143 views

From Our Club President
Restless to Serve?


Thoughts from President Ardy ...

Last week, I wrote about my sense of worry  about how others in the community are doing, and wishing there were more ways for us as Dunwoody Rotarians to be "out there" doing something that would help the community and further Rotary's mission of Service Above Self. This week, I was looking at our Rotary District 6900 Newsletter  - and saw many ways that other clubs are addressing this - from Roswell working to connect people with jobs ... to programs to support local food banks, provide school supplies ... to cleaning up the environment ... to Columbus providing headsets with microphones to 150 students to support distraction-free remote learning. I just know there are projects like this waiting to be done in our community. 

We have one of these opportunities this Saturday at the Dunwoody Nature Center, and I hope many of you will join us. You can read about it here. And the following Saturday, we're set to take our gardening skills to Bounds Gardens - the traffic island across from the Dunwoody library.

I'd also to ask again for your help - please bring the needs you're hearing about - in our schools, your neighborhood, the broader community - to our attention. What could we be doing as a Rotary Club that would make you prouder to be a Dunwoody Rotarian? And what kinds of activities would you be willing to take on - from home or out in the community - to help us make a positive difference.

The Board is working on this too - looking at ways we can partner with the Community Assistance Center, Malachi's Storehouse and the Dunwoody Nature Center, and how we can continue projects like our Thanksgiving baskets for Kingsley Elementary families, Toys for Tots, and books for the students at Dresden and Kingsley. Sara Etelalahti, our Youth Services Director, is looking at ways to provide hot spots for students who need Wifi to do schoolwork but can't afford them, and Ed Holliday, our Director of Administration, is working with Dunwoody High School and the Atlanta Metro club to identify projects where we can partner.

And we're open to new ideas from you – in a new time where needs and circumstances have changed. I invite you to reach out to me and/or Kobelah Svenson Bennah, our Community Service Director, with your thoughts about this. In addition, a team will be reaching out to all of you individually over the next week or two – to check in on how you’re doing and talk about this a little more.

Posted by Ardy Bastien
September 2, 2020

Comments

This Year’s Posts: