Meeting for the Week of June 1st, 2015
This Meeting's Highlights
Speaker: Janel Alimboyoguen and Andrew Lin
Program: Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley: Doing Things Differently
Meeting for the week of June 1st to 8th, 2015
Greetings
Welcome from President Rushton Hurley
Welcome, everyone! I write my greetings to you this week from Breckenridge, Colorado, where a group of us are leading a conference trying to inspire a couple hundred teachers to see new possibilities through various technologies.Every time I do one of these things, I meet teachers who are excited to explore new tools and techniques that might allow them to reach more students. Those of us who have taught have all had kids who, shall we say, tried our patience. However, getting the energy and ideas together to find a way to reach such kiddos creates the conditions for one of the best pieces of teaching - turning around a student who hadn't had confidence in his or her future before.Each of us as Rotarians also has the chance weekly and perhaps daily to give someone a message of encouragement, and I hope you are taking time regularly to do such things. It not only helps them, but reminds us why we choose to value service to others.It's how to live a good life!Guests, we welcome your comments, as well, and ask that you consider contributing the cost of a meal to the service projects our club is putting in motion. Feel free to use our donation system for Happy Dollars, or you can mail a check made out to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley to our treasurer: ℅ Allen Thompson, 13500 Cascade Ct., Bakersfield CA 93314.
Reaching Out to the Vulnerable
Rotary has a long history of identifying and assisting the vulnerable, and even in places and cases where the need is overwhelming, sleeves get rolled up, and we find a way to make a difference.This video about providing health care in Uganda is one example.
The Power of Images
from Camera Czar Keith Marsh
"This photo of the Milky Way and moon at Delicate Arch in Arches National Park is astronomically accurate, but I had to "recreate it" because of partial cloud cover on the night I was there. Most visitors and photographers hike to Delicate Arch for sunset, but leave when it starts to get dark. For me, this is the best time if the lighting is good and the skies are clear. I love having this place all to myself." Another gem, Keith!
Happenings
What We Do
No FIFA Troubles Here
On the 24th, a group of 14 went to the San Jose Earthquakes match at Levi's Stadium. Catherine Liu and her husband shepherded seven kiddos, which gets the pack-the-minivan award! In addition to Catherine, John Lozano, Rushton Hurley, Mitty Chang, and fearless organizer Stephen Zhou took in the match. Good fun!Above are Stephen, John, Catherine, Rushton, and Mitty, who gets extra kudos for attending even though he'd just arrived back in the U.S. from Australia and Taiwan two days before! What jet lag?
Serious BBQ, Anyone?
Start planning now to attend the 2015 Silicon Valley Barbeque Championships, to be held Friday, June 26th, and Saturday, June 27th. The event is a major fundraiser of the Rotary Club of Santa Clara, which is a seriously fun club with a long record of doing great things in the community. Learn more at the event's Facebook page.We'll also have a team helping out, and Stephen Zhou is organizing the group to take part. If interested, let him know (szhou@financialguide.com).
The World of Rotary
District NewsletterOur district's May newsletter came out last week, with a message from DF (District Governor) Ed Jellen about the progress of the last year, and a powerful story and video from Charlie Wasser about Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio. Find Ed's message here and the polio story here on the district site.A Virtual HospitalEver heard of Julian Metts? He's worth knowing about! He's a Rotarian and a doctor in Virginia who spearheaded the effort that became the World Pediatric Project, which focuses on heart surgeries and other lifesaving treatments, largely funded through grants from Rotary clubs and The Rotary Foundation. There's a short interview of him posted on Rotary's website
Service Time
In the last few weeks, Keith Marsh helped with an Earth Day cleanup; Shags Shagrin did a variety of good deeds, including help as a member of the Investment Task Force for the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, a little work for the California Drought Education project, and his ongoing heaps-o-help for the Storytelling Association of California; Martin Fox helped with the Friends of Animals shelter and some mentoring of young entrepreneurs; Rushton Hurley assisted with a Kiwanis food distribution to the needy; Heather Shaw did a one-hour massage for a homebound patient; and John Lozano did some training of participants and leaders in CISV (Children's International Summer Village).How about you? What you do might inspire others to give some of their time, as well! Let us know using this form.
Happy Dollars
We've had a good showing in our efforts to help Nepal through ShelterBox, with more donations last week to add to those of Andrew Taw, Linda Tangren, Allen Thompson, Rushton Hurley, Martin Fox, Gene Tognetti, Yvonne Kwan, Chris Cochrane, and Richard Knaags.
member Deepali Mehrotra ($20):For Nepal
guest Hardeep Singh ($10)I would love to donate to the ShelterBox project. [Hardeep, it's always impressive to see one of our guests join in an effort like this. Thank you so much!]
Raised from our members and guests: $315Approved by the board from club funds: $250Total: $565
Great work, everyone!Do you have something you'd like to celebrate? Something nice happen to you or a family member? Any graduations or new jobs? Toss a dollar or two into the pot and let us know!
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Sharings
The Tidbit
Finding that Tidbit
Sometimes, you’re on a long webpage (such as this one), and want to find something somewhere on it quickly. Learn what to do in this week’s Tidbit.
Added note: If you are using a different browser than the one I used in the video, the search field may appear somewhere other than the upper right.
A Little Humor
from @clarkekant on rd.com
I can still remember a time when I knew more than my phone.
Selected Comments from Last Week
Each week we ask our members and guests to leave comments at the bottom of this page, telling what they thought of the program and the meeting. Here’s a sampling from last week’s program from Julie Matsushima about the San Jose Rotary PlayGarden:
from member Manju Ramachandran (California, USA):
Thank you for sharing. This is a really great video. I had no idea of the details that go behind picking elements to engage those children with disability/therapeutic challenges. I love the carousel element. That’s missing from most playgrounds today. I’m sure that many kids will enjoy playing and developing better motor skills on these play structures. Kudos on your follow through!
from member Mark Dohn (Michigan, USA):
What a fantastic story! I agree with Manju that the detail that went into the planning is extraordinary. The result will be a successful and long-term space for ALL kids. Inclusive Design at its best!
from guest Hardeep Singh (California, USA):
Great meeting. I need to learn to fold my shirts like that, Stephen! I really enjoyed learning about the inclusive park. I’m very passionate about providing all kinds of inclusive spaces for children with disabilities, so I’m happy to know that this park is out there. More cities need to make this happen. I would love a chance to go visit the park sometime!
from member Keith Marsh (California, USA):
Julie, this is such a great, quality project for Aimee and her friends. I’m sure she is proud of your efforts. Stephen, love the Tidbit on folding clothes, but I’m not sure I can do it.
from guest François Tessier (Quebec, Canada):
Thank you, Julie for this presentation. Your perseverance throughout the years to accomplish your immense project is a real inspiration to me.
from member Heather Shaw (California, USA):
Your love of Aimee obviously continues to be a driving force for you and it will benefit many children. I love that you have made it a dual purpose playground where there is a therapeutic value in addition to the joy it brings. Thank you for all your dedication; the smile on her face must have made all the hard work worth it to the Nth degree!!
from guest Sandy Stabile (California, USA):
I love that there is an eclub in our neighborhood. Your site is user-friendly and offers a great deal of information. It’s a great way to make up a meeting or just check out what another club is doing. I enjoyed the speaker at last week’s meeting. She took an idea and made the community a better place. Once again, I am proud to be a Rotarian.
from member Deepali Mehrotra (California, USA):
Congrats Julie and Rotary Club of San Jose on accomplishing this project. Hope to see more of these in the Bay area.
from member Rushton Hurley (California, USA):
Realizing that there are children who, due to a disability, can only watch their siblings and friends at playgrounds was quite the shock to my thinking. Julie, what you, your club, and all your partners have done to make the PlayGarden happen is inspirational. Way to represent Rotary! And Stephen, I -will- learn to fold shirts like you showed!
We hope you’ll leave a comment, too! Just above and to the right of the “Join the discussion” field, you’ll see a “Login” link. Clicking on the arrow next to that will give you several options for how to connect in order to leave a message. After leaving your comment, feel free to reply to the comments of others!
This Week’s Program
You may remember in late April when Webmaster Mitty spoke to our club about Rotaract and the possibilities of our exploring his challenge of Every Rotarian, Every Rotaractor. Given our talents and tech interests, we are in an especially good position to mentor Rotaractors near and far, and this week’s speakers will give you a good sense why this would be an honorable effort for us!
Janel Alimboyoguen and Andrew Lin will introduce us today to the Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley, which, founded in 2004, is the oldest Rotaract club in Rotary District 5170. They are here to share their club’s recent accomplishments and plans for the next year. As District Rotaract Representative (DRR) for the upcoming Rotary year, Janel will also be sharing her plans and goals for the Rotaract district during her term, particularly in matters regarding the Rotary community.
As a Rotaractor for the past seven years, Andrew Lin has experienced Rotaract and Rotary in all different roles from being a member, to serving various officer roles, to now serving as president of the Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley. His experiences in other Rotaract clubs and districts has helped shape his goals as president for this year. As an avid Disney fan, Andrew is an inspiring Imagineer.
Janel Alimboyoguen is the Rotaract District’s current Lieutenant Governor and Vice President of the Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley. She has been a part of the Rotary family for 8 years, 4 with Interact and 4 with Rotaract. Outside of Rotaract, Janel works as a Product Manager for a logistics consulting firm, developing a SaaS solution to help companies optimize their supply chain.
Andrew and Janel, it’s great to have you!
I attended!
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Share this
Meeting for the Week of May 25th, 2015Meeting for the Week of June 8th, 2015
Janel and Andrew – great info – we’re looking forward to finding more ways to work together. I’m getting some quirks in the audio, and hopefully that’s just this once!
Andrew Taw
Super cool work! Love the talk about mentorship. And most importantly, that’s a hell of a logo you guys have!
Keith Marsh
Another good Tidbit. Glad to hear about the activities of the Rotaract Club.
Keeping learning more gems in the tidbit section. Excellent update on Rotaract and mentoring.
Hardeep Kaur Singh
Absolutely loved this week’s program. Kudos to these awesome Rotaractors! As a (very recent) former Rotaractor, I’m always happy when I see Rotary Clubs supporting Rotaract Clubs. I liked listening in on the conversation about how some people in their twenties stay in Rotaract, whereas others join Rotary. It really does depend on the individual. Some might say I’m still a bit young, as I’m in my twenties, but I’m ready to take that leap from Rotaract to Rotary!
ShagsCA
Great to know what Rotaract in our District is doing — they are the future of Rotary!
This presentation is the proof that Rotaract rocks!!! And, Rushton, we can literally say that you “shine”!! Thank you for sharing the Uganda video… very moving and inspiring…
Deepali
Keith- It is great to look at wonders of nature from your lens. What a gem!
Rushton – Great to see the video on Uganda and learning about the programs run by Rotaract Club of SV.
Martin Fox
Love that photo Keith. I’m with you on the best time to spend time in Arches National Park. Would love to learn some of your magic.
Great video on the Uganda work and thanks again for our very active Rotaractors. Looking forward to working with them.
Manju Ramachandran
I loved the “boyfriend” analogy! Great stuff, I wish there more hours in the day to mentor someone outside of the workday!
Lisa Highfill
Thank you for sharing all that Rotaract is about. Im curious what age this can begin? Are there groups for high school students/college? Any group that works to do good in the world is a great club- I agree that finding the right fit for you helps a club go beyond just the actions it takes and into something more important.
Yvonne Kwan
Hi Lisa! To answer your question, the age range for Rotaract is officially 18-30, although that’s just a guideline for most clubs. There are also Interact clubs which is for young people ages 12-18 🙂
Richard Knaggs
Keiths photos are surreal. Andrew and Janel, it looks like your Rotaract club is a well developed friendship network. I know so many people who as young professionals do not have this kind of support so I am sending a huge high five to you guys. Are all Rotaract clubs like this?
Allen Thompson
“The Program” always been the highlight of every Rotary meeting I’ve ever attended. It almost always details some aspect of human existence that I heretofore have known little, or nothing, about. Rotaract is one of those things I’m still learning about and this week’s program was a huge step forward for me. Thanks to Andrew and Janel for a wonderful presentation.
It’s starting to heat up in California’s Central Valley, as it always does this time of year. Those of us in California often hear talk about “the drought” and how we all have to conserve water. Here in the valley, we are very focused on the water situation because we need so much of it. The Central Valley is huge, flat, and very agricultural. From north of Sacramento to Bakersfield, we use a huge amount of water to grow the crops that feed the world. The water supply comes, for the most part, from the snow-melt of the Sierra Nevada. And there’s very little snow up there! Stay tuned as this story develops….
Keith, another wonderful picture. I think I’ve seen that one before but i never get tired of your pictures again and again!
How wonderful to hear Janel and Andrew speak about mentoring and their desire to not just grow professionally but personally. Again this meeting shows the power of the eClub. I loved that the meeting went from presentation to brainstorming and sharing – and the best part is that we can share this brainstorming session with so many other Rotaract groups!
What a great presentation! It seems that these two are on their way to great things. Thanks for giving me a better understanding of rotaract.
Paul Mosso
Thank you Janel and Andrew for the presentation on the Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley and the Rotaract District 5170. I love the idea of the mentorship program and your new way of getting Rotoractors connected with Rotarians. Also having Rotoractors choose Rotarians that are not necessarily in the same career trajectory as they are is a great way to have young professionals be exposed to different career paths.
Meg Taylor
Great meeting. Thanks.
john lozano
Janel and Andrew, thanks for the presentation. I like your ideas and keeping the activities fun with purpose. The “best boyfriend” idea is great….always nice to provide emotional support for others. Keep me in the loop when you are looking for mentors. Great work!
Yvonne Kwan
Janel and Andrew, thanks for your presentation! As you guys already know, Rotaract is very near and dear to me, so it’s awesome that you’re sharing all of the amazing things you did this year with us. Looking forward to an exciting year with Janel as DRR! 🙂
P.S. — Bom dia from Sâo Paulo, Brazil, where over 14,000 members of the Rotary family have gathered at the Rotary International convention!
Janel and Andrew — I love what you’ve both have been doing for Rotaract! I’m really glad to see the Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley transform into such a vibrant and growing club under your leadership. I am sure our eClub would be excited to help support your club if it ever needs anything. Please don’t hesitate to ask. 🙂
About us
Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley is a non-profit 501(c)4 organization dedicated towards bettering humanity through service and fellowship.
Delivering innovation, entrepreneurship, and education since January 2015.
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