Tag Archives: Colleen Bonadonna

Where is the world is … ?

07 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by in Foundation Global Grants, National Immunization Days (NID), Rotary 7600 Foundation News

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Where will you find D7600 Rotarians?

Last week as we ushered in Peace and Conflict Resolution Month we highlighted work in progress on Water and Sanitation global grant projects in Ghana. District Rotarians Shel Douglas (Prince George) and Past District Governor Stephen Beer (Innsbrook) are on the ground on that series of grants. Yes, you will get a little update.

India:

We also have had a team in India working on preventing polio and vaccinating children. The 7600 Rotarians on that trip are Colleen Bonadonna (New Kent) our district’s Polio Plus Chair, Dianna M. Waters (Brandermill), and Muriel Hawkins (Petersburg Lunch). After two weeks of work, they are getting a little R & R.

Polio Plus Angels, Dianna, Muriel, Colleen

Costa Rica:

We have also learned of a global grant project in Costa Rica spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Richmond, with the Rotary Clubs of James River and Huguenot Trail joining in. This project has been to provide English language books to elementary schools in Costa Rica. Members from the Richmond Club have already been on one or more trips to Costa Rica including, Michael Little, Jeanne Walls, E.M. Miller, and John Delandro. Around the end of March, there will be another trip of local Rotarians to Costa Rica to bring additional books to assist elementary school children in learning and improving their English language skills. Mike Little, Jeanne Walls, Kelly Keene, and Karin Jimenez (James River Club) are scheduled to go on that trip along with Mike’s and Jeanne’s spouses.

Ghana:

The district Rotarians have actually just landed in Accra (about 1 pm our time Thursday) where they will meet with the District Governor on Friday morning. Then the team will have a few hours to shop, rest, read, whatever before they catch their flight back to Virginia. Two pictures sent by Shel captured this writer and are shared here. This is also an homage to our Rotarians in India just about to finish their work there.

Part of the grant project in the Andasi village in Ghana was to install a block of micro-flush toilets. This project builder is a young man trained last year by the grant’s master trainer. Everyone had said that this polio survivor would never be successful. He has proved them wrong!

  • Builder
  • Block of micro-flush toilets being built

This blog is just a teaser … More in the March Spirit of 7600

All three project trips will be featured in more detail in the March Spirit of 7600. It is an abundance of riches to have many of our District 7600 Rotarians engaged in three different international endeavors, Polio Plus, and two global grants, but how interconnected they are! Doing good in the world.

D7600 & Global Water Grants

14 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News, Rotary Grants

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Clean water, toilets, & schools, oh my …

Rotary District 7600,  clubs in the district, as well as districts and clubs throughout the US and in Ghana, have committed funds and volunteers to a series of water and sanitation global grant projects in Ghana.

These grants, spearheaded by Walter Hughes of District 7570 and greatly aided by grant writer, Shel Douglas, Past President of the Prince George Club and Assistant Governor of Area 6, will also include basic school buildings complete with libraries filled with books.  There will be volunteer work trips, one of which is coming up in late January and three of the volunteers on that trip will be Walter, Shel, and Past District Governor Stephen Beer.

Walter visited the Rotary Club of Prince George County on December 12 and provided the club with information about the water & hygiene grants in particular, but also about the Rotary Water & Hygiene Area of Focus (or Cause, if you will).  On hand were PDG Stephen, PDG & current District Rotary Foundation Chair, Chuck Arnason, District Polio Plus Chair, Colleen Bonadonna, and non-Rotarian visitors and guests interested in health, education, clean water, and sanitation.

Walther Hughes addressing Prince George Rotary

The presentation is provided here as a video and runs about 20 minutes. Watch it if you can, but if not, know that the gist of Walter’s message is that access to sustainable potable water, hygienic sanitation, education, and maintenance training,  not only fights disease but also provides economic development opportunities for isolated areas. These opportunities build the ability of communities to continue improving their own facilities, resources, and futures.

Shel Douglas & Walter Hughes

“a little rain must fall”, but not June 14th

20 Sunday May 2018

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rescheduled END Polio Now RVA GAME – June 14

Yes, more than a little rain fell on May 16th as area Rotarians in District 7600 attempted to assemble at the Diamond to watch the annual End Polio Now Baseball game.  Even the Flying Squirrels decided to take their acorns home for the evening.  Many End Polio Warriors made it to the Diamond and others were caught in downpours or traffic tie-ups attempting to get there.

JoAnn & Norm Meaker (2)

Norm & JoAnn Meaker

Club baseball ticket organizers should contact Garrett Erwin at the Flying Squirrels at 804-359-3866 x327.  The same number of tickets previously purchased by the club will be reprinted with the June 14 date.

Additional tickets may be ordered as well. Remember that $2 of each ticket goes to End Polio Now and is matched 2:1 by the Gates Foundation.  If you do the math that means that $6 for every ticket purchased goes to EPN.

And many thanks to the Rotarians who made the effort among whom were AG JoAnn and Norm Meaker above and below, AGE Shel Douglass, District End Polio Now Games Organizer Stan Wall, and District Polio Plus Chair Colleen Bonadonna.

More to follow soon.

ShelStan&Colleen (2)

Shel Douglas (L), Stan Wall, & Colleen Bonadonna

Into the future … 2018 here we come

28 Thursday Dec 2017

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News, The Rotary Foundation

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

Thank you, District 7600 Rotarians:

District 7600 Rotarians are among the most generous donors in the Rotary world.  As a district, we are among the upper echelons of giving to The Rotary Foundation.

Reem Ghunaim & me (2)

Chuck with Reem Ghunaim, Executive Director, Rotary Action Group for Peace

Our Rotarians give not only money but also time and sweat equity.  We have Rotarians participating in National Immunization Days (NID) in at-risk countries; this year we are being represented by Carol Chamberlain (Warwick@ City Center), Jan Rowley (Prince George) and Colleen Bonadonna (New Kent) in the India NID in January. Colleen, District Polio Chair, has been on many such NIDs.  Earlier this year, many of our 7600 Rotarians traveled to Honduras as part of the work with the pediatric heart surgery clinic we helped establish in a widely supported global grant.  Your support of the Foundation makes a world of difference by helping others in need – from supplying vaccine that protects children from the polio virus to providing water filtration systems that protect villagers from deadly waterborne illnesses.  At home, you are ringing the bells for the Salvation Army, refurbishing parks, donating and distributing dictionaries, and many, many other good works in our communities.

 

So, at this time of focus on family and home during the holidays, I thank you, our District 7600 Rotary family for your generosity and caring. I am honored to be among you.  Because of you, we are Rotary: Making a Difference.

Chuck Arnason

District Rotary Foundation Chair

Foundation Rock Stars

11 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by in Foundation Giving, Rotary 7600 Foundation News

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Baked brie, smoked salmon, chocolate cake, music, and wine, Oh My!

District Rotary Foundation Chair, Chuck Arnason, and Rotary International Director-Elect (RIDE), David Stovall, assisted Past District Governor Diane Hagemann to celebrate the year of Foundation giving during her tenure as District Governor.

 

Michael & Beverly Reception

Photo by Jan Rowley

The evening of November 9th in Williamsburg was actually two events.  The Friends of the Foundation Reception honoring Major Donors, Bequest Society Members, and Paul Harris Society members, was sponsored this year by District Governor John Padgett and Maguire Woods, LLC.  DG John is the Managing Partner of the Norfolk Office of Maguire Woods.   During the Reception, three new Major Donors were recognized, by Rotary International Director-Elect (RIDE), David Stovall,  DG John and Lee Ann Padgett, Bill and Lois Billings, and Colleen Bonadonna & Daniel Hockenberger.  Kyle Davis, on guitar, provided music.

 

 

Major Donor Honorees

Lee Ann & DG John Padgett, RIDE David Stovall, Lois & Bill Billings, Colleen Bonadonna & Daniel Hockenberger

 

The second event, the Foundation Awards Banquet, is the culmination of the two-event evening.  It is at the banquet that the highest giving clubs, recipients of District Services Awards, and the recipients of the three highest Foundation Awards are recognized. The Banquet was accompanied by a cash bar reception, wicked baked brie,  and music on the keyboard by Jeff Paul. RIDE David Stoval did double duty, being both our keynote speaker and the chief presenter of the awards. Bill Billings was the event photographer.

The 2016-17 Awards list is provided here for a description of all of the club and individual recipients.

AlexOutstandingAlumni

PDG Bill Pollard, PDG Bob Preston, PDG Jim Probsdorfer, RIDE David Stovall, Alex Ritchie, PDG Diane Hagemann

Alexandria Ritchie of the James River Club received the Outstanding Alumni Award.  She was an Interact member and is currently a member of the John Tyler Rotaract Club and the James River club, as well.  She is an undergraduate biomedical student.

 

DavidBillHennSukiChuckThe recipient of the James Russell Pierce Foundation Leadership Award was William “Bill” Henn of the Rotary Club of Petersburg Breakfast. Bill received the award from Suki Pierce (Rotary Club of Virginia Peninsula), the widow of Jim Pierce.  This award is conferred on Club Rotary Foundation Chair who served his or her club and The Rotary Foundation with distinction.

Bill Henn Pierce Foundation Leadership Awarrd

RIDE David Stovall, Bill Henn, Suki Pierce, PDG Diane Hagemann, Chuck Arnason

The final award, the Citation for Meritorious Service, is unique in that it can be only awarded once each Rotary year by a district and the recipient may receive the award only once.  The Award recognizes extraordinary service to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and is not awarded for monetary contributions.  The recipient this year was Ken Hodge of the Newport News Club honoring his service and accomplishments for three years as the Development Chair for the District Rotary Foundation Committee.

Ken Hodge CMS

RIDE David Stovall, Ken Hodge, Chuck Arnason, Jim Probsdorfer.

 

All photos except the shot attributed to Jan Rowley are the art of Bill Billings.

Consider subscribing to this usually weekly blog by email.  See the window for your mail at the top of the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall is upon us … Upcoming Events

05 Tuesday Sep 2017

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News, Rotary Grants, Upcoming District Events

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

District Conference – Sept 22 – 24:

There is still time to register on the dacdb.com Calendar.  Come for the entire conference or pick a day or a dinner.  There is a lot offered this year.  You can learn more on www.rotary7600, including this nifty schedule of events.  Remember that registration is on dacdb.com Calendar.

Silent Auction at Conference to benefit Polio Plus- Sept 23:

 

colleen-and-diane-waters

Colleen Bonadonna (L) And Diana M. Waters on 2017 National Immunization Day in India.

Colleen Bonadonna of the New Kent Club and the District Polio Plus Chairs shares this information on the silent auction. Silent Auction at District Conference to Benefit Polio Plus,

Round 2 ($25,000) of District Grant Deadline Oct 2:

The first round of District Grant applications has been approved and there is $25,000.00 remaining in the block grant allocation. Round 2 opened on September 2 with a closing deadline of Monday, 2 October 2017. If you plan to submit an application, please read the directions closely as incomplete submissions will not be considered.

Help is available through your Area Governor, Grant committee members or me. We will review draft applications for procedural deficiencies. Your grant will be evaluated by the committee based on the checklist (2017-18) Final and the selectees will be announced on or about 16 October 2017.

Yours in Rotary Service,
Chuck
District Rotary Foundation Chair

Save the date for the District Rotary Foundation Awards Banquet – Nov 9:

The Banquet will be at the Colonial Heritage Golf Club in Williamsburg on November 9 with light pre-dinner refreshments, music, and a cash bar.  Registration for the Banquet will be available on dacdb.calendar on September 25, 2017.  More details to follow soon. Carol Woodward may be contacted for more details as the details are available.

 

Facebook live video and learning

08 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News, Training

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The attendees at the Foundation Workshop had an adventure:

The 45 or so attendees at the Foundation Workshop who had brought their smartphones, Rotarians Facebooktablets, or laptops got the chance to engage with live videoing of the topics presented by the superior Foundation leaders on August 5. After turning their volume down on their devices they were invited to join the live videos, adding comments, and posting “#rotary7600”  periodically.  There were a few amusing discoveries, e.g., one must have a Facebook account to join in, but a couple of folks signed up that day.   Others were delighted to see how easy it was to join in on the fun on their smartphones.

None of this would have been possible without the able phone camera work by Sarah Hanbury and Shel Douglas of the Prince George Club, who served as the mentors and videographers at the workshop.  These videos are about 15 minutes or so in length and were videoed by topic.  They can all be seen by scrolling down the District Foundation’s Facebook page, clicking on the big arrow in the middle of the image, and turning the sound up on your device.  OR you can view all of the videos on the ‘Documents & Videos’ tab on this website.

We are also exploring how to upload them to YouTube and to the District Website, but did you know that you can share the videos from Facebook to your own club’s Facebook page or at least the administrators or editors for your club’s page can.  Talk with them about it.

For the moment … here we share one of the videos.  This is Joy Kline Annual Fund Chair for the District Foundation Committee extolling how well the District did this last year in exceeding our giving goals.

A favor please … if you are reading this page and have not done so already … navigate to the top of the page and subscribe by email.  That way you will get a weekly email from this page with the update for the week.  How easy is that?

 

 

Lingering glow from District Conference

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

Posted by in Rotary 7600 Foundation News

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , ,

From District Conference to Foundation Awards Banquet … the glow continues

Excitement is growing about the Foundation Awards Banquet as it has already been announced that District 7600 achieved two record breaking giving milestones in the 2015-16 year.  The generosity of its clubs and members put District 7600 at #23 in giving out of all of the Districts in the world. Congratulations and thank you to all Rotarians in 7600.

The successful giving year means that there will be a robust Foundation Awards ceremony at the 2016-foundation-awards-banquet on November 10 at the Colonial Heritage Golf Club in Williamsburg.  The District Foundation Committee will be notifying clubs and individuals of their awards shortly and inviting them to participate in the awards ceremony.  By the way you can register NOW for the District Foundation Awards Banquet at the calendar  tab on dacdb.com.

Looping back to the District Conference … India

There were so many amazing, riveting presentations at the District Conference.  One colleen-and-cora-nid-indiabreakout that this writer particularly enjoyed was the Engaging Humanity in India – National Immunization Day (NID)  presented by Colleen Bonadonna (New Kent) and Cora Huitt (Bon Air).  The breakout was a sensual visit to a typical NID in India.  From soft lights, incense, tea, bindis, and actual photographs from NIDs in which Colleen and Cora had participated, the session was a sampling of the adventures volunteers experience on NIDs.  These two 7600 Rotarians demonstrated that it is not only our donations, but the time volunteered by Rotarians by which we Embrace Humanity.

Back at the Conference … Citation for Meritorious Service

probscms

Lynn & Jim Probsdorfer & Past Rotary International Director Sam Orowi

Each year each District nominate a deserving Rotarian to the Trustees of The Rotary to recognize outstanding service of a to The Rotary Foundation by awarding the Citation for Meritorious Service to that exemplary individual.  Only one such citation may be awarded each year in the District.  This year  James A. Probsdorfer (Warwick) was the recipient of the Citation for Meritorious Service.  Jim or Probs, as many call him, richly deserves this special recognition. This Past District Governor and immediate Past District Rotary Foundation Chair steered the District through ‘Future Vision’ (remember that?) into the emerging and now solidified grant and grant management model.  Change can be hard, especially for Rotarians. Probs helped make it happen with grace. Each year during his chairmanship the district broke at least one or two giving records.  Yes, #23 in the world. Congratulations, Probs.