Rotary Global Rewards

Rotary’s new member benefits program gives Rotary members access to discounts on a variety of products and services selected with their interests in mind.

Discounts & special offers

When Rotary Global Rewards launches in July, the program will include discounts on car rentals, hotels, dining, and entertainment. More products and services from companies around the world will be added throughout the year. Check back often to see what’s new in Rotary Global Rewards.

How it works

Anyone can view the offers and discounts on Rotary Global Rewards. But only Rotary club members who are signed in to their My Rotary accounts can redeem them. You can access and redeem rewards from your computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Create a My Rotary account now so you’re ready to take advantage of the new member benefits program when it’s available. If you need help creating an account, see the How to Create a My Rotary Account quick guide (PDF).

Rotary support

If you have questions about specific offers, please contact the company directly. They have the most knowledge about their discounts. Contact information is available on each company’s website.

 

 

Member benefits program unveiled as convention  draws to a close

                                            RIP Elect KR Ravindran and his wife Vanathy

RI President-elect K.R. Ravindran introduced a member benefits program at the 9 June closing session of the 2015 Rotary International Convention, saying that many more hands are needed to continue Rotary’s work around the world.

The program, Rotary Global Rewards, aims to boost membership and enhance member satisfaction. It will debut on 1 July.

“This innovative new program will allow Rotary members to connect with hundreds of businesses and service providers from around the world -- and that number is growing,” said Ravindran. “These establishments will offer Rotarians discounts and concessions on the everyday business that you do. And, in many cases, not only will you benefit, but our Foundation will as well, by receiving a contribution with each transaction.”

The program will include discounts on car rentals, hotels, dining, and entertainment. Discounts on more products and services from companies worldwide are expected to be added throughout the year.

“It will be another way to benefit from being a Rotarian and being part of the Rotary network,” said Ravindran, whose presidential theme for 2015-16 is Be a Gift to the World. “I urge all of you to become a part of that scheme.”

Council on Legislation dues increase begins in July 2015

An increase to the Council on Legislation dues goes into effect in July, and it will be reflected on the July club invoice. The Rotary International Board of Directors approved the increase from $1 to $1.50 in October 2014. The Council, which meets every three years, will meet 10-15 April in Chicago.

 

The Council considers proposals to change RI's constitutional documents and resolutions that express an opinion or make a recommendation to the Board. RI's Bylaws, which govern the relationship between Rotary International and Rotary clubs, can be changed only by legislation by the Council. The bylaws include provisions covering the formation of new clubs, types of membership within a club, club voting in district elections, and per capita dues.

Literacy is an important tool to beat the cycle of poverty

Literacy is crucial to the success of individuals in both their career aspirations and their quality of life. It is more than a basic reading ability. It is an indication of how adults use written information to function in society. Having strong literacy skills are closely linked to the probability of having a good job, decent earnings, and access to training opportunities. Individuals with weak literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed or, if employed, to be in jobs that pay little or that offer poor hours or working conditions.

Traditionally, literacy is referred to the ability to read, understand, and use information. However the term has come to take on broader meaning, standing for a range of knowledge, skills and abilities relating to reading, mathematics, science and more. This reflects widespread and deep changes that have taken place in technology and in the organisation of work over the past quarter century. The ability to use and apply key mathematics and science concepts is now necessary across a wide range of occupations.

Literacy is fundamental for learning in school. It has an impact on an individual's ability to participate in society and to understand important public issues. And it provides the foundation upon which skills needed in the labour market are built.

Technology, and the science behind it, permeates all aspects of our lives, from how we work and communicate to what we shop for and how we pay our bills. The complexity of today's world means that individuals need to have some level of proficiency in reading, mathematics and science in order to understand and participate fully in economic and social life.

A population's literacy skills also have a bearing on how well a country performs economically. The world we live in today is vastly different from that of a generation ago. Technological changes have transformed the way in which we work and the labour market is rapidly evolving from a manufacturing and agricultural base to one based on services. These changes have, in turn, brought rising skill requirements. Countries that are successful in endowing their populations with strong skills are usually in a better position to meet the economic challenges of operating in a globalised information economy.

Finally, having a population that has strong literacy skills also places a country in a better position to meet the complex social challenges that it faces. For example, strong literacy skills are linked to better health outcomes for individuals. A highly literate population will be better able to deal with issues of governance in a highly diverse society.

As I write I am on my way to Mauritius on holiday. A nice break away from work and Rotary matters. A week full of sun, sea and fun. Reading through the morning’s newspaper I note that this week (14^th - 21^st March) has been declared Library Week in South Africa. Libraries connect people to each other to knowledge and information. It provides access to information on every subject matter including health and hygiene, economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, education and much more. All of these are focus areas within our wonderful organisation. Libraries also provide us with an opportunity to connect via the internet through online learning opportunities using research tools. Like all things that have evolved over the years libraries too have evolved. They no longer just provide a place where we borrow books and after a period, return them. It is a place of technology and information in our fast moving environment.

Libraries are rather special to me. My first job after my secondary schooling was at the local Durban library as a library assistant. I spent three years there learning the various aspects of library science including the Dewey decimal system which system classifies books according to their field of interest. It was also the place that allowed me the opportunity of starting my academic studies on a part time basis whilst having this job to fund it.

Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and harmony. It is for this reason that literacy is the core of education for all.

Rotary provides us with a wonderful opportunity to share, to give a gift, to take responsibility together and to encourage others. It also provides us with an opportunity to improve the skills of people so that they are given a better chance of success after all we all have the same dreams, hopes, needs and goals.

Natty Moodley

Rotary Africa
April 2015

CHANGE IS CRITICAL

 I have always said that we are ordinary people achieving extraordinary results because of our passion to serve and that we do not put anything out there that lacks positivity and our success is authentic. We have no hidden agendas; it’s how we roll; it is how we take the opportunity to serve seriously and sincerely that sets us apart from the rest.

Now it is your chance to make a single important decision since you joined our wonderful organisation; to take our organisation into a completely different direction; to recreate the future and focus on and embrace the concept of diversity.

Diversity does not just look at the r ace issue. It engages our minds to think younger, to bring in the youth, to provide opportunities for women, to look at our classification spread and to look at how we grow our organisation in an all embracing environment so that we ensure it’s future existence.

But for our organisation to grow we need to accept that change is critical. We need to look at things differently. How we ease on our meeting protocols; how we make the effort to integrate the younger more digitally oriented demographic. Just look at our membership statistics. More than half of our membership is over 60. Just 1% are under 30, yet the world population of under 30s is approx. 50%. This is the group for the future success and continued existence of our organisation. Just look around us how many of us engage with a person under 40 in our Clubs?

Unless we become serious of the age demographic of our organisation and unless we start to put our ideas, thoughts, and words into action…two decades from now we would have an organisation half the size that we have today. Keeping our organisation relevant is the key to attracting the younger generation. RI General Secretary. John Hewko, said “it is clear that members have been able to accomplish a great deal but he asked what are they willing to do to make Rotary stronger. So let us be the voices in Rotary to do everything we can to grow our organisation. We have great traditions in Rotary, but it is our traditions. We made them, we own them and it is up to us to change them if they are no longer relevant”.

We need to go out there and bring in the new members for you see, new members come without any preconceived ideas and traditions. Change and innovation are led by people who have fresh ideas, ones who are prepared to go the extra mile to make them work, ones who think outside the box. Young people are ambitious, yes and they are climbing the corporate ladder or starting their own businesses but they have a strong sense of civic duty. Our membership and services are what makes our organisation powerful and strong and to keep it strong, membership recruitment and retention is a priority to every one of you.  

Just think of what we have achieved over the years. I grow inspired as I witness your relentless devotion in improving the lives of the unfortunate. Your actions clearly indicate that those children who have been saved from the dreaded polio virus is just one of the epic things that you have accomplished. You have toiled for more than a quarter of a century to rid the world of this virus. This has been the call on our lives for over 25 years. This is your mission to be delivered and a dream that must be realised. Anything less is surrender. Our heroes are not just the vaccine carriers and immunisers; our heroes are the men and women who each day pursue our personal victory, a win over mediocrity and success over defeat. No matter what the odds we contribute towards our goal of a Polio free world. So on this day I want you to know that you are a gift. You have powers beyond what you know and together we have the strength and the fortitude to achieve this dream. We promised our children a gift; a gift of a Polio Free world; a gift to walk without fear of becoming cripple; a gift taken for granted in most of our daily lives.

Each one of you is special. You are a special gift to your parents. And when you joined this wonderful organisation you became a gift to our community. You began to work within our clubs and perhaps our district. You worked within the confines of your comfort zone. In the coming year RIPE KR Ravi Ravidran is asking you to do things differently. He is asking you to engage with other clubs, within our zone, to engage with clubs and people within our continent and around the world. He is asking you to meet that stranger who is waiting to be your friend. The reciprocity of a smile that will translate into friendships, that handshake that would lead to many projects and ideas and overall lasting friendship. He is asking you to expand your horizons and to Be a Gift to the World.

So my friends, the challenge is before us to embrace. The challenge of a bigger, stronger more powerful and youthful Rotary, the challenge of increasing our support to the Rotary Foundation and to promoting our organisation to the world, to sing our praises of our good work, to create the awareness that would translate into greater interest of and for our  organisation.

As you continue to Light up Rotary and bring relief to those in need, as you shine the beacon of hope on the darkness of other people’s lives I applaud you for your commitment to Be a Gift to the World.

GETS AND INSTITUTE...A GREAT SUCCESS   Each year one of the responsibilities of the Rotary International Regional Director is to convene the Zone Institute and organise the Governor Elects Training Seminar (GETS) which involves the four tiers of Zone Coordinators (Rotary Coordinators, Rotary Public Image Coordinators, Foundation Coordinators and the Major Donor Coordinators). These coordinators present and facilitate sessions for DG Elects, DG Nominees and the current DGs.

This Rotary year the GETS and Zone Institute were conducted in Marrakech, Morocco as a consolidation  of  both Zone 20 A and Zone 20B. Zone 20A training scheduled for Accra in Ghana was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the West African region. The November event included all Districts in Africa,     the Mediterranean and some European countries.

The purpose of the Zone Institute is to inform District Governors and Past District Governors of current developments and report on the various programs of Rotary that operate in our region. Representing Rotary International at the Marrakech event was RI President Gary Haung and his wife Corina and the event was convened by RI Director Safak Alpay.

GETS & ROTARY INSTITUTE - MARRAKECH, MOROCCO

 

I am very pleased to advise you that GETS and the Rotary Institute of Zone 14, Zone 19, Zone 20A and Zone 20B which is being held in Marrakech, Morocco, from November 11-17th November 2014. People from all over the world would like to visit Morocco for it's wonderful scenery and sumptuous cuisine. A visit to the world famous food markets and the many souks and a quick stopover in Casablanca would make your trip so worthwhile.

Please note that SA citizens require a visa which can be obtained directly from the Moroccan Embassy in Pretoria.

Marrakech is a major city in the northwest African nation of Morocco. It is the third largest city in the country after Casablanca and Rabat, and is the capital of the mid-south-western region of Marrakesh-Tensift-El Haouz. 

Weather:      29°C, Wind NW at 19 km/h, 27% Humidity

Local time:  Marrakech is 2 hours behind SA time

Currency:    Moroccan Dirhams (approx R1.25 to 1 MAD)

                              

         

Rotary International Director Safak Alpay and the organising committee look forward to welcoming you and your partners in Marrakech and I look forward to your company and to share with you the beginning of an exciting and rewarding year ahead.

 

ROTA (Reach Out To Africa), under the chairpersonship of PDG  Patrick Chisanga would be held over two days following the Institute. The event will be held at the Palmeraie Golf Resort on Monday and Tuesday 17th and 18th November 2014.