November is Rotary Foundation Month.  This is the month many clubs do their foundation giving drive.  I want to encourage every member of the district to contribute this year.  EREY (every Rotarian every year) is a goal we have set for all the clubs.  For as little as $25.00 (the cost of one club meal) you can help us meet this goal.  The Rotary Foundation has funded a lot of grants around the world, including in this district, to help battle Covid – 19.  We need to give back to have the foundation remain healthy.  Thanks in advance for giving to the foundation.

 

This past month the District continued to be very busy.  On October 10 and 11, we had the virtual Fall Leadership Conference.  Members from the District Interact clubs got together for their annual kick off to the year.

 

On October 17^th we had the Avenues of Service.   It was a really great program.  Heidi Kuhn's Roots of Peace presentation was incredible.  There was also a lot to visit in the project fair.  If you missed it, you missed a great program but you can still catch it on the district website.  A big Thank You to Mitty Chang and his team for putting this together.

 

There was a joint meeting of the First Five Rotary Clubs on October 7^th.  They are working collectively on the homeless issue.  The guest speaker was Jennifer Jones, RI President for 2022-23.

 

We also continued the monthly Zoom to Learn presentation on October 28 with a session on club insurance and risk management - What is covered and what you need to think about to protect your club.  Thanks to District Trainer Tim Lundell for organizing the training.

 

And we will not be slowing down. 

 

The Rotary Virtual Institute will be taking place November 12 to 14.  This is a unique opportunity to attend this training.  This training is available to all Rotarians and because it is virtual, the cost is very reasonable.  To get more information, visit https://zone2627.org/2020-rotary-institute/

 

On November 5^th the Oakland Rotary Club is hosting a business expo, Shop Rotary.

 

The December 5^th Zoom to Learn program will be on leadership.  The presenter will be John Lipp, Executive Director of Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter.  He presents leadership skills and fundraising ideas in an informative and entertaining way.

 

On December 9^th at 9 a.m., RI President Holger Knaack will be addressing the district at a very special meeting of the Cupertino Club.

 

The District Conference will be on May 15^th at Gilroy Gardens.  Mark your calendar for this fun event.  More information will be coming out soon.

 

The Rotary Convention is June 12 – 16 in Taipei.  Sign up now for the lowest price.  To register for the convention follow this link RI Convention.

 

Thanks for all you do, keep up the great work and stay healthy!

 

Gregg

 

This mid-year has been a tough start for the Rotaract clubs in District 5170. All the clubs are active and are successfully enduring the pandemic through strategic planning and resilience. One club that should be mentioned is the Rotaract Club of Gavilan College. The club has just recently been chartered In the midst of the pandemic. They have opened donation drives, set up a GoFundMe page for the wildfire victims, as well as participated in creek clean ups. The club is founded and led by Jennifer Bautista, who was inspired after talking to Rotarians at a service event called Be the March. From that day, she set out to open a Rotaract club within her college. Ever since then, she and her board consisting of Niki Bliar, Ashely Vazquez, Norma Delgado, and Norma Sanchez are actively helping their community; We welcome Rotaract Club of Gavilan College in the district.