The year 2022 is drawing to an end and half of our “Imagine Rotary” year is behind us. First lady Divya and I have much to be thankful for as the year draws to a close. This December, as we celebrate the many holidays of the winter season, we are reminded of the many gifts, our family and the friends, that we have in our lives. We are also reminded of the many reasons why we have dedicated ourselves to a life of service and our clubs’ commitments to helping our communities and our world.

In the spirit of this holiday season, please consider how you can best celebrate:

  • Pay it forward, whether a cup of coffee or some random act of kindness
  • Volunteer for something that you have been thinking about
  • Thank your Club President and Club Officers, let them know you appreciate the fun and fellowship they bring to your meetings
  • Take a few minutes to stop and reflect on the people and the sense of community we get from being in Rotary
  • Enjoy a holiday social and share a favorite holiday tradition
  • Make year end contribution to your Rotary Foundation

I look forward to seeing you on the first district-wide “Ask Us Anything” Zoom call. The call is open to all D7680 Rotary members to ask any question to the D7680 leadership team. Ask questions on the call or submit (anonymous) ahead of time for the leadership team to review – https://tinyurl.com/7680askusanything

It gives me pleasure to announce that registrations for our upcoming Joint District conference are now open. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Charlotte, NC on the weekend of May 5-7th, 2023. The conference will provide a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, enjoy the fellowship, entertainment and outstanding speakers that we have lined up. I urge you to register today – https://tinyurl.com/7680districtconference

We have achieved so much this Rotary year, and I am excited for what else we can accomplish in the New Year. You are all people of purpose and people of action, and I am honored to serve alongside you this year. My deepest gratitude for all of you, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I will see you in 2023!

Yours in Rotary,

Kam Chandan

Upcoming Events

District Oriented

Clubs Oriented

Zone, National, and International Oriented

Other

DEC 6, 2022 – Ask Us Anything
DEC 7, 2022 – NID Experience to India
JAN 28, 2023 – Mid Year Assembly
FEB 24, 2023 – Membership Summit
APR 1, 2023 – Rotary Peace Center Spring Conference (Duke / UNC-CH)
MAY 5-7, 2023 – Joint District Conference

Ask Us Anything (AUA) session is open to all Rotary members to ask any question to the D7680 leadership team. Submit questions (anonymous) ahead of time for the leadership team to review – https://tinyurl.com/7680askusanything. The team will be prepared to go through the list of questions and answer them on the Zoom call. Join Zoom Meeting.

Join us for 2 Polio Eradication Experiences in India in 2023. We will travel through Delhi, Agra, and Kolkatta to deliver polio drops to children. There will be time to visit Rotary projects, meet Interactors, Rotaractors, Rotarians, sightsee, and enjoy fellowship. The dates are January 24th-February 3rd, 2023.

I’m hosting a Zoom meeting on December 7, 2022 at 5:00 pm for all who are interested in traveling with us and learning more about this fascinating experience.

Nancy Barbee is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: All You Need to Know About Polio Eradication Trips to India
Time: Dec 7, 2022 05:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting – https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82866288689

Thank you all the attendees, sponsors and volunteers who attended the Foundation Celebration. Your support was vital to make this a successful event. To see the list of donors and recognition levels, click here.

The Rotary Foundation approved multi-district disaster response grant application DR851 which is the largest multi-district grant approved for Ukraine to date. D7680 was one of the 20 districts that participated. The award amount is $500,000. This Rotary year together we have made a collective impact of $875,000.


IN-PERSON EVENT: Parts 1, 2 & 3
January 7, 2023 – 8:15am to 3:15pm
Location:
Rowan Cabarrus Community College
NCRC* 115 for General Assembly
399 Biotechnology Lane
Kannapolis, NC 28081
Register at www.rli33.org

Fee – $95 (includes materials and lunch)

November 5th – Rotary District 7680 members and guests participated in Empowering Girls service project, packaging diapers and feminine hygiene products at the Diaper Bank of North Carolina. Leave no girl behind. 

World Polio Day has come and gone and our efforts to eliminate continue to move forward with vaccination campaigns continuing across affected countries.

As of November 23,2022, Afghanistan has two (2) cases of wild polio as compared to four (4) in 2021. There have been a number of positive environmental samples in the eastern portion of the country on the border with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This shows the continued potential for cross border transmission of the disease. Pakistan has had 20 cases year to date centered in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa province. Efforts in this province have been stepped up in 2022. Pakistan had one (1) case in 2021.

There was one case (1) of polio in Malawi in 2022 and eight in neighboring Mozambique in 2022. These cases of wild polio are of the Type 1 strain and the cases in Malawi and Mozambique were traced back to Pakistan as Type 1 polio is not endemic to Africa. This exhibits to ability of this disease to spread in under vaccinated populations and the need to complete the job.

Type 2 polio which most recently present in India with the last case observed in 1999 and declared eradicated in 2015.Type 3 polio was last observed in Nigeria in 2012 and declared eradicated in 2019. We have helped eradicate two of the three strains of polio in the world.

Vaccine derived polio known as circulating vaccine derived polio (Cvdpv)continues to affect the endemic and primarily African countries. This disease is a result of the live oral vaccine use in the mass vaccination drives in the affected countries. The live weakened virus can in “under” vaccinated populations continue to be transmitted to a new host and eventually mutate into a more virulent form of the disease. It is not directly caused by the vaccine itself. The large majority of the cases have been of the Type 2 circulating vaccine derived polio. The oral type 2 vaccine was used until 2016. It was thought at time to be the cause of the small number of vaccine derived polio cases directly. After cases rose significantly in later years it was found to not be as genetically stable as hoped and spreading in under vaccinated communities. A new vaccine was introduced in late 2021 to combat the spread of this strain. There have been 445 cases in 2022 to date and there were 682 in 2021.

The New York polio case in the news earlier this year was a vaccine derived case that was traced back to Israel. Go to polioeradication.org to read more about the disease and our work.

Our District continues to support polio eradication through donations to the Rotary Foundation- Polio Plus Fund. The District rolled out the Polio Plus Society this year with members pledging to donate $100 or more to the eradication efforts of Rotary. To date we have Eighty-two members (82). The Dilworth South End club has twenty (20) members, closely followed by the Statesville Forth Creek club. If every club had the same participation rate, we would easily exceed our giving goal of $99,000. As of November 30, we stand at $40,794.

The leading giving clubs are:
Charlotte $12,275
Charlotte South $4,276
Waxhaw – Weddington $2,180
Top of the Lake Mooresville $2,005
Statesville Fourth Creek $1,830
Gastonia $1,805.

Remember giving to the Polio Plus Fund counts for Paul Harris recognition points. Step up and Join the Polio Plus Society. Make your donation today at rotary.org and submit the commitment form as indicated. If every Rotarian gave a donation of any amount, we would surpass our goal.

Together we can make this disease be part of the past not current history of the world.

Each spring, our graduating Fellows from the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center host Rotarians, faculty, staff, students, and local participants as they present their research on a wide range of issues affecting peace around the world.

Mark your calendars for our 20th Annual Rotary Peace Center Conference, to be held on Saturday, April 1, 2023. The conference is organized by the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center.

Chapel Hill, NC (pre-registration required, go to Duke / UNC-CH Peace Center for details & tickets closer to event). The conference has been live-streamed the past 3 years, with a hybrid event offered (limited in-person attendance) in 2022.

Delegation of 7 Rotarians from Turkey visited us from November 14 through 25. Rotarians from around the District enjoyed meeting our guests. Many thanks to those who hosted our visitors, sponsored lunches and dinners and other events.

The Brazilian Rotary Club of Sorocaba-Manchester has arranged to host a joint meeting with Charlotte North Rotary on Wednesday, December 7th at 10 am Eastern Time. Soren Gautam, Charlotte North’s Exchange student to Brazil will make a presentation about his experiences in Brazil.

Antonio Bramante, President of the Rotary Club of Sorocaba-Manchester and Marcia Vinci, President of Charlotte North Rotary will share some details about their respective club activities. The meeting will last about 1 hour and should be an interesting experience for everyone.

To attend the zoom meeting, simply click the link https://bit.ly/charlotte-manchester on Wednesday, Dec 7 at 10 am ET

On November 11th, Rotary Club of Mecklenburg South’s Rise Against Hunger project with friends from the Ballantyne, Dilworth, Charlotte International and Interact students with their friends, hit the mark with 10,152 meal packets AND two volunteers putting in their membership applications.

The Concord-Afton Sunset Rotary club has been busy over the last two months. The club has been busy with a service project at Trinity Church in Kannapolis preparing food bags for the church’s God’s Supper Table. We packed 80 bags for citizens who needed our assistance.

The club just completed our annual wreath sale fundraiser. Our goal was to sell 150 wreaths. We sold over 200 wreaths this year smashing our goal for this year!

We have had several wonderful speakers this past month which includes North Carolina State Auditor Beth Wood, Dr. Cam Cruikshank of Atrium Health and Gary McPherson of McPherson Financial.

Several members attended and enjoyed our Foundation Banquet held at Great Wolf Lodge, some of whom it was their first time attending.

Charlotte Dilworth Rotary Club Member Honors and Happenings

Amarja Webb, President Elect, and Darrell Bonapart, President Nominee, were awarded Paul Harris Fellows for willingly stepping up and into leadership roles for the Club. In addition to their willingness to assume these duties, both Amarja and Darrell are reliable and frequent volunteers at club and District events.

DG Kam met with our board and spoke at our club on November 4. We came away with many new ideas on how to attract new members and retain current members.

During this meeting, one of our newest members, Teri Kirshbom, was awarded a “Rotary Hero” pin by DG Kam for her spirit of volunteerism. Teri came to our club by way of a “Discover Rotary” event in August and has consistently volunteered for many projects, even before she was an official member. Congrats, Teri! We are truly proud of you and honored to have you as a member!

Our Club had many attendees at the Foundation Banquet including several members of our Queen City Impact Club! Everyone had a great time as the picture below shows:

Member David Hodgkins is currently in Arequipa, Peru, where he attended a 5-hour Rotary meeting at the Kallpa Suyuy Rotary Club. David’s nonprofit, Purple Promise Foundation partners with this club on a sun-safety project there. David received a special pin from DG Ana to celebrate another year of partnership.

WE ARE MOVING!

Beginning January 6, 2023, the Charlotte Dilworth Club will be meeting in the Fellowship Hall of Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1000 E Morehead, on the 2nd floor!

Rotary Club of Monroe-Union Breakfast club planted 20 large Chinese Elm trees at Charlotte Pipe. Next spring, Union County will be a little bit greener. Pat on the back to all involved.

The Gaston Evening Rotary Club donated more than 100 coats to Webb Street School along with 120 winter hats that were donated by Knot Witts, a knitting group from Southminster Church of Gastonia. The club collected the coats as one of its service projects. Read the full article.

Many thanks to everyone who has participated in our District 7680 effort to collect canned and dry goods for the Second Harvest Food Bank.  Kudos to Rotary clubs of Charlotte North, Charlotte South, Charlotte International, North Meck County, Meck South, and Charlotte Dilworth/Queen City Impact. All of these clubs responded remarkably well, accounting for more than 1,500 pounds of donations to Second Harvest. Shoutout to DGN Kevin Kendrick for his leadership.

Greetings to our fellow Rotarians! Here are some of the activities and projects our group has been working on lately:

  • Several members of our DE&I Committee, have completed a six-week course entitled “Our Stories – Brave Conversations”. This was developed by two Rotarians in District 7710. Although we participated in several differing cohort groups, those who participated found this to be a valuable experience which we will bring to our District.
  • The DE&I Strategy for our District is clear and straightforward. We want our clubs to mirror the communities they live, work and meet in so that we have a more comprehensive understanding of community needs by having a variety of voices involved. This is also a wonderful way to grow your membership. An important tool for understanding your community demographics is the U.S. Census Quick Facts query which provides information by city, county or State.
    https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221
  • DEI Committee Co-Chair Chris Arline sent every club an email recently asking for clubs to nominate an advocate for that club to work with the DE&I Committee. The Committee will be meeting with all club representatives some time during January 2023.
  • Work continues on our DE&I Resource Center which will be contained on the DE&I District website.
  • Our Committee was honored to participate in a panel discussion last week held by Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. An invigorating discussion on what Rotary is doing globally and locally was conducted.
  • If you are interested in being part of the DE&I Committee, please email co-chairs Rina Arline at rcarline07@yahoo.com or Chris Arline at carline30@gmail.com.

Your Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

Kam is doing his official club visits and has been posting photos and commentary on his Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/kamleshchandan. Go take a look. Great Photos! We have added a few below, but on his FB page, it is club by club.

New to Rotary or want to know more – This is for you! You are part of a group whose impact reaches around the world through local community service by our 1.4 million members in 200+ countries. Join us for “Rotary 101” a virtual tour of Rotary and Rotarians that will inspire you to engage even more in the Rotary community. Wednesday August 24 was the kickoff for ROTARY 101, an online program designed for new and potential members of Rotary. There are the events scheduled in the next two months.

Tuesday, December 5 at 6:00pm 

Here’s the link: Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81801636156?pwd=d2sraXFqdWRlSTVtL2ltQ0dIT1dPZz09 Meeting ID: 818 0163 6156 Passcode: 539445 

Questions: Contact Marcia Scheideman (mscheideman.ms@gmail.com) or Lorena Prince (garzalster@gmail.com ) for any questions you might have. Looking forward to seeing you virtually!

If you haven’t yet become a member of the Roger Ackerman Circle, our newly-named group of recurring donors in memory of our founder, don’t forget you can sign up to do that at mycartfund.org also! Our goal is to get the first 100 donors in 100 days, and we are pleased to announce we are currently at 70! Will you help us by committing to a minimum of $5 per month (or $15 per quarter or $60 per year)? We would love to recognize you with a special edition lapel pin to say THANK YOU!

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Susan Kaech as our guest speaker for the Dec. 12 “Lunch & Learn” series to provide an update on Alzheimer’s Research, including outcomes from her CART-funded grant. We will meet via zoom from Noon-1pm EST. Her presentation will be titled “Making Immunological Memories In Your Mind.”

Dr. Kaech received a $300,000 grant from CART in 2021.

She aims to understand how memory T cells are produced during infection and vaccination, how they function and why they can fail to induce long-term immunity, particularly during chronic disease or cancer. Her lab has been a leader in using genetic and molecular tools to identify the genes and signaling molecules involved in generating two specific types of memory T cells.

Registration is required in order to receive the zoom link.

ROTARIANS:  Register via DACDB

We are pleased to announce the creation of a new “cause-based” Rotary Club coming soon to support The CART Fund and Alzheimer’s research.

What is a cause-based club? It is simply a Rotary club that focuses on one particular cause. The programs & speakers are all about the cause, and the club’s service projects are all about that cause too. For example, a cause-based club could focus on serving veterans or ending human trafficking, or perhaps even helping find a cause, treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.

In the coming months, we will be actively reaching out to former Rotarians who have left traditional clubs but may be interested in rejoining a different format. We will also be seeking referrals of individuals who may have a specific interest in Alzheimer’s Disease but are not currently a Rotarian.

If you are interested in helping create this new club, or if you have suggestions of prospective members in your community, please let us know by sending an email to cartfundnews@gmail.com. This club will have no geographic boundaries, and will also offer “affiliate memberships” to those who are already members of other Rotary Clubs. It is NOT an initiative designed to take Rotarians away from their current clubs.

Mark your calendar and vigorously promote the

Membership Action Plan (MAP)

“Bite-Sized” webinars, every month on the second Monday at 6 pm ET.

The target audience is club leaders, Presidents, Assistant Governors, Presidents-Elect, Membership Chairs, and anyone else who has an interest in the long-term viability and vitality of their Rotary club. All District leaders are also encouraged to attend.

The MAP Page on the Zone website has past recordings, registration links for upcoming events, and a library of membership collateral: RIZones33-34.org/membership-action-plan

What is the MAP?

It’s a unified, multi-year membership growth initiative spanning Rotary Zones 33 and 34 — 1,700 clubs and 66,000 Rotarians from Pennsylvania to Florida, then extending through the Caribbean to the coast of South America.

In search of a strategy to mitigate membership decline and get our clubs on a path of consistent, moderate growth, RI Director Jeremy Hurst launched a task force in January of 2022.

This group of District and Zone leaders has developed a set of “Bite-Sized”? webinars (1 hour or less), delivered once a month, that are 100% actionable by the clubs. No concepts. No theory. No figuring out how. Everything is there. Strategies that are GUARANTEED to work (they’ve worked for hundreds of clubs), together with recipes, templates, slides, videos, worksheets and scripts. There’s also an awards program that will recognize both clubs and districts for their participation and achievements.

How can YOU help?

Embrace, publicize and promote participation of all your club leaders in these monthly events. Yes, they are being recorded, and, yes, all the material presented is downloadable from the MAP Page on the Zone Website: RIZones33-34.org/membership-action-plan.

The Host Organizing Committee is very excited to welcome Rotarians and guests to Melbourne for the 2023 Rotary International Convention. Known as one of the world’s most livable cities, you will enjoy what we take for granted, a beautiful, vibrant and cosmopolitan city. Set on the shores of picturesque Port Phillip Bay, the southern-most city of mainland Australia Melbourne is rich in aesthetics, with its beauty enhanced by the meandering Yarra River, immaculate parks and gardens, public art, classical buildings and innovative design.

Iconic Flinders Street railway station is the meeting point for all people when they come to Melbourne. Start your journey there and enjoy a great coffee and discover what Melbourne has to offer. With interlocking laneways with graffiti art and the buzzing inner-city precinct reveals one-off boutiques and world-class restaurants, while our larger modern department stores and shopping complexes compete to enchant the most discerning shopper. Melbourne is culturally diverse and is globally recognized as one of the most concentrated dining and fashion cultures in the world.

Melbourne is the heart of Australia’s major sports: Formula 1, Melbourne Cup (the race that stops a nation), Australian Tennis Open, and the mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which is home to Australian cricket and our unique Australian Football League (AFL). Just a short drive from the heart of Melbourne, you can take one of the world’s iconic drives along the Great Ocean Road. Head north to the Murray River and sit amongst the great river red gums or relax with a glass of local wine on a river paddle steamer. Or, if you prefer, head to Phillip Island. Here you can visit the koala sanctuary and see the world-famous fairy penguin parade in the evening. Step back in time – head to Ballarat and try your hand at gold panning at Sovereign Hill. Visit the Yarra Valley, home of great cool climate wines, chardonnay, pinot and sparkling. There are unlimited adventures and discoveries to be had, just a short distance from Melbourne City.

Please keep visiting this site because we will be regularly posting new exciting activities and information. We look forward to welcoming you to our great city. https://convention.rotary.org/en/melbourne

Are you REGISTERED?

Do you have QUESTIONS?

Call Bob Wilson, 7680 Melbourne Convention Chair