This updated program comes from our archives and was initially posted about a year ago. As we plan for the upcoming year of service activities, consider where you might plant a tree in the coming year to bring benefits for decades to come, e.g. your own yard or a local park, school or community center....
E-CLUB PROGRAM
PRESIDING TODAY IS: Richard Phalunas, Past (Founding) President & Current Membership Chair
Ding! We’re now in session.
Welcome all – Visitors, fellow Rotarians and guests alike to this E-Club program!
Remember the smiling pot. Donations to our E-Club help support our service projects.
We’d like to respectfully remind all visitors that if they would like to contribute the normal cost of a meal for your makeup, we would be grateful. These funds go directly to our many and varied service projects around the world. You can make a contribution in the Donation box on the homepage. Or you can write a check to: Rotary E-Club of District 7530 and mail it to Treasurer MSRE, 405 Blackberry Ridge Dr., Morgantown, WV 26508.
Four-Way Test
At the beginning of each meeting we remind ourselves of the The Four-Way Test. Therefore, please remember to ask yourself always . . .
Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
A Reflective Moment
“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.”
-Anonymous
-Anonymous
“My heart is glad, my heart is high
With sudden ecstasy;
I have given back, before I die,
Some thanks for every lovely tree
That dead men grew for me.”
-V.H. Friedlaender
“He that planteth a tree is a servant of God, he provideth a kindness for many generations, and faces that he hath not seen shall bless him.”
-Henry Van Dyke
A Light Moment
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Program: Rotary International Tree Planting Initiative--It's easy to help!
It's that time of year when our E-Club board discusses upcoming service activities, and our president has been reaching out to members for ideas that make sense for our geographically diverse group. One activity that was widely supported last year was to provide financial support to supply books to young children through both the Imagination Library and through members' own book donations, which we successfully did.
However, another effort that our members can support--no matter where they live--is one that was announced last year by former RI President Ian Riseley: a Rotary Tree Planting Initiative. (You may view the full announcement below.) The goal of this initiative is for each Rotarian across the globe to plant one tree between the beginning of the Rotary year (1 July) and Earth Day (22 April). That would equal 1.2 million new trees! As Past President Riseley noted, environmental sustainability should be everyone’s concern and, as Rotarians, our responsibility is not only to the people of this planet, but also to the planet itself.
Therefore, we again encourage every member of our club to be aware of this international effort and, in some way, to help support it. Perhaps you can plant a tree in your own yard or in a nearby park or school. Or perhaps you can give (and plant) a tree as a gift to someone else this coming year: for a birth, birthday, anniversary or other milestone. There are also conservation organizations that might welcome such a donation. For example, the Arbor Day Foundation has been dedicated itself to planting trees around the world since 1972. To date, it's planted more than 250 million! (Go to https://www.arborday.org to learn ore.)
If you do plant a tree or support a conservation group, please be sure to forward your action to our Public Image Chair, Bonnie Branciaroli (bonniesuemark@gmail.com) or President Diana Martinelli (martinellidiana@gmail.com), so they may share your actions on our Club's Facebook page. We would love to see and share pictures of our e-Club members with the various trees they've planted or related causes they've supported!
More information about this effort is provided in the links below. Note that the challenge was taken up not only by individual Rotary Clubs and Rotarians, but also by the Environmental Sustainability Action Group. To learn more about the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group, please follow this link:
https://www.esrag.org/
https://www.esrag.org/
If you have skills you'd like to contribute as part of a Rotary Action Group, there are many to choose from! See https://my.rotary.org/en/rotarian-action-groups to learn more about being part of solutions far beyond your geographic community. Also, please feel free to reach out to us with ideas on other ways we might support this--and other--service projects in the year to come!
RI President Introduces the RI Tree Planting Initiative:
https://youtu.be/4Nz875VZ5_8 (Please copy/paste link to browser, if link does not work.)
Getting Started:
Rotary Club Tree Planting Ideas:
Ongoing Rotary Tree Planting Projects:
Brochure for the Rotary Tree Planting Initiative (with list of additional resources): https://www.esrag.org/sites/default/files/imce/ESRAG_Tree%20challenge%20brochure_ff-LO.pdf
Thank you for attending this meeting! Please do not forget to leave a comment below and contribute in a discussion about this MSRE Plant a Tree service project!