District 7780, our local clubs and members together are making significant impact all around the world. Check out some of the matching grant activity that our resources, expertise and passion are committed to making a difference in this Rotary year.

China Water Project, India Water Project, Guatemala Literacy Project, Crutches 4 Africa and JADA water project in Nigeria, hearing aids, hands and water filters for the Dominican Republic, vocational school equipment, container and shipping to Haiti, and a separate grant for a generator, pump, water storage tank and solar panels for a village and vocational school also in Haiti.

Rotary is fortunate to have many long-time members – members for whom Rotary meetings and activities are a way of life.  Rotary also has many members who knew Rotary from childhood – because their fathers were Rotarians before them.

Now, all Long-Hauler Rotarians (defined as those who have been Rotarians for 20 years or longer – meaning they joined our ranks on or before 1992, when Mort Schmidt was our District Governor and Cliff Dochterman was Rotary International President) and multi-generational Rotarians are invited to a special luncheon hosted by the Portland Club.  It will take place at a “regular” Portland meeting, Friday, May 10, at 12:15 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland.

Our Group Study Exchange of professionals who work with special needs children and youth is working to prepare for their trip to Nigeria in April.  While in-country, they will work in schools and other facilities and support a Matching Grant to bring clean water to a school for special-needs kids in the northern part of the country.

The team is under the leadership of Sheila Rollins, our District Governor Nominee Designate who is currently finishing up her Master’s in Mental Health Counseling.

This year, Rotarians from all over the world will meet in Lisbon, Portugal from June 23-26 for fellowship, a better understanding of the international scope of Rotary, and a lot of fun.  If you’ve been to a conference, you know the energy and the passion of the people you meet - all good Rotarians wanting to make the world a better place.  You remember the inspiring speakers:  notables such as Bill Gates, Queen Noor, and Muhammed Yunas.  And you remember “ordinary” Rotarians passionately relating their experiences with Rotary - how the Rotary community came together after Hurricane Katrina, how Rotarians are changing lives in Africa by providing clean water, and how Rotarians are working to give young gang members in South America an alternative path to life.