Club President Mark Zober Responses to Hadera Rotary Club Support for Haiti Relief Initiative

Past President Sid Pinkas, Chairman of the Community Services Committee of the Hadera Rotary Club expressed his Club's interest in support for Haiti Relief. Below is the Jerusalem Rotary Club President, Mark Zober, response to this inquiry and below that Sid's letter of January 31, 2010.

###################################

Response to Hadera Letter:

Sid Pinkas P.P., Chairman Communuty Service Committee, Hadera Rotary Club

Dear P/P Sid,

It is a tremendous honor to receive your kind and thoughtful note. Let me share with you the process we are using to decide how to provide assistance to Haiti:

Club ad hoc Haiti Relief Committee

1. We established an ad hoc Haiti Relief Committee chaired by Dr. Sophie Simons with Art Braunstein and Roy Rissanen. Each has many years of international humanitarian assistance experience. This committee will make a recommendation to our Club Board on what project(s) to support.

Club Commitment of Funds

2. Our Club Board has approved an allocation of upto 20,000 NIS for support for an appropriate, timely project(s)

Communication with RI and Rotarians Worldwide

3. We have been in communications with our District Leaders, Club Presidents, Rotary International and have monitored the works the Rotary Foundation to date. We have a Club Twitter account and have 120 Clubs worldwide following us on Haiti Relief. We follow all the major international relief associations working in Haiti.

Guidelines that involve Rotarians in "Sustainable Recovery"

4. We have a set of "guidelines" for selecting the best possible means of support: focus on "sustainable recovery" in Haiti; work directly with the effected Rotary District 7020 and Rotarian leaders in the five affected Haiti Rotary Clubs; partner with other Rotary Clubs in our District and around the world.

Based on Prior Success in Tsunami Relief - "Education on Wheels"
5. Our Club has successful experience in Tsunami Relief where we waiting until we could work with a local Rotary Club (in Tamil Nadu India in that case) along with other clubs in India around the world - the project "Education on Wheels" provided bicycles to girls to get to school. The project was a tremendous success. We want to use the same patient, Rotary guided model.

Reaching out to our District and Rotarians Worldwide

6. We are staying in touch with our DG Uri Zeiger and and hope the District and other Club leaders will take the lead to promote humanitarian assistance in Haiti. Meanwhile, we are seeking support in our District to make a commitment to allocation monies to a project we can all support.

Suggested Action:

Make a Pledge

I am most grateful that the Hadera Rotary Club is considering joining us. I suggest we keep in touch as we move forward. It would be wonderful if your club could make a commitment, a pledge, to an allocation for Haiti Humanitarian Assistance in partnership with our Cub. Of course, no monies would be transferred to used without first identifying the right project. Hopefully this will result in other Clubs joining with pledges.

Share the Hadera Rotary Club commitment with our District Leadership

I also suggest that you share your club's feelings about District 2490 support for Haiti Relief. It would be wonderful if all Clubs had an opportunity to work together to support one or more outstanding Rotarian guided sustainable recovery projects in that devastated country.

I will begin to copy you on information on Haiti Relief - we monitor the news daily.

With deepest appreciation,

Yours in Rotary Service,

Mark



Mark Alan Zober, Ph.D.
President, Jerusalem Rotary Club (District 2490)
Club Website: http://rotaryclubjerusalem.homestead.com/
Club Blog:http://rcjerusalem.blogspot.com/
Technical Advisor, Cadre of Technical Assistance Advisors the Rotary Foundation
972-2-673-3882 Home/Office Jerusalem
972-8-684-3401 Home/Office Ashkelon
972-54-590-0223

###############################################

LETTER FROM HADERA ROTARY CLUB (DISTRICT 2490)

31 January 2010


Mark Zober

President RC Jerusalem


Dear President Zober

Your letter to the District Rotary clubs about Rotary efforts aimed at Haiti Rescue, Relief and Reconstruction brought pride to the members of our club to see the initiative that your club has displayed.
Our club would like to hear the results of your inquiries and if at all possible we would like to know how we can be of assistance.

Yours truly,
Sid Pinkas P.P.

Chairman Communuty Service Committee

Hadera RC


2010/1/31 Pinkas Family