swaps, to advocating for open space and responsible land management at local government agencies. At a larger scale, there have been District and multi-district efforts to create pollinator garden “pathways” across state and country borders to support Monarch butterfly migration. And in Europe, there is a four-country project that gave away flowering plants to improve declining honey production. The project even collected and sold honey to enable the project’s sustainability. Large or small, there is nothing that People of Action cannot accomplish.
Want to know more?
Watch this short video produced by Operation Pollination and this interview with Past President Jennifer Jones. You can always contact me at [email protected] if for further information about Operation Pollination.
February 2025 – Palm Desert
Pollinators: The Little Things That Move the World
Jack Fitzsimmons
Rotary Club of Palm Desert
“Do you like to eat?”
Ask that question of a classroom full of third graders and you can imagine the response! I ask a second question: “Do you like to eat apples, or pumpkin pie, or watermelon?” Enthusiastic hands shoot up in the air. And then a final question, “Who helped make that apple that you eat?” Shouted responses include “Mommy! Abuela! Albertson’s!” You can hear a pin drop when I say, “That apple actually starts with a bee!” Thus begins the students first introduction to pollination.
So, what on earth does pollination have to do with Rotary? Quite a lot, it turns out.
On June 25, 2020, Rotary President Mark Maloney announced Protecting the Environment as our Seventh Area of Focus. Of course, Rotarians have been involved for decades with projects involving the environment. It many cases, the health of the environment is inseparable from issues of maternal health, water and hygiene, community building, and increasingly, peacebuilding. According to a World Bank estimates, by 2050 as many as 216 million people could be internally displaced by climate change. Tragically, the impact of a changing climate, compounded by habitat loss, pesticide misuse, and plant disease, is hitting our pollinators. Hard. Decline in pollinators varies according to species, but losses have exceeded 40% in the last decade – with no end in sight.
Consider the apple again. Most people are not aware that one out of every three bites of food we eat depend on pollinators. Some crops, like almonds, are entirely dependent on pollinators. In fact, 85% of the plants on Mother Earth depend on pollinators. With our food security facing an existential crisis of such magnitude, what can we do? Plenty!
People of Action Step Up
The first Operation Pollination (OP) project was launched in August 2015 in the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A group of concerned citizens organized to collectively address the issue of pollinator loss and began restoring and creating pollinator habitats in their backyards, city parks, and schoolyards.
The organization blossomed and on September 24, 2022, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG), a division of Rotary International, and its Pollinator Task Group organized the signing of a multitude of pollinator partnership resolutions between Rotary districts and National Heritage Areas and other partners throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. This historic signing was done in coordination with the whistle-stop campaign of Rotary International’s first female president, Jennifer Jones.
Today, OP has 253 signed Pollinator Resolutions with Rotary Districts, individual clubs, water agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. There are currently 175 OP “ambassadors” on six continents who have been trained to act as a catalyst for engagement and education. I have the great fortune to be one of the most recent ambassadors.
On December 27, 2024, District 5330 Governor Judy Zulfiqar signed the Pollinator Resolution. The Resolution is simple: it acknowledges the critical importance of pollinators and the crisis that we are facing, and that the leadership and impact of Rotarians volunteering to improve communities is a hallmark of Rotary International.
It is important to note that ESRAG’s Operation Pollination is a truly inclusive framework that helps recruit a diverse array of organizational partners willing to engage in the framework’s two goals: pollinator habitat restoration and education projects. Anyone can join; you do not have to be a Rotarian.
Personal Action
You can help pollinators at a personal level by a few simple steps:
- Plant a pollinator garden in your window box, patio, or backyard. Use native plants as much as possible because some pollinators won’t visit the “foreign” exotics that you find in nursery centers and big box stores, leading to a further loss of pollen and nectar food for local species.
- Provide nesting materials such as a small pile of brush or a hollow bamboo or yucca stem. Provide a shallow dish of water and most importantly, leave some of the soil of your yard or potted plants bare. Many of the local pollinator species nest in the ground.
- Eliminate the use of pesticides wherever possible since they poison both harmful and beneficial insects – and us!
- Learn about and get involved with the many like-minded organizations in your area – garden clubs, butterfly networks, native plant societies, and botanical and demonstration gardens.
- Buy organic produce from small local farms who use sustainable pollinator practices.
Club Action
On their websites, ESRAG and Operation Pollination offer a comprehensive Project Planning Toolkit and numerous examples of pollinator projects. These can range from establishing a pollinator demonstration at a local grade school, church or assisted living facility and sponsoring native plant sales and seed swaps, to advocating for open space and responsible land management at local government agencies. At a larger scale, there have been District and multi-district efforts to create pollinator garden “pathways” across state and country borders to support Monarch butterfly migration. And in Europe, there is a four-country project that gave away flowering plants to improve declining honey production. The project even collected and sold honey to enable the project’s sustainability. Large or small, there is nothing that People of Action cannot accomplish.
Want to know more?
Watch this short video produced by Operation Pollination and this interview with Past President Jennifer Jones. You can always contact me at [email protected] if for further information about Operation Pollination.
February 2025 – Polio Plus
2025 February – DEI
THE PAUL HARRIS WAY
Classifications. Remember those? Virtually all membership in Rotary was based upon a “classification” that described the distinct and recognized business or professional service that the Rotarian renders to society. Rotary International ended required classification designations a few years ago, and many clubs no longer require that either.
How diverse are the business classifications in your club? Does your Rotary club represent a cross section of the business and professional service of your community. Does your club have a member directory identifying members’ businesses so that members can patronize them?
Diversity is also about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences in our members and in our communities.
Setting aside the divisive discussions on diversity, consider it in the context of business classifications and how a wide variety of classifications benefits your club. Paul Harris found Rotary on the premise that Diversity is also about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences based on people of good will and diverse backgrounds should come together in the spirit of friendship to foster better understanding. He believed that clubs should represent and embrace the diversity in their communities.
January 2025 – Club Event Temecula Sunrise
January 2025 – 4 Way Speech Test
January 2025 – Poetry Awards
January 2025 – Vocational Service
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
As this year’s Vocational Service Chair, I have wanted to write about so many different topics relative to this important Avenue of Service this year but have very little time to do it because I have only 6 months left to achieve my goal! This month I want to focus on the topic of Ethical Leadership.
All of us have been leaders at one time or the other. During our leadership responsibilities, how often have we thought about the part “ethics” plays in our situations?? I have to confess that I have taken “ethics” for granted, but it is important to remind ourselves, from time to time, of the benefits it plays in our respective leadership roles.
Ethical leaders demonstrate honesty, integrity and transparency. These characteristics strengthen trust among members and the communities they serve. By setting high ethical standards, leaders create a culture of respect, inclusivity, and motivation. The end result is an organization that is more effective and cohesive.
Ethical leaders are focused on aligning all their actions on the organization’s mission and values. The Rotary International Foundation’s mantra, as of late, has been “sustainability”. They now award grants to clubs only if the projects are “sustainable”. And so, in the vein of leadership, ethical leaders create sustainable practices like responsible resource management and transparent reporting, ensuring the longevity of the organization.
Communities recognize and appreciate ethical organizations and, therefore, want to engage with them in meaningful and productive projects. Ethical leaders mentor and inspire others. They are transformational and not merely transactional.
One of the apparent characteristics of ethical leadership is that it reduces the risk of internal conflict, favoritism, or mismanagement, ensuring fairness and justice within an organization.
Ethics is such an integral and necessary part of leading. One can only hope that all leaders embrace the concept of ethics!
Bill Chase, PDG
December 2024 – Vocational Service
As the district’s Vocational Service Chair, it seems fitting that my December article for the Digest is focused on Vocational Training Teams (VTT), because our district team is in as you read this Brazil!
VTTs are comprised of a group of professionals in their field who travel to different countries to lend their knowledge and skills to others within that similar discipline. It is an educational program of The Rotary Foundation.
Teams must ensure that their mission is in alignment with one or more of Rotary’s 6 Areas of Focus, i.e. benefitting the community and have a sustainable, measurable impact. VTTs must be sponsored by Rotary clubs or districts from 2 countries. The 6 Areas of Focus are:
Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
Disease prevention and treatment
Water and sanitation
Maternal and child health
Basic education and literacy
Economic and community development
Teams must consist of at least 2 members (Rotarians or non-Rotarians) with at least two years of professional experience in the designated area of focus.
The D5330 team is made up of: DG Judy Zulfiqar, Team Captain; Jennifer Loretta, Team Co-Captain; Carissa Gerry, Team Secretary; Glen Brock, Member; Dan Hudec, Member; and Maryalice Owings, Member.
Our team is focusing on Mental Health Awareness and Education in Maringà, Brazil. Their focus is to learn about the current initiatives that community currently has in place. Our team promises to “facilitate a productive idea exchange” with them.
VTTs are important in Rotary’s quest to promote one of the least understood Five Areas of Service-Vocational Service. Teams like this prove that a Rotarian’s background and experience in a business or a profession are vitally important to enhancing the knowledge base of communities in need.
Please remember that at the end of this Rotary year, DG Judy will be recognizing an outstanding business/profession in our district with the Rotary Award of Vocational Excellence so start thinking of who you’d want to nominate. More information will be coming out from me!
Sincerely,
Bill Chase, PDG
D5330 Vocational Service Chair
[email protected]
KEY LITERACY CATEGORIES
We have a very active District when it comes to literacy.
The following is a list of project ideas collected from the Literacy Award applications received over the past several years. Ideas for you to consider fall into three general categories: Club Literacy, Funding Focused, Front-line Literacy
Literacy projects that take place within your club
Devote a club meeting to planning literacy projects.
Host a speaker at a club meeting from Success By Six to speak about children’s literacy.
Reference “The Rotarian” magazine at club meetings and encourage members to read it.
Host a speaker from your school district/adult education program to speak about numeracy.
Include information and links on the importance of reading with children on your club website.
Appoint a “literacy chair” on your board of directors.
Host a literacy workshop for members.
Create a limerick writing contest within the club or between two clubs.
Bring in an author as a guest speaker
Share favorite books, poems, magazine or websites at meetings.
Host a presentation on tutoring and reading with children for members.
Conduct a monthly or bi-monthly reading group among Rotary members, friends, family, school district and First Nations.
Where your club funds a literacy project
Support local school libraries of all levels with book donations which can include bookplates identifying the Rotary.
Provide schools with identified needed reading resources. i.e.- online leveled reading programs for specific grades.
Donate large print books to seniors home.
Fund the creation of a cultural learning DVD for local First Nations group.
Donate to local literacy program like Literacy Now- Books for Babies Program or Born to Read.
Donate to a specific program at the public library such as Teen Advisory Committee or the Adult Reading Program.
Provide literacy supportive equipment identified by a school’s “wish list” such as a document camera and LCD projector.
Support a community program such as the Head Start Read and Play Group and Longview Stageworks After School Theatre Club.
Donate to a local schools lunch program which aims to deal with hunger as a learning inhibitor.
Help fund your local literacy bus.
Donate school supplies.
Sponsor prizes for an essay contest for middle school students in grades 6-8.
Contribute to a school summer reading program- books given to each child to encourage continued reading.
Support school and community music programs.
Buy specialized laptops for students with communication challenges.
Sponsor students to attend Rotary Programs- e.g. Adventures in Technology.
Sponsor Missoula Children s Theatre for local school or community programs.
Support or manage the construction of a library or learning centre locally or abroad.
Donate to Success By Six or Early Start.
Participate in an international book shipping project.
Help fund an international mini-library project.
Where your club volunteers in a literacy capacity
Volunteer in an elementary school library that might be otherwise closed due to budget. Check in/out materials, conduct story times you could also give homework help to students.
Organize and participate in a one-day event of listening to students read their stories about their heroes.
Celebrate Dr. Seuss, one-day event – visit 20 classrooms, dress in red and white striped hats and donate a book to each class.
Host students from an adopted school to sing songs and perform.
Partner with other programs e.g. “Read to Me” and volunteer your time to them.
Conduct story times at local events such as a children’s festival.
Volunteer once a week at a school to read with students.
Donate gently used adult books for Christmas hampers for local families.
Participate in a book or coloring book drive to support non-profit children’s organizations.
Participate in education workshops for kids at the Boys and Girls Club.
Attend or organize a school field trip and have Rotarians buddy with elementary school children to familiarize them with the public library.
Develop a literacy roundtable in the community where a member from each club attends and focuses on supporting literacy in partnership with other clubs – and on their own.
Provide books for a school to use a positive reinforcement reward for their students.
Donate materials to support a classroom in need- e.g. a math game – and volunteer to play with kindergarten students needing to develop numeracy skills.
Participate in newspaper sale for “Raise A Reader”
Collect books for community bookstore to celebrate Literacy Day.
Create a literacy float in a community parade.
Donate literacy boxes to local women’s centre and transition houses filled with children/adult books.
Donate books to local correctional centre.
Fundraise with your local literacy society.
Host a public library literacy night.
Host a holiday breakfast and book giveaway.
LITERACY RESOURCES
February – 4 Way Test Speech Contest
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4 Way Speech Contest Manual
February 2025 – Corona Golf Tournament
Pollinators: The Little Things That Move the World
Jack Fitzsimmons
Rotary Club of Palm Desert
“Do you like to eat?”
Ask that question of a classroom full of third graders and you can imagine the response! I ask a second question: “Do you like to eat apples, or pumpkin pie, or watermelon?” Enthusiastic hands shoot up in the air. And then a final question, “Who helped make that apple that you eat?” Shouted responses include “Mommy! Abuela! Albertson’s!” You can hear a pin drop when I say, “That apple actually starts with a bee!” Thus begins the students first introduction to pollination.
So, what on earth does pollination have to do with Rotary? Quite a lot, it turns out.
On June 25, 2020, Rotary President Mark Maloney announced Protecting the Environment as our Seventh Area of Focus. Of course, Rotarians have been involved for decades with projects involving the environment. It many cases, the health of the environment is inseparable from issues of maternal health, water and hygiene, community building, and increasingly, peacebuilding. According to a World Bank estimates, by 2050 as many as 216 million people could be internally displaced by climate change. Tragically, the impact of a changing climate, compounded by habitat loss, pesticide misuse, and plant disease, is hitting our pollinators. Hard. Decline in pollinators varies according to species, but losses have exceeded 40% in the last decade – with no end in sight.
Consider the apple again. Most people are not aware that one out of every three bites of food we eat depend on pollinators. Some crops, like almonds, are entirely dependent on pollinators. In fact, 85% of the plants on Mother Earth depend on pollinators. With our food security facing an existential crisis of such magnitude, what can we do? Plenty!
People of Action Step Up
The first Operation Pollination (OP) project was launched in August 2015 in the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A group of concerned citizens organized to collectively address the issue of pollinator loss and began restoring and creating pollinator habitats in their backyards, city parks, and schoolyards.
The organization blossomed and on September 24, 2022, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG), a division of Rotary International, and its Pollinator Task Group organized the signing of a multitude of pollinator partnership resolutions between Rotary districts and National Heritage Areas and other partners throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. This historic signing was done in coordination with the whistle-stop campaign of Rotary International’s first female president, Jennifer Jones.
Today, OP has 253 signed Pollinator Resolutions with Rotary Districts, individual clubs, water agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. There are currently 175 OP “ambassadors” on six continents who have been trained to act as a catalyst for engagement and education. I have the great fortune to be one of the most recent ambassadors.
On December 27, 2024, District 5330 Governor Judy Zulfiqar signed the Pollinator Resolution. The Resolution is simple: it acknowledges the critical importance of pollinators and the crisis that we are facing, and that the leadership and impact of Rotarians volunteering to improve communities is a hallmark of Rotary International.
It is important to note that ESRAG’s Operation Pollination is a truly inclusive framework that helps recruit a diverse array of organizational partners willing to engage in the framework’s two goals: pollinator habitat restoration and education projects. Anyone can join; you do not have to be a Rotarian.
Personal Action
You can help pollinators at a personal level by a few simple steps:
- Plant a pollinator garden in your window box, patio, or backyard. Use native plants as much as possible because some pollinators won’t visit the “foreign” exotics that you find in nursery centers and big box stores, leading to a further loss of pollen and nectar food for local species.
- Provide nesting materials such as a small pile of brush or a hollow bamboo or yucca stem. Provide a shallow dish of water and most importantly, leave some of the soil of your yard or potted plants bare. Many of the local pollinator species nest in the ground.
- Eliminate the use of pesticides wherever possible since they poison both harmful and beneficial insects – and us!
- Learn about and get involved with the many like-minded organizations in your area – garden clubs, butterfly networks, native plant societies, and botanical and demonstration gardens.
- Buy organic produce from small local farms who use sustainable pollinator practices.
Club Action
On their websites, ESRAG and Operation Pollination offer a comprehensive Project Planning Toolkit and numerous examples of pollinator projects. These can range from establishing a pollinator demonstration at a local grade school, church or assisted living facility and sponsoring native plant sales and seed swaps, to advocating for open space and responsible land management at local government agencies. At a larger scale, there have been District and multi-district efforts to create pollinator garden “pathways” across state and country borders to support Monarch butterfly migration. And in Europe, there is a four-country project that gave away flowering plants to improve declining honey production. The project even collected and sold honey to enable the project’s sustainability. Large or small, there is nothing that People of Action cannot accomplish.
Want to know more?
Watch this short video produced by Operation Pollination and this interview with Past President Jennifer Jones. You can always contact me at [email protected] if for further information about Operation Pollination.
February 2025 – Palm Desert
Pollinators: The Little Things That Move the World
Jack Fitzsimmons
Rotary Club of Palm Desert
“Do you like to eat?”
Ask that question of a classroom full of third graders and you can imagine the response! I ask a second question: “Do you like to eat apples, or pumpkin pie, or watermelon?” Enthusiastic hands shoot up in the air. And then a final question, “Who helped make that apple that you eat?” Shouted responses include “Mommy! Abuela! Albertson’s!” You can hear a pin drop when I say, “That apple actually starts with a bee!” Thus begins the students first introduction to pollination.
So, what on earth does pollination have to do with Rotary? Quite a lot, it turns out.
On June 25, 2020, Rotary President Mark Maloney announced Protecting the Environment as our Seventh Area of Focus. Of course, Rotarians have been involved for decades with projects involving the environment. It many cases, the health of the environment is inseparable from issues of maternal health, water and hygiene, community building, and increasingly, peacebuilding. According to a World Bank estimates, by 2050 as many as 216 million people could be internally displaced by climate change. Tragically, the impact of a changing climate, compounded by habitat loss, pesticide misuse, and plant disease, is hitting our pollinators. Hard. Decline in pollinators varies according to species, but losses have exceeded 40% in the last decade – with no end in sight.
Consider the apple again. Most people are not aware that one out of every three bites of food we eat depend on pollinators. Some crops, like almonds, are entirely dependent on pollinators. In fact, 85% of the plants on Mother Earth depend on pollinators. With our food security facing an existential crisis of such magnitude, what can we do? Plenty!
People of Action Step Up
The first Operation Pollination (OP) project was launched in August 2015 in the St. Croix Valley of Minnesota and Wisconsin. A group of concerned citizens organized to collectively address the issue of pollinator loss and began restoring and creating pollinator habitats in their backyards, city parks, and schoolyards.
The organization blossomed and on September 24, 2022, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG), a division of Rotary International, and its Pollinator Task Group organized the signing of a multitude of pollinator partnership resolutions between Rotary districts and National Heritage Areas and other partners throughout the US, Canada and Mexico. This historic signing was done in coordination with the whistle-stop campaign of Rotary International’s first female president, Jennifer Jones.
Today, OP has 253 signed Pollinator Resolutions with Rotary Districts, individual clubs, water agencies, municipalities, and non-profit organizations. There are currently 175 OP “ambassadors” on six continents who have been trained to act as a catalyst for engagement and education. I have the great fortune to be one of the most recent ambassadors.
On December 27, 2024, District 5330 Governor Judy Zulfiqar signed the Pollinator Resolution. The Resolution is simple: it acknowledges the critical importance of pollinators and the crisis that we are facing, and that the leadership and impact of Rotarians volunteering to improve communities is a hallmark of Rotary International.
It is important to note that ESRAG’s Operation Pollination is a truly inclusive framework that helps recruit a diverse array of organizational partners willing to engage in the framework’s two goals: pollinator habitat restoration and education projects. Anyone can join; you do not have to be a Rotarian.
Personal Action
You can help pollinators at a personal level by a few simple steps:
- Plant a pollinator garden in your window box, patio, or backyard. Use native plants as much as possible because some pollinators won’t visit the “foreign” exotics that you find in nursery centers and big box stores, leading to a further loss of pollen and nectar food for local species.
- Provide nesting materials such as a small pile of brush or a hollow bamboo or yucca stem. Provide a shallow dish of water and most importantly, leave some of the soil of your yard or potted plants bare. Many of the local pollinator species nest in the ground.
- Eliminate the use of pesticides wherever possible since they poison both harmful and beneficial insects – and us!
- Learn about and get involved with the many like-minded organizations in your area – garden clubs, butterfly networks, native plant societies, and botanical and demonstration gardens.
- Buy organic produce from small local farms who use sustainable pollinator practices.
Club Action
On their websites, ESRAG and Operation Pollination offer a comprehensive Project Planning Toolkit and numerous examples of pollinator projects. These can range from establishing a pollinator demonstration at a local grade school, church or assisted living facility and sponsoring native plant sales and seed swaps, to advocating for open space and responsible land management at local government agencies. At a larger scale, there have been District and multi-district efforts to create pollinator garden “pathways” across state and country borders to support Monarch butterfly migration. And in Europe, there is a four-country project that gave away flowering plants to improve declining honey production. The project even collected and sold honey to enable the project’s sustainability. Large or small, there is nothing that People of Action cannot accomplish.
Want to know more?
Watch this short video produced by Operation Pollination and this interview with Past President Jennifer Jones. You can always contact me at [email protected] if for further information about Operation Pollination.
February 2025 – Polio Plus
2025 February – DEI
THE PAUL HARRIS WAY
Classifications. Remember those? Virtually all membership in Rotary was based upon a “classification” that described the distinct and recognized business or professional service that the Rotarian renders to society. Rotary International ended required classification designations a few years ago, and many clubs no longer require that either.
How diverse are the business classifications in your club? Does your Rotary club represent a cross section of the business and professional service of your community. Does your club have a member directory identifying members’ businesses so that members can patronize them?
Diversity is also about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences in our members and in our communities.
Setting aside the divisive discussions on diversity, consider it in the context of business classifications and how a wide variety of classifications benefits your club. Paul Harris found Rotary on the premise that Diversity is also about recognizing, respecting and valuing differences based on people of good will and diverse backgrounds should come together in the spirit of friendship to foster better understanding. He believed that clubs should represent and embrace the diversity in their communities.
January 2025 – Club Event Temecula Sunrise
January 2025 – 4 Way Speech Test
January 2025 – Poetry Awards
January 2025 – Vocational Service
ETHICAL LEADERSHIP
As this year’s Vocational Service Chair, I have wanted to write about so many different topics relative to this important Avenue of Service this year but have very little time to do it because I have only 6 months left to achieve my goal! This month I want to focus on the topic of Ethical Leadership.
All of us have been leaders at one time or the other. During our leadership responsibilities, how often have we thought about the part “ethics” plays in our situations?? I have to confess that I have taken “ethics” for granted, but it is important to remind ourselves, from time to time, of the benefits it plays in our respective leadership roles.
Ethical leaders demonstrate honesty, integrity and transparency. These characteristics strengthen trust among members and the communities they serve. By setting high ethical standards, leaders create a culture of respect, inclusivity, and motivation. The end result is an organization that is more effective and cohesive.
Ethical leaders are focused on aligning all their actions on the organization’s mission and values. The Rotary International Foundation’s mantra, as of late, has been “sustainability”. They now award grants to clubs only if the projects are “sustainable”. And so, in the vein of leadership, ethical leaders create sustainable practices like responsible resource management and transparent reporting, ensuring the longevity of the organization.
Communities recognize and appreciate ethical organizations and, therefore, want to engage with them in meaningful and productive projects. Ethical leaders mentor and inspire others. They are transformational and not merely transactional.
One of the apparent characteristics of ethical leadership is that it reduces the risk of internal conflict, favoritism, or mismanagement, ensuring fairness and justice within an organization.
Ethics is such an integral and necessary part of leading. One can only hope that all leaders embrace the concept of ethics!
Bill Chase, PDG
December 2024 – Vocational Service
As the district’s Vocational Service Chair, it seems fitting that my December article for the Digest is focused on Vocational Training Teams (VTT), because our district team is in as you read this Brazil!
VTTs are comprised of a group of professionals in their field who travel to different countries to lend their knowledge and skills to others within that similar discipline. It is an educational program of The Rotary Foundation.
Teams must ensure that their mission is in alignment with one or more of Rotary’s 6 Areas of Focus, i.e. benefitting the community and have a sustainable, measurable impact. VTTs must be sponsored by Rotary clubs or districts from 2 countries. The 6 Areas of Focus are:
Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
Disease prevention and treatment
Water and sanitation
Maternal and child health
Basic education and literacy
Economic and community development
Teams must consist of at least 2 members (Rotarians or non-Rotarians) with at least two years of professional experience in the designated area of focus.
The D5330 team is made up of: DG Judy Zulfiqar, Team Captain; Jennifer Loretta, Team Co-Captain; Carissa Gerry, Team Secretary; Glen Brock, Member; Dan Hudec, Member; and Maryalice Owings, Member.
Our team is focusing on Mental Health Awareness and Education in Maringà, Brazil. Their focus is to learn about the current initiatives that community currently has in place. Our team promises to “facilitate a productive idea exchange” with them.
VTTs are important in Rotary’s quest to promote one of the least understood Five Areas of Service-Vocational Service. Teams like this prove that a Rotarian’s background and experience in a business or a profession are vitally important to enhancing the knowledge base of communities in need.
Please remember that at the end of this Rotary year, DG Judy will be recognizing an outstanding business/profession in our district with the Rotary Award of Vocational Excellence so start thinking of who you’d want to nominate. More information will be coming out from me!
Sincerely,
Bill Chase, PDG
D5330 Vocational Service Chair
[email protected]
