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Speakers
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Jun 19, 2013
Saving the Planet
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Jun 26, 2013
Phil Henry's Demotion-It's Finally Over!
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Jul 03, 2013
NO MEETING: PRE--INDEPENDENCE DAY
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Jul 10, 2013
THE ROTARY YEAR AHEAD1
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Jul 17, 2013
Berkeley's Historical Heritage-The Importance of Streetcars
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Jul 24, 2013
It's All About Music and Benefit Concerts!
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View entire list...
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| Jun 11, 2013 Our speakeer at our June 19th meeting will be John Knox, the Executive Director of the Earth Island Institute. From their Oscar-winninng documentaryto the 60+ startups they nurture and support, to theirAnn Brower Youth Awards, Earth Island Institute has been growing environmental advocacy for over 30 years. John will tell us their fascinating story.
| | Jun 05, 2013 Our Monday meeting on June 17th will again be Gather's Bar, at the corner of Allston and Oxford, from 5:30-6:30 pm. We'll try to reserve the back half of the bar with the option of overflow into the patio, as we have our recent meetings. We will continue to meet there the lst and 3rd Mondays of the month through June, unless our website and newsletter say otherwise. | | Jun 10, 2013 After many months of planning, design, and construction, Berkeley Rotary completed the building and installation on June 9th of a requested playhouse/storage facility at Through the Looking Glass, the nonprofit in the Ed Roberts Center serving families with autistic children. | | May 11, 2013 Our club's third team returned after May 9th finishing our three-week work in effort in the La Penita rural area of Mexico, rebuilding parts of two schools and a community facility in partnership with the Mexican Rotary clubs in the region. Some 35 Rotarisns and friends have gone to the area working long days. This is the club's 4th major project effort in Mexico in this region We have close working relationships with the local Rotary clubs and the citizens of the area, and continue to work there annually. It's also an easier and less expensive destination for newer members to go to, joining our teams. Our projects in Africa, Latin American, Vietnam, Nepal and India are more difficult for most members to travel to do hands-on work. | | May 15, 2013 Berkeley Rotary awarded the Dalai Lama our annual Peace Prize., with recognition in the Rotary Peace Grove in Tilden Park on May 15th. . The Tibetan- and Himilayan-American communities joined us after the luncheon for the moving ceremony in the Peace Grove. Some 60+ attended the ceremony in the Grove, among the largest ceremonies in attendance in recent decades. Even more were at the earlier lunch. The Dalai Lama appointed a locally based spokesperson to receive the award, and sent a personal message by staff that was read at the event. | | May 27, 2013 Our club's Endowment-supported projects this year included the unique play being performed in Richmond based on the public book used in the schools there about life and what it is like to grow up in the tough Iron Triangle part of the city. Rotary sought to turn out most Richmond youth to attend the play, which is professionally staged at Richmond's new cultural center and which has a powerful message of hope and conviction that young people can take control of their lives and transform their community. All six performances sold out, the critical reviews were highly favorable, and the play received much praise from Richmond's community leaders. | | May 03, 2013 The fundraiser for the Richmond Rotacare clinic staged at the Freight and Salvage, and featuring Lacy J. Dalton, on May 2nd, raised over $11,500 for the pharmaceuticals, X-rays, and blood tests for the patients at the new free clinic serving the uninsured. This was the first ever fundraiser for the group of I-80 corridor Rotary clubs, and our club was pleased to help take the lead. The funds will be part of a matching grant to Rotary District 5160, which if won will match the monies contributed 2:1. The Rotacare clinic was established by the Rotary clubs working in partnership with Brighter Beginnings, a social service nonprofit, and opened its doors as a free clinic for the medically uninsured in February of this year. The facility was planned and developed at the request of the Health Department of Contra Costa County to Rotary. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jun 09, 2013
On June 20th, CalCorps and the City will kickoff the city's summer literacy program for Berkeley K-5 youth. Berkeley Rotary has financed the books read by the youth the last few years and our leaders will distribute the books that day. The program seeks to sustain the reading skills over the long summer which the students developed during the school year, and has been found one of the most successful in the nation. It was honored in a White House ceremony on National Community Service Day, just as our New Orleans school rebuilding project was honored the prior year. It's a moving program to observe, and any Rotarian wanting to observe and help in the distribution can do so. President Phil Henry, PEN O'Neil Dillon, and our Youth and Education Committee Chair Irene Heggarty will represent the club in distributing the books and probably saying something about Rotary. See the details below. | | Posted by Grier Graff on Jun 04, 2013
After many work days, the playhouse/storage area for the autistic kids served by Through the Looking Glass has been installed on the second floor of the Ed Roberts Center. The final work day for painting some strips at the base of the facility was called for the afternoon of Jun 5th, after the Rotary luncheon. With that day, the project is now completed. Thanks to all the Rotarians and Rotaracters who have come out for one or more work days, and especially for the heavy lifters who worked many days over many weeks: Ed Church, O'Neil Dillon, Grier Graff, Phil Henry, and Tom Reed, among others. Ed Church originally brought the proposal to do the facility to the club. And thanks again to Josh Oliver, for lending us a warehouse for the work effort. | | Posted by Philip Henry on Jun 15, 2013
Pres. Phill announced that there will be no Wed. lunch meeting on July 3, noting that many members will be needing to get briefed that day on our big service project on July 4th, managing the parking for the city's fireworks display. The City asked us to do this because of our effectiveness in doing similar work for the Kite Festival. We'll make some money for projects while doing it, but without our doing it, the fireworks - which 10,000 attend - might have been cancelled. To be sure, Pres Phil cited some other reasons too for cancelling July 3's lunch - the new Pres Grier will still be in Europe and Pres Phil will still be recovering from demotion and too weak to chair another meeting, etc. We've been reminding all members, but hopefully the many new members, in E-Rev the last few weeks to keep your dates of July 4 and July 27-28 open for the club's biggest community service and also fundraising projects of the year. Many more bodies are needed on the July 27 and 28 dates.We provide a valuable service to some 40,000 each year in our managing the parking and arranging the transit for the Kite Festival at the end of July; without us, the Festival would probably have to be canceled. We need all hands on deck for these events, though fewer with the July 4th event. It's tiring, but highly rewarding with the sense of satisfaction, the camaraderie of working together under pressure, and the contagious glee of the expectant kids going with parents to the event and later of the same tired kids coming back to the parking lot talking about all the fun they had. You'll also get to work side by side with East Bay Rotaracters and with Cal Rotaracters; seek to learn the difference between the two groups and get captured by their youthful enthusiasm to improve the world. The Kite Festival makes the most money of our projects each year by farfor our other service projects. Please try to avoid traveling on those weekends, so that you're in town to help. We know it's not always possible, and will understand if you have to be away. But we will need many, many workers on those days - and a smaller number on the set-up days prior to the events. | | Posted by Philip Henry on Jun 17, 2013
June is our club's month in the first round of Rotary clubs taking their turns feeding the volunteer doctors, nurses, and workers at the Rotocare Clinic in Richmond. Cal Rotaract prepared and delivered the took the first week. Then Board members took turns in securing and delivering the food, with Anne Pardee doing double duty. Thanks to Chris Ahoy, Jackie Hammond, Jim Masters, Anne Pardee, Michael Roberts, and Bruce Willock, and others who helped them, for taking charge of the feeding. Our club will normally do the feeding 2 or a maximum of three months a year. The costs are in our Endowment-funded project budget. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jun 11, 2013
OK, it proved infeasible for you go on the hands-on project this year in Mexico fixing up schools and facilities. We normally do the big project every other year. BUT there will be a planning group going to Mexico in 2013-14 to plan the next big project there. And the club is helping fund other Rotary projects abroad on which you could go if interested - India, Nepal, Kenya, Tanzania, and the next Governor's project in Africa. BARSHEEP clubs curing 2013-14 will again be doing plrojects in Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, the Phillipines, probably Vietnam and Haiti. There's always the opportunity to do Polio Plus work in Pakistan and Nigeria with teams (though a little riskier than other projects.) You can also check out other clubs' projects across the District (via the District website) or across the world (via RI website). Most will let someone paying their own way join. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Feb 15, 2013
The World Health Organization reported to the annual training program for incoming District Governors last week that the campaign to eliminate polio has been progressing quickly in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, in spite (or maybe because) of the violence directed at polio vaccination workers during the past year. Bruce Alward, the WHO director of the Polio Plus effort, actually reported thought there was a decent chance that 2013-14 might prove the first year without any report of polio. (It would take three years of no cases to certify the elimination of polio.) This seems at first incredibly optimistic given the killings of nine Pakistani vaccinators this past year, the killings of vaccinators in Afghanistan last year, and the new deaths of eleven vaccinators this past 4-day National Immunization effort in Nigeria. Some of the explanation of how progress is accelerating in the midst of expanding violence is summarized below. What is true, what is hope, what is spin, we don't know. But it's clear that blood as well as money and work are proving needed to finish the elimination of polio. | | Posted by Irene Hegarty on May 03, 2013
The Berkeley Interact Club continues with its Head Start Garden Box project. With a grant from Berkeley Rotary, the club has built garden boxes and installed them at the South Berkeley Head Start site. The teens are now working with the preschoolers. They initially read to the children about gardening and how plants grow, lead them in an art project, fill the boxes with dirt, and plant seeds in peat moss cups. In May the Interacters been returingn to help the preschoolers plant the seedlings into the boxes and do another garden-related project. Berkley Rotarians are needed to provide transportation of the Interacters.The Interacters and the Head Start staff are very excited about this project, which enriches the curriculum for the preschoolers and builds new friendships between the teens and the little ones. More Rotary volunteers? Please let me know if you might be available. Click here to send an email to me at hegarty@berkeley.edu. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on May 01, 2013
Cal Rotaract has taken the lead in organizing a UC "Green Day" on April 28th, turning out 104 volunteers to do environmental cleanup at six different sites around Berkeley. Three to four Rotaracters directing the effort at each site. The sites include the Tilden Park merry-go-round area, John Hinkel Park, various Berkeley paths connecting open space areas between homes (working with Berkeley Pathhandlers), the Schoolhouse Creek Commons near the marina in West Berkeley, Aquatic Park, and the Broadway Pollinator Park in Oakland. This was another example of the campus using Cal Rotaract to help organize student activities, not just Rotaracters. | | Posted by O'Neil Dillon on Apr 14, 2013
On April 13 and 14, Cal Rotract attracted some 55+ Ineracters from across the state to spend the weekend at Cal to learn what going to college is going to be as an experience. The goal is to persuade Interacters that college is worthwhile as an investment and commitment, and also fun. Besides the panels, campus tours, and social events, the Rotaracters and Interacters combined to do a major service project in Oakland working with a MacArthur BART neighborhood on cleanup, with some help from Rotarians' tools. More on the weekend below.
| | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Dec 26, 2012
Our club-supported Summer BUILD project was among the main program highighted by the White House in honoring Cal's Center for Public Service on the national Honor List of groups doing community service. This is the same national program which a year ago honored the New Orleans Rotary Club and our club-supported project rebuilding Warren Easton High School. See below for some details, including the evaluation of the impact of our Summer BUILD project that seeks to sustain the literacy gains of K-3 students in our public schools. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Mar 26, 2013
Berkeley Rotarians take pride in the work of the Berkeley Art Center and our public schools that underlay the exhibition of the best student art this year. We are proud to have sponsored the first such exhibition, and to have done so again this year. The Berkeley Times in its cover photo and article, with several pages of additional photos and more story inside the issue, gave high praise to the "Best of Berkeley Public School Students' Art", the Rotary-supported exhibit at the Berkeley Art Center. Check out the Feb. 21 issue. The Center is located at 1275 Walnut Street in Live Oak Park. | | Posted on Apr 09, 2013
So what kinds of service opportunities are there in Berkely Rotary. We review below the opportunities available to members from Jan, 2013 on in Berkeley Rotary. | | Posted by Robert Randall on Jun 12, 2013
At our June 12th lunch meeting, the speaker was Prof. Emeritus Sandy Muir of the Political Science Dept. at Cal, long one of Cal's most popular teachers and a frequent popular speaker at Rotary in the past. His topic this time was "Alexis De Tocqueville: The First Rotarian." Prof. Muir spent 30 years at Cal as a Professor in the Poli. Sci. Dept with adjunct responsibilities as a consultant for the Ronald Reagan for Governor campaign, speechwriter for VP George Bush, and Campaign Writer for Gov. Pete Wilson. He graduated Magna cum Laude from Yale in 1954 and was the author "Legislature:California's School of Government". | | Posted by Robert Randall on Jun 05, 2013
Our speaker at our June 5th Wednesday meeting was Rotarian Dr. Dennis Hacker, discussing "The Wonderful World of Bonsai". an avocation to which he brings much passion and developed expertise. His talk was of such high quality that he received the first standing ovation of the Rotary year for the talk. He had brought a dozen or more of his 54 plants at home to the club so that he could illustrate better the different types of bonsai and the differences in their care. He described with wit and clarity the nature of bonsai and how the plant is kept small, how to repot regularly and maintain the plants. how to shape plants, the problems in providing the right amount of water and light, protecting plants against the wind and changes in temperature, and many other practical though technical concerns. He clearly hooked a number of members, at least briefly, to give a plant a try. Dennis did concede that while you learn, a lot of your plants die. You need a plant-sitter if you ever want to leave town to provide the ongoing maintenance. Given 54 plants, Dennis estimates he has to give 54 hours of care to them each month while running his veternarian practice, doing Rotary and his other groups (including his bonsai club involvements). He also conceded that his skill, patience, and delight in working with small animals in surgery and care greatly helped his skills in shaping and maintaining bonsai, with the frequent need to cut back roots or replant. A key factor in keeping the plant small is to keep the plant box small. But putting together the right box, soil, fertilizer, etc is a major challenge in itself and varies with each plant. | | Posted by Robert Randall on May 29, 2013
Our speaker at our May 29th lunch meeting was John Bui, the President of Cal Rotaract, who presented "An Overview of Cal Rotaract" with emphasis on why they have grown and sustained that growth. Cal Rotaract, one of the two Rotaract clubs sponsored by Berkeley Rotary, has become the largest Rotaract club in the world with its 270 plus members as well as the largest student organization on the Berkeley campus. Our other sponsored Rotaract club is East Bay Rotaract for post-college young adults up to age 30.
| | Posted by Maxim Schrogin on May 15, 2013
Berkeley Rotary presents its annual Peace Prize to the Dalai Lama on May15th, beginning with a large luncheon fete, followed by ceremonies in the Peace Grove in the Tilden Grove. The attendance in the Peace Grove was over 60 people, making that part of the ceremonies the best attended in a decade or more.
| | Posted by Robert Randall on Apr 10, 2013
At our Wednesday April 10th meeting, the Global Vocational Exchange Team team from Kenya, that is here as part of the District Governor's Kenya Smiles project this summer in Kenya, addressed the club. The project was first described by District Governor Laura Day and the District's coordinator for the project, Dr. Sheila Hurst. Then each team member described their own dental practice roles, how their work is being affected by the project, and provided some personal information about their families. The visiting team consists of the national minister for dental health responsible for all government activity and policy, the head of the national Kenya professional dental association, the chair/dean and faculty of the country's dental schools,two owners of chains of dental clinics in Kenya,and other high ranking professional leaders. Two of the six are currently Rotarians and two others had to hold off joining Rotary to stay eligible for the team coming to the U.S. The summer project seeks to transform preventive dental practices of families and youth, and is being monitored by several other African countries for adoption there if it succeeds.To view the District Flyer for this visit, CLICK HERE. | | Posted by Philip Henry on Dec 12, 2012
The Berkeley City Council at its Dec. 11th Council meeting passed a unanimous resolution thanking Berkleley Rotary for its service to the local and international community and particularly for its 10 years of distributing dictionaries to all 3rd graders in the city schools. President Phil Henry accepted the tribute, accompanied by Pamela and Roy Doolan. Pamela has been the organizer of the dictionary program since its onset. The full language of the Council proclamation is below.
| | Posted by Mac Lingo on Apr 16, 2013
With the large inflow of new members, we periodically remind members of the business directory, so they have the option of listing their businesses. All Barsheep Rotarians (that's you!) are entitled to list their businesses for FREE on the BBS - Barsheep Business Directory. Use the BBS to shop for Rotarians who may offer the product or service you're seeking. They're all pledged to the four-way test as ethical businesses. The new URL is
| | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jan 18, 2013
The story below comes from the Rotary International newsletter of Jan. 18, 2013, and summarizes the talk given to the RI Assembly of Governors by the lead World Health Organization (WHO) overseer of its efforts to eliminate polio. Our newsletter has consistently covered the latest news on Polio Plus - good and bad. The most recent stories concerned the violence. Nonetheless, WHO says Rotary is key to winning the war on polio. | | Posted by O'Neil Dillon on Apr 16, 2013
Our club worked with Cal Rotaract's Vocational Development committee and and held a medical panel on 4/12 on campus. 12 Rotaracters attended with many good questions and important issues coming up. The panelists were Drs John Debenham, Marcia Dillon, O'Neil Dillon and Caroline Schreiber (a young Family Practitioner currently in practice). The medical practices represented were Orthopedic Surgery, Sports Medicine, Family Practice, Adult and Child Psychiatry, Tropical Medicine and Young Adult Medicine. Dr. Schreiber was especially informative about current issues of practice, admission issues, etc. She will do this next year and bring along other MD's in practice. We all offered continued contact for any Rotaracter wishing to do so, with the Rotaract Committee chairs contacting me. John Debenham offered to take Rotaracters to the Medical School program at UCB in which he teaches. | | Posted by Maxim Schrogin on Feb 06, 2013
Last week, members got to read some of our Peace Commitee's chair Max Schrogin's observations from attending the Peace Symposium RI staged in Hawaii in January. The Peace Symposium in Honolulu passed a "Peace Declaration/Resolution" that should be of interest to all. Read the resolution on the link below. Download the declaration | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Nov 20, 2012
The annual packing of 250 turkey food baskets for the city's most disadvantaged families was held on Tuesday, Nov 20, from 6:30-9:00 am It normally draws 17 Rotarians, family and friends, 40 or more Cal Rotaracters, 3 East Bay Rotaracters, some Interactors, and many other groups. Because of the rain, the food had to be transferred inside the Police Headquarters for sorting out and packing into boxes for families. The crampled space inherently creates some inefficiency, but this group this year responded quickly and effectively to all hassles. This event is staged by Berkeley Boosters and the Police Dept. but from the outset has depended on Rotary's financial help and volunteeers. (Indeed Rotary helped set up Boosters to assist the Police Dept. years back). There are currently no plans for a Holiday season distribution of turkey baskets in December this year due to major falloffs in fundraising with some non-Rotary donors. Were it not for Rotary's funding, the number of turkey baskets distributed for Thanksgiving might have been only half the level of previous years. Police Chief Michael Meehan at our Nov. 7th lunch meeting praised our club for its long and stable support of this Berkeley tradition since its inception. Club members have been working with the Board of Berkeley Boosters since we discovered their shortfall, suggesting additional businesses and groups to approach and other strategies; some of the food chains that originally said no, reconsidered and made possible a bigger distribution than was thought feasible even a week prior. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Dec 20, 2012
Club members will recall the talk by J.D. Waring at a club lunch meeting a few months back. Warring is the designated leader of Rotary International's effort to get Rotary legalized again in Myanmar (old Burma). Over the year since our Peace Committee and the club chose to honor the Myramar leader Aung Sung Su Kyi in the Peace Grove, the Peace Committee and especially its chair Maxim Scroggin have been working with the Burmese-American community, RI, schools in Myanmar and Thailand, and Rotary clubs in Thailand to examine the feasibility of doing a project in Myanmar/Burma. Because Rotary is outlawed in that country, there are no local Rotary partners there with which to work, and thus no prospects for the usual matching grants from the Global and District funding process. It was the clearly desire of RI that all Rotary efforts there be in support of providing water supply and storage systems to orphanages in Burma, a humanitarian effort in which RI has secured after much effort the support of the military government. Warring's visit was in part to check us out and bring us "in line." Warring has now invited Maxim to be a spokesman for the Myanmar efforts in District 5160, and District Governor Laura Day has given her support and offered to publicize Maxim as a speaker across the District. Hats off to Maxim and to the Peace Committee for once again taking leadership in Rotary efforts to help make change and bring about peace in those few areas of the world where Rotary is still forbidden by law. Our club vision calls for us to be a "model Rotary club in a University town" and what could be more in line with the expectations of a University town like Berkeley. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Dec 01, 2012
 The Downtown Business Association again has asked Rotary help and we have responded by finding an avuncular exemplar of holiday cheer to play the role of Santa at the annual lighting of the city's holiday tree in the park behind City Hall. Failing to persuade Rotarians more built for the part in their current physique, the club turned to a reliable but trim slim Rotarian to put on the Santa uniform, the better to illustrate good living styles to the kids. Club thank you's to O'Neil Dillon for his high spirits and good performance at the tree lighting last Friday, Nov. 30th. Fortunately, the heavy rain held off until the lighting was done. Santa O'Neil reports adults as well as the kids seemed enthusiastic to greet Santa.
| | Posted by Philip Henry on Oct 17, 2012
Berkeley Rotary's help was requested by the Berkeley Downtown Association of the business community to help make a success the first "Sunday Streets Berkeley" program on Oct. 14. Shattuck Avenue was closed off for the day from Haste south of University to Rose Street north of University. The street was filed with strollers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and skaters as a reported 30-40,000 people came out. The sidewalks were lined with booth, all being mounted by the local storefronts and by Berkeley non-profits. Our town's many music groups came out to participate - of all styles from folk/rock to classical. Outside vendors and groups - unlike the Solano Stroll and many street fairs - were not invited to participate. Berkeley Rotary did our best, working with our two Rotaract clubs, to respond - providing many traffic monitors to head traffic away from the closed off streets entering Shattuck Avenue, and mounting a Berkeley Rotary booth.
We used again successfully the tactic for drawing crowds we developed for the Solano Stroll booth: constructing, and explaining WAPIs (water purification indicators). It again drew kids with their parents, but this time many more young and older adults who were interested. We had handouts this time both about WAPIs and our club's overall service record. The booth was kept busy the whole days, often quite busy with at least three talking to different folks at all times. | | Posted by Michael Roberts on Nov 17, 2012
When our club member Michael Roberts throws a party, he knows how to do it really well. Saturday, Nov. 17th, is was Rotary Foundation Day at Golden Gate Fields. Over 530 tickets were purchased by Rotarians for the event which ran from 11 am to 6 pm. with the Race Track contributing a good percentage of the ticket price to the Rotary Foundaion. As Gov. Laura told many at the event, it's probably the largest Foundation fundraiser ever pulled off in the District, and thanks to Michael's hard work, our Berkeley club and the BARSHEEP got the kudos. The full public attending the Race Track had the chance to see exhibits of Rotary projects and learn about what we we do. Our club, Richmond, and Davis had exhibit boards out for the District to show off our many projects - the Race Track literacy program, Rotacare, dictionaries, etc. Members ate a sumptious roast beef buffet dinner (with other meat options) and had the chance to show off their talents in reading race forms or assessing horses. Our club's George Luna was one of the most popular Rotarians that day, both because he is such a naturally delightful guy and because people wanted his tips on betting and horses as a professional jockey and horse trainer. George even sought to put together a coalition of part-owners to buy a race horse for ongoing racing, with Rotarians from Berikeley, Winters, and other clubs saying "maybe." Some argued it probably had a better chance of raising money than putting one's funds into stocks and bonds.
| | Posted by Philip Henry on Sep 13, 2012
At the Solano Stroll on Sept. 9., our total parade group was far and way the largest Rotary group to date - c. 55 but coming down the street in two separate waves. Gov. Laura Day in a Miata was our parade leader. The Rotary booth was always full of families with their kids learning about WAPI, and we got 4 or more prospects out of the day. It remains for the BARSHEEP club presidents and the clubs to decide if it is worth doing again - the presidents do a lot of work planning it. Thanks to the many Berkeley Rotarians who came out for the parade and/or the booth, and to the other clubs who turned out many more people this year to help. The cities say the event now draws 200,000+ folks, making it the biggest event at which to try "public relations outreach". It's a great chance to tell the Rotary story. If you participated, advise President Phil whether you found it worthwhile thing for our club and the other clubs to do. At our talk to the club in the annual Governor's visit this past week, she actually called our Stroll parade and booth one of the most successful she has ever been to in the District!
| | Posted by Robert Randall on Feb 13, 2013
 Dr. Bob Sorenson and George Luna of our club made a joint presentation on "Providing Health Care to Guatemala's Underserved Population" at our Jan. 9th lunch meeting. For the last 20 years, Berkeley Rotary has supported the Hospital de la Familia, a local foundation that supports a hospital in a remote part of Guatemala. Medical/Surgical Teams make 5 scheduled visits to the village of Nuevo Progreso, Guatemala to perform much needed operations on the indigent population, many of Mayan descent. Our own Dr. Bob Sorenson, Ophthalmologist, has been traveling to Guatemala since 1978, and has been supporting the hospital in Nuevo Progreso since 1987. In recent years, Berkeley Rotary has sponsored fellow Berkeley Rotarian George Luna to join and support Bob's teams. Come hear about the recent work at the Hospital de la Familia on January 9th,from George and Bob. George Luna recently wrote an article in the Ultimas NOTICIAS pubilcation regarding Team Sorenson's trip to Guatemala | | Posted by Pat McMillan on Sep 17, 2012
Our club's Social Events Committee provided club members a unique experience: a Japanese Cultural Event . . . a Koto Concert performed by the East Bay Seiha Ensemble. Tea and Japanese cakes served by Japanese women in traditional Kimono Costumes. For those forgetting our earlier newsletter stories, a Koto concert is a musical presentation featuring accomplished Japanese Musicians performing on traditional and ancient Japanese musical instruments. These include the Koto (a thirteen stringed instrument); the Sangen (a stringed instrument traditionally played by the Geishas in old Kyoto, and the ancient wooden flute. The program featuresdMeditative Japanese compositions, Dramatic and stirring Japanese compositions and Western music adapted to these special instruments. Members' enthusiasm was evident in the more than 60 Rotarians and guests who showed up. The event was held on Sept 15th at the Berkeley Unified Methodist Church in late afternoon. A highlight was the appearance of many Rotarians in authentic traditional Japanese wear -Pat McMillan, Moe Orenstein, Mary Alice Rathun, Fumi Suzuki, and Katherine Wei. OK, Moe came in the garb of a Japanese fire captain, perhaps a fantasy wish few of us knew of. Thanks to Fumi Suzuki for conceiving and leading the effort to create this wonderful experience. We've put in attachments below musical pieces played with the instruments so those who didn't attend can get a little sense of the special sound.
| | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jul 29, 2012
 The news media has reported that 35,000 came to the Kite Festival this year, and once again Berkeley Rotary helped make it by working with Alta Bates Hospital Corporation to provide the transit, and by managing the parking. More than 150 shifts of 3-5 hours work were completed by Rotary and Rotaract volunteers, and this doesn't count the months of planning, the work sessions over recent weeks preparing signage, and the food preparation for the volunteers and the actual set up and take down of the banners, parking cones and signs this weekend. We are grateful to the more than 25 Rotaracters who came out from Cal Rotaract and East Bay Rotaract to assist us, often working multiple shifts. It appears that the club will have increased its fund-raising by 50% or more this year from the event; that data won't be forthcoming for awhile. Thanks yet again to Rick Betts, our overall coordinator and project leader, and to the many who helped him along the way and this weekend.
| | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Sep 13, 2012
All Berkeley Rotarians have the opportunity to be a mentor for a Cal Rotaracter. If interested, please contact Fred Collignon. We currently have some 35-40 Rotary volunteers for mentoring. It's exciting to be able to help a young future community and vocational leader in their field. Below we describe more about how mentoring works. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jul 27, 2012
Three hundred high schoolers whose schools were destroyed or closed by the quake and tsunami last year participated on 7/27 in an afternoon service project - The Great WAPI Build Project - led by Cal Rotaract, with Berkeley Rotary and East Bay Rotaract support. They built water pasteurization indicators (WAPI) for use in Third World rural areas. WAPI are used to assure those preparing food or water in Third World countries that the water is safe to drink or hot enough for cooking, and significantly conserve energy sources since users don't unnecessarily boil the water long than needed. Almost 500 WAPI were constructed, and another 100 are partially constructed and will be completed by Rotaract. Our club financed this effort and many Rotarians loaned hammers and wirecutteers for the effort, which is part of a two-week leadership program for these students at Cal, financed by the Tomodachi bank in Japan. Cal turned to Rotary to create a meaningful service experience for the youth.
| | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jun 25, 2012
We reported last issue that Pres. Reg Garcia, PE Phil Henry, and PEN Grier Graff - participated in the distribution of books to the hundreds of kids participating in the City's summer literacy program on Thursday, June 21. NOW we have photos of the event below.
| | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jul 13, 2012
Josh Oliver (Board) and Suzanne Tam (Director) from the Berkeley Arts Center on July 11th to describe how the Center's capital improvements are coming along, at our July 11th lunch meeting. Our club funded and gave the Center to the City of Berkeley as our 50th Anniversary project, and this year provided support to their capital improvements drive.
| | Posted by Anne Pardee on Jun 23, 2012
Accompaned by their families, the three winners were presented at our June 20th luncheon the 4-year scholarshlps that our club annually gives to students who might otherwise not be able to attend college without our help. Each student in turn thanked the club members and discussed their academic plans and vocational goals. The full report by the chair of our Scholarships Committee, Anne Pardee, is below. President Reg thanked Don Alter for his long leadership of our Scholarships effort and Anne for her effective filling in when Don became ill this year. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Jun 14, 2012
The BARSHEEP international project this year, supported by our club, was the commencement of a multi-year project in Ecuador aimed at the prevention and treatment of youth dental problems, based on the successful 5-year model implemented earlier by the El Sobrante Rotary club in El Salvador. The first year of the mission was completed this month, and the teams have recently returned. Read more below. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Aug 21, 2012
Our Berkeley club co-sponsored with San Francisco Rotary the Agent Orange symposium on the Cal campus this fall, in an effort to get more public attention to the continuing problems the Agent Orange usage is creating both in Vietnam and in the U.S. for the subsequent generations of those fighting or living there who had exposure. The immediate result was a RI-funded water project in Vietnam. A delegation to which any of our members could have joined, went to Vietnam, and discussions began in Vietnam on ending the banning of Rotary. Now there are more consequences. Dr. Charles M. Bailey, one of the plenary session speakers at the Symposium and now the Director of the Agent Orange national foundation, has just written those who attended the symposium of the success the publicity has had in getting more attention and funding for the problems. See his report below. Millions were appropriated by Congress this year for the first time for remediation of the problems around deserted army bases in Vietnam. An example of the news articles that usually ran on the front page of the media is also included below, though they don't acknowledge the role conceded by the Ford Foundation for generating this Congressional attention to the problems left behind by Agent Orange. | | Posted by Frederick Collignon on Mar 21, 2012
On March 16-17, 2012, the first ever Rotary International event was held in Berkeley - the annual meeting of REDI, RI's Disaster Preparedness conference. Districts across the U.S., the Carribbean, Canada, and Mexico sent representatives.
| | Posted by Reginald Garcia on Oct 27, 2011
Click HERE to read the article "Rotary Club Builds New Play Structure for Homless Kids" in BerkeleySide. Lots of good picture of people you know as well. Enjoy it. And thanks again to everyone who helped on this. Where would we be without your help?
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