Yeasin Arafat led the members in reciting the 4-way test
Community announcements by members:
All attending members introduced themselves.
Yeasin related a sad news of a 36-year-old Bangladeshi man who was shot dead in front of his home in Jamaica Queens, late at night as he was returning from his job at JFK.
President Bina announced that the District was planning to coordinate activities regarding assistance to the people of Ukraine. Updates will be provided to members as available.
District New Member Grant:
Asma Shams announced that the District has approved the District New Member Grant - $250. The project to be led by her, to collect and/or buy winter clothing and distribute them to needy families in the Jamaica Area. The project needs to be completed by the end of April. Upon completion, we will have to submit a report with pictures to the District showing what was done, who received the clothing, the total cost and how many club members took part. A short news item will be prepared for posting on our Club website, Facebook, and on the Rotary showcase.
President Bina explained that the District approved 4 small grants for new members to encourage them in getting started with doing Rotary projects.
International Committee Report:
International Projects Committee Chair Syed Mahfuz is travelling back to Japan from Bangladesh.
President Bina reported that a project was carried out to provide funds for a school for Indigenous People in District 3281 – Rangamati area of Bangladesh in partnership with Rotary Club of Aarong. The school had been closed due to lack of funds for salary payments to teachers. Through this project, the School has restarted and the small children are now back in school.
Progress Report on Rotary School:
Ashfaque Salim reported on the Rotary School project in Chittagong in collaboration with the Rotaract Club of Islamabad. Through this project, a small breakfast will be provided to children, so they can come to school and learn without hunger. He said the funds for the project donated by him and President Bina would be sent to the Rotaract Club account next week.
Summary of Pre-PETS & DEI Seminar:
Mehran Ahmad provided a quick summary of the recent Pre-PETS & DEI Seminar both of which he attended. A few points of discussion were how to keep a club healthy, and how to engage members. He talked about the Rotary Learning Center where there are many free courses on Rotary structure, understanding of the Rotary Foundation, even self-improvement courses like public speaking, and project management.
Following that he played a short video of Rotary International’s incoming President Jennifer Jones – who will be the first woman President of Rotary in its 117-year history. President-elect Jennifer talked about how to engage members and retain their interest by regularly communicating with them and finding out what their needs are.
The DEI Seminar was designed to raise awareness of the importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Rotary’s day-to-day activities. He talked about the DEI seminar which was eye-opening for him to hear of the experience of travelling while Black in the US and the discrimination they faced.
New Business and Other Matters:
President Bina asked all members for their suggestions as to how we can bring more members into Rotary and keep them engaged. She also asked for suggestions as to what can be done to encourage club members to attend meetings.
President-Elect Aziz said we are all one team. Even though every one of us is busy – helping someone and being useful to others, being part of society is important for us as Rotarians, to help lift up people in need. He spoke of the core values of Rotary. He mentioned his mentor Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammed Yunus who asked people to have big dreams and with a little bit of patience and focus, things can get done.
Next Meeting: Scheduled for Tuesday 1 March 2022, 8:00pm EST, via Zoom.
If you wish to add any items to the Agenda, please send it to the President at least one week prior to the meeting.
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