This is the meeting for the week of May 22, 2017 through May 28, 2017

This Meeting at a Glance:Program: Next Vista for Learning: An Unusual Nonprofit ModelProgram Description: Our charter president, RushtonHurley, has spent twelve years running the nonprofit he founded. How does a nonprofit become a stable business surviving the 2008 economic crash and shifting educational movements to be a resource for thousands of people around the world? Hint: he thinks like a Rotarian.Speaker: Rushton Hurley, Founder of Next Vista for Learning

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

Tea, Big West Rotaract, Events & Nonprofits

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!One of our club's core focuses is education, so I'm naturally excited by this week's education-focused meeting. From the history of tea to the happy dollars this week being dedicated to helping provide leadership training for college students and young professionals, to the program this week on helping provide video resources for teachers and students.I'm happy that I have had the many opportunities over the past few weeks to share a little bit about our own eClub at some of the Rotary conferences that I have been traveling to. It's wonderful to see so many Rotarians who genuinely want to learn more about what eClubs are, but also have their interested piqued when they hear about how our eClub is structured and some of the new member benefits we've rolled out this year like leadership development grants.With June just right around the corner, this Rotary year is coming to a close. Members, you should have received your notices from treasurer-elect Heather about renewing your membership dues. This is also coming to the last opportunity for you to make any donations to The Rotary Foundation for it to count for this Rotary year.Over the past year, we have had a few members of our small family part ways with our club, but we have had so many more members join our international family. We started this Rotary year as a club of 27 members, and I'm excited to announce that we are now a club of 38 members with possibly a couple more joining us before the end of June. I hope that our family will continue growing and expanding, and that our current members continue finding ways to become more involved.Being part of an eClub isn't for everyone, and it takes some personal effort as a self-starter to initiate projects and to redeem services and benefits. While we are going to be meeting some of our newest members for the first time soon at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta June 9-14, I'm thrilled to have so many amazing people to call fellow club members! A big welcome to our newest member, Jaiki Alves, who is being inducted and introduced in this meeting.I am looking forward to inducting a few more members before this Rotary year is over! President-elect Stephen, you'll be up soon!

Yours in service,

Mitty Chang,

PresidentRotary eClub of Silicon Valley

president@siliconvalleyrotary.com

Weekly Inspiration: The History of Tea

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 TED-Ed about the history of tea.

Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water –– and from sugary Turkish Rize tea to salty Tibetan butter tea, there are almost as many ways of preparing the beverage as there are cultures on the globe. Where did this beverage originate, and how did it become so popular? Shunan Teng details tea’s long history. Video by TED-Ed, lesson by Shunan Teng, animation by Steff Lee.

What new inventions and movements today do you think will one day in the future be documented as history and made into a video, like tea?

Laughing Out Loud (L.O.L.) with our Substitute 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.”

President Mitty here. This week, our Lady of LOLs Yvonne and I have switched roles as she agreed to preside over the program recording as I couldn't since I was flying 35,000 feet up in the air at the time of the recording. So here are some jokes to get you going.

Why did the duck get kicked out of rehab?

He couldn't lay off the quack.

What do you call a group of unorganized cats?

A Cat-astrophe!

Why don't you play poker in the jungle?

Too many Cheetahs!

What did the duck say to the bartender?

Put it on my bill.

Why are penguins socially awkward?

They find it difficult to break the ice.

What do you call an alligator in a vest?

An in-vest-igator!

How much does a polar bear weigh?

Enough to break the ice!

(And as an added bonus, here is a photo of me [Mitty] trying to break the ice at a Rotary event..)

Screen-Shot-2017-05-22-at-3.48.15-PM.png

I might not be as good as Lady of LOLs Yvonne, but I hope you got some chuckles out of that!

And if that wasn't enough, here are some real complaints received by the "Thomas Cook Holidays" travel group for you to click here and chuckle about.

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 continuing a feature on a digital meet up between members Brian Liddicoat (California, USA) and member Tzviatko Chiderov (South Africa)

Here is what Tzviatko had to say about Brian:

Thanks for sharing, Tzviatko! Check in next week for more Coffee with a Rotarian updates!

New Member Welcome

We love our members. Without them, this club wouldn’t exist. This section is a segment is dedicated to introducing our newest additions to our club!

“President Mitty here. It is with distinct pleasure that I am able to welcome our newest member, Jaiki. Members are the lifeblood of every club and of Rotary. It is because of the selfless service, dedication, resources, contributions, and time of our members that Rotary is able to do the life-saving work it does in our local communities and in the world.This week we are celebrating the official member induction of Jaiki Alves. As per our club’s tradition, we have asked both Jaiki to share with us a short video self-introduction.”Before the video, Jaiki has this to say about himself:

"My name is Jaiki Adriano Antonio Alves, I am from Cerquilho, small city of São Paulo State and in Brazil. I have 25 years old and I have a girlfriend, her name is Pâmella.

I have been Rotarian for 5 years. In my last club I was like President, Secretary, Treasure and Counselor Exchange Program and in district I was like Treasure of the New Generation Exchange.

I am owner of a small office in my city RJF SOLUTION and I am BNI member too. I have degree in Information Technology Management and postgraduate in Management and Governance of Information Technology."

Welcome, Jaiki!

“President Mitty here again.Jaiki, by becoming a member of our club, you each are joining the global family of Rotary as fellow Rotarians. You each now share this title with over 1.2 million leaders, activists, professionals, and miracle workers. It is because of the work of Rotarians that those without shelters have shelters, those without food have food, those with illness are cured, those without education receive it, and so much more. Whether it is the impact you will each make in your local community or in the global community, we know you each will live and think by the Rotarian creed of The Four Way Test: “First, is it the truth? Second, is it fair to all concerned? Third, does it build goodwill and better friendships? And fourth, is it beneficial to all concerned?”It is my distinct honor to officially welcome you both as the world’s newest Rotarians, and the newest members of our club’s global family.Jaiki, it is my distinct honor to officially welcome you both as the world’s newest Rotarians, and the newest members of our club’s global family.Members and guests, please join me in welcoming Jaiki to our club!”

For Members Only: 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.

Dues are Due

Member Dues for July 1 to December 31, 2017 are due by June 15. All members should check their email inboxes for an email from treasurer-elect Heather Shaw regarding your membership dues. We are moving members over to automatic billing instead of manual billing.

Past Member Announcements:

May website updates: The /join page has been updated, New secure https:// SSL connection, new Our Members Page
Club Fundraiser on August 6 "A Taste of Good with Rotary" in Livermore, CA: Looking for help, donations, gift prizes, etc! Email Andrew Taw
Message from Treasurer-elect Heather on Automatic Dues: Make sure to check your emails! We are switching our system over to automatic dues rather than manual payment. Treasurer-elect Heather has more info for you!
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)More events coming soon! All events are open to guests, unless otherwise mentioned. Feel free to join us! If you ever have questions, please email president@siliconvalleyrotary.com

Socialize: Beer O'Clock at Faction Brewery - Sat. May 27, 2017 from 4pm-6:30pm in Alameda, California

https://www.meetup.com/siliconvalleyrotary/events/239927593/

FellowShip: Sailing with Rotary - Mon. May 29, 2017 from 9:30am-2:30pm at the Tradewinds Sailing Club in Richmond, California

https://www.meetup.com/siliconvalleyrotary/events/239994733/

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 "A Taste of Good with Rotary" - 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 the Big West Rotaract MDIO to help fund their upcoming presidents-elect training session for incoming Rotaract Club presidents. Here were the happy dollars donations from last week:

Thank you to member Megan Breyer for her $15 donation! Megan had this to say:"AHappy Dollars for my mom - who was just awarded Rotarian of the Year for District 5130! I certainly have my work cut out for me to give back to Rotary as much as she does. So proud!"

Thank you to member Rory Olsenfor his generous $15 donation to Polio Plus fund! Rory had this to say:"Great news! Thanks to diet and exercise changes in my life, my blood pressure is normal. For someone 67 years old that is great news! Please apply my gift to Polio Plus!"

Thank you to member Rushton Hurley for his generous $25 donation! Rushton had this to say:"Happy to support BWR!"

Thank you to member Yvonne Kwan for her generous donation! Yvonne had this to say:"Congratulations to my sister who gave birth to her second son last week!"

Thank you to member Brian Liddicoat for his generous $15 donation! Brian had this to say:"After a wait of 25 years, Twin Peaks 3rd season starts this Sunday on Showtime. I am incandescently happy about this."

Thank you to member Heather Shaw for her generous $25 donation! Heather had this to say:"Go Rotaract!

Thank you all for your donations last week!

This week's happy dollars donations will be donated to Big West Rotaract MDIO to help sponsor their 4th annual Big West Rotaract Institute, where they train new Rotaract club presidents and officers from across the west coast! Here's a message about where your money is going:

Happy dollars is also a great opportunity to share with the group about something good that has happened to you, while giving back to a great cause like helping train young Rotaract leaders.

Starting this week, for only two weeks, 100% of the happy dollars contributions will be sent to Big West Rotaract, with our club matching up to $250 of that! Your $5 donation will turn into a $10 donation for supporting the next generation of leaders!

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 Entrepreneurial Learning:

Member Richard Knaggs (South Africa) had this to say:"Hello Aaron. I am very excited to make contact with you and what an amazing programme. I agree with you in every way, What we do at our school is we introduce programmes where our kids can solve real world problems as you do. This includes FLL, WRO and Technovation. When our kids have an authentic audience their passion and motivation explodes. Homework is self-driven and is actually self motivated research and development. Our students have done the following:

- Have developed an app called Simple Learning Time in collaboration with two Junior Preparatory teachers in order to help teach Grade one to three learners how to tell the time. - Team Infinity developed around the concept of oceanic preservation. They have built a scale model of a fully autonomous boat that, given a set of coordinates of boundaries to operate in, cleans up large bodies of water with a rotating blade that scoops up buoyant trash from the surface. This trash can be dumped at a collection area once full, where it can be collected for recycling. The goal of this project is to clean the oceans and dams. - Team HyperionBots designed a horse bit that massively reduces the damage to horses’ nerve, bone and cranial structure caused by the use of horse bits by jockeys, whilst still retaining its effectiveness. - Team AppSoutely SMT created the mobile app, SAFELINE, as an initiative to solve a problem in their community - CRIME. The app is intended to connect communities and neighbourhood watches and unite them in an attempt to reduce crime by allowing the user to report any incidents to the authorities promptly. The app intends to complement existing safety systems and work with the various authorities in an attempt to make the neighbourhood a safer place to live in. The application contains a panic button which tracks your location and alerts authorities, a map feature displaying your current location and a list of customisable emergency numbers. Future plans include the implementation of an in-app messaging service, a profile feature and a detailed report function that will allow you to report a crime or any suspicious activity that you have witnessed.

Our kids are incredible and have amazing ideas. We need to encourage them to explore and implement these ideas so they can make a real difference in the world."

Member Yvonne Kwan (California, USA) had this to say:"Turning styrofoam into glue?! How cool!! Nate, your CWR videos are always awesome! We get a chance to learn a bit more about you and Japan AND we get to hear you tell us about your partner -- sweet! (Also a bit sad now that we missed out on Asagaya during our last trip -- oh well, next time!) Aaron, thank you for your presentation! I think you'll be pleased to know that the teacher candidate program I am a part of is working towards shaking up the conventional way we think about school (which is sorely outdated). Everything you've said about tapping into the humanness of teaching is where education needs to be. There's a time and a place for kids to learn how to sit and listen, but for the most part, they need to be up DOING things in order to properly learn. Awesome stuff!"

Member Raquel D. Juncal (Costa Rica) had this to say:"Due to the complexity of today's world, education demands more knowledge and skills than in the past. It requires a comprehensive education that forms citizens with a broad vision of their reality, and includes a humanistic dimension and contact with the great manifestations of culture and art. Quality education contributes to productivity and economic growth, reflected in better social conditions and more harmonious development of communities. What is important is that the student moves from being a passive observer to an active participant where he thinks, critically, about the arguments that are being presented. Thanks for a great presentation, Aaron!"

Member Nathan Gildart (Tokyo, Japan) had this to say:"Aaron, I was really jazzed about your presentation and chatting with you. I agree fully with your points of view with regard to how we're missing out on providing our kids with relevant learning opportunities. Mass education ass we know it was designed for the "industrial" economy, which just doesn't work anymore. A very inspiring presentation. I may contact you in the future asking you to speak to one of our educator groups at future professional development sessions. Fantastic stuff! Nice joke Yvonne - I LOVE my mountain bike!

Guest Catherine A. (California, USA) had this to say:"Really interesting discussion on education, plus the video on global sustainability projects and Nate's wonderful Coffee with a Rotarian evening stroll in Tokyo. Aaron, I was glad when you mentioned the need for critical thinking skills. I would also stress a strong need for cultural literacy both as a means to enhance understanding between students engaging in any entrepreneurial endeavor and their targeted group, and as a great foundation which places diverse students on a strong shared footing, regardless of their backgrounds or economic status. I received a wonderful traditional education which gave me the tools to feel comfortable while engaging in any topic or situation, regardless of my mastery of particular subject matter. My traditional education also taught me to think outside the box creatively, when approaching new situations or brainstorming ideas, since I had fabulous public high school instructors who were mavericks themselves. STEAM rather than STEM is where it's at, in my opinion. My academic and fine arts training taught me to view what could be, then to produce that new entity with technical tools and materials, both on time and in a polished, completed manner. Those qualities translated later to entrepreneurial efforts, whether working on a team or as a solo designer. I think the danger lies in shortchanging students who come from backgrounds lacking in cultural literacy from core knowledge training, then placing them in new entrepreneurial models. Those students deserve a strong background in world history, literature and politics, as well as math and science skills, to give them the best tools to succeed and relate to others they will interact with throughout their lives. Ironically, I found Silicon Valley to be stifling when growing up here due to the emphasis on product innovation, project management and computer development. Having a focus on the arts and cutural literacy gave me ( and many of my teenaged friends) the space to develop internal and manifest creativity, despite the huge local push to develop a lucrative career spot in the burgeoning tech industries here, which places so much undue pressure on local students to compete in arenas which may have nothing to do with their internal goals or values. In my life as a Silicon Valley public librarian I will never forget the mother who rejected a colorful picture book popular with most toddlers. The mother told me that her daughter, at 18 months, would find the picture book "too silly," since her toddler was "only interested in academic subjects."

Member Monique le Conge Ziesenhenne (California, USA) had this to say:"Very interesting discussion today. I'm excited to learn about your programs Aaron and hope that more schools embrace your techniques and philosophies. As a huge fan of design thinking in the workplace, and someone who has used it with teens to design programs, it would be great to think that everyone entering the workforce would be prepared with this training! Loved the coffee chat video! And, the jokes always make me smile. Thanks."

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: Next Vista for Learning: An Unusual Nonprofit Model

Every week we bring to you a new program on innovation, education, technology, and humanitarian service. This week our guest this week is Rushton Hurley, the Founder of Next Vista for Learning, a nonprofit that provides a library of free videos made by and for teachers and students everywhere.

Our charter president,

Rushton Hurley, has spent twelve years running the nonprofit he founded. How does a nonprofit become a stable business surviving the 2008 economic crash and shifting educational movements to be a resource for thousands of people around the world? Hint: he thinks like a Rotarian.

Rushton is a Texan living in Silicon Valley who has taught Japanese language, juggled for kids in Nepal, led an online school before people knew what online schooling was, experimented with speech recognition technology, and figured out how to get some cool pictures without knowing much of anything about photography. He also cleans up after his cat and considers himself to have married up.

Special thanks to board member Yvonne Kwan for stepping in as the host and the presiding officer for this recording!

Members and guests, please join us in welcoming Rushton as our speaker!

Ask a question. Leave a comment!

Have a question for Rushton? Leave a comment or a question in the comments below! Or just tell us how your week has been! You can also reach Rushton at info@nextvista.org

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:

2 Recordings on Thursday, May 25 at 2 PM Pacific Time and another recording at 4 PM Pacific Time

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!

Next Vista for Learning: An Unusual Nonprofit Model