Rotaract Club of Downtown San Diego Weekly Announcements March 21, 2006

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Next Meeting Our next general meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 at 6:30 pm at Kansas City BBQ, 610 W. Market Street, Downtown San Diego. We will have a guest speaker on Tuesday night: Bob Goff from Restore International. Check out all the details below. 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 21 General Rotaract Meeting Guest Speaker: Bob Goff March 26 Rotary and Rotaract Event: Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues March 31 Social Event: Grunion Run

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 North Jetty Way, South Mission Beach We'll be heading down to the South Mission Beach Jetty to watch an age old Southern California tradition – the infamous Grunion Run! You'll be watching these unique little fish as they flop about on the sand. This night, the Grunion are supposed to begin running at 10:15 pm and end at about 12:20 am. To learn more about the grunion, click here. We'll get together at 9:00 pm and have a little bbq or if we can find a pit, we'll just hang by the fire. Bring your beach blankets, flashlights and some warm clothes. We'll meet up at the Jetty Parking Lot at the very southern tip of Mission Beach. Take Mission Boulevard south until you can't go further, then turn right (North Jetty Road) and keep going until you hit the parking lot. Here's a Google map of the location. If you have any questions, please contact our Social Chair Felix. This should be a great social event, so don't miss out!

2006-2007 Rotaract Elections, Service Above Self It is that time again! Rotaract Elections! Time for a new (and improved?) board to take the lead and bring Rotaract to its new year and new level! Here is the chance for you to become a part of a dynamic leadership group that will no doubt become part of your San Diego family. New board members will take office July 1, 2006 but the voting is soon for "officers-elect" as additional time will allow for a better transition from the current board to the new board. We plan to mentor each new board member and provide experience and knowledge transfer for planning events and meetings in advance of taking office. Nominations and voting is for the four (4) elected positions: President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Once these four are elected they will build the rest of their supporting board. Mark your calendars now as we need every member to participate in the nomination and voting processes. Important Dates: April 18 Nominations for President, VP, Treasurer, & Secretary May 02 2006-2007 Rotaract Vote July 01 2006-2007 Board takes office Please try to make it to these very crucial meetings where the future of Rotaract is determined! If you have any questions or would like more information about the positions, please contact Andrea Espinoza.

It's All About the Kids Foundation Events For the Ladies: Champagne & Purses April 25, 2006 (Tuesday) 6:00 - 9:00 pm San Diego Wine and Culinary Center, 200 Harbor Drive All ladies are invited to bring dresses, shoes, jewelry and purses to donate to the girls of the Toussaint Academy of Arts and Sciences, for their Prom. Guests will enjoy complimentary champagne, culinary delights, hair and makeup tips, massage, cooking demonstrations and a fantastic silent auction! RSVP at events@itsallaboutthekids.org. For the Ladies and Gents: Black Jack & Roulette Dealers Needed May 6, 2006 (Saturday) 7:00pm Toussaint Academy "Dance with the Stars" Prom. Help out at the Toussaint Academy of Arts and Science's "Dance with the Stars" prom! They need volunteers to be Black Jack and Roulette Dealers the night of. Please contact Angela at It's All About the Kids Foundation, if you are interested.

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: A Hand for Polio On March 11th, the Rotaract Club of Downtown San Diego and the Rotaract Club Siglo 21 in Tijuana joined together for their annual project "A Hand for Polio." Over 1100 Rotaractors and Rotarians joined together at CECUT (Centro Cultural Tijuana) for a RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) convention. The Rotaract Clubs invited attendees to make a donation towards a cure for Polio, and then stamp their hand on the wall to show support. 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 and we are excited to have joined in the effort to eradicate polio. The Rotaract Club Siglo 21 in Tijuana is an amazing club of about 20 that have a lot of energy and a great Rotaract spirit. They were extrememly hospitable to us and were grateful to have us come meet their club and support their fundraiser. Hopefully this is the beginning of a great relationship with this Tijuana Rotaract Club! For a fun introductory message from the Tijuana Rotaract Club about the A Hand for Polio event, check out their video. Please right-click on the link and save the file to your computer, because it is fairly large (about 5 MB, Quicktime). Felicia shows off her handprint signifying her support in the fight against Polio Stacey Dindinger and Christian Varela International Chairs from San Diego and Tijuana Handprints signifying our unifying fight against Polio

Recap: World Rotaract Week Last week was World Rotaract Week, designated to honor the chartering of the first club in North Carolina, USA, on March 13, 1968. To commemorate Rotaract's anniversary, we were invited to celebrate with our sponsoring Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club at their meeting. 12 Rotaractors were present and we were able to give our fellow Rotarians a short glimpse into what our club has been up to this year. We were very honored to receive a beautiful plaque reading "The San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary Recognizes with Deep Appreciation the Rotaract Club of Downtown San Diego for their Outstanding Commitment and Service to the San Diego Community" dated March 15, 2006. We will proudly hang our plaque at Kansas City BBQ. Thanks to Rotary and Martin Blair, especially, for your constant support of our club! Plaque presented to our club from our supporting Downtown Breakfast Rotary!

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 22 Kathy Kachur Executive Director Citizen Diplomacy Council March 29 Semi-Finals 4-Way Test Speech Contest April 05 Club Assembly Featuring updates from our club's community chairs. April 12 Barbara Ayers San Diego Fire Dept. CERT program For last minute changes, please check http://www.sdrotary.org!

Members' Bulletin Board Cultural Community Event and Volunteer Opportunity! April 8 () 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Thurgood Marshall College campus UCSD and the Thurgood Marshall College campus host the 28th Annual Cultural Celebration on April 8, 2006, 11 am - 5 pm! The event is free and open to the public. The day includes cultural cuisine, merchants, live entertainment, children's village and much more fun! Visit this link for more information and pictures. If you would like to volunteer for a two hour shift of tasks ranging from setting up, breaking down, face painting, language and world game education, food vendors, and even llama rides — please email Andrea Seay or call her at 254-319-0215. Thank you for your interest and Andrea hopes to see you, your friends and family on April 8th. 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. 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 Can past Rotaractors become Rotarians? Absolutely. Rotary clubs are encouraged to view former Rotaractors as potential Rotarians and to periodically review Rotaract club membership to look for possible candidates. Also, Rotaract clubs are encouraged to develop a list of club members who may potentially fulfill a Rotary classification. Clubs also should maintain a list of past and present members, noting their particular interest in Rotary service projects. These lists should be shared with the sponsoring Rotary club.