Stories

Dear Volunteers and Friends of the Coalition,

I hope you are doing well during this time.  As you probably know, the Coalition has temporarily suspended training in hotels during COVID-19.  Most hotels have little staff employed at this time, but hopefully we will see more signs of travel and they will staff up soon.

The Coalition continues to build its strength by developing its board.  The Coalition is looking for a volunteer Board Member who can chair the Development Committee.  This is a working board, so it does take time, effort and skills.  If you or if you know anyone with these skills, please apply!  The link to our Facebook posting for this position is below.

 

https://www.facebook.com/NoTraffickingOmaha/posts/2854590268101595

 

• Rotating meeting Hosts so everyone takes a turn bringing snacks & cleaning up.  Let's encourage our members to put some skin in the game so it's not a thing we just show up to and have wine.
• Let's have sign-up sheets for activities/projects and place these on clipboards and put them on a table at our meetings.
• Let's create a Business Advocacy Committee to reach out to business owners and get them to sponsor and/or join Rotary.  There are many people who want to do community outreach, but they don't know where to start.
• We should have an announcements segment included in our meeting where anyone can share other community events/happenings so that we support each other and other organizations.  For example, October 23, 2019 is National Petal It Forward Day, which is a nationwide event where florists and volunteers randomly surprise people on the streets with flowers.  The recipients receive two bouquets, one to keep and one to share with someone else, therefore, petaling it forward.  Last year, we did this and it was a huge success and I want to make it an annual event where other businesses are involved.  Cutts donates all of the flowers and we handed out over 1,000 stems of roses last year.  10/11 did a story on us if you'd like to hear more about it.  Anyway, my point is, there are opportunities out there where volunteers are needed and Rotary can definitely be a part of the good happening in the community.
• Finally, let's discuss membership fees.  This was brought up at the District Conference as the younger generations may not be able to afford the dues and as a result, we are alienating them.  Personally, $200 is a lot less than other membership organizations I have been a part of, but it does add up when I'm throwing in $20 a meeting and for me, I have to pay a babysitter, which is an additional expense, so when it's all said and done, I'm $1,000 into this.  And please let me be very clear...I am NOT complaining, I just want to make a point that we need to define our mission, culture and provide some structure so we can move this group along.  The people that I am trying to recruit love the humanitarian part of Rotary, but they want to make sure we are actually doing something and it's not just another networking group.

• Rotating meeting Hosts so everyone takes a turn bringing snacks & cleaning up.  Let's encourage our members to put some skin in the game so it's not a thing we just show up to and have wine.
• Let's have sign-up sheets for activities/projects and place these on clipboards and put them on a table at our meetings.
• Let's create a Business Advocacy Committee to reach out to business owners and get them to sponsor and/or join Rotary.  There are many people who want to do community outreach, but they don't know where to start.
• We should have an announcements segment included in our meeting where anyone can share other community events/happenings so that we support each other and other organizations.  For example, October 23, 2019 is National Petal It Forward Day, which is a nationwide event where florists and volunteers randomly surprise people on the streets with flowers.  The recipients receive two bouquets, one to keep and one to share with someone else, therefore, petaling it forward.  Last year, we did this and it was a huge success and I want to make it an annual event where other businesses are involved.  Cutts donates all of the flowers and we handed out over 1,000 stems of roses last year.  10/11 did a story on us if you'd like to hear more about it.  Anyway, my point is, there are opportunities out there where volunteers are needed and Rotary can definitely be a part of the good happening in the community.
• Finally, let's discuss membership fees.  This was brought up at the District Conference as the younger generations may not be able to afford the dues and as a result, we are alienating them.  Personally, $200 is a lot less than other membership organizations I have been a part of, but it does add up when I'm throwing in $20 a meeting and for me, I have to pay a babysitter, which is an additional expense, so when it's all said and done, I'm $1,000 into this.  And please let me be very clear...I am NOT complaining, I just want to make a point that we need to define our mission, culture and provide some structure so we can move this group along.  The people that I am trying to recruit love the humanitarian part of Rotary, but they want to make sure we are actually doing something and it's not just another networking group.