District News

Update from Brigitte Potter, Global Grant Scholarship Recipient

Sept 29, 2023 Update from Brigitte Potter, Global Grant Recipient

Just wanted to say a quick Hello!

This picture is from a Rotaract event I attended last night. It’s a small group that the leader is trying to get going so we had a brainstorming session with a pint. I also wanted to share the link to my blog for anyone who wants to follow along: brigittenpotter.wixsite.com/londonbrig

Brigitte Potter is a Masters student studying International Migration and Public Policy (IMPP) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) for the 2023-2024 academic year. Follow her blog to keep up with her activities.

Rotary International Districts 6270 and 6220 Deliver Vital Mobile Emergency Room to War-Torn Mykolaiv Region

Rotary International Districts 6270 and 6220 from Eastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan recently funded and delivered a customized trailer outfitted as a mobile emergency room to the Mykolaiv region. This area has faced heavy attacks during Russia's invasion, damaging healthcare infrastructure and cutting off access to essential medical services.

The sturdy mobile unit serves as a rapid-response platform to directly bring urgently needed trauma care to communities near the front lines. A Mobile Emergency Clinic (MEC) is staffed by military doctors and equipped to handle minor injuries, infections, childbirth, dental procedures, and other emergencies. The MEC contains an exam table, monitors, medications, surgical tools, testing supplies, and other basic equipment to diagnose and treat patients on-site.

Its durable, thermally insulated construction allows the MEC to withstand nearby blasts and operate in harsh conditions with backup power, climate control, and water filtration. This enables lifesaving treatment to continue even if local utilities are disabled. The reinforced design provides security for staff and patients in risky areas deemed inaccessible to soft-walled field hospitals.

Rotary International coordinated an international fundraising effort to support Disaster Response Grants like this one, used to purchase the custom MEC. Supplemental medical equipment brings the clinic’s value to nearly $50,000, including an IV fluid warmer and video laryngoscope. This enhanced MEC was recently delivered to the Mykolaiv City Council's Center for Primary Medical and Sanitary Aid to serve the region's needs.

Rotary International districts have funded approximately thirty such MECs and supplies as Ukraine struggles to rebuild decimated infrastructure. For now, these mobile clinics are bringing healthcare directly to Ukrainians when they need it most, saving lives throughout the Eastern and Southern Ukraine regions.

To contribute to this and similar efforts, please visit https://my.rotary.org/en/donate and select the Ukraine Response Fund.

Unlock a World of Opportunity: Rotary Youth Exchange 2024-25

Rotary District 6270 is excited to share that preparations are in full swing for the Rotary Youth Exchange Program's 2024-25 exchange year. Rotary Youth Exchange plays an instrumental role in fostering peace, one young individual at a time. This program offers an exceptional opportunity for young students to embark on an enriching journey filled with cultural immersion, personal development, and the cultivation of international friendships.

The Rotary Youth Exchange Program is a flagship initiative of Rotary International, with a central mission of nurturing global understanding and promoting peace through cultural exchange. This program has been uniting adventurous young minds from diverse backgrounds for years, encouraging them to explore, learn, and connect with the world beyond their familiar horizons.

Support ShelterBox Through an Adventurer's Trek

Presently, over 100 million individuals worldwide are enduring the loss of their homes due to disasters and conflicts. ShelterBox’s mission is to make a difference in their lives. They work tirelessly to provide emergency shelter, tools, and household supplies to families displaced by calamities, empowering them to begin rebuilding and transforming despair into hope.

World's Greatest Meal to Help End Polio: A Global Initiative for a Polio-Free World

In the pursuit of polio eradication, a remarkable initiative called the World's Greatest Meal to Help End Polio (WGM) has emerged. This initiative is aiming to raise both funds and awareness. The concept behind WGM is simple yet impactful: people come together to share a meal, raising much-needed resources to combat polio.

Rotary Club of Mitchell Field Celebrates 65 Years

For six and a half decades, the Rotary Club of Mitchell Field had been a beacon of hope, supporting local initiatives and improving lives. The club celebrated its 65th Anniversary during the Changing of Guard on June 28th. The club and Rotary International have come a long way since the club received its charter on July 5, 1958. In 1958, there were 9,800 Rotary Clubs in over 100 countries. Today, there are more than 46,000 Rotary and Rotaract clubs in 221 countries worldwide. Through this network of clubs, members can work with like-minded individuals to advance community and worldwide understanding, goodwill, and peace.

Wisconsin Rotary Districts Partner to Fund Mobile Emergency Clinic in Ukraine

Rotary Districts 6220 and 6270, encompassing much of Northern and all of Eastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, have taken decisive action in response to the healthcare crisis unfolding in Ukraine due to ongoing conflict. The districts have pooled their resources to secure a Disaster Response Grant from Rotary International, resulting in a critical healthcare lifeline: a Mobile Emergency Clinic.

How his Global Grant Scholarship enabled Leif Van Grinsven from NCAA All-American Track Star to Africa

Leif Van Grinsven was the D-6270 Global Grant Scholar in 2019-2020. He is a product of Cudahy, Wisconsin, and a graduate of Wheaton College, where he not only excelled in academics but was also a three-time All-American in Track and Field. His Global Grant Scholarship resulted in a Master of Arts in Development Studies from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. After several short stints with the United Nations and the World Health Organization, he landed in Rwanda and then in Malawi, where his newly developed skills in economic development have produced great results.

In his own words, he reports the following. Small Farm Cities (SFC) has grown considerably. We have two sites, our development center, which acts as

Brigitte Potter (Glendale, WI) - 2023-24 Global Grand Scholarship Receipent

Rotary International District 6270 is awarding a Global Grant Scholarship in the amount of $30,000 to Brigitte N. Potter of Glendale, Wisc. The grant has been approved by The Rotary Foundation with an 80% match of District Designated Funds (DDF) provided by the district.

Ms. Potter will use the grant to obtain a Master of Science degree in International Migration and Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom. She intends to focus on the issues surrounding refugees and forced migration. Her Rotary Area of Focus is “Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution.”

Ms. Potter is a graduate of UW-Milwaukee and

Waukesha Club Uses a Custom “Zoom Machine” to Ease Tech Load

Waukesha Club Uses a Custom “Zoom Machine” to Ease Tech Load
By Pete Bosch, April 13, 2023

Club meetings are more inclusive when delivered hybrid. But the equipment is time-consuming and complicated to set up and take down. Also, it is often difficult to show the audience, the speaker, and what the speaker is presenting, if they are including a PowerPoint in their program.

This article is about a simplified device and approach to hybrid meetings that my club uses. Setup and teardown both take less than 5 minutes.

To read Pete's entire Zoom Machine article, download the PDF. It is filled with details and images.

Rotarians Prepare Medical Supplies for Shipment to Ukraine

At 8 AM on December 3rd, 2022 the first of two shifts assembled in a donated 40,000-square-foot warehouse in Germantown. Rotarians from the Milwaukee - and other - Rotary clubs and volunteers with the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America (UMANA) were briefed on the day’s efforts by Dr. Doug Davis.

Over the course of the morning, five pallets of donated medical supplies from Hospitals throughout Wisconsin were broken down and sorted into stations representing 12 situational categories from Front Line EMT & Emergency Room, to Surgical, Wound Care, Rehab, PPE, and others. At each of those stations, those supplies, along with others staged from previous efforts were further sorted by volunteers with medical experience into dozens of subcategories such as catheters, suture kits, central lines, wound care, ECG Electrodes, and so on.

Nicole McNevin of Neenah Receives Rotary Peace Fellowship

Rotary International District 6270 is pleased to announce that Nicole McNevin of Neenah, Wisc., has received a prized Rotary Peace Fellowship (RPF) for 2023-2025. She has been accepted into the Master’s Course in Peace Studies, Public Policy and Public Research Program, at International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo, Japan.

The daughter of Mary & Richard McNevin of Neenah, Wisc., Nicole is a graduate of Neenah High School and Wheaton College, Ill. (2017) She speaks Japanese and is currently in the 4^th year of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program where she teaches English and culture to students in low-income areas.

Read the full story here.

Rotary responds to earthquake that has devastated areas of Turkey and Syria

February 22, 2023 via Rotary.org

Turkey and Syria were struck by a devastating earthquake on 6 February that has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed thousands of homes and other structures, and left people across the region without shelter in bitterly cold winter weather. While still providing aid to those impacted by the first earthquake, another 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurred in the same area on 20 February, bringing even more devastation.

The Rotary world responded to this catastrophe immediately. RI President Jennifer Jones activated

Rotary Mix & Mingle - Imagining Rotary

On 25 January the five Ozaukee County Rotary clubs embraced this year’s theme “Imagine Rotary”, by coordinating the first of many “Rotary Mix & Mingle” events. This event was promoted and open to the public.

Rotarians and guests had an opportunity to Meet-Network-Share Ideas. Each club president, or their representative shared some of their club’s recent projects and invited prospective and former members to visit a meeting, or future club event.

RI President-elect Announces 2023-24 Presidential Theme

Rotary International President-elect R. Gordon R. McInally called for members to capture the world's attention and lead the way toward possibilities far beyond our current expectations.

McInally, a member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry, West Lothian, Scotland, revealed the 2023-24 presidential theme, Create Hope in the World, during the Rotary International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 9 January. He urged members to promote peace in troubled nations, help those affected by conflict, and maintain the momentum of initiatives begun by past leaders.

"The goal is to restore hope — to help the world heal from destructive conflicts and, in turn, to help us achieve lasting change for ourselves," McInally said at Rotary's annual training event for incoming district governors.

District 6270 Steps Up to Help Ukraine

In the face of the unprovoked and brutal attack by Russia on Ukraine, District 6270 and its Rotary Clubs have stepped up in many ways to alleviate suffering in Ukraine.

The Formation of the Rotary Disaster Response Fund’s Ukraine Effort

Shortly after Ukraine was invaded by Russia in February of 2022, Rotarians started asking Rotary International (RI) to provide grants in service of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The RI Trustees met in late February and decided to use the Disaster Response Fund for the purpose. They announced that all donations to the fund between March 3^rd and April 30^th would be dedicated to service to Ukraine. During those eight weeks, Rotarians donated almost $15MM to the fund, and grants became immediately available.

Liz Nevitt Selected as District Governor Candidate for the 2025/26 Rotary Year

We are thrilled to announce that Elizabeth “Liz” Nevitt has been selected as our candidate for District Governor for the 2025/2026 Rotary year, subject to approval by Rotary International and ratification by the District members at the annual business meeting in the spring of 2023.

Liz is a fourth generation Rotarian. She joined the Menasha Rotary Club in 1998 and moved to the Ripon Rotary Club in 2012. Liz served as President of each club twice, and held other club leadership roles. At the District level, she served as Assistant Governor for three years, District Family of Rotary Resource Group Coordinator and has been the District Stewardship Subcommittee Chair for the past three years. Liz is also a Rotary Foundation Major Donor, Paul Harris Sustaining Member, and the District's newest PolioPlus Society member.

Please join us in congratulating her and thanking her for her continuing service to Rotary.

First Case of Polio in US in Nearly a Decade

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has been informed of a case of paralytic polio in an unvaccinated individual in Rockland County, New York, United States.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are coordinating with New York State health authorities on their investigation. Initial sequencing confirmed by CDC indicates that the case is type 2 VDPV.

Any form of poliovirus anywhere is a threat to children everywhere. It is critical that the GPEI Polio Eradication Strategy 2022-2026 is fully resourced and fully implemented everywhere, to ensure a world free of all forms of poliovirus can be achieved.

We are calling on every single Rotarian to take action and be a part of the fight to end polio, helping to raise $50 million per year for polio eradication.

Mike McGovern

Chair, International PolioPlus Committee

New PolioPlus Society in Rotary District 6270

Rotary District 6270 is excited to announce the start of the PolioPlus Society in our district. This is a district program to recognize those Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends of Rotary, who have pledged to give at least $100 annually to the PolioPlus Fund of The Rotary Foundation, until the wild poliovirus is no longer endemic around the world. The goal of this PolioPlus Society is to raise awareness and provide recognition for Rotary’s goal of eliminating the disease from the planet.

We would like to invite you to consider and join the Rotary District 6270 PolioPlus Society by completing the pledge form on the PolioPlus Society page, https://rotary6270.org/sitepage/polioplus-society. Members of the Rotary District 6270 PolioPlus Society will receive a certificate and a specially designed PolioPlus Society lapel pin.