In some clubs, Rotarians are saying that they like meeting virtually but are missing the
“service above self” part of Rotary. In doing some research for the recent changeover celebration, I have uncovered some
amazing stories of clubs doing service during COVID-19 - safe service projects. The examples include:
- Doing a clean-up of a park or a trail or some laneways. Easy to social distance. Can be done with masks on. Some clubs are doing this and getting a lot of other friends of Rotary engaged with them. A particular shout out to the Rotary Club of Grand Island who even posted pictures of themselves in action.
- Engaging with a teen audience and challenging young adults to write a response to a situation using the four-way test. The students or young teenage audience submit the essays based on a particular scenario and a small group of Rotarians judge them. In some cases, clubs invite that young student to read the essay at a meeting and receive some small prize (e.g. $500 scholarship).
- Getting involved in calling people who are feeling extra isolated during these times. At my club, the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM, we have a speaker coming to talk of their project (a former RYLA graduate). They recruit Rotarians to make phone calls to those just wanting to chat.
- Putting together supplies for places like the YWCA - where they are in need of toiletries and other products for their women in shelters etc…. The Rotary club puts together a team to fill their needs by donating supplies and delivering it to them.
- The Rotary Club of Dundas created “thanks to all our front-line workers” signs and presented them to businesses in the downtown area. On the sign, it noted that it was the Rotary Club of Dundas that was thanking them and almost every business put that certificate in their window.
- The Grimsby at Noon club turned their meetings into community speaker’s bureau type events. They would invite the Medical Officer of Health or someone else of real interest at this time. They would make sure that many in the community knew that that speaker was speaking at Rotary by webinar that day. They got large numbers of the community out to their meeting because they were excited to hear these speakers.
- The Ancaster AM Rotary Club is doing a bottle drive right now. Getting people to bring their wine and liquor bottles to a location every Sunday. They are then going to take those in and turn that cash into giving to some already identified projects.
Regardless of what your club might choose to do, please consider doing what some clubs are doing. They are inviting “friends of Rotary '' to participate with them - be these individuals former exchange students, spouses, former-members, neighbours. As Rotary International has taught us, getting others first involved in our service projects is one of the best recruitment tools you can utilize.
