Are we helping or hurting those we serve?
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Nov. 10, 2025
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Are we helping or hurting those we serve?
Speaker: Connie Cheren
Is this your first time visiting 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 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 encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Greetings Members, Rotarians, Friends and Guests:
Want to Learn More About Us? - Who We Are, What We Do, Why We Do It
Want to become a Rotarian? - Join us in helping to make the world a better place!
Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!
Rose Negrete - Club Member
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!
Comfort Tip
If you ever get cold, just stand in the corner of a room for a while. They're normally around 90 degrees.
Inspiration
Let's say you've got thousands of invasive pythons where you live. If you live in Florida, this is real. The rabbits they are using to lure the snakes out of hiding, however, are not. In this video, meet the robot bunnies helping those working to protect Florida's wildlife.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
Muscle Fatigue
The surprising reason our muscles get tired - Christian Moro
Are you receiving the Members Only Weekly Bulletin?
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PROGRAM: Are we helping or hurting those we serve?
SPEAKER: Connie Cheren
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
In our actions when serving others, we must critically evaluate whether our intentions are benevolent or detrimental. It is crucial to identify the unforeseen consequences of our interventions and strive to provide assistance without inadvertently causing harm to those we seek to help. While our intentions may not be malicious, it is essential to acknowledge that our actions can sometimes have unintended negative effects. The speaker will delve into the conventional mission approach and share firsthand experiences of the harm that can and does occur when we fail to consider the potential consequences of our actions.
Our speaker, Connie Cheren, is a nurse and a social worker with over forty years of experience in healthcare and eighteen years of experience working in East Africa. She is the founder and president of Partners for Care, a non-profit organization that employs staff in Kenya to address public health concerns. PFC upholds the principles of local solutions and sustainability in its approach. Their working tenets emphasize empowering individuals to take responsibility for their own well-being rather than relying solely on external assistance.
Members and guests, please welcome Connie Cheren!
To learn more, go to:
https://www.partnersforcare.org
To learn more about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, go to:
http://rotary.cool
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as many other platforms.
Our weekly podcast is now called:
Inspiring People - Stories of Innovation and Service
Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers
Our newest podcast celebrates trailblazing women. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.
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 makeup.
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!
