2023-2024 District Community Service Chair:  Dave Hamil
 

Time - Treasure - Talent

  Community Service, along with Youth Service, is probably what most Rotarians have in mind when they join Rotary to be of service.  Members, willing to donate there time, treasure and talents, are doing it for a reason.  There must be a personal benefit else it would not be worth doing.  Therefore it is important that we are selective in the projects that clubs undertake and make them meaningful, not only for the community served, but also for those that are serving, eg the Rotarian.   Here are some keys to creating successful projects:
1)  Find a need...then ask yourself
  • Is this worthy of the commitment of time, treasure and talent (more complex projects may equate to greater value)?
  • Does this meet the expectations of my fellow Rotarians?
  • Does this build my team?
  • Perhaps the best way to select a project is to engage club members in discussion...
2)  Project Planning
  • Identify resources; human, physical and financial
  • Human resources may include club members, district members, those being served and Rotary Community Corps
  • Click the link to see a Rotary International Webinar on project planning...  https://vimeo.com/79806396
3)  Quality vs quantity...remember you will be known by the work you do.
4)  Document, document, document.
  • Many projects can be replicated, documentation will help others be successful
  • Lessons learned are easier to identify when documented
  • Publicity is easier when the project has been documented (Who, what, when, where and how much)
  • A picture says a thousand words and video tells the tale....
5)  Share the victory
  • All too often we do a project and then neglect or underplay the significance of the work done.  After completing a project make it a club program.  Share the results, the challenges and the lessons learned.  By doing this we have the opportunity to be inclusive with members that, for whatever reason, were not a part of the project (next time around they will want to be there). 
 
Hawaii H.O.M.E. Project is a John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) student-run free clinic staffed by volunteers to improve quality and access to health care for Hawaii’s homeless, while increasing student and physician awareness and understanding of the homeless and their healthcare needs. 
Click on this image below to view a video by Dr. James Ham. 
Dr. Ham was named one of 6 worldwide People of Action: Champions of Health and this video was played at the 2021 Virtual RI Convention. 
 
 
Rotary always benefits two people.  The child who is sick, who is hungry, who is thirsty, who has no clothes.  No shelter, no education, no future, no hope…that child is beneficiary of Rotary’s outreach.  That child is Rotary’s business.  But another benefit comes to the Rotarian-the one actually performing the service.  That person grows and fulfills the real reason for his or her existence, which is to serve others.
  Past RI President Richard King