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DUTIES FOR THE MONTH OF February: On The Front Door: Tim Dwyre Bulletin Editor: Janice Coupland Greeter: Janice Coupland HAPPY TOONIES Lennis – Sad to say he was at the fourth funeral this year. The last was in Huntsville where the snow was higher that the vehicles. Linda – Despite her bad cold, she was happy to finalize her trip to the Rotary International Convention and that Lennis and Esther will be in Copenhagen the same time. Dan – very happy that wherever he goes in Oshawa, he runs into Rotarians, good people doing good things. He encouraged all of us to do something that is beneficial to someone. This week, Dan has two Durham College co-op students for a term at Canguard. Sandy – enjoyed her vacation to Grenada. Direct flight. White sand beaches, Aqua water. Very relaxing. And she missed the worst weather week this winter. Dave – Hopes Ted Hs a great month in Florida and be sure to say hello to all of the members of the Rotary Club of Indian Rocks Beach. Ted – A happy $5 … one for each week he will be in Florida. Robert K – He and Caroline had a great month in Peru and back safely. He also proudly announced that the young student that we sponsored for the Rotary Club of Ottawa’s Adventure in Citizenship a few years ago is completing her second year at Glendon College at York University. She applied to compete her degree at the University of Lyon and she was accepted. Devon – his family got together recently and celebrated what would have been his Dad’s birthday on Feb 22. Heather – Happy to hear Dr Khan a few weeks ago ,and has scheduled Dr Raffy Choulijan to do Brushamania at the school in Scarborough. GUEST SPEAKER: Name of Speaker: Dave Andrews spoke on Rotary’s 114th Birthday on Feb 23, 2019. February 23 is Rotary’s 114th Birthday. That day is also called World Understanding and Peace Day. On February 23, 1905, little did Paul Harris and his three friends realize what they were starting when they met in room 711 of the Unity Building in Chicago. HOW DID WE START? Paul Harris and five business friends discussed creating a business networking group off and on in 1904. Then, on February 23, 1905, Paul Harris had dinner with his closest friend, Chicago coal dealer Silvester Schiele. Afterwards they walked up to Room 711 of the Unity Building where they met their host, Gustavus Loehr, a mining engineer; and another friend, Hiram Shorey, a merchant tailor. Harris proposed that they form a club. No name was chosen for the group. But they agreed to meet next at the offices of Silvester Schiele. The second meeting was March 9th. Three other men, Harry Ruggles, William Jenson, and A. L. White joined them. Ruggles was a printer, and created the “name badge” version of the Rotary “wheel” and also started singing in Rotary. In fact his singing kept the group from disbanding more than once. It was also decided that “rotating” the meetings made “Rotary” the most logical name. Two weeks later the group gathered at the office of Silvester Schiele, in his coal yard at Twelfth and State Streets. Six of the previous seven were present along with Charles Newton and Arthur B. Irwin. Within five years clubs had formed across the country, from San Francisco to New York. In August 1910, Rotarians held their first convention in Chicago. The 16 clubs that existed at that time united to form the National Association of Rotary Clubs. When clubs were formed in Canada and Great Britain in 1912, the name was changed to the International Association of Rotary Clubs, and was later shortened to Rotary International in 1922. By July 1925, Rotary had grown to more than 2,000 clubs and an estimated 108,000 members on six continents. As Rotary grew, members pooled their resources and used their talents to serve their communities. Our dedication to this ideal is best expressed in our motto: Service Above Self. Rotary also later embraced a code of ethics, called The 4-Way Test, that has been translated into hundreds of languages.
During and after World War II, Rotarians became increasingly involved in promoting international understanding. In 1945, 49 Rotary members served in 29 delegations to the United Nations Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings and promoting the United Nations in Rotary publications. Rotary International's relationship with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) dates back to a 1943 London Rotary conference that promoted international cultural and educational exchanges. Attended by ministers of education and observers from around the world, and chaired by a past president of RI, the conference was an impetus to the establishment of UNESCO in 1946. An endowment fund, set up by Rotarians in 1917 "for doing good in the world," became a not-for-profit corporation known as The Rotary Foundation in 1928. Upon the death of Paul Harris in 1947, an outpouring of Rotarian donations made in his honor, totaling US$2 million, launched the Foundation's first program — graduate fellowships, now called Ambassadorial Scholarships. Today, contributions to The Rotary Foundation total more than US$80 million annually and support a wide range of humanitarian grants and educational programs that enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international understanding throughout the world.
In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of the world's children against polio. Working in partnership with nongovernmental organizations and national governments thorough its PolioPlus program, Rotary is the largest private-sector contributor to the global polio eradication campaign. Rotarians have mobilized hundreds of thousands of PolioPlus volunteers and have immunized more than one billion children worldwide..
As the dawn of the 21st century approached, Rotary worked to meet the changing needs of society, expanding our service effort to address such pressing issues as environmental degradation, illiteracy, world hunger, and children at risk. We admitted women for the first time (worldwide) in 1989 and we now have more than 145,000 women in our ranks. Following the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Rotary clubs were formed or re-established throughout Central and Eastern Europe. WHERE ARE WE TODAY: Here are a few facts from the 2017-18 Annual Report: WHAT WE DID LAST YEAR 35,678 Rotary Clubs 1,195,107 members 11,198 Rotaract Clubs 22,952 Interact Clubs Rotarians volunteered 111.1 million hours Rotarians raised $414.7 million for the Rotary Foundation 94 Scholarships were granted to Rotary Peace Scholars 1,306 Global Grants were awarded by the Rotary Foundation totalling $86.7 million Including: 483 toward Disease Prevention and Treatment 283 towards water and sanitation 182 toward economic and community development 174 toward basic education and literacy 102 toward maternal and child health 82 toward peace and conflict prevention / resolution Someone once said you can’t know where you are going until you know where you came from. We know where we came from. PDG Ted Morrison added some of Rotary’s accomplishments: The white cane of the International institute for the Blind worldwide, created by the wife of a Rotarian in the UK. A letter created at the Rotary International Convention in 1947 in Havana, Cuba, denouncing Hitler. The letter became the basis for the Human Rights Code used worldwide. Easter Seals , started by the Rotary Club of Toledo, Ohio used worldwide. We have 114 years of proud Rotary history and accomplishments that all started on February 23, 1905. Now , let’s go out and tell the world 
IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT, MAKE UP: Go online at www.rotary.org go to the club locator and find a club or clubs near your destination. Or you can add the free App Rotary Club Locator to your phone for instant look up of any club in the world. Please mail or fax your make-ups to Secretary Robbie Larocque, or give your make-up card to the attendance/registration officer at the next club meeting.
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