"Knowing how to read and write can transform a person's life. These basic skills, which so many of us take for granted, can mean a job, an income, and hope for a better future for those who are struggling to break the cycle of poverty. That's why Rotary has focused on promoting literacy for more than two decades, and why The Rotary Foundation has provided millions of dollars to support literacy projects.

March is Literacy Month on the Rotary calendar, a time to consider what your club could be doing to boost literacy rates in your community and in communities around the globe. In parts of our world, less than 30 percent of the population can read and write. Many of those people are women and girls who have few opportunities for education and who then cannot teach their own children to read. Even in wealthy countries, you'll find substandard schools that are failing to adequately teach basic skills and far too many adults who cannot read or write well enough to function effectively in society.

Our Foundation's Humanitarian Grants Program is at work throughout the world helping many disparate groups gain life-changing literacy skills. Foundation grants are providing books, school supplies, computers, and other educational equipment. With Foundation support, clubs are adopting failing schools and helping them to thrive and developing programs using the concentrated language encounter method that has proven so effective in Thailand and many other countries.

Literacy opens doors to employment and economic security. Let's use our Foundation resources to provide that essential key. "

We are writing to advise you of the dates for this year's Rotary Youth Leadership Camp and to provide you with some brochures and information to assist you in finding candidates for your Club to sponsor.

Last week Tom Henderson was presented with an OBE by the Queen in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Click the link for full report and picture - http://www.shelterbox.org/news.php?id=279 

Apparently there has been some problems with getting hotel reservations at the Red Lion Inn for the district Conference in May.  We have signed contracts with two hotels so that we could get a good rate for our Rotarians.  The two hotels that we selected are the Hilton Garden Inn and the Red Lion Inn, Kennewick.  Both are good hotels and will meet your needs.  We are obligated to fill a certain number of these rooms in our contract so we hope that you will utilize these hotels for your stay.  The links for these hotels can be found by clicking on the district conference on the right side of the page and then when the conference web page comes up, there will be a box on the left with links.  Click on either hotel to reach the hotel web site and put in the dates.  Be sure and enter the Group Code:  ROTA0519 in the Red Lion special fare box.  You can also reach the Red Lion website with the link: Rotary District 5080 Annual Convention    Hope that this will help you in your planning for the conference

ShelterBox Responds to Chile Earthquake

International disaster relief charity ShelterBox is responding to the 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake. An initial ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is currently preparing to mobilize with two SRT members from the UK and one from the US.

Here's an interesting piece that you might actually like to copy and use yourself as a tag in your e-mails.  The incoming Chairman of Pacific Northwest PETS, Dick Elixman developed it ands has posted it on YouTube.  Have a look:

Interested in Serving Others? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQUEjv7ShSs

In addition to the main video, there are several others that you could grab and show at a club meeting - instead of having the membes listen to you (again) with your 1-minute speech about membership or Rotary history. :)  Seriously - it's great and may be just what you've been looking for in your club's PR work.

101st Annual Rotary International ConventionMontréal, Canada  20-23 June 2010

Early registration closed Dec. 15 but there's still time to save !Where else can you learn, be inspired, and have fun, but at the annual Rotary International Convention!

Register and reserve rooms online or by fax: www.rotary.org/conventionLearn!With 50 planned breakout sessions and 40 interactive discussion groups, you will be able to receive:leadership training, sharpen your skill set, updates about Rotary programs and The Rotary Foundation,in-depth presentations on topics such as Malaria, Interact, Membership development and more!

Course offerings for Part 2 are now in the works.  Look at the Site Pages for RLI - at the left of the home page for details.

Four very successful session of Rotary Leadership Insitute Part 1 have now been held in different regions of our district.  We are now considering when and where we will offer Part 2 sessions.  If you have taken Part 1 and have a particular wish to see a Part 2 offered in your area on a certain date, please contact your District Trainer with the request at advis@shaw.ca and we'll see what we can do.

For those that missed out on Part 1...read on.....

For all you computer fans...want to find where a Rotary District is in the world?  Check out this website -originally constructed by and for the use of Youth Exchange people:  www.rotary-yep.org

Sometimes there will be a problem using certain browsers, but be patient.  It's really cool.