Welcome to the Rotary E-Club of Sunshine, New York

We are the newest Club in District 7230 chartered on 22 November 2021
Rotarians have a vision:

“Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

New Members undertake projects via District New Member Grants

The District's New Member Grant Program has been off to a great start this year. Under this program, new members can apply for a grant of $250 to do a small project on their own with the support and mentorship of their Club. The intent of this Program, first began in 2019 during the term of then Governor Mahbub Ahmad, is to start new members off on their Rotary journey of Service, without having to go around looking for funding.

Two of our Club's new Members took on projects for Thanksgiving, as their way of helping those around us who need help.

One of our youngest members Nahian Ehtesham contacted the United Community Center of Westchester, in New Rochelle to find out what they most needed. The Center's outreach is directed towards immigrants, refugees, high-risk communities, and vulnerable populations. The facility is inclusive, and the doors are open for anyone to address their concerns. Based on her conversation with the Center Director, Nahian purchased grocery items from Stop and Shop and delivered them to the Center. The items included cooking oil, apple cider, cereal, and breakfast bars, among other items.

Another New Member Grant project was undertaken by Sunshine's newest member Shireen Shams. Her project was to come to the assistance of a young immigrant family in the Bronx where they had just lost their bread earner and the mother is now having to cope with the loss and care for two young children. Shireen found they needed basic food items, so she purchased about a month's worth of grocery items - rice, flour, lentils, cooking oil, and snacks, and delivered the supplies to the family in need.

Another new Member Faisal Mahmud of the Hope Club organized a heartwarming Thanksgiving lunch for the Children of Promise (COPNYC), in The Bronx - which cares for children of incarcerated parents. The kids were eagerly waiting to celebrate “Thanksgiving Lunch” and indeed it was an amazing feast! Using grant funds supplemented with some additional funds, they ordered chicken, rice, beans, and plantain for about 50 children and staff members of COPNYC. Hope Club President Kazi & new member Faisal were joined by Charter President Rownak and together they served the hot food to the children themselves. The happiness of the holiday celebration with the children was priceless.

Successful District Training Conference

Our District Training Conference ended successfully on Saturday 4 November at Sarah Lawrence College. 79 Rotarians from many Clubs participated in the day-long seminar featuring focused sessions for Club Presidents, Secretaries, and Treasurers as well as special sessions on Public Image and Fundraising. The afternoon session after a free boxed lunch, featured a session on DEI and membership.

The Club Officer breakout sessions were geared toward new as well as experienced officers providing specifics that each officer should know and take responsibility for. For example, Presidents were provided with tips on how to run meetings and set goals, Secretaries were given tips on maintaining club records and adding/removing members. Treasurers were given information on filing tax returns and providing quarterly financial reports to the Board and the members. They were also briefed on the necessity of periodic audits.

The well-attended session on Public Image was presented by Assistant Rotary Public Image Coordinator and District Public Image Chair PDG Mahbub and featured three Clubs that have used Public Image resources for their Projects. PE Serkan of the 100-year-old Scarsdale Club highlighted one of the projects in Africa and emphasized the need to preserve the historical archives of Club projects so that future members could know more of what their club has achieved. Highlighting their first project, the 10-month-old Smart Rotaract Club President Rummanu Yeasin presented their CPR Training and Blood Drive recently. She focused on what they did and the lessons learned. Finally the Larchmont Club presented its program for underprivileged children.

In the afternoon session on DEI, Committee chairs Cynthia Paulino and Christina Wellington presented the state of DEI actions in the District. The provided possible actions that can be taken by Clubs to improve DEI within their Clubs.

At the final session of the day on Membership, our Club President and Area Governor Bina Ahmad discussed the history of the new Clubs in our District. She asked members of the 8 new Clubs present to stand and be recognized. A near majority of attendees were from these 8 Clubs. President Bina proceeded to show the structure of our Organization from the Club level to RI saying the foundation of of RI is our members and as such it is important not only to bring in new members but also to nurture and maintain the interests of existing members. Area Governor spoke about the elevation of Rotaract into Rotary, while District Membership Chair Hugh Maynard-Reid concluded the afternoon by urging members to go out and talk to their friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors to join Rotary and help grow our membership.

Club Participates in World Polio Day Fundraiser and Celebration

The word 'polio' once instilled fear among people. Back in 1988, there were around 350,000 polio cases in over 125 countries across the globe. That year marked the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) by the World Health Assembly. Since then, wild poliovirus (WPV) cases have plummeted by about 99.99%, and WPV types 2 and 3 have been declared eradicated.

However, challenges persist. Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only countries where WPV type 1 has not been interrupted. According to the WHO, there were six reported cases in 2021 and eight in 2022 in the world. Surprisingly, in July 2022, a person in Rockland County, New York, tested positive for polio. Subsequently, poliovirus was detected in New York City's wastewater samples. On September 9, the Governor of the State of New York declared a State disaster emergency concerning poliovirus. Polio had returned to New York.

The presence of poliovirus in wastewater indicated ongoing infections, raising concerns about the possibility of paralytic polio cases in the U.S. This situation emphasizes the need for awareness not only for ourselves but also for future generations.

As Rotarians, it is our duty to engage actively in the 'End Polio Now' campaigns. All clubs under District 7230 organized a Polio Day Party on World Polio Day 2023 for fundraising and celebration. Registration for the event was without any fee and contribution of a minimum of $25 to the PolioPlus Fund was expected. Rotary members in District 7230 donating $100 or more will be recognized with a special pin as members of the District's new Polio Plus Society.

A number of Club members have donated to the Polio Plus Fund. Our Club contributed $100 to the Fund having raised funds at the recent festival in Westchester.

We invite all to be the member of Polio Plus Society contributing $100 annually to the Polio Plus Fund of Rotary Foundation. And also urge each of the district clubs to take their own programs for this fund raising and for raising awareness in our society.

Eradicating polio is a challenging task, but it's a historic endeavor. This #WorldPolioDay, let's unite with @Rotary and global partners in the fight to #EndPolio for good: endpol.io/wpd.