Rotaract Club of Downtown San Diego Weekly Announcements March 07, 2006

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Next Meeting Our next general meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 07, 2006 at 6:30 pm at Kansas City BBQ, 610 W. Market Street, Downtown San Diego. We're looking forward to seeing you there!

Overview of Upcoming Events March is a busy month for Rotaract. Here is a list of events. Dive in! March 07 General Rotaract Meeting March 11 International Event: A Hand for Polio – Joining the TJ Rotaract March 15 Celebrate World Rotaract Week at Rotary Meeting March 21 General Rotaract Meeting March 26 Rotary and Rotaract Event: Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues March 31 Social Event: Grunion Run

A Hand for Polio March 11 (Saturday) Tijuana A Hand for Polio Saturday March 11th, we will be assisting the Rotaract Club Siglo 21 in Tijuana with their annual project "A Hand for Polio." Their club is getting a wall at CECUT (Centro Cultural Tijuana – the sphere-shaped theater in Zona Rio and next to Plaza Rio shopping center) where people will be invited to make a donation and then be able to stamp their hand on this wall. All the money collected from this project goes to the Rotary International Account. This way we are contributing to the fight against Polio, and hopefully it will be eradicated thanks to our team work. In Mexico they have been doing this project for several years now, and it has been very successful! They are coordinating with other clubs around the world to do this project simultaneously. We will be assisting by giving away stickers at the site, help take care of the wall and invite anyone passing by to come stamp their hand and donate to eradicate Polio. Just bring a good vibe and be in the mood to have a good time helping out our sister club across the border. We will meet in Old Town the morning of March 11th and carpool to the border, then walk across where we will be met by members of Rotaract Club Siglo 21 to take us to the site. If you are interested, please sign up with Stacey by Friday March 10th so we can coordinate transportation.

World Rotaract Week – Celebrate with Rotary! March 15 (Wednesday) 7:00 am Symphony Towers, University Club (Top floor), 750 B Street, Downtown Next week is World Rotaract Week, designated to honor the chartering of the first club in North Carolina, USA, on 13 March 1968. To commemorate Rotaract's anniversary, we are invited to celebrate with our sponsoring Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club at their meeting on Wednesday, March 15th at the beautiful University Club atop Symphony Towers (750 B Street), Downtown. We will share with Rotary some projects and events that we have successfully accomplished this year and also what we are looking to accomplish in the near future. Rotary's (free) breakfast is at 7:00 am and the meetings promptly starts at 7:30 am. Let's represent our club in numbers and please join for the celebration! RSVP to Andrea if you can join.

Guest Speaker on March 21: Bob Goff March 21 (Tuesday) 6:30 pm Kansas City BBQ Our next speaker for our March 21st meeting is Bob Goff, who is a Seattle Lawyer and professor of law at Point Loma Nazarene University. He will be coming to speak on Restore International, which rescues and rehabilitates children forced into prostitution and seeks prosecution of the perpetrators. Prostitution is rampant in all parts of India. A huge demand for sex and a lenient law enforcement system has resulted in the flourishing trade of buying and selling women and girls. Young girls from poor areas are particularly vulnerable and are often lured, kidnapped or tricked into prostitution. Once the girl is sold to a particular brothel keeper, she becomes a virtual slave of the industry. She is beaten, threatened, verbally abused and forced to sleep with many men every day. She will remain a slave until she can pay back the money the brothel keeper paid for her. The Restore International Team – consisting of investigators, police liaison officers, advocates, and local legal professionals – targets cities with large red light trafficking centers to initiate raids, rescue girls, and arrest brothel keepers. For more information, please check Restore International's web site.

Rotaract and Rotary: Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues March 26 (Sunday) Time TBA House of Blues, 1055 Fifth Avenue, Downtown Rotaract and Rotary unite at the House of Blues! The Gospel Brunch is a one-of-a-kind live music show and dining experience. Guests enjoy a delicious all-you-can-eat southern style buffet that features breakfast favorites plus a host of southern specialties. Every week different gospel groups from around the region perform live on stage. The music is uplifting and energetic and guaranteed to get the crowd standing on their feet! The cost is $38.00 and includes the brunch buffet. Please join Rotary and your fellow Rotaractors at the House of Blues on March 26th. RSVP by March 8th to Andrea if you can join.

Volunteers Needed for Rotary Model United Nations Conference March 25 & 26 (Saturday & Sunday) Time TBA Embassy Suites Stacy Jer is District 5340 Outbound Ambassadorial Scholar for 2006-2007 to Ghana. She is also serving as a volunteer coordinator for our district's Model United Nations Conference for high school students to be held at the Embassy Suites from March 25-26. Stacy has informed us that they are in great need of volunteers for both days. To sign up or for more information, please e-mail Stacy Jer or call her at 626-318-5768.

Social: Grunion Run March 31 (Friday) 9:00 pm South Mission Beach We'll head down to South Mission Beach for the beginning of the Grunion season. This night, the Grunion are supposed to begin running at 10:20 pm and end at about 12:30 am. We'll get together at 9:00 pm and have a little bbq. Bring your beach blankets, flashlights and some warm clothes.

All San Diego Rotaract Event – Committee Chair(s) Needed May 06 (Saturday) Time & Place TBA On May 6th, we are having an all San Diego Rotaract event joining together the following clubs: Rotaract Club of Downtown San Diego North County San Diego Rotaract Club UCSD Rotaract Club USD Rotaract Club PLNU Rotaract Club SDSU Rotaract Club Lost Boys of Sudan Rotaract Club We are forming a committee to plan out the event (TBD), consisting of one or two members of each club. Please contact Andrea if you are willing to step up into a leadership position to plan and execute a great event.

Wanted: Rotaract National Anthem Singer May 28 (Sunday) 1:05 pm Padres Baseball game Have you always wanted to try out for American Idol because of your amazing singing voice? This may be an opportunity for you! Governor Bob is looking for an Interactor or Rotaractor to sing the National Anthem on May 28 at the 1:05 pm Padres baseball game. If you are interested, you will need to submit a CD of yourself singing the National Anthem to Carl Lower for approval by the Padres. Please contact Andrea if you are interested.

Recap: 2nd Annual Rotaract Family Feud Event A lively crowd of Rotaract members & friends gathered on Saturday evening two weeks ago to try their shot at the 2nd Annual Rotaract Family Feud. With our own Felix Tinkov aptly dressed to take on his part as host, Richard Dawson, the group divided into "families" to engage in a couple competitive rounds of this comical game. It was a great time ... who will ever forget the answer of "Model Airplane" to the question, "Name a vehicle little kids mimic?". Pictures cannot do it justice, but if wondering if the event was an enjoyable success? "Survey says ... Yes!" Thanks go to Susan Friedman for letting us use her place for the event! Richard Dawson (aka Felix) and his beautiful assistant Bridget The winning family: The Cosby's Look for the next social event, the Grunion Run - it's right around the corner!

Creative Minds Needed! The San Diego Downtown Rotaract club is in the process of designing a Rotaract Flag to represent our club. For any suggestions, ideas, contacts or leads, please email our historian Kerrith Gray.

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 Miguel 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: March 08 Marye Anne Fox Chancellor UCSD March 15 Robert Biter, M.D. Her Heart's Wish March 22 Kathy Kachur Executive Director Citizen Diplomacy Council March 29 Semi-finals 4-Way Test Speech Contest For last minute changes, please check http://www.sdrotary.org!

Members' Bulletin Board Roommate Wanted Laura is looking for a roommate to share her home that is responsible, has good credit and is fun. She will be traveling to tournaments over the next few months, so she would like someone responsible to move in. The house is located in Mission Valley, close to USD, YMCA, the Fashion Valley mall, and the bike/running paths that lead to the beach or Fiesta Island. The room has its own quaint, but full bath. The person that lived in the room previously treated it as a studio apartment with a sofa, entertainment center and still had room for a queen-sized bed. Other than the room, there is no storage space available. Parking is on the street only and finding spots close to the house is never a problem at any time of the day. There is a new washer and dryer, cable and wireless internet. Utilities are not included in the rent and they include gas/electric, water and cable. Pets are great! The room is available for viewing now and can be moved in March 1. Rent is $700.00 plus utilities. Call Laura if you have any questions 619-309-8448. Roommate Wanted Share 2 bedroom 1 bath condo in La Jolla located on Villa La Jolla Drive, near the UCSD entrance. Includes: parking, pool/jacuzzi, tennis, wash/dryer in a very quiet complex. No smoking. Small dog maybe okay. Contact Gidget Rangel: gidgetrangel@hotmail.com or 858-349-7505 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 What exactly does a Rotaract club do? Rotaract clubs organize a variety of projects and activities, depending on the interests of the club members. However, three main areas of focus include professional development, leadership development, and service projects (both locally and internationally). Together, these areas ensure clubs have a balanced service program while providing opportunities for the personal development. It is important to remember that Rotaract, like Rotary, is diverse, and each club acquires unique qualities, depending where in the world it is established.