Fred Sowerby announced that the June 26th meeting will be held in the Santa Catalina Room, in the same room as today’s meeting.
Fred also said that several members are in arrears with their financial commitments to the club and urged everyone to get current. Contact him if you have any questions.
Jim brought up an issue that was discussed at the recent board meeting relative to the financial constraints of the operating budget of the club, not the foundation. One way to alleviate it would be to bring in more advertising sponsors for the Bulletin and the website. Members are urged to solicit sponsors from businesses they patronize.
Jim also mentioned that the project of the Tucson area clubs to attract more Rotary members city-wide has not been successful. The project involved mailing out flyers with all the clubs listed. There are a lot of flyers left and they were divided up among the various clubs so Jim is wondering what we can do with ours.
Rick Simpson told us about Goshen Ministries International. With headquarters in Tucson, it was started by Bigimba Ngabo who came to the United States in 2006. He was born in the Congo but escaped to Burundi because of violence and killing in his village which left many orphan children. Over time, the organization has moved to Rwanda and then Uganda because of unsettled conditions. The organization began by creating homes for children but now also using churches as community centers, supporting widows and single mothers, establishing micro business enterprises, and in February of 2018 establishing Goshen Junior Academy. Five Goshen Academy students are now in college and one has graduated from St. Lawrence University in Kampala. The Rotary Club in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018 donated funds for school uniforms for children before they had to move to Uganda.