At the May 23, meeting, Club President-Barbara Battle , called the meeting to order.
Before the presentation by the speaker, President-Elect, Gudiel Crosthwaite, (and LUSD Superintendent), talked about his guest, Gilbert Mireles, Principal at Vista HS, LUSD. Gudiel noted that Mr. Mireles, is a long term employee of Lynwood Unified School District. Member Joe Wang noted that he will participate again in the distribution of eye glasses from the Vision To Learn Program. The distribution this time will be at LHS. Gudiel noted that there will be special publicity from outside sources and that it would be good if other Lynwood Rotary members participated. Several other members mentioned that they expected to participate, including Club President Barbara Battle and member Larry Esparza.
It was noted that Gudiel attended recently the mandatory training from the supplier of the fireworks stand, Phantom Fireworks, Inc. It was also noted that volunteers will be needed for the setup of fireworks stand. The dates of sale are Jul 1 thru Jul 4, which this year, is Mon thru Thur. The supplier (Phantom Fireworks) will advise when they will make delivery. For example, it could be Sat Jun 29. And for the pack up and inventory of unspent product, that must be done after close of sales (around 9pm) on Jul 4. Both of these procedures require extensive use of volunteers.
Mark Rogo, was introduced by Daniel, as the Past President, Westwood Village Rotary Club. Mark provided copies of several hand-outs about Rotary Global grants. The minimum size of the grant application is $30,000. The club initiating the application needs to seek out potential donors. District 5280 is able to identify potential recipient Rotary clubs in other countries needing assistance. There are six areas for funding: (1) Peace and conflict prevention/ resolution; (2) Disease prevention and treatment; (3) Water and sanitation; (4) Maternal and child health; (5) Basic education and literacy; (6) Economic and community development.
The procedures are quite strict and require considerable training and expertise. Close coordination is required with the recipient club. Mark Rogo explained that it is important to know who you are partnered with. He said: “Be careful. Find a good club.”
Mark also mentioned scholarships, as another form of Rotary funding. Mark provided two examples of scholarship applications for local high school students.
Speaker Rogo mentioned that there is the Rotary International Convention in June 1920. Also, the next District 5280 Breakfast, is Tue, Aug 13.
As a final note, the speaker, Mark Rogo, mentioned that at the District 5280 Annual Conference, Sat, May 18, at the Marriot Hotel in Ventura, he observed the recognition that members of the Youthact group from Roosevelt ES, received from District Governor, Joe Vasquez.
Daniel Miller Public Relations/ Community Outreach Lynwood Rotary Club