Denver Mile High Rotary - Newsletter

Started in 1966, IPODERAC has offered safe refuge, education and hope to thousands of boys who are abandoned and would otherwise be living on the streets of Mexico. Over the least five years, the LoDo Rotary Club has actively supported projects that directly benefit IPODERAC. Please come and learn more about IPODERAC and the efforts of the LoDo Rotary Club to assist IPODERAC. You can find out more about IPODERAC by visiting its website keimco.com/ipoderac.html

Location: Chili Verde

3700 Tejon Street

Denver, CO80211US

When: Sunday, April 11, 5:30-8pm

Cost: $35.00 per person, includes dinner. All proceeds from the event will go directly to projects in support of IPODERAC.

Please RSVP directly to Mimi Larsen at mimi.larsen@moyewhite.com

Mimi Larsen

Rotary Club of Denver LoDo

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I (Blair) got back from spring break week in Haiti with Engineers Without Borders. We pretty much did the same route that we took during our course (Mirebelais/Cange, Verrettes, Port au Prince, Leogane, Jacmel). Charles was our driver and, believe it or not, we ran into Frednel in Mirebelais and then in Carrefore (near PAP) the next day. Small world. Also, Charles dressed a little more sharply and had an iPod. I think your gracious tip has made quite a difference in his life. He was very happy to see me and work with CU again.

PAP is in pretty rough shape. We saw lines of women maybe a 1,000 people long waiting for food distribution (rice, beans, cooking oil). Maybe 30% of the buildings are down and, in total, about 50% of the buildings have to be taken down according to our engineers. We spent a lot of time in 2 refugee camps (i.e., tent cities). One was an A+ and had everything - water, sanitation, health care, supply chain, strategic planning, security and even some education. It was run by the Adventists. Another camp was an F and a tragedy in the making. It had over 5,000 people living inside sheets on a steep hill with no water/sanitation, food, health, etc. These people were mad and should be. Our engineers predicted that deaths will occur there in a few weeks when the rains wash the make shift tents from above down on the others. Contagious illnesses will be a big problem in these camps due to no sanitation, etc.

Leogane looked like a war zone. There was rubble everywhere and most all buildings were down except for the Hospital and the nursing school (American architects). It was sad to see and you couldn't help but wonder about all the bodies that were still inside all the rubble. At the same time, life goes on. People were hawking their goods on the streets, others were breaking up the cement, and there was even a fair amount of night life at the bar across from the hospital.

A primary goal of our engineering group was to consider how to handle the need for low cost, long term shelter. Apparently, there are no real good examples of this in the world and the temporary tent cities are going to crumble in the coming months (rainy season/hurricanes). Given our various excursions and conversations, the engineers jumped right in and by the end of the week were committed to building a school in Jacmel through Operation USA and with money from Honeywell Corporation (Minneapolis). Also, Bernard Amadei told me that he's committed to putting EWB in Haiti for the next 5 to 10 years and that he really wants to develop vocational education (construction, agriculture, management skills, forestry, health care, etc.). He has some major corporations that should get behind these efforts and he and I will be working on this in coming months. I expect our Business School to be involved.

PBS sent down a TV crew to document our week. Google 'Rocky Mountain PBS Haiti' and you'll see some of the videos and hear some of the stories. PBS will do followup videos in coming months and they hope to have a full feature Haiti/EWB documentary for national release in the next year or two. Instead of sending you some of my pictures w/ this email, you'll see some excellent footage and pictures from our week on the PBS site. Also, I understand that Brent Saunders of KBCO radio in Boulder will be interviewing our group in the next week or two.

In sum, we had an exhaustive, but interesting, productive and safe experience (we felt an aftershock or two). The conditions are strenuous. For example, the road to Jacmel was very difficult (rock slides, big cracks, etc.). Yet, it was a very uplifting week, too. Progress is being made and communities are working together. For me, it was good to come full circle on this earthquake tragedy.

Blair

Strategic Planning for the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Denver Mile High

On April 14 all Denver Mile High Rotary Club members will have the chance to be part of the discussions that will give direction to the Club’s Foundation (DMHRF).

The Club’s Strategic Plan has been very effective in defining those activities that are most important to us and giving us focus as we grow. I am hoping that this Strategic Planning will do the same for the DMHRF.

The Foundation has been a very valuable partner to the Club since it was created in 1993. The Foundation Board Members have been great supporters of the work of the Club and dedicated to carefully managing and wisely distributing the funds that are under their care. They have done and continue to do a great job that enables DMHR to render service to people around the world and in our own neighborhoods.

Even though the Club and Foundation work closely together, the IRS requires that the Foundation operate independently from the Club. So we, as Club members, can only advise DMHRF. But this planning will give us an opportunity to identify and share our ideas about some aspects of the Club operation that impact the direction of our Foundation. It will also give all of us a chance to understand better how DMHRF works and integrates with the Club’s projects. The background below will be helpful for the discussion next week.

This is a unique opportunity for you to share your input. Once the Planning process is finished, we will consolidate the output and present it to the Club Board. Your ideas do matter. I hope that you can participate on April 14.

The Foundation of the Rotary Club of Denver Mile High (DMHRF) was created to fund our Club’s projects, both local and international.

The Annual Fund of DMHRF is the amount of funds raised in the prior year and is used to fund projects that the Club initiates or supports in the coming year. These funds also act as seed money to enable us to get Matching Grants from The Rotary Foundation. Most of the funds come from our fundraising activities and events, including the Golf Shoot-out, mini-dinners, wine tasting and other events during the year. They also include contributions that Club members make to the DMHR Foundation.

The Permanent Fund of DMHR Foundation is the corpus that the DMHR Foundation Club has set aside and is not used to fund projects. Income from the Permanent may be used to increase the Annual Fund.

The Rotary District Assembly is a half-day training event hosted by our District. The event is scheduled for Saturday morning, June 5th from 8:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Start your day with some coffee and a continental breakfast, and then participate in some excellent training to prepare you for specific leadership roles in our club. There are training sessions dedicated to a wide variety of jobs, including Club Secretary, Club Treasurer, Committee Chairs, Membership, the Rotary Foundation... and many more. This is also an EXCELLENT opportunity for a new Rotarian to learn a lot about Rotary in general, in a short period of time. For those who volunteer to attend the District Assembly, this activity will count as a make-up for your attendance AND the Denver Mile High Rotary Club will reimburse you for your registration fee.

Help me with the weekly e-blast! When you have an event, or something you would like to put in the e-blast, send it to Melanie.Gentz@gmail.com by Monday each week to be in the Tuesday e-blasts. You make this e-mail happen! We want your announcements!!