How Rotarians Empower Entrepreneurs Globally through Microfinancing
This is the meeting for the week of April 10, 2017 through April 16, 2017
This Meeting at a Glance:Program:How Rotarians Empower Entrepreneurs Globally through MicrofinancingProgram Description: Our program this week is about the many Rotary microfinancing projects and advisory groups that are available for Rotarians to do good around the world through community development.Speakers: Director Marilyn Fitzgerald & Past Chair Jim Louttit of the Rotarian Action Group for Microfinancing and Community Development
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; read it while on public transit, waiting in line for coffee, or even at the park! Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley!
Message from President Mitty
Thinking About Next Rotary Year
New to our meetings? Then I want to welcome you to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley's online meeting! Every week we curate inspiring and educational content in an online format like the one you're seeing here. As you continue reading, watching, and scrolling, our hope is that you'll leave feeling a little bit more inspired. As an online Rotary club, we have these asynchronous meetings online, but we also meet in-person in the Silicon Valley / San Francisco bay area for service projects and for social events. Keep reading on, and feel free to also join us for one of our in-person events if you can make it! With April almost halfway over, time definitely flies!As my presidency is nearing its finale (our club follows the Rotary year of July 1 to June 30; our president-elect Stephen Zhou takes over on July 1st!), I want to encourage each our members to think about both how the club can help you out next Rotary year, but also what can you do for the club. As a growing club chartered only a couple of years ago in January of 2015, there is an enormous amount of potential for every member to get involved and help shape the future of this club. The 2017-2018 Rotary Year is your chance to make sure that you play an integral in building this club and the legacy it'll leave behind. Whether you are interested in helping find more guest speakers for our online recorded programs, want to help coordinate more service project, establish a stronger sense of community through more facilitated networking and coffee sessions, or something else -- the sky is the limit. Feel free to reach out to me or reach out to President-elect Stephen!Three major events are coming up very quickly that are worth mentioning.The first one around the corner is our area's annual Rotary District Conference happening the weekend of May 5-7, 2017. The District Conference is an annual gathering of Rotarians and friends throughout our district, which encompasses the Silicon Valley from Palo Alto to Oakland to Fremont to San Jose to Santa Cruz. Several hundred Rotarians attend the district conference, and it's a great way to meet Rotarians from around the region. I would strongly encourage every member that's available to attend the conference! This year's district conference is unique because of the setting and the schedule. Rather than the normal sterile hotel setting, this year's conference is at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, with a schedule that is inclusive of families and friends! Members and guests, you'll need to register at the district website to go. And please do let us know in the comments if you'll be there, so we can make plans for a meetup!The second event is a Skydive to End Polio fundraiser. This May, I, Club President Mitty Chang, will be jumping out of a plane for our Skydive to End Polio fundraiser benefiting The Rotary Foundation. I will be taking pledges of donations (and donations) to The Rotary Foundation in honor of the skydiving. Anyone who wants to skydive is also welcome to join me! This fundraiser is meant to be a coordinated fundraiser with other club presidents in our area. You'll be seeing a video and more information about this from me shortly!The third major event that is coming up is the annual Rotary International Convention happening a little bit further in in Atlanta, Georgia, USA starting June 10 through June 14, 2017. Every year Rotary holds an international convention that brings together Rotarians and Rotary program members from all around the world. Last year the international convention was in Seoul, South Korea and had over 45,000 attendees. The year before, it was in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This year it's in Atlanta and is expected to be attended by over 35,000 Rotarians and friends. Our club will have a special members and friends reception Sunday, June 11th hosted by yours truly (me)! More details will be made available to those members and guests who tell us they are going. Please be sure to let me know if you're going to attend! Some of you know that I'm a huge Rotary Convention goer (yes, that's a thing). Atlanta will be my 10th Rotary International Convention, and I can honestly say that the fellowship and the new friendships you build at the international conventions are unlike any other event in the world. Those of you who are able to make it for the convention will not be disappointed. I hope to see many of you in Atlanta!Members and guests, please do consider these major events coming up!And whether these events work or don't work in your schedule, also keep in mind we have a few local Bay Area events coming up as well! If you're visiting us for the first time, you are welcome to join us for any of these events! If you'd prefer to meet for coffee first, feel free to reach out to me. My email is in the signature below.
Yours in service,
Mitty Chang, President
Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Weekly Inspiration: The Hotline for Scientists in Hollywood
Every week we start our meetings with a short video highlighting innovation, inspiration, entrepreneurship, or social change. This week we are featuring a video from Great Big Story about the hotline Hollywood calls when it needs science!
Fun fact of the day: "Iron Man," "Star Trek" and even "Batman vs. Superman" have plenty of real science behind them (no, really!). This short from Great Big Story showcases the team that's responsible for making sure that your favorite superhero movies have the hard science to back them up. Mission: Possible.
Have you ever wanted a hotline for science? What would you ask if you had access to this hotline? Tell us in the meeting comments at the bottom of this page!
Laughing Out Loud (L.O.L.) with our Lady of LOLs
We believe that laughing a little every day keeps you healthier. Every week we try to share with you something that will make you smile! This section is curated by Rotarian Yvonne Kwan, our club’s “Lady of LOLs.”
From Yvonne: "April 11 is National Pet Day! Here are some jokes to celebrate all of our little furry and crittery friends."
What do you call a pile of kittens?
A meowntain.
What do you call a dog magician?
A labracadabrador.
What kind of math do birds like?
Owlgebra.
Bonus: "My dog Kay thinks my jokes are hilarious." -Yvonne
You can follow Yvonne's dog, Kay, on Instagram
Coffee with a Rotarian
A natural part of Rotary is the networking and the fellowship you get out of meeting other Rotarians. Coffee with a Rotarian is a program of our club where we match our members with other Rotarians that they haven't had a chance to really get to talk to. This program is organized by member Tzviatko Chiderov.
In this week's Coffee with a Rotarian, we are featuring a digital coffee meetup between two of our Canadian members, Chris Cochrane and Roger Plested!
Here is what Chris had to say about Roger!
And here is what Roger had to say about Chris:
Thanks for sharing, Chris and Roger! Check in next week for more Coffee with a Rotarian stories!
For Members: Updates
This segment of the meeting is dedicated to our club members. This section includes announcements and new initiatives. Guests, you are welcome to read this section or just skip it.
An Important Message From Club Treasurer-elect Heather!
Hi everyone! I'm Heather Shaw and I just wanted to introduce myself as the newly elected treasurer. I will be stepping into this role immediately so if you have any questions/concerns, please let me know. I am looking forward to a great year with Rotary and hope our club can make some great impacts on our community. First thing on the agenda is to make paying dues quick and painless by giving you various options of payment. Please look for a email in the coming weeks that will allow you to have your dues automatically charged for you You can choose to make monthly, semiannual or yearly payments. You will still have the option of paying of check if you prefer The goal is to make the process as comfortable as possible for a good cause. I will be checking in from time to time with other updates in the meantime--Go Rotary
Past Member Announcements:
Homepage Hero Image Project: If you're able to take a photo of yourself against a green screen (any background that is completely green), President Mitty will splice your image into the hero image of the homepage of our website! Send your photo to president@siliconvalleyrotary.com with the subject line "Rotary eClub Homepage Hero Image Project."
TRF Challenge coins: Members who donate the following amounts will receive the following coins: $1000 - Gold, $500 - Silver, $200 - Bronze. Go ahead and request your Challenge Coin via the online form here then!
Service Blotter Submissions: Click here to fill out The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
Our Events & Projects
We hold our meetings online, but we hold regular service projects and social events in the Silicon Valley every month! This section is updated every week with our upcoming events. We welcome guests to all of our events and service projects listed here.
Also be sure to join our Meetup Group for automatic calendar updates and to RSVP for our events! These are open to all guests as well!
https://www.meetup.com/siliconvalleyrotary/
Upcoming Events:
All times are Pacific Time! (San Francisco time)February to April events coming soon! Here are some of the major May and June events to look forward to!
Serve: Charity Chili Cook Off for Justin's House - Sunday, April 23, 2017
For the past two years, our club has been volunteering at Justin's House. The mission of Justin’s House is to provide a variety of services that inspire youth to live beyond abuse and addiction. Our club is looking for members and guests who are interested in volunteering this year on Sunday, April 23, 2017 for their annual Chili Cookoff in Santa Clara, California. Interested members or guests, please contact our event chair, Rushton Hurley at rushton@gmail.com - thank you!
Our club's event chair: Rushton Hurley
Or if you can't make it out for service, consider attending the event as a guest by purchasing tickets at justinshouse.org/event/2017-annual-chili-cook-off/
Network: Rotary District 5170 Conference - May 5-7, 2017 in Santa Cruz, California
Join hundreds of Rotarians from throughout our Rotary district for our annual Rotary District Conference! This year's conference will take place in Santa Cruz, California at the Boardwalk! This family-friendly event will be open to all guests and family members to attend. We hope to see more of our eClub members join us this year!
Our club's event chair: Yvonne Kwan
Socialize: Beer O'Clock at Faction Brewery - Sat. May 27, 2017 from 4pm-6:30pm in Alameda, California
Kick back with Rotarians and awesome people for a relaxing Saturday social hour starting at 4 PM and running until 6:30 PM at the famous Faction Brewery in Alameda, California! Guests are welcome! If you are a guest, we would love for you to email us in advance at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com! But you are also welcome to just come join us and look for the Rotary hat, shirts, and sign!
Our club's event chair: Shags Shagrin
Network: Rotary International Convention - June 10-14, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Join over 35,000 Rotarians from around the world at the annual Rotary convention! This year's convention will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, USA and features the centennial celebration of The Rotary Foundation! The Rotary International Convention is the largest regular gathering of Rotarians, and is also one of the best networking opportunities anyone can ever experience. Our Rotary eClub will have member events and experiences in Atlanta! Come join us in Atlanta! Members, be sure to let President Mitty know the dates you will be there!
Our club's event chair: Mitty Chang
Special: Club Charity Fundraiser - Sunday, August 6, 2017 at Retzlaff Vineyard in Livermore, California
Save the date for Sunday, August 6, 2017 for our club's first annual charity fundraiser! This delicious food and wine lunch event will indulge your taste buds while we enjoy amazing company, live music, silent auctions, auctions, and ticket drawings. More info coming soon.
Our club's event chair: Andrew Taw
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, and the message that you leave for happy dollars will be posted in our online meeting the following week for the entire week for folks to see! (Pending that it's appropriate!)
Last week's happy dollars went towards our club's general fund. Here were the happy dollars donations from last week:
Thank you to member Rory Olsen for his $15 donation, to be donated to The Rotary Foundation's PolioPlus Fund! Rory had this to say:"Please apply my gift to Polio Plus."
Thank you to guest Helena Marshfor her generous $10 donation! Helena had this to say:"I'm happy to be able to make up at this interesting club."
Thank you to member Monique Ziesenhenne for her generous $15 donation. Monique had this to say:"Happy Baseball Season! Go A's!"
Thank you to guest Rex Young for his generous $25 donation!
Thank you to member Brian Liddicoat for his generous $15 donation."Back home from two weeks of trial in Napa but have two days alone at home before my wife and kids return from vacation. Now, how to keep the house clean before my wife returns?"
Thank you to guest Lisa Dobey for her generous $20 donation."I won 4th place in the March Madness pool and picked up a few bucks and wanted to share part of my winnings."
Thank you all for your donations last week!
This week's donations will go towards supporting club operations!
Happy dollars is also a great opportunity to share with the group about something good that has happened to you.
So what are you happy about? Share with us below, and help support one of our future leaders!
Selected Six
Every week at the bottom of our meetings, there is a comments section for members and guests to tell us what they enjoyed about the meeting or to ask questions to the speaker. We select six comments every week from last week’s meeting to be featured during this week’s meeting.
Here are six comments selected from last week's meeting about The Impact of Good in Zimbabwe by the Rotary Club of Borrowdale Brooke:
Member Yvonne Kwan (California, USA) had this to say:"Loved the video about The Cityscape Savant! Images of cityscapes are some of my absolute favorite -- this guy is phenomenal to sketch such detail from memory! Kristi and Rushton -- loved hearing about your experiences with each other! Rushton, not sure if it's a viewing glitch on my end, but your video is doing some kind of Twilight Zone thing where you're black and white and I'm seeing red and green shadows of your double flickering in and out. Pretty cool to watch, actually, but a bit freaky too. Kuda, I love the immense amount of passion that you and your club members place into service through Rotary. You are making some amazing things happen, and I especially love how you are also involving Rotaractors and Interactors in your projects as well. Your Music Project is one that especially hits close to my heart. Keep up the wonderful work!"
Guest Angela Hoang (Australia) had this to say:"I was so impressed by your passion and dedication Kuda! You've done so much for your community and coming from a health background I was especially moved by your work with autistic children - there's such a stigma associated with autism worldwide but helping your community understand autism more and teaching them not to be afraid of it will definitely make growing up a lot easier for those kids. Well done and I wish you all the best for your future projects!"
Guest Jaiki Alves (Brazil) had this to say:"Hello Rotary Eclub of Silicon Valley. It's a pleasure for me to meet the club.. I found it incredible, because involves Fellowship, Rotary affairs, involve the community and show the power of the Rotary International Union and involve members for actions. Congratulations President, this is a dinamic club and is amazing organization. Kuda, I loved meet your club."
Member Andrew Taw (California, USA) had this to say:"Thanks, Kuda, for your presentation! Your club really does a lot of great projects! This is a great reminder of how our donations to The Rotary Foundation can be used! A bit of background for our members: donations to The Rotary Foundation though our club come back to our club in the form of grants that we can use for different projects. For international projects, these funds are matched. Faces of Hope, the project that provides treatment for cleft palates, is one of many such programs."
Guest Lisa Dobey had this to say:"Holy Toldeo - it's amazing all the good things going on in a relatively small club. Love your passion and clearly the passion of the entire membership. And, I love the variety of the projects you club is undertaking: maternal health, autism, music, and youth through the Interact/Rotaract clubs. Great program this week!"
Member Mark Dohn (Michigan, USA) had this to say:"Kuda, I cannot believe how many ideas and projects you have initiated with the club! I really appreciate your desire to get back into the action rather than the planning. I hope we can learn from you and your creativity for funding and connecting with other clubs to make things happen!"
Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this week’s meeting after you watch the program below, and perhaps you’ll see your comment featured next week!Tip: If you participate in the monthly photo contest via the comments, you're much more likely to be featured in the next week's meeting! Guests can participate too! Read our Members segment of our meeting to learn more about the theme for this month.
Program: How Rotarians Empower Entrepreneurs Globally through Microfinancing
Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, education, technology, and humanitarian service. This week our guests are Marilyn Fitzgerald and Jim Loutit from the Rotarian Action Group on Microfinancing and Community Development (RAGM). Marilyn serves as the Microfinance and Community Development Director for RAGM, and Jim is a Past Chair of RAGM.
Our program this week is about microfinancing and community development through the lens of the Rotarian Action Group for Microfinancing and Community Development, a global advisory group of Rotarians that help Rotary Clubs with microfinancing projects. If you're interested in microfinancing or community development projects, this program should pique your interest! Let's meet our speakers.
Meet Marilyn.
Marilyn Ann Fitzgerald is on the Board of Directors of the Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance and Community Development (RAGM) serving in the role of Developed World Microfinance Director after several years on the Board as Research Director. She is currently serving as District 6290’s Microcredit Advisor and as the District Economic and Community Development Coordinator.
Marilyn served as Centennial President of the Rotary Club of Traverse City, Mi., and also as an Assistant Governor for 3 years, Chairperson of the District World Community Service Committee. During her years as District Chair of World Community Service for the first time 100% of the Rotary Clubs in District 6290 were involved in a World Community Service project.
Marilyn is a former Group Study Exchange Team Leader to Bali Indonesia; upon return, she authored a 3-H Grant totaling $475,000 to purchase medical equipment for a new blood bank in Bali. Within three years the Rotary Foundation acknowledged the Bali blood bank was self- sustaining. The original and unique model was duplicated in two African nations and India. She has also successfully authored numerous Rotary Foundation and District Matching Grants and District Simplified Grants.
Dr. Fitzgerald consults with organizations investing in projects intended to achieve sustainable outcomes. Marilyn is dedicated to offering assistance by providing opportunity to the economically disadvantaged in collaboratively determining their own sustainable solutions to poverty. Currently, Marilyn is involved in micro-loan-plus projects in rural western Guatemala, working for the empowerment of impoverished families through community development. She is passionate about obtaining sustainable results by recognizing beneficiaries as major stakeholders and partners in the collaboration and integrative negotiation of all projects.
Dr. Fitzgerald designed and conducted original in-field research focused on economic and community development taking place in two Central American countries, the results are published as her dissertation The Unintended Consequences of Humanitarian Aid; she is also the author of If I Had a Water Buffalo, published May 2012, with the Forward written by Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate.
At the Centennial Rotary International Convention in 2005, Marilyn was featured as speaker for The Rotary Foundation highlighting the successful and sustainable Bali Blood Bank project. She has been honored as a Plenary Speaker for various Zone Institutes, including three consecutive years at the Pacific Northwest President-Elect Training for 1,000+ incoming Club Presidents and District Governors, and has served as a Plenary Speaker for 15+ District Conferences.
Marilyn is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a member of the Bequest Society and member of the Rotary Foundation Alumni Association.
Meet Jim.
Jim Louttit is currently the Rotary District Governor of Rotary District 7070. Jim became a Rotarian in early 2005 as a founding member and Second Vice-President of the Rotary Club of Lima Sunrise in District 4450. After leaving Peru in 2007 to return to Canada, he joined Toronto Sunrise in District 7070 serving as President in 2010-11 and is currently the Club’s Foundation Director. He is also a member of the Paul Harris Society, a Major Donor, and a Bequest Society member.
His involvement at the District 7070 level includes past Chair of the Membership Committee, past Chair of the Microfinance Committee and he is also a member of the Long Range Planning Committee. At the international level, Jim is the Vice-Chair of the Rotarian Action Group Chairs Committee, past Chair and President of the Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance and Community Development, member of the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group and member of the International Fellowship of Motorcycling Rotarians.
Jim is the President of JVL Global Corp, a financial services consulting company specializing in microfinance after previously working for Scotiabank in their International Banking Division. His work with Scotiabank took him to Latin America for seven years where he had executive roles with the bank in El Salvador and Peru.
He is also active in several other organizations serving as President of the Toronto International Microfinance Summit, and past President of the Peruvian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Jim’s passions are his six grandchildren, two children, golf and microfinance.
Members and guests, please join us in welcoming Marilyn and Jim!
Related Links
Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance and Community Development
More information about Rotarian Action Groups (RAGs), including list of other RAGs
Ask a question. Leave a comment!
Have a question for Marilyn or Jim? Leave a comment or a question in the comments below! Or just tell us how your week has been!
Upcoming Program Schedule
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 to 45 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Upcoming Recordings:
Monday, April 10, 2017 at 10:30 AM Pacific Time, with speaker Ashley Company, CEO & Speaker with Jelani Girls, Inc.
Want to be one of our upcoming program speakers? Email president@siliconvalleyrotary.com with information about what you would like to speak about!
If you would like to join us for any of the live recordings, please email president@siliconvalleyrotary.com with your request. Requests will be checked up until 5 minutes prior to the recording time. Please note the timezone is all California, USA time.
You’re Almost Done! One last thing: The Attendance Survey...
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done. First, 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.More importantly, for all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment below 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!
