Rotaract Club of Downtown San Diego Weekly Announcements July 19, 2005

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Next Meeting Our next general meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 19, 2005 at 6:30 pm at Kansas City BBQ, 610 W. Market Street, Downtown San Diego. Our guest speaker tonight will be Danielle Magee (Sea World). Details below. Don't miss it! We're looking forward to seeing you there!

Guest Speaker Tonight: Danielle Magee Our professional development speaker tonight will be Danielle Magee, Education Training Manager at Sea World. Danielle is a graduate of San Diego State University. She’ll discuss her experiences at Sea World and how’s she’s progressed through her 21 years at the company to arrive at her current position.

Learning Life Skills with the Toussaint Academy Twenty-three Rotaractors volunteered this past Saturday to help in the life skills learning process for the teens of the Toussaint Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Life Skills Scavenger Hunt provided an opportunity for homeless teens, now in the Academy, to begin their day with a Job/School Fair and then travel throughout the Gaslamp in search of their life skills. Rotaractors posed as college admission counselors, job interviewers, bankers, SBC & SDGE representatives, apartment leasing agents, 'credit card trappers' and more. The day concluded with a fantastic after party at Octopus Garden, where prizes were awarded to the top three teams for their excellent decision making skills utilized throughout the day. Thanks to Angela Brannon with It's All About the Kids Foundation for this opportunity and to all of the Rotaractors who gave of their time in this fun and educational event. Rotaract volunteers celebrate at Octopus Garden. Parker and Peter act as credit card traps hoping to give the teams weights of debt. Carl, Gidget and Andrea study an apartment lease.

Rotaract Member from Stockholm, Sweden to Visit San Diego Marie Hegberg, a member of the Djurgarten Rotaract Club of Stockholm, Sweden, will be visiting San Diego during the last week of July. She will be attending the North County Rotaract meeting on July 27 and we are working on planning a happy hour so she can meet Downtown Rotaract members as well. Plans will not be confirmed until she and her boyfriend reach San Diego, but we would like to get an idea of who would like to join us in welcoming them to San Diego. If you are interested in details on this event, please email Stacey and/or sign up to be contacted with particulars at tonight’s meeting.

Rancho Jireh Picnic Planners August 28 (Sunday) 2:00 pm Crown Point South The Annual Rancho Jireh Picnic will be held at Crown Point South on August 28th at 2:00 pm. Rancho Jireh Foster Homes is a non-profit Christian ministry serving the needs of abused and neglected children. Founded in 1988, Rancho Jireh has successfully placed hurting children with Christian families in San Diego and Riverside counties who have opened their homes and provided individualized care and nurturing, helping children heal and blossom to their true potential. The picnic will be a day of BBQ, games, and a whole lot of fun for new families and Rotaract. We need planners! Volunteers are needed to plan games and get prizes, organize cookie decorating and face painting and also help set up for the event the day of. Please contact Carl Tiu or Andrea Espinoza to help in the planning stages. Everyone else - mark it on your calendars, it's sure to be a good time!

Munich Interota Conference 2005 September 11 - 18 (Sunday - Sunday) Munich, Germany Themed "Be Rotaractive - Create Future", Rotaractors, Rotarians and their guests from all over the world are invited to come together at the Interota conference in Munich from September 11 - 18, 2005. The conference aims at picking up the Rotaract principles: Learn, Help and Celebrate. The conference will also serve as a platform for getting to know Rotaractors worldwide, making friends and establishing transcontinental partnerships with the help of atmospheric celebrations as well as an attractive culture and sight-seeing program. For more information visit http://www.interota.org.

Cultural Exchange with Ankara, Turkey We are very excited to participate in a cultural exchange this year with the Rotaract Club of Kavaklidere Ankara, Turkey!! They are currently compiling a DVD movie including their last club meeting, interviews with their members, a small city tour, and preparation of a traditional Turkish meal. Along with this movie they will be sending other stuff like small souvenirs and some other video materials introducing Turkey. We will be forming a committee to do video footage and put together some other items to send to our fellow Rotaractors. Please contact Stacey for more info or to join the committee.

Senior Center 2nd Saturday of each month Volunteers (2-3) are needed the 2nd Saturday of each month from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm to help serve lunch at the Senior Center Downtown. Please contact Carl for details and availability.

Downtown San Diego Breakfast Rotary Meeting The Downtown San Diego Breakfast Rotary Club is meeting every Wednesday at 7:00 am at the Symphony Towers University Club, 750 B Street, Suite 3400. Next scheduled speakers / events: July 20 District Governor Bob Watson July 27 Cdr. Michaels Tsunami Relief August 03 ? August 10 Armon Mills President & Publisher S.D. Business Journal For last minute changes, please check http://www.sdrotary.org!

Members' Bulletin Board Help Desired! Desire a reliable and trust worthy individual to walk my incredible black lab named Sam. Walk Monday - Friday for 30 minutes, anytime between 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. Pays $200.00 a month. Live at Park and Market, Downtown. Sam is very well trained and behaved and loves walks through Petco Park, which is a few blocks away. Contact Patrick Ross at 720-971-1711 if interested. Business Networking---Hawaiian Style! July 21 (Thursday) 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm Summer evenings in San Diego are perfect for meeting new people, new prospects and learning more about the local business community! San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce members say "Aloha" and are mixing it up on Thursday, July 21st from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Hawaiian dress is appropriate to wear this month; a warm handshake, a ready smile and plenty of business cards is all you need to bring! Our last event sold out with over 500 reservations; some had to be turned away for fire code considerations. Call Keith Woolgar in the membership department for details at 619-544-1394. (If you prefer to have "business for breakfast", ask about the upcoming Get Connected all-you-can-eat buffet, July 19th!). Play Ball for Paul! July 30 (Saturday) & July 31 (Sunday) Hourglass Fields, Mira Mesa The Paul Jacobson Spinal Cord Foundation aims to ease the incredibly difficult transition from the hospital through rehab to home for newly injured spinal cord patients. Participate in the softball tournament 7/30 & 7/31 at Hourglass Fields in Mira Mesa. If would like sign up a team, become a sponsor, or volunteer, please contact Ethel York. Make a Friend. Make a Difference! Y-FRIENDz is a new mentoring program with YMCA Youth and Family Services for children ages 4-15 that have one or both parents in prison. There are over 15,000 children with incarcerated parents in San Diego County! Y-FRIENDz mentors spend 1-3 hours a week with their mentee for the period of one year. Once a month all mentors and mentees are invited to a community event including activities such as picnics, concerts, plays, athletic events, community service and much more. What are the benefits of such a program? Mentoring empowers positive change in children and helps build the relationships and skills they need to become happy, healthy, and productive adults. Outcomes include a better attitude towards school, higher chance of going on to higher education and enhanced leadership skills and self-image. How can you get involved? Become a mentor! Our goal this first year is to make 150 matches. Attend an Orientation to learn how you can be matched with a child who needs you. Help us find mentors in the community! Put us in touch with an organization, business, group, or club where we can find quality role models. Get involved in our monthly events! Let us know about a unique idea or opportunity for an event. Help us with planning or be a chaperone. Please contact Christina Reyna with any questions or inquiries at (619) 543-9850 Ext. 135 or by email at treyna@ymca.org. Roommate Wanted Share 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, 2 1/2 car garage townhouse in the USD / Fashion Valley area. Bedroom w/ own private bath. Fireplace. W/D. Pool, Spa, Sauna, Tennis. Secure. Non-smoker. $750.00 month + utilities. Available 7/05/05. Must see. Call Saleigh at 619-988-9062 or saleigh@sbcglobal.net Room/Roommate Needed by August 1 (Or Sooner)! Being new to the area, I can't decide where I want to live. So, I've finally narrowed it down to somewhere close to everything. Easy enough? I'm looking for a place with easy access to the 8 West or 5. I'm currently in the Point Loma/OB area and enjoy being central to everything. I'm easy going, fun yet reserved, and prefer non-smoker. Although I work a lot, I would love to have a fun roommate to hang out with and show me around the nooks of San Diego. Thanks Rotaract for being so welcoming! Contact Andrea Seay at 254-319-0215 or seay003@yahoo.com. Post your own message here! Do you need a roommate? Trying to sell your car? Let Rotaract work for you! Post your message here in the newsletter and have it be seen by over 100 like-minded people. Just send an e-mail to newsletter@sdrotaract.org with "Bulletin Board" in the subject line. Please remember to also include a general time frame for your message, e.g. 3 weeks, 2 newsletters, or until November 1st.

Rotaract & Rotary Trivia Featured Rotary International Project: Keeping Kids off the Streets A Q&A with Jim Thompson, founder/president of StreetKeepers and member of the Rotary Club of Guelph Trillium, Ontario, Canada. Rotary International: What is the StreetKeepers project? Thompson: StreetKeepers is an organization of Canadian Rotarians from District 7080, who are working with children that have no parents and are living on the streets in India, Nepal, and other Southeast Asian countries. Our purpose is to find ways of taking as many children off the street as we can. RI: What motivated you to start StreetKeepers? Thompson: While in Kathmandu, I remember seeing a tarpaulin on the side of the road. I went over and lifted the corner of the it, and what I saw under there made my heart stop. There were three or four, maybe five little kids under the tarpaulin— about 7 to 9 years old — and they were all huddled together like a litter of puppies. And when I saw that, something just happened in my heart. RI: How do you raise money for the project? Thompson: We encourage Rotary clubs all over the world to contribute C$500 to our project each year. Our board gives feedback to participating clubs about every two months so that they can see what their Rotary dollars are doing. They can also meet the children they are helping. RI: Do you work with local Rotarians to help these children? Thompson: We work with local Rotary clubs in India and Nepal and with partners we know are very reliable and are skilled in working with street children. So we raise the funds, the local Rotary clubs mentor the children and oversee the projects, and local organizations with sound reputations, such as Good Shepherd Sisters in India, provide the day-to-day care. RI: Has there been a lot of interest in your project at the convention? Thompson: There has been tremendous interest, because it’s a project for kids that can literally save lives. Contact StreetKeepers: 1-515-824-0144 mail@streetkeepers.org http://www.streetkeepers.org Copied from: http://www.rotary.org