I am happy to share some exciting news regarding our District International Service Committee (DISC).

Marion Cheney has graciously agreed to step into the role of DISC Chair, and I am pleased to continue alongside her as Co-Chair as we move forward together.

Thank you, Marion, for your willingness to lead and help continue the important work of international service in our district. 💙🌍
 

District 7780’s Philippines Outreach Team: Bringing Projects Home and Ready to Share

By:  Carol Madsen, Philippines Outreach Team, Bridgton-Lake Region RC

District 7780’s 2025 Philippines Outreach Team has been crisscrossing the district, sharing stories from their April/May visit and highlighting powerful Rotary‑led projects now underway in partnership with clubs in the Philippines. With new initiatives already funded—and more opportunities emerging—the team is eager to visit clubs, present their experiences, and help Rotarians see firsthand how our district is making a difference abroad. Their full report includes project updates, photos, and ways your club can get involved.

A Legacy of Peace: How a Maine Rotarian Helped Launch Rotary’s Newest Peace Center  

District Grants Highlighted

Our District Foundation Monies at Work!

ARK Project (Poland)

UNE Rotaract District Grant

By Carol Marcotte, Ph.D., District Grant Coordinator, Saco Bay Sunset RC

District 7780 has awarded a district grant to the UNE Rotaract Club in support of the ARK Project in Poland, a Rotary‑led initiative providing critical mental health services to adolescents, including Polish youth, Ukrainian refugees, and other displaced young people affected by trauma. Grant funds were used to purchase essential audiovisual equipment that will support educational, prevention, and therapeutic programming at the ARK Center.

• exploring WAY OF THE WABANAKI CANOE TRIP at https://mahoosuc.com/canoe-trips/way of the Wabanaki
• learning about the new KATAHDIN VISITOR CENTER on Lookout Mountain in partnership with the Wabanaki Tribes;
• watching for KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON coming to theaters near you this Fall.

• Club Liaison Sub-Committee with Bill DiBiasio (RC Hampton), Jeremy Gould & Steve Wight (RC Bethel).
• Media Sub-Committee with Carol Madsen (RC Bridgton-Lake Region).  A new member is being sought with social media skills who can help with the DISC Facebook Page and DISC Page of the District Website.
• International Outreach Sub-Committee with Karen Arnold (RC Westbrook-Gorham), Emma Bodwell and Jeremy Gould.
• International Café Sub-Committee with Emma Bodwell and Bill Dunn (RC Yarmouth). The last International Café of 2022/23 Rotary Year was on Saturday, June 17, 2023.  For the link to the recording, reach out to Emma at ebodwell@icloud.com. For a schedule of the Cafes beginning in September or if you would be interested in presenting your project, contact Emma?
• District Resource Network (DRN) Sub-Committee with Emma Bodwell, Peter Johnson (RC Yarmouth) and Ron Smith (RC Fryeburg Area).
• Project Fairs Sub-Committee with Peter Johnson

The Rotary Foundation has created a channel for humanitarian support in the Ukraine region in response to the deepening crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.  Three Rotary Clubs in the District joined forces to support Ukraine through club and individual donations to The Rotary Disaster Response Fund.

Brunswick, Brunswick Coastal and Topsham Expresso invited community members to join in contributing to the goal of $10,000 by April 30, 2022.  The goal was met on Monday April 25!

In Rotary, we're committed to treating everyone with dignity and respect, allowing everyone's voice to be heard, and providing equitable opportunities for fellowship, service, and leadership.  Our members want and expect Rotary to be a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. We're committed to creating supportive environments that foster open communication and shared learning. And although the Rotary experience may differ from country to country, the dynamics, histories, and structures that create inequality and bias can be found all over the world. Issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion are globally relevant.

Recently, Rotarians from Districts 7780 and 7910 came together to store mobility devices at the new storage facility in Old Orchard Beach.  Three clubs from two districts worked together to stack over 300 walkers and crutches.  Chuck Moran, from the Dracut, MA Rotary Club, brought a 26-foot trailer filled with mobility devices to Crutches for Africa’s new storage facility where the lighting is much better.  The team is working on its 12th container which should be ready in the spring of 2022.

If you would like to be part of the team, would like to collect and donate gently used mobility devices, or would be interested in hearing more about Crutches for Africa, contact Dennis Robillard at risc@maine.rr.com. He would be happy to hear from you.

Pictured:  L-R Chuck Moran of Dracut MA, Liz Gotthelf-Othot, Scott Simonds and Scott McInnis of Saco Bay Sunset and Don Drew of the Sebago Lake Club. 

• Joined the Kennebunk Rotary Club in 2007
• Club President 2014-2015
• Kennebunk Club Board of Directors
• Kennebunk Club Vice President
• District 7780 Recovery Initiative, Committee Chair, past 11 years

Word Polio Day is October 24, 2021.  In recognition of this day, all District 7780 Clubs are encouraged to participate in "Pints for Polio" to raise awareness in our communities about Rotary's efforts to eradicate polio worldwide, while having a fun social event for the club and community, and raising funds for PolioPlus.

To find an event, click on the picture or on the link below. If your club is planning to host an event and is not already on this list, contact DG Dick Hall at dickhall7780@gmail.com

• The goal of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is to ensure that no child will ever again know the crippling effects of polio. 
• The Global Polio Eradication Initiative is the largest public health initiative the world has ever known.
• As of September 24, it has been 7 months and 28 days since a child was last paralyzed by the Wild Polio Virus anywhere in the World!!!

• $475 goes to the World Fund for Rotary projects and initiatives around the globe.
• $475 goes into the “District Designated Funds” which are in turn available here in district 7780 to pay for district grants and global grants.  

As of early autumn, Maine had 140 deaths due to COVID-19 (9/23) and there were 442 COVID deaths in NH (10/1), including 104 in Rockingham County and 13 in Strafford County where our district’s Rotary Clubs are located.

• Opioid deaths continue through the pandemic and are rising in Maine
• As of March 30, Maine had 127 OD’s.   As of August, NH had 200 OD’s with the highest per-capita rate occurring in Strafford County.
• The Maine expectation for the first half of the year was the state would reach 259 OPIOID deaths, and at the end of the year at this rate Maine could exceed its 2017 overdose death rate (418).  
• New Hampshire reports 200 overdose deaths as of August 18, with a favorable decline for the year compared to the past several years: still, citizens are dying in both states. Covid-19 is not our only health crisis.
• We ask your help with our Mission to keep the Opioid Epidemic Front of mind. 

• Any fundraising project can be done virtually or with social distancing – it just takes creativity and maybe some downsizing. 
• Good givers will continue to give, even in the tough times.
• A club should think about its traditional sponsors.  If they are a restaurant or other establishment hard-hit by COVID, this is not the time to approach them.  If they are an insurance agency or utility or other organization that has not been hard-hit, by all means reach out to them.
• It’s critical to advertise, advertise, advertise events and activities on social media and wherever possible.  People are feeling cooped up and are looking for fun things to do.

International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on August 31 each year. IOAD aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or had a permanent injury as a result of drug overdose. Overdose Awareness Day has been a key remembrance event for those who have died from fatal drug overdoses since 2001. On August 31, thousands of people worldwide will stand beside the friends and families of fatal overdose victims to reflect on their losses. Hundreds of events are scheduled around the world on International Overdose Awareness Day to spread the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable.

In Maine, there are events scheduled in Portland and Bangor. The Portland event is sponsored the City of Portland’s Public Health Division and Needle Exchange Program’s outreach team. This year’s vigil will be held in Deering Oaks Park and will include speakers and education, as well as an overdose response training and narcan kits. The annual memorial wall will be featured to honored the lives lost to opioid overdose in our community. Lantern making and a walk through the park will end the event.  For more information on the Portland event visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1857867257849731/ For more on the international cause, please visit www.overdoseday.com

Information about the Portland event:

Event: 5th Annual International Overdose Awareness Day Vigil

Date: August 31, 2018

Location: Deering Oaks Park, Portland, Maine

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Young Professionals Summit, held in Chicago in September, gave Rotary leaders ages 25 to 40 the chance to share their Rotary experiences, reflect on their stories, and exchange ideas.  Participation in the summit was by invitation - and included Portland Sunrise Rotarian Sam Heck. This video shows some of the work of that weekend and the ideas that came from it. How might your club benefit from the ideas presented here?
Young Professionals Summit video

Toby Pennels, a 13-year member of the Sebago Lake Rotary Club, died Thursday morning, September 4th, from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash in early August. Toby was a longtime Windham resident who served 11 years on the local school board, helped organize the Sebago Lake Rotary Club’s Ice Fishing Derby, and served two tours of duty in Iraq.

South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Rotary has been presented the Significant Achievement Award.  The Rotary International award, which recognizes that service begins at home, acknowledges clubs that identify a local need and finds a way to address it.  Its purpose is to encourage clubs to find new and meaningful projects that address a local need, to promote awareness of exemplary club efforts, and enhance awareness of Rotary in the local community. This year, of the more than 32,000 Rotary Clubs worldwide, 209 were selected to receive this high honor.  Though this was a great example of a fully engaged club, mention must be made of President Ellie Speh and Project Leader Tony Wagner.  Congratulations, South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Rotarians, for Engaging Rotary and making a difference in your community!

Starting Sunday, June 22 for four days, 120 high school youth are learning leadership skills and teamwork at the  Rotary RYLA program ongoing at Boy Scout Camp Hynes in Raymond, Maine. Want to get in on the excitement? The best time to come is on Tuesday , June 24, late afternoon/early evening for the final campfire.  This is when all the leadership gro Tuesday is our final campfire where all of the campers get the opportunity to perform a skit that best describes their experience at RYLA. Following the skits, volunteers are introduced and thanked, and then the youth have the opportunity for more reflection on what they have learned and experienced.  Contact Sarah Leighton, assistant Camp Director, sarah.k.leighton@gmail.com

This year, 13 clubs from our District used Rotary Foundation grants to support projects important to their local communities  or an international community where they have a special interest.  Six Rotarians from our District traveled to Uganda on a cultural exchange - all supported by our previous support of the Foundation.  Every Global Grant includes a bit of our individual contributions - dams to provide clean water in India, hearing aids and prosthetic hands in the Dominican, books and teacher training in Guatemala, medical equipment in Mongolia - and so many other projects developed and managed by Rotarians to improve and change lives for the better.    The dollar amount isn't important, what is important is that we each support our Foundation on a continuing basis because it is our contributions today that determine the resources available for service projects that we determine in the future.  

Rotary received extensive media coverage throughout 2013, with more than 626 news organizations in 35 countries featuring our humanitarian efforts. 

Of those, 58 articles appeared in top-tier international news outlets, including nine out of the 10 most influential as ranked by Forbes magazine, including the Associated Press, The New York Times, BBC, Agence France Presse, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. 

Rotary’s role in the fight to end polio was highlighted in top-level, global media at unprecedented levels last year.  And Rotary’s partnership with its celebrity ambassadors for polio eradication helped raise our digital visibility to new audiences via posts on endpolio.org and social media outlets.

Pihcintu Multicultural Chorus, the youth group that performed so movingly at the District Conference, has several members whose families are refugees from the horrors of war in Sudan. They know first-hand what it is like to spend all of one’s waking hours simply trying to survive, with little thought to the luxury of school. And so the chorus has decided to raise money to build a school in South Sudan in honor of Malala Yousafzai — the Pakistani girl who the Taliban attempted to assassinate because of her desire to get an education. Already, the governor of a territory in South Sudan has donated the land upon which to build this school.

The District Changeover event promises to be something special!
On Thursday evening, June 19, Rotarians from across the District will depart at 6:00^*pm by Ferry Boat (Aucocisco)  from Casco Bay Lines terminal in Portland for Peaks Island. The festivities at the Inn on Peak's Island are only a short distance away. Heavy hors d'oeuvres will be served, and a cash bar will be available.  The program will include thanks from outgoing Governor Carolyn, swearing-in of new club presidents by incoming RI Director Julia Phelps, skit by Sanford-Springvale club, and remarks by incoming Governor Lawrence. Tickets are $50 per person, including ferry ride and food; registration is available by clicking on the district calendar (at left).

Register now!

* Please note our boat boat leaves at 6PM and can not be held for late arrivals. Plan on arriving at least 10 minutes early.

Three District 7780 Rotarians leave March 11 for Guatemala on a Rotaplast trip to correct cleft lip/cleft palate anomalies. This is part of a multiyear commitment by our District to support these missions ... After their mission begins, follow their progress on their blog: http://rotaplast.typepad.com/missions/  

Meanwhile, the District Cultural Team is headed for Uganda. They will exchange musical notes, build community and bring back possible grant ideas, and their blog is available via a link from this page (at left) or directly at:  http://martyhelman.wordpress.com.

Calling all high-school age videographers! Make a video and win the contest! 

Content of the video should illustrate The Rotary Four Way Test, and answer the question: "How can I use the 4-Way Test to make good decisions in my life?"  The situation can be anything that teens deal with:  Social situations, bullying, substance use, academic pressure -- anything that's real.  

Note: Registration will close 10 days prior to the scheduled event.

All clubs must participate in a Foundation Grant Management Seminar each year.  Two members of each club should come: perhaps the club president, president-elect,  or  club foundation chair, but any and all are welcome.  Come and become more familiar with the stewardship aspects of grants management as well as some practical realities and enthusiasm for the good work we do around the world.

Three sessions are scheduled, and Rotarians can attend any one of the three.  Cost is $10 per person, with a snack provided at the opening, followed by the program.  To register, go to the district home page, select the session you wish to attend from the event listing on the right side, and register there.

·         Wednesday, March 12, 5 - 8:30 PM.  Portsmouth NH Country club.

·         Saturday, March 29, 8:30 - 12:00 PM.  Westbrook ME Middle school café.

·         Thursday, April 3, 5 - 8:30 PM.  Topsham ME Red Cross Chapter (16 Community Way, across from entrance to Highland Green).

The District is urging all clubs to collect funds and food for their local food pantry on Saturday, February 22.  Borrow a school bus, stand outside your local supermarket and ask shoppers to "stuff the bus" with donations for their neighbors.  That evening, all District Rotarians are invited to come together to Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland for a delicious but frugal feast that will feature speakers talking about the hunger problem and solutions here in our own communities.  The dinner will cost a modest $25 which will include a small donation to The Rotary Foundation.  So come on out for the "Stuff the Bus" and/of the "Frugal Feast!"  See you there!

Want to meet our District's newest Rotarians?  Kittery After-Hours meets every Thursday evening at 5:00 p.m.  at Warren's Lobster House -- 11 Water Street in Kittery -- for a drink and appetizers.  The meeting is informal, the feeling is camaraderie and fellowship, and already the club is engaged in fundraisers and service projects.  The club is "provisional", which means it isn't yet officially chartered, but that will come in due course.  Meanwhile, drop by to welcome Kittery After-Hours into the District! You'll be glad you did! 

RI President-elect Gary C.K. Huang chose Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-15. Huang was inspired by the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius who said: "It is better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness." "There are so many problems in the world,” said Huang. “Many people say, 'There's nothing I can do.' So they sit there doing nothing. Meanwhile everything stays dark." Huang spoke to the 537 Governors-elect including our own Lawrence Furbish at the 2014 International Assembly in San Diego last week.

Due to water pipe cracking and damages at Capt. Daniel Stone Inn the Brunswick Rotary Club Monday noon meetings will not be held there again until Feb 24th.  The following are our temporary locations?  Visitors are always welcome.

Robert Raiche, the Portsmouth Rotarian who founded Friends Forever, died on January 1 at age 85.  Bob famously believed that you don’t know truly know someone until you spend time with that person in a lifeboat, and in 1986 he brought together a group of Protestant and Catholic teens from Northern Ireland — teens who had been taught from birth to hate one another— and placed them in a “liferaft” program for several weeks where they soon learned that they had more in common than they had previously thought. Bob's legacy is the hundreds of young people who have gone through the Friends Forever program in the years since to learn peace.  Bob’s legacy is these young people, and his story proves that one person can truly make a difference.    

Video from Kajjansi Rotary meeting. DG Emmanuel and Carolyn teamed up to help them with building a school for children from a fishing village.

Kajjansi Rotary meeting from rotary7780 on Vimeo.

The District road trip to bring Christmas to Lac Megantic was an awesome success! Santa's reindeer aren't stopped by a little weather, and neither are the Rotarians of this District.  The $25,000 raised by clubs throughout the District   made it possible to give a teddy bear to each elementary school child in town, to create a "Christmas Bazaar" where parents could select gifts for their children, and to restock the food pantry.  Plus, we were followed by the press all weekend long -- and were covered in both English and French for the work that we were doing! Thanks to all the clubs that participated, and thanks to the leadership of Biddeford-Saco club in making this project such a success!

Have you bought your ticket?  A Guatemalan quilt is being raffled to help support our District's work with Rotaplast and cleft-lip surgeries, and the winning ticket will be drawn February 22 at the World Understanding and Peace Dinner.

The Rotary Club of Damariscotta-Newcastle joined again this year with Kieve-Wavus Education Inc. to host the “Friends Forever” visit  in Mid-Coast Maine from Oct. 19 through Nov. 2.  The  group presented programs or were involved with activities hosted by the Bath, Boothbay Harbor, Damariscotta-Newcastle, Brunswick/Brunswick Coastal, Portland and Falmouth Rotary Clubs. 

Rotarians and others who intend to contribute at least $1,000 annually to The Rotary Foundation (Annual Programs Fund, Polio Plus, or to a Qualified Grant) are eligible to become members of the Paul Harris Society.

Do you have suggestions for changing the rules for Rotary?  Recommendations to change the frequency of meetings? Allowing snowbirds to join a club in both their summer and winter residences?  A new Avenue of Service?  You can shape how Rotary operates by proposing rules changes for the 2016 Council on Legislation.

Will Neilson, current president of Bath Rotary Club, has won the City of Bath Al Smith Community Spirit Award for his remarkable community outreach.  Neilson was lauded for his devotion to Bath and his committed involvement with Bath Rotary, the Main Street Bath Economic Restructuring Committee, the Bath Freight Shed and his service as chairman of the Greater Bath Elder Outreach. The city “values his enthusiastic participation and passion for community service and thanks him for his dedication to our community." 

Bernie Wyman, chair of the city council, is also immediate past president of Bath. and the presentation was made by Erika Benson, current president of Bath Sunrise!

Below is an ad that the Hampton Rotary ran in their local paper recently to drive awareness for what they're doing to make their community a better place for less fortunate folks.

Congratulations on a terrific ad that let's people know why we are Rotarians. 

Dear End Polio Now Subscriber,

Emmy Award-winning actress Archie Panjabi will talk about her work as a Rotary ambassador for polio eradication on World Polio Day, 24 October, at a special Livestream presentation by Rotary and the Northwestern University Center for Global Health. The 90-minute event – World Polio Day: Making History – will be held before a live audience at 17:30 Chicago time (UTC-5) at the John Hughes Auditorium on Northwestern’s Chicago campus.

Last July, an unattended train carrying 72 tank cars careened out of control and into the center of town of Lac Megantic, Quebec, destroying a community and many of its citizens. District 7780 is embarking on a project to help.