The New District Website, Handbags, Neil Chen and Feeding the Hungry.

Last week Steve Du Plessis demonstrated the power of the new District 9400 website to us.  He also sorted out the problems that some people had with registration.  The website is really going to make a huge difference to Rotary in District 9400 if everyone registers and uses its facilities.  Our ADG, Billy Phillips, attended the meeting and as it is probably the last time we will see him before the end of the Rotary year he said nice things about us.  Thank you, Billy, for all your support over the last Rotary Year.

Sue Beuthin suggested that we get involved in a  handbag project for rape survivors and the Board will be discussing it on Monday.  Everyone was very enthusiastic about it!  

The next meeting is a Business Meeting and then we will have more details.

Back to the 5C's...........

From Deloitte Consulting: Francis Mentoor, Thabo Mokoele  and Casiro Nisebeza

From Christ Church Christian Care Centre: Sarah Sunker (management)’ Margaret Nyarugwe (teacher), Petuho Ndlovu and Ayanda Dlaku – care workers.  Unfortunately I wasn't told the name of the man in the glasses on the right.

And here I'm correcting a mistake!  This is Deloittes handing over Easter Eggs to the 5C's as part of their Social Responsibility Programme.  Hopefully we will be working with them more in the future.

Linda Vink would like us to enter a team for the Discovery Walk the Talk on Sunday 24th July so that we can walk with both Interact Clubs and Ambassadorial Scholars as well.  We have to apply as soon as possible as entries are now open and only the first 50 000 will be accepted.

Don't forget to let me know if you are coming to the Election Day Bring & Braai.

Someone is getting married again so I've put him in the video bar.

Niel Chen spoke to us just before the holidays on HIV/AIDS and his experiences here and in the States with Community Health.

Feeding the hungry

---

April 2011

Did you know? 
Fast facts about this month's topic.

Links 
Check out what we are clicking on, including our video pick of the month and blogroll.

---

Featured photo 
Each month we select a photo you have shared with us on our official RI Flickr group pool.

Too many Americans don’t have enough to eat. In 2009, the number reached 50 million, 17 million of whom were children. David Bobanick, executive director of Rotary First Harvest, a Program of Rotary District 5030 in Washington State, is committed to shrinking those statistics. He is still haunted by the memory of a woman he helped years ago at a food pantry. She reminded him of his grandmother. “That did it for me,” he says.

Since the program was founded in 1982 by the late Rotarians Norm Hillis and Mike Shanahan, of the Rotary Club of University District of Seattle, it has distributed more than 155 million pounds of surplus produce, donated by farmers, to hunger programs across Washington and throughout the United States. It has tapped into a vast network of food donors, truckers, warehouse workers, local pantries, volunteers, and partner organizations, such as AmeriCorps VISTA. The effort feeds hungry people while saving donors disposal, labor, and storage costs. Shanahan always knew the project worked because “Rotarians use their influence, and people identify with the good that is coming from it.”