$674.64 for Ghana thanks to Terry Fox Elementary School in Laval!

By now most of you must be done final exams and papers and I hope that they all went well! :)

On December 10, Grades 4L and 4SD of Terry Fox Elementary School in Laval, Quebec, organized a Dress Down Day in support of our project in Ghana. Each student brought in at least $1.00 so that they could wear clothes other than their uniform. They had great fun making announcements to the school and creating posters, and counting the change turned out to be a great math lesson! They raised a total of $674.63 going towards our project to buy school supplies for 1350 students in Ghana.



Thanks to all the students from Terry Fox Elementary School for the support!

Don't forget to show your friends and family our Cocktail Party Website so they can buy tickets or donate to the Tyndale Saint-Georges Community Centre! web.me.com/mcgillrotaract

Just for the Holiday Spirit, I thought I'd put up a picture of some awesome decorations in Montreal this year. These are in front of Place des Arts metro station



Happy Holidays!

Sean

Cocktail Party Website Launch!!

Hey Rotaractors,

For today's study break (ie the 10 minutes before I head to bed), I'd like to post up the link to our website devoted completely to the cocktail party. Send this link to all your friends and family so they can either buy a ticket or donate to our cocktail party so we can raise as much money as possible! :)

Check out: web.me.com/mcgillrotaract

And to get you all pumped for the cocktail party and excited to sell tickets, here's a little video



Have a good evening everyone! Let me know what you think of the website and the video!

Sean

A little study break

Hello Rotaractors and company!

This is my first EVER blog post. I'm taking a little break from the joys of protein pathways and the wonder that is the cell to tell you about something that is equally as awesome...just A LOT larger: Rotary International. Marie talked about Rotary and Rotaract, so I'm going to do a quick blurb about Rotary Scholarships.

So, here's the fun fact of the day (Fun Fact Friday!): did you know that the Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship is the world's largest privately-funded scholarship program?

Founded in 1947, it had enabled over 40 000 student from more than 100 nations to study abroad. The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarship is to "further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas." This is achieved by:

-Increasing awareness of and respect for cultural differences by sending ambassadors of goodwill to study in another country

-Instilling in scholars the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self through active participation in Rotary service projects

-Encouraging scholars to dedicate their personal and professional lives to improving the quality of life for the people of their home communities and countries

-Developing leaders who can address the humanitarian needs of the world community

-Impacting all areas of the world through a balanced geographical distribution of scholars

-Encouraging Rotarians worldwide to increase the educational opportunities for scholars from low- income countries

-Fostering a lifelong association between Rotary and its scholars

The program consists of one year abroad for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as qualified professionals pursuing vocational studies. An Ambassadorial Scholar serves as a goodwill ambassador to the host country while giving presentations to Rotary clubs and various other clubs regarding their homeland. Scholars must also give presentations detailing their experiences. The scholarship consists of $27 000 to study in another country. Applicants undergo interviews first within a Rotary Club if there are multiple applicants and then at the district level. Scholars have a sponsoring Rotary Club both in their home district and where they are studying. Students can study in ANY field. This is pretty cool huh!

Also, Rotary offers the World Peace Fellowip, which is a scholarship to receive a masters degree in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies, conflict resolution, or a related field. THe scholarship is offered at one of six Rotary Peace Centers:

the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand
Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA
International Christian Unversity in Tokyo, Japan
Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina
University of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England
University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia

Check out more information about all the great Rotary Opportunities at their website: www.rotary.org

On a club note, here is a picture of the art gallery where our upcoming cocktail party is being held! Hope you've all told your friends and family about it! Don't forget January 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the AKA Gallery at 51 Saint-Paul Ouest. They money we raise will benefit the Tyndale Saint-George Community Centre (http://www.tyndalestgeorges.com/)



Okay, back to the books! Good luck everyone on final exams and papers! Stay tuned for more posts! :)

Sean

Woohoo Rotaract [2]! (For real this time guys)

Hello!

Well. I'm back! Today's post is brought to you by procrastination from a lab report about continuously stirred tank reactors. So, as promised, I am going to talk more about what Rotaract is.

The term "Rotaract" comes from the shortened version of "Rotary in Action". The main difference between Rotaract clubs and Rotary clubs is that Rotaracters are between 18 and 30 years old. Rotaract clubs are sponsored by an area Rotary club, and are not necessarily university based, and even our McGill Rotaract club has members from UQAM, Concordia, U de M, cegeps, and also young professionals in Montreal. So, for people like me where graduation is on the horizon, never fear! Rotaract will still be here even after the diploma is on your wall!

Rotaract clubs have similar goals than Rotary clubs. According to the "Standard Rotaract Club Constitutions", the goals of Rotaract are:

1. To develop professional and leadership skills;
2. To emphasize respect for the rights of others, and to promote ethical standards and the dignity of all useful occupations;
3. To provide opportunities for young people to address the needs and concerns of the community and our world;
4. To provide opportunities for working in cooperation with sponsoring Rotary clubs;
5. To motivate young people for eventual membership in Rotary.

Sounds cool, right?

So basically this means that Rotaract clubs promote Rotary spirit through volunteering, fundraising, social events, attending Rotary meetings, professional development through speakers and workshops, and so much more.

I have some numbers again! If you continue reading this, you should probably be warned that I really like numbers...
8,383 Rotaract clubs
171 Countries
>190,000 members
69 Rotaract clubs in Canada
(Numbers taken from the Rotaract first quarter report of 2010-2011. I don't actually know what time period that entails, but it sounds recent!)

So here is your overview of Rotaract. Quick. Easy. Not very War-and-Peace like. (Not ragging on War and Peace, it's just the longest book I could think of at 11:50pm on a Wednesday. It's terrific, you should read it).

Tomorrow's topic: What McGill Rotaract has done, is doing and will do!

Annnnnnnd here is your procrastination source since 'tis the season (this one is not as productive as yesterday's, but still pretty awesome):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COr_k621YM4



I really like this factoid idea, so here is the next one:
Colonel Sanders (of KFC fame) was a founding member of his Rotary club in Indiana. True fact.

Woohoo Rotaract

Hello internet!

I'm not even sure who reads this, but for those of you who are, please let it be known that this is my first blog post. Ever. Exciting, right? (I should probably specify that this is Marie, the VP of the club this year). I've taken on the task to blog every once in a while, to keep you, well, I'm not sure really what I'm exactly trying to do. Entertain/inform/keep you coming back comes to mind...

So for my very first blog post of ever, I figured I'd talk more about what exactly Rotaract is. I don't know about you guys, but most people (myself included many years ago) usually give me a funny look when I mention "Rotaract", and usually guess that it has something to do with wheels when I mention "Rotary" (granted, most people I talk to are engineers).

Hmm I take it back. Today I'm going to tackle Rotary, since they're really where it all starts. Tomorrow, Rotaract!

So Rotary. It is huge. It is a 1.2 million member strong global organisation. The motto is "Service above self". And basically, Rotary takes this to mean many things. Rotarians take part in projects at the local, national and global levels, both volunteering and fundraising.

Rotary International also has many programs that it maintains, including Polio plus, the organisation for which we raised funds at our wine and cheese last week. They also promote international relations and placing people from different backgrounds with similar interests together. This happens through conferences (from national to international levels), as well as (this is applicable to students) exchanges and scholarships.

In short, this is what the official website has to say:
"Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world."

So here are some numbers:
>1.2 million members
>33,000 clubs
>200 countries
Started in 1905

And PROCRASTINATION SOURCE:
http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/Pages/ridefault.aspx
A video about Rotary that seems to be made by the same people that make those high school science tapes...but it's pretty interesting!

Random fact of the day: The North Pole is not considered a continent like the South Pole because the ice of the North Pole floats on the ocean, while the ice of the South Pole sits on actual ground – the continent of Antarctica.

And back to heat exchangers and pumps I go! TTFN!

PS I like comments.

Hey y'all, McGill Rotaract is hosting a wine and cheese event at our next meeting! With all the stress of midterms and papers, come relax with us, drink, and be merry. We'll also be speaking shortly about McGill Rotaract, Rotary International (McGill Rotaract's parent organization), and Rotary's PolioPlus program which seeks to eradicate polio across the world. There is a suggested donation of a few dollars that will go toward the PolioPlus program, but any donations are accepted.

So take a load off, have a few drinks and some tasty cheeses, and hear about a good cause. See you all on Thursday at room 302 of the SSMU Building. Also, check us out on facebook to learn about any possible changes to the event; just look up "McGill Rotaract" when you are logged in.

Welcome Back!

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a great summer, and are ready to start an exciting new year with McGill Rotaract! We will have a lot to get involved with, including some of our favourite activities ie/ Montclair Elderly Home visits, Volunteering at Dans la Rue, Tyndale- St. George Mentorship Program, Cocktail Party Fundraiser , and the Fundraising Blitz week in March.

We will keep this site updated, so keep an eye out for new posts! You can also check out our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2201242499&v=info#!/group.php?gid=2201242499&v=info

Our First Meeting dates will be September 9th and 23rd in room 433A of the SSMU building at 6:00 pm.

Hope to see you there!

Fundraising Blitz

Hi all!

Now that our Aqua Show fundraiser is over (and again, thank you to those who helped and attended!), our next big event for the semester is our annual fundraising blitz in late March. In the past, events during these two weeks have included bake sales, samosa sales, movie screenings, and of course our famous 24-Hour Twister. As usual, we are looking for other new, creative, ideas for fundraising events that we can do during the blitz. If you have any thoughts, please email us or post them here!

Rotaract's Water for People Fundraiser

Prepare for a night of music, art, alcohol, free food, and fun! McGill Rotaract presents The Aqua Show to benefit Water for People, a "charitable nonprofit international humanitarian organization dedicated to the development and delivery of clean, safe water and sanitation solutions in developing nations."

Free up your night and join us for an evening of excitement to help a worthy cause!

The lowdown is as follows:
The party is happening on January 16 from 7-11 PM at the Conseils des Arts de Montreal at 1200 Sherbooke Street East.
Closest metro is Sherbrooke on the orange line. Walk 4 blocks west towards Parc Lafontaine on Rue Cherrier or take the 24 bus from Metro Sherbrooke to Rue Du Parc-Lafontaine and then take a minute walk west on Rue Cherrier to the place.
It's a big, Romanesque building with columns, impossible to miss.
Tickets are going for $15 for students and $25 for adults and for what you get, it's a steal!

To get tickets, you can:
e-mail: mcgill.rotaract@gmail.com
phone: 514-618-0351
or you can buy tickets at the door.


If you got a minute, check out the great work Water for People is doing around the world:
http://www.waterforpeople.org