Using Solar Power To Benefit Nonprofits and the Planet
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Sept. 25, 2023
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Using Solar Power To Benefit Nonprofits and the Planet
Speaker: Seema Lindskog and Rod Sinks
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is also encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Message from our President
Greetings Members and Friends of Rotary e-Club of Silicon Valley. As President of our Club, I want to welcome you all today.
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
A Great Dog
There was once a handyman who had a dog named Mace. Mace was a great dog except he had one weird habit: he liked to eat grass -- not just a little bit, but in quantities that would make a lawnmower blush. And nothing, it seemed, could cure him of it.
One day, the handyman lost his wrench in the tall grass while he was working outside. He looked and looked, but it was nowhere to be found. As it was getting dark, he gave up for the night and decided to look the next morning. When he awoke, he went outside and saw that his dog had eaten all the grass in the area, around where he had been working, and his wrench now lay in plain sight, glinting in the sun.
Going out to get his wrench, he called the dog over to him and said, "A grazing Mace, how sweet the hound, that saved a wrench for me."
INSPIRATION
Every week we share a short video highlighting innovation, education, entrepreneurship, or whatever we think might inspire you to see the world in new ways.
The Women's World Cup ended last month, so those thinking about international competition might turn their thoughts to next year's Olympic games. Here's a promo video put out by Paris 2024, celebrating the return of the games to France. It's an intriguing approach to promotion.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
What Goes into Preparing an NFL Football for Gameday?
Watch the LA Chargers equipment staff prepare the ball for the game.
Club News
Members
Remember to log in to our ClubRunner Members site at: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/8370/Page/ShowHomePage. After logging in, please be sure to access the MyClubRunner tab, and select My Profile. Please update your personal information here, which automatically updates our club directory.
SERVICE REPORT
Tell us about service you’ve done recently in your community.
Click here to fill out The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
SERVICE PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES
For upcoming club projects in District 5170, check out the District 5170 website. Also, if you have some time available for projects, be sure to let your local area Rotary Club know that you are available to volunteer for their upcoming projects.
D5170 2023 Ave of Service Event by Event Chair Geeta Kadambi at West Valley Community College on 9-30-23 from 9 AM to 1:30 PM. CLICK HERE to REGISTER.
Continental Breakfast-8.30 AM - 9.00 AM
9.00 AM to 9.55 AM Sessions:
Club Service - Kamal Della
International Service - John Flaniken
TRF Session - Orrin Mahoney- TRF Team
10.00 AM to 10.55 AM Sessions:
Membership Session - Camilla Boolootian
Youth Service/Interactors - Mitty Chang
Vocational Service - Padma Chari
11.00 AM to 11.50 AM Sessions:
Grants Session - Sangita Seshadri
Ambassadors of Compassion - Richard Goldstein/Eric Hannah
Youth Service - Chris Miller
Viewing of Projects - Local and International - Open throughout the learning sessions
Lunch Buffet opens at 12.00 noon with Lunch meeting starting at 12.20 PM
Rotary meeting, Keynote, and Panel Discussion from 12.20 PM to 1.30 PM
Speakers are Mr. Kim Lorenz- Rotary Liaison to World Vision, Brian Gower of World Vision, and Eric Hannah of Ambassadors of Compassion
HAPPY DOLLARS: Do Good by Sharing Something Good
Each week we ask our members to share stories with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal of this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each fellow members and guests, while giving back to a good cause.
Happy dollars is an opportunity to share something positive that has happened in your life whether it is personal or business. Think of it as your opportunity to brag a little, but also put a little bit into a karma jar. The money donated through happy dollars is put to charitable use.
PROGRAM: Using Solar Power To Benefit Nonprofits and the Planet
SPEAKER: Seema Lindskog and Rod Sinks
Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education, and how those contribute to service to others.
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley seeks to explore perspectives on service from across the world. The views of the speakers in our programs are their own, and unless stated otherwise, are not necessarily reflective of the views of our eClub or Rotary International.
If you have an idea for a cool speaker, please feel free to reach out to them directly or submit THIS FORM so our Program Committee can contact them!
The Climate Action Committee of the Rotary Club of Cupertino works with local nonprofits to fund and install solar systems on their roofs and replace their gas water heaters with electrical ones. They have developed a unique project structure that leverages several small capital and time investments by multiple partners into a large financial benefit for the nonprofit that will continue year after year for decades.
Reducing or eliminating the high cost of electricity through the use of solar power can save nonprofits thousands of dollars per month while also benefiting the planet. It's a double win. Nonprofits can funnel these significant ongoing savings into projects that support and lift the community, while the new solar systems reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and create a better future for our children.
Seema Lindskog has long been a marketing executive at major companies including Kraft Foods, Western Digital, Roku, and Evernote. She is the co-chair of the Climate Action Committee of the Rotary Club of Cupertino where she initiated several high-impact projects such as installing solar systems on the roofs of local nonprofits and creating an e-bike loaner program at De Anza Community College.
Seema is active in the community and is passionate about creating a more livable and vibrant environment for our children and future generations. She is a Planning Commissioner for the City of Cupertino, advising the city on land use matters such as specific and general plans, zoning, and development. She is the Chair of Walk-Bike Cupertino, a resident-led advocacy group that has worked with the city of Cupertino to improve walking and biking infrastructure and policy in the city since 2014. Seema is also on the city's Safe Routes to School working group and a member of the PTSA Board of Cupertino High School.
Rod Sinks helped lead two high-tech start-ups from infancy to successful businesses in engineering management roles after earning degrees in engineering from Stanford and physics from Grinnell College. He currently serves as a trustee of the Fremont Union High School District. Previously, he served as a council member, mayor, founder of Silicon Valley Clean Energy, chair of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Santa Clara County Cities Association, and a board member of other regional agencies. He champions good governance, strong public schools, environmental stewardship, more housing for all income levels, and better public transit. Rod served the community as a Scoutmaster and YMCA Adventure Guides Leader for many years and is a past president of the Cupertino Rotary Club.
Members and guests, please welcome Seema Lindskog and Rod Sinks!
To learn more, read this article (may be behind a paywall):
https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/08/29/volunteers-help-affordable-housing-complex-go-solar/
Important Announcement - “Digital Rotarian” Full Meeting Podcasts
Announcing: Our main program speakers are now available as audio podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week they are available on Spotify, Google, and Apple podcasts.
Or you can simply click below for this week’s speaker:
And our original podcast, featuring Some of the best of our previous speakers is still available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeups.
Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.
For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!
