I am filled with immense pride for being entrusted with the responsibility to lead such an outstanding group of individuals.
But, with endless hope in my heart, I embark on this challenging journey assisted by a very competent board of directors. The BOD has worked diligently to identify initiatives which will create a lasting change in the community. Under Global Grant, which incidentally we are planning for the first time*, ‘Shravan-Early Hearing Screening and Intervention Center’ will come up at Maharashtra Bhushan Dr Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Sub-District Hospital, Panvel. With the Shravan Center, we can save a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 10 children every year from going totally deaf and they in turn can lead a normal life.
We also plan to set up a Sensory Garden for special children, provide midday meals for the open school children, organize a climate summit for college students, a green fair and support the various district initiatives to the best of our ability. Wherever needed, we will undertake projects in synergy with other clubs. I strongly believe that we can do bigger and bolder projects only if we involve as many stakeholders as we can.
To help the next rung of leadership, we are creating an idea bank. For this we will be running the campaign : #Wednesday4Ideas. I encourage all, including Anns, Annas, Annets, friends and families to contribute ideas. We have constituted a special award for this category for best idea, one each for children under 18 and adults.
For disseminating Rotary Information, we are initiating the campaign : #MondayRotarySnippet. This will be a very brief single snippet on Rotary. We are also coming out with #KnowYourMember, through which we will get to know our members better.
On the governance side, we will soon have our own Charitable Trust followed by 12A as well as 80G. This will open doors for us to solicit donations from friends and families too.
The Rotary vision statement speaks of creating lasting change across the globe. This is continually brought about through the Rotary Foundation. It is only because of this foundation that a club as small as us, as young as us, can dream of executing a 36000 USD project with a miniscule contribution. This is the power of the foundation. I urge you to open your heart and your pockets and contribute generously to TRF.
We have worked very hard to put together a calendar of exciting meetings, innovative fellowships, challenging and fun games, picnics and walks, entertainment nights and much more not only for Rotarians, but for everyone in your family. I urge you to commit yourself to attending the weekly meetings. This will build greater friendships and foster an exchange of productive ideas. Friendships are the foundations of a good performing club which is what we aspire to be. So, your cooperation is of paramount importance.
It is expected that all of us should pitch in some way or other to strengthen our club. Attend meetings, contribute constructively to projects, send in your ideas, expand our reach through your network, initiate CSR discussions, talk about Rotary, like, subscribe and share all our social media posts on FB, Insta, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and now of course the Website; are only a few ways in which you can contribute.
We are indeed blessed. Although we are just about entering our 3rd year, we have with us Rtn Shivajirao Patil with his 25+ years in Rotary as well as no less than 8 Past Presidents. Their vast cumulative experience and advice is sure to make this year easier for me. I am also assured of strong support from the BOD as well as our AG Rtn Kiran and DG Rtn Majoo. I hope they continue to stand with me as we begin this thrilling journey. I wish to walk hand in hand with all of you, my dear friends, on this glorious path this year, and at the end of which, I truly believe each of us would have gained something new, would have learned something new and would have made lasting friendships.
Let’s all join hands and walk together to ‘Create Hope in the World’.
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