Effective
Service Projects
by
Debra L. Boerger
Saturday
Plenary Session (Convener: Karen Rosnell, Dist. 6670)
3:15
– 3:30pm
Good
Afternoon
I’ll
not be sharing anything earth shattering with you this afternoon. Rather,
my hope is to get you thinking and maybe get your juices flowing (and, if
I'm, lucky, keep you from taking a mid-afternoon nap).
My
topic is - 'effective service projects.' And, Folks, that really is what it’s
all about --Service Above Self -- I can't think of another thing that
can keep a Rotary Club alive or revive one that is foundering than a good
(or several good) service projects.
The
thoughts I'll be giving you are my own... but I believe that they are simply
'common sense.'
First,
a GOOD service project must fill a need (of course!)
But, an EFFECTIVE one needs to generate enthusiasm and excitement in your club. If
you don’t have your members “on board," it's going to be
very difficult to be successful.
Second,
you need (at the very least) one "Champion.".. someone who wraps
his or her arms around the project and leads the charge (and someone who can
do so without being pushy or dictatorial (which can sometimes be quite tricky
in any Rotary Club!). One of your jobs as the new president of your club is
to keep an eye on those types of situations.
Third,
an effective service project needs to have wide appeal... something that is
not just a "club deal," but where the community is involved and
aware... and recognizes the benefits. This is not limited to your own city.
Many good projects involve clubs from around the district or across the globe.
Again,
it needs to be a 'win-win' all around. You do something good you're excited
and committed! AND – that enthusiasm spill over to others outside of
Rotary.
Let
me add here a little side note: An effective service project can have the
added bonus that we often overlook - membership development!! Many people
want to help others. If they see something happening in their community that
they think is "pretty cool," they may very well to look-into an
organization (like ROTARY!) that has a built-in structure and support system.
Our President, George W. Bush, has put forth the call for volunteerism. Heck,
Rotary has been on that page for almost 100 years.
My
last suggestion, before I share some specific examples, is for each of you
to look around your own club and identify members who may be able give it
the depth of their experience. I am constantly amazed (after 14 years as a
Rotarian!) at the members in my club who know “who” and who know
“what” and who know “how." These members are a very
rich resource. Use them!
I
come from a larger club than many of you... one with a very long and very
rich history. We have a myriad of ongoing programs and projects. I'll be sharing
some of those with you (AGAIN) in hopes of simply getting your thought processes
going. I realize that my club is different from yours, but that's my frame
of reference. So, please, keep that in mind as you break out into your cluster
groups. I don't want or mean to offend anyone!
Most
Rotary clubs have long-standing projects. One example in my club is the old
Crippled Children’s Society… now called the Achievement Centers
for Children. It was started over 50 years ago by a few Cleveland Rotarians.
While our club continues to provide some financial support, we are no longer
very active with that organization. However, another club in our district
(the Strongsville Club) is a strong supporter of the Achievement Center through
their “Chili Open." This gets back to my point about district collaboration.
(Kudos to them)
There
are other projects that start rather simply and then seem to just grow and
grow like the Rapid Recovery site our club took on about 25 years ago. It
started from a city initiative to have garden sites in and around downtown
Cleveland. Our club adopted about 800 feet along the rapid transit rail line
going from the airport into downtown Cleveland. Now... that site is well over
a mile long! We have purchased all this heavy equipment and even a trailer
to haul it around in. There's a strong core of dedicated Rotarians who have
faithfully maintained this site. That goes back to my point about having 'champions'
of a project.
Other
projects are fairly new but still evolving (again, looking at my own club,
we have a Character Education program that we started with the Cleveland Municipal
School District about 8 years ago. It continues to grow every year. It's gone
from one junior high school to others and up to high schools and down to elementary
schools).
Finally,
there are programs and projects still in the initial stages of 'Hey, here's
a neat idea!' 'Can we do something with this?' And, if so, 'How do we go about
it?' For example, our club has just starting looking at partnering with several
other organizations to hook-up with the Tall Ships when they come into port
this summer. There is talk that up to a half-a-million people will visit this
event. Given that these are INTERNATIONAL ships (coming from all over the
world) and that Rotary is an INTERNATIONAL organization, we pretty excited
about the possibilities of somehow linking this to the International Polio-Plus
campaign. Again, we are at the very initial stages of our planning, but I
can tell you there is already a lot of enthusiasm, the ideas are flowing!
And those of you from clubs along the Lake Erie shoreline might want to start
some brainstorming as well.
Whatever
the projects you take on, I can guarantee that you’ll have the "DOERS,"
the "OBSERVERS," and the "NAYSAYERS." It's the same everywhere...
be it in your office, at your church, in your family, or at your Rotary club.
Don't let that stop you from sinking your teeth into something that you and
your board feel is worthwhile.
So,
what do you do?
*
You
look towards your schools (mentoring, shadowing, achievement awards, youth
exchange, or character education).
*
You look towards your village square or public spaces (a clock tower,
a park or a park bench, a plaza, a playground).
*
You look towards health and human issues (Red Cross blood drives, organ
or bone marrow drives, visiting shut-ins, supporting & partnering with
organizations that
provide
services to the disadvantaged).
*
You look at projects that are already in existence and explore ways
to expand or enhance them (like our Rapid Recovery site).
*
Don't forget to look at the RI website and see what other clubs are
successfully doing.
*
Do you have a correctional facility in your town? Is there something
you can do to help the inmates?
The
list goes on and on. It is only limited by your imagination!
And,
don't forget the international aspect. As we all know, there are needs all
over this world. (personal testimonial regarding the Ambassadorial Scholarship
program).
So,
that winds up my comments. I do want to invite all of you to grab your families
and friends and come up to Cleveland to see the Tall Ships (they'll be in
port July 9th through the 13th). How little or much our club will be involved
with the event remains to be seen, but those ships are an awesome sight that,
for whatever reason, just seem to fascinate people! Please come and visit
us on Ohio's Northcoast.
Thank
you for your attention.