Author: Sara Abrons

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Participate in Rotary’s Vehicle Donation Program

How the Vehicle Donation Program works…

  • Rotarians generate vehicle donations through family, friends, and associates
  • Melwood Charity Car Donation Center (District 7710’s Partner) accepts cars, trucks, motorcycles, and RV’s
    • As a rule there must be a clean vehicle title; towing is free to donor

To donate simply call the Rotary 7710’s toll-free number I- 855-527-2232, or go online to:

https://fs10.formsite.com/ccdc2/form58/index.html

  • Donor names Rotary Club to be credited for the donation
  • Melwood’s Call Center assigns the vehicle to a local towing and auction company
    • Donor provides vehicle title and keys to the tow truck operator; towing receipt left with the donor
  • Once the vehicle has been picked up, a receipt will be issued to the donor using Southwest Durham Rotary Club Foundation letterhead. Vehicle sale information recorded and reported monthly to Southwest Durham Rotary Club Foundation; club is advised by SWDR Foundation
  • Upon sale, auction proceeds are forwarded to Melwood and management fees are deducted
  • Residual forwarded to Southwest Durham Rotary Club Foundation for distribution to Club and/or beneficiary projects
  • Melwood  processes  donor acknowledgement letter along with  required  IRS  I098C tax forms
  • Melwood provides ongoing promotional support for District 7710 and participating Clubs
  • Donation files are maintained by Melwood for a period of three years
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Fundraiser: Wine Raffle

It’s that time of year again! We’re holding our annual wine raffle fundraiser later in March, and we’re selling raffle tickets. Tickets are $10 each, and prizes are various bottles of wine — the grand prize is wine for a year — that’s 52 bottles of wine, donated by our fantastic sponsor, Sam’s Bottle Shop in Durham. There will be at least 10 raffle winners, with other prizes ranging from one to twelve bottles of wine per winner. The winning tickets will be drawn live at our event on March 29th, which will be held at Sam’s Bottle Shop at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome to attend.

All money from the raffle fundraiser will go to the Southwest Durham Rotary Foundation, which puts money back into projects the club members work on both locally in Durham and across the world. Help support a good cause, and you could win a fantastic wine prize! If you’d like to buy tickets, please contact us at swdrotary@gmail.com before March 22nd. 

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Service Days at Urban Ministries

On February 2nd, members of SW Durham Rotary club served breakfast at Urban Ministries, a community and homeless shelter in downtown Durham. On February 24th, SWDR and members of the downtown Durham Rotary club had a day of service at Urban Ministries as part of a district grant project in which we purchased a new commercial stove and ice maker for their kitchen. We paid for the meals, prepared and served breakfast, and planned, prepared and served dinner that day. Dinner was a special cookout meal with hot dogs, hamburgers, and all the picnic fixings, plus an ice cream sundae bar. The Rotary clubs love working with Urban Ministries and hope to continue working with them for many years to come. A photo album from both days is below.

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2016-2017 Rotary International Annual Report Now Available

The 2016-2017 Rotary International Annual Report is out! 

In the report you can:

  • Get updates on Rotary’s on-going mission to eradicate Polio
  • Read updates about new flexibility clubs were granted in regard to structure and operations thanks to proposals passed in 2016
  • Get news on the new Rotary.org website and the People of Action campaign
  • Learn about how Rotary’s goal of raising $300 million in honor of Rotary’s recent 100th birthday (spoiler alert: the goal has already been surpassed)
  • Find out how Rotaries across the world responded to disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and fires
  • Learn about how Rotary is working on clean water and basic sanitation issues worldwide
  • Meet new Peace Fellows
  • And more!

Get the whole report here.

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Service Project Update: Urban Ministries Shelter Room Makeover With Lotta Love

On November 18, members of Southwest Durham Rotary, the Rotary e-club of District 7710 and other area Rotary clubs came together to spend the day renovating family bedrooms and a family common room at Urban Ministries in downtown Durham. Urban Ministries is a community shelter providing food, shelter and support programs for those in need in the Durham Community. Families staying in these rooms, often single parents with young children, stay here for up to 90 days while permanent housing and jobs are worked out. 

The rooms, before renovation, have an industrial feel — cement walls, linoleum floors, fluorescent lighting. They are functional but not particularly homey. Each bedroom suite has four twin bunk beds and a bathroom. The family room is a larger room where residents can hang out, eat, watch TV, kids can play and so forth. 

Lotta Love, a non-profit started in the Triangle area by interior designer Charlotta Sjoelin, designs updates for rooms in area shelters that make them more comfortable and homey for the families staying there. This not only makes the families feel good, but it also helps prepare them for their permanent homes. With Charlotta’s design help and the assistance of a district Rotary grant, we remade these rooms by painting all the walls, adding new bedding and towels, hanging artwork and curtains, and adding rugs, storage and lighting. To the common family room, we painted the walls and installed a new TV and wall mount, built a large new kitchen table and benches, a wall bar with seating, a kids play area and some additional seating.

Below are photos of the day we spent making over the rooms, including some before pictures and some photos with the deserving families. It was great to meet them, especially the kids, who were very excited about their new rooms. 

UMD Makeover With Lotta Love
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Service Project: Urban Ministries Shelter Room Makeover With Lotta Love

On November 18, in partnership with Lotta Love, Southwest Durham Rotary, the Rotary e-club of District 7710 and other area Rotary clubs will renovate four family bedrooms and one family common room at Urban Ministries in downtown Durham. Urban Ministries is a homeless shelter that provides food, shelter and support programs to neighbors in need within the Durham community.

Lotta Love is an organization founded by Charlotta Sjoelin, an interior designer, which works to make shelters into more safe, dignified and inspiring living spaces for the residents who stay there. Lotta Love has helped make over rooms at many area homeless, women and children’s shelters in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, and has assisted others in starting their own chapters in cities across the United States.

With the help of a district grant, we will paint all the rooms, replace all bedding and towels with brand new linens, add art, rugs, lamps, mini fridges and other home items to the bedrooms. To the common area, we will also add a breakfast bar, a new large table and seating, a new TV and a children’s play area filled with toys and games.

Volunteers are needed for painting prep, painting, light carpentry work, moving furniture and setting up beds, hanging artwork, etc. A link to sign-ups will be posted shortly. 

If you have questions or wish to make donations to this project, please contact Sara Abrons here.

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Hosts Needed for Rotary Youth Exchange Student in Durham

Consider participating in Rotary’s International Youth Exchange program! You have the opportunity to bring an international experience directly into your home. By hosting an exchange student this year, you and your family can expand your world horizons and knowledge, and be an active contributor to building international peace.

Rotary International’s Youth Exchange program benefits both the exchange student and the host family, as unique insights are gained into another culture on a personal level that you cannot get any other way.  

This year, the Southwest Durham Rotary Club is hosting a great young man from Brazil, João Indi. He is a junior at Jordan High School. We are seeking two host families for 90 days each, beginning after Thanksgiving to mid-February and mid-February through the end of the school year in June 2018. It is preferable that families live in the Jordan school district, or be able to transport him to and from school each day. 

Please consider the possibility of opening up your home and sharing your life with João. You and your family can be a positive force for peace and understanding in this world and develop life-long international friendships.

Students like João are carefully selected by Rotary clubs overseas. This is an approved program through the U.S. Department of State that has been successfully operating since the mid 1950’s. 

Interested in learning more? Please contact Bill Fine with any questions you may have and to set up an interview: 410-493-9467 or wfine46@verizon.net 

Here are two YouTube links on Rotary Youth Exchange from the eyes of participants:

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