We’ve been working on a number of great projects throughout the last couple of months, and we’re excited to get them off the ground! The club met today at Panera Bread in Middletown, as we do on the first Saturday of every month. We were very grateful that in addition to our dedicated membership, we also had a fresh face join us as well. We are always looking for new members so that we can be the most effective as possible in serving our community. If you, or anyone you know is interested in learning what we’re all about, feel free to send us an e-mail, comment here, check out our facebook page,  or come to a meeting!

Here are some of the exciting projects we have going on right now:

-We’re working on getting involved to help out at St. Margaret’s soup kitchen in Middletown. We’ll be going every 5th Sunday to help prep, serve, and clean up.

-We’re also planning a blood drive on April 9th at The Galleria at Crystal Run in Middletown. The New York Blood Center has agreed to donate a $5 Starbucks gift card to anyone who signs up in advance, so let us know if you definitely plan on coming. You can RSVP by e-mailing us at Middletownrotaract@yahoo.com.

-We’re currently selling delicious smelling candles in order to raise money so that we can help the community as much as possible!

-We want to work with the City of Middletown to build a dog park in the community. This project is still in its infancy, but we hope we can get it of the ground soon!

The meeting today was very productive, and it feels great to help our community grow and flourish! We may be a small group, but we’re growing, and we’re very enthusiastic about our mission.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

-Margaret Mead

Shauna has also set us up on Meetup.com. We’re trying to get our name out in the community more and recruit some new members. Sign up and join us! We’ll be keeping our meetings and events updated on there rather than the website.

We attended seminars on a number of things that will help our club out, including: leadership skills; public relations; fundraising; and international projects. The trade show floor, the “House of Friendship,” provided us with many ideas for future projects as well. We also made friends with a Rotaract chapter in Scranton, PA, which was amusing considering the fact people were there from all around the world. Who knew we’d find a club similar to our own who reside a mere 1.5 hours away?

One major thing I realized this weekend was just how much Rotaract is capable of. We watched presentations on chapters that won service project awards, which included things such as clean water education in foreign countries; literacy awareness; and relief programs. We also listened to a presentation by Ramesh Ferris, polio survivor, who has been working across Canada to promote Polio awareness and raise funds for vaccines. He received a resounding standing ovation as he walked to the podium with help of his crutches.

In all, the preconvention was a great experience and the things we learned will greatly help our little club expand and do greater things. I’m already itching to register for next year’s convention in New Orleans.

I didn’t take too many photos this weekend, but what I did can be found on our Flickr page.

President: Shauna Varela
Vice President: Angela Zurlo
Treasurer: Dan Fitzpatrick
Secretary: Anne Campbell

At some point our website will be updated as well, including the upcoming events page. We have some good stuff planned, so stay tuned.

We did fairly well with our own raffle; part of the proceeds from the event will go toward aid for Haiti. Also, big thanks to Wal-mart for their gift card donation to our raffle, and those members involved in preparing for the event. And as always, thanks to Rotary for letting us tack onto their events. Rotaract may have big ideas, but it’s the help from Rotary that puts those ideas into action.

The walk is an annual tradition of our Rotaract chapter and something we always look forward to participating in. It’s fun (even in the rain!) and the money goes toward a good cause. I never grow weary of seeing the mass number of people that participate, knowing that we’re all there for the same important reason.

Because of this, finding new members is difficult. Our group is based in my hometown and, from what I’ve seen, most people our age leave town as soon as they can. Many leave for college and don’t return. And of those that do, we’re so busy with other things (working, social lives, et al) that volunteerism isn’t the priority it should be. So the question is… how do you recruit?

Where do the Rotaract-types hang out? Since we’re not a college-based group, we have to go into the community and find them. But where? And how do we make our group appealing?

Membership is the most difficult goal of any group; it’s never-ended. People will constantly come in and leave (more so the latter) and, with Rotaract, eventually graduate. We have to somehow keep membership at the top of the priority list, coming up with new ways to recruit. But where do we start?

The presentation was fantastic and emotional. Rotaplast provides free reconstructive surgery for the underprivileged with cleft pallets & lips. We saw the “before” shots, the majority of which are children, and how happy they were in the “after” photos. It takes our district at least two years to raise the funds to send a group of volunteers, between medical funds, food, and lodging. I think I speak for everyone when I say she did a great job presenting the importance of this organization.

Not to get ahead of myself, but I see our club doing what we can to contribute to this cause. It’s easy to say “I want to help the world,” but it’s not until you see the photos and hear stories that you understand that people everywhere have needs, and it motivates you to want to help them out. Like the saying goes, every little bit counts.

How do you encourage people to participate? To reach out into the community and get people to come? It’s certainly more difficult with a small group. If we had fifty members, 10% showing up would be pretty good. But with only ten members, that 10% isn’t so good anymore.

The age group is also difficult, with us starting to really build our lives, most of us post-college, and experiencing many of life’s big changes. But we somehow have to appeal to the majority, both within and outside the group. It’s no fun when you get excited over things and end up scraping for participants just so it feels like your hard work didn’t go to waste.

http://twitter.com/MWERotaract

Be sure to follow us and keep up with what we’re up to

Speaking of technology, we’re also on flickr. We have been for some time, but we only have one contact (ie, our president, also known as the one who set the account up) so add us as a contact there as well!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/middletownrotaract

And as always, our website is fairly regularly updated, so there’s no way to miss out on what we’ve been up to and what’s coming up in the future.