Mechanicsville Club's Casino Night a success:
Submitted by Randi Power and Stacie Francis
On March 7, 2020, The Rotary Club of Mechanicsville hosted its 21st Annual Casino Night in Richmond, VA. With over 300 in attendance, guests enjoyed hours of food, fun and fellowship. Rotarians hosted friends and family, spoke about the importance of Service Above Self and working with community organizations. Thanks to our generous sponsors, donors and guests, The Rotary Club of Mechanicsville will be presenting a check for $41,000 to Hanover Safe Place, an organization providing services to victims of sexual and domestic violence in Hanover County. For many years, Hanover Safe Place has been the major benefactor of Casino Night, with the Rotary Club of Mechanicsville donating over $400,000 to Hanover Safe Place. The Rotary Club of Mechanicsville, and the Casino Night Committee, spend countless hours preparing for the event, which lasts only 7 hours. Months are spent courting sponsors and donors, arranging vendors and planning out the night minute-by-minute.

We were very lucky to get our event in prior to the COVID-19 crisis, and are so grateful to our generous community for supporting our event, and in turn, supporting the work of Hanover Safe Place.

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Hanover County Club:
Anna Rae Carlton from The Doorways enthusiastically received three baskets full of personal toiletries gathered from Hanover Rotary Club members! A total of 128 individual items, from soaps to razors to toothbrushes, and more, help the Doorways clients deal with medical crises while away from home! The Doorways’ mission is to provide lodging and support for patients and their loved ones who need to be close to the hospital but not far from the feeling of home. Thanks to all Rotary members showing Service above self!

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James River Club:
James River Rotary supports our healthcare heroes working on the frontlines of COVID19. Rotary friends - we challenge you to think of innovative and creative ways Rotary can be a part of the solution and support system for our communities despite this time of uncertainty and transition.

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Rotary Club of New Kent donates $1,000 for Personal Protection Equipment to the New Kent County Sheriff's auxiliary for PPEs. Club members Lee Muslin and Christopher Tripp present the check to Corporal Gerald Simpson.

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The James City County Club:
Submitted by Neva Lynde
“The JCC Rotary Club and its Satellite Club are gearing up to display 100 U.S. flags again at Veterans’ Park in Williamsburg, to honor COVID19 healthcare professional and first responders, for the week surrounding Flag Day, June 14. The Club first displayed the flags last November, to honor military and first responders around Veterans’ Day. Back by popular demand.”

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The Warwick at City Center Club:
Submitted by Carol Davanay
The Warwick at City Center Club has NOT been resting on our laurels! We held our first Zoom conference meeting Wednesday, April 15^th with 17 members in attendance and we have held three BOD meetings prior to that. Of most immediate concern was what to do about our annual fundraiser, our Bacon, Beer and Bourbon Bash that was to have been held May 20^th at the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News. With the most current news of the Old Dominion non-essential services being closed until June 10^th, the Board has decided, with much input from the Virginia Living Museum and our food vendors to cancel this event and re-schedule for May 2021. It was a hard decision to make but the best one for everyone involved to include our attendees.

At the request of Foundation Chair Carol Chamberlain, we have set up a phone tree so as to keep in touch with our members and despite our challenges with the coronavirus crisis, the club raised $2,000 in donations on Foundation Day recently. Just to keep spirits up and have some fun, the club has also enjoyed virtual cocktail parties. As we adjust to our “new normal,” we have established a policy that the part of our dues that covers meals can be donated to our commitment to our Habitat for Humanity project, the Rotary Habitat House being built in Newport News, Virginia. We continue to support our local food pantry, THRIVE with donations of food and money and shoes (!) we are constantly seeking out new opportunities to help in these times of self-quarantine and separation. And we are MOST happy to announce that as of today, April 16th, none of our members and/or their family members are suffering from the virus. God bless and be safe out there

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Yorktown Club:
Read about the Club's work in Quito, Ecuador from the Yorktown Independent HERE.

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Hampton Roads Club:
Another successful morning providing service to the community while maintaining social distancing!

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Petersburg Lunch Club - upcoming event
Announcing good news from the Petersburg Lunch Club and the Petersburg Breakfast Club. Once all of this virus quarantine is over...mark your calendars for the 13th Annual Service Above Self Rotary Golf Tournament. This is scheduled for September 21, 2020 and will be held at Dogwood Trace Golf Course.
Please start getting your teams together. We will have more information soon. Questions please contact Bill Henn or JoAnne Norman

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South Hill Club: Submitted by Lisa Clary
Brians Steak House, an iconic restaurant, and the home of the South Hill Rotary Club, suffered a devastating fire April 21 that took with it 45 years of memories for thousands who have enjoyed meals and fellowship there. The Restaurant was the meeting place each month of many local civic organizations in the community, including South Hill Rotary, South Hill Lions, South Hill Chamber, AARP, Marine Corp League and others.

The South Hill Club lost badges, flags, the club’s banner and several other items that were stored in the restaurant. The bell was recovered and a member will be working to trying to restore it along with the bells of several other civic organizations. The next step will be to find a new location to hold meetings when released from the Coronavirus limitations. Ronnie Wells, Carleen Wells and the staff at the business supported Rotary in all their projects through the years in many various ways and South Hill Rotary thanks them for all they have done and look forward to returning if and when they rebuild. Note - Ronnie and Carleen are not married to each other.

Due to pandemic guidelines, South Hill Rotary had not had a meeting since March and has held one board conference call meeting last month. But club members not idle. They are still working on scholarship selections, Flags for Heroes, the Reverse Raffle and grant projects from home and through emails.

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Oyster Point Club:

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Is your club looking for a way to help during this Coronavirus period? Read HERE for an idea, submitted by Allie Fisher.

May is Rotary’s Youth Service Month! Throughout the month, Rotary members and younger members of the Rotary family, including Rotaractors, Interactors, and RYLA and Rotary Youth Exchange participants, celebrate the service, leadership development, connections, and FUN of Rotary’s programs for young leaders.

Here are four ways to celebrate Youth Service Month during the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. It’s important to follow the guidelines set by your local government and health organizations for sheltering in place during COVID-19, but we can still put the service in Youth Service Month! There are still many ways to serve your community. Consider distributing hand sanitizer, sewing masks for essential workers, and helping seniors or others who are isolated. Check out this list of projects being conducted by Rotary clubs around the world for inspiration.
https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-monitors-coronavirus-outbreak

2. Maintain social connections, especially between generations. Schedule an online meeting with your sponsor Rotary club, or your program participants and alumni. Visit the Meeting Online learning topic to find and share resources, join discussions, and ask for expert advice about creating online meeting spaces.
https://my.rotary.org/learn?deep-link=https%3A//learn.rotary.org/members/learn/dashboard/channel/67

3. Fundraise to support Rotary’s initiatives. In the midst of such difficult and uncertain times, you can empower local, Rotary COVID-19 projects by making a gift to the Disaster Response Fund. This Disaster Response Fund has already made COVID-19 Disaster Response grants possible and they are having a big impact. They are supplying hospitals in Belgium, Croatia, and Italy with lifesaving ventilators. They’re equipping frontline health care workers in Korea, Nigeria, the Philippines, Spain, and the United States with desperately needed personal protective equipment so they can care for patients safely. In India, disaster response grants are also improving conditions for patients and caregivers by bringing disinfectant sprayers, beds, and mattresses to health care facilities.
https://my.rotary.org/disaster-response-fund

4. Encourage your club to earn this year’s Rotary Citation. Your Rotary, Rotaract, or Interact club can earn a Rotary Citation for achieving goals that strengthen Rotary and your club. Some goals include increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in your community.
https://my.rotary.org/news-media/office-president/rotary-citation

Share how you’re celebrating Rotary’s Youth Service Month on social media with #RotaryYouthService! https://www.facebook.com/events/2568127840101254/

COVID-19 is causing all of us to have to change the way we do things - Rotary included. In this special series of courses you'll learn how to take your club and communications into the virtual world to better keep in touch with and retain membership.

DACdb has provided several topics to assist clubs during this time. Topics include: Hold a Virtual Meeting; Keeping in Touch with Members; Care and Concern Chain; Preparing for 2020-21; and New Member Form. To get to these trainings go to DACdb > Help (along the top row of links) > DACdb Training (drop down menu) > Covid19 Training. When the new window opens the trainings are listed on the right.

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Rotarians Step Up to Meet the Need!
by DRFC Stephen Beer

Many of us have been staying or working at home for about six weeks now. It’s nice to get out and walk in the neighborhood and catch up on fixing up the house. Our yard looks about as nice as ever. Is it my extra effort and green thumb, or the fact that we had ideal weather conditions the past few months?

Beverley and I have not been spending as much since we started staying at home. With all the uncertainty about the future, we have cut back a lot. We are supporting our favorite locally-owned restaurants by ordering take-out dinners. We are also supporting local more right now. I also gave to The Rotary Foundation on Giving Tuesday and am thinking about making another contribution to The Foundation soon. Since our recreation and other activities are so limited right now, and we are fortunate to be less impacted by the coronavirus than others, being retired, it makes sense for us.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to The Rotary Foundation on April 7, Giving Tuesday. We raised about $64,000, which is about $4000 more than last year.

Right now, many of our clubs are putting together COVID-19 District Grants to help fulfill an immediate community need caused by the deadly virus. With the recent job losses, many more families cannot put food on the table. Clubs are helping the regional foodbanks and their local food pantries, with additional equipment and facility capacity to meet the increased demand. Clubs are also supporting other local organizations that are providing nutrition to low-income citizens. The needs have increased while available resources have dwindled. THANKS to Rotary clubs, we are helping to ameliorate the current situation. You should be commended for your efforts!

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Here is an interesting message from Mike McGovern, who is in charge of Rotary's polio effort. Mike has been a speaker at PETS numerous times and he was our guest speaker at the Foundation dinner a few years ago. He is a jolly man from Maine. The gist of the message is that the infrastructure system we have established in developing countries to eradicate polio has been successfully used to combat Ebola and other diseases. This system is now being used to combat COVID-19. There is the risk that polio cases may increase for a short time as efforts are temporarily guided elsewhere. – Stephen Beer
Read the message HERE.

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Will the future of the Grant Management Seminars be virtual?
In these times of social distancing and other restrictions, many aspects of normal Rotary experiences have changed. To see how it has impacted Grant Management Seminars and how people feel about it go HERE.

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The Brave New World of the Grant Management Seminar (GMS)

Read Carol Woodward's report HERE.

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Our Community crushed it today! Thousands of pounds of food, hundreds in cash donations with 55 community volunteers plus 14 of our Rotary Family. Over 250 community service hours and we still had a second day to go. Submitted by Rudy Lee Garcia, Rotary Club of Fluvanna (Palmyra)