Thanks for Life - District 1010 Newsletter No.10 – Apr. 2010
Editor & 1010 Project Coordinator: PDG John Minhinick
To all Clubs
I am delighted to have this opportunity to say a very heartfelt Thank You to everyone for your magnificent efforts on behalf of the “Thanks for Life” campaign. Both as a means of raising funds for the final elimination of Polio, and to heighten the profile of the Rotary movement in so many local communities, the 23 February and the days around it, were outstandingly successful. The innovation and the resulting wide range of activities certainly created a greater awareness of Rotary than I have ever seen in the past. With just over one third of District 1010 Clubs having reported to date, the sums raised are already likely to be very high.
As I have said before, it is very unlikely that any of us will ever meet the young people who are being protected from polio due to our efforts, but our reward is beyond price when we finally rid the planet of this dreadful disease. The Rotary movement is already well over half way towards meeting the Bill Gates $200 million challenge and I remain hopeful that we will achieve the total ahead of the June 2012 date originally set. This has only been possible by the efforts of each and every one of you.
The birthday of Rotary has always tended to be a non-event in the past. This year has made it something quite different and I am delighted that the incoming team of District Governors in RIBI has agreed to continue the event in 2011. There will always be major disease problems in the world for Rotary to be involved with in aiding their cure or elimination. Malaria and AIDS are just two of these. What better use could be made of Rotary’s birthday than to be involved in such good works.
I know that some of you have further fund raising events still to come in the current Rotary year, so I close with wishing you every success in these.
Bill Macfarlane Smith - District Governor
“Thanks for Life “– Your Achievement
The “Thanks for Life” week came almost exactly half way to the target date of June 2012 for raising the $200 million that RI agreed to match the Gate’s contribution of $355 million. The funds raised this year by Clubs in District 1010, added to the funds raised previously, will take us close to the halfway point for the District – at least $220,000 towards a target of $500,000.
This is a huge achievement, to which almost all clubs in the District have contributed; an outstanding collective effort.
“Thanks for Life” week brought together Clubs throughout the District in a common cause. District 1010 Rotarians who have been out to National Immunisation days in India over the last year tell us, polio eradication has only come about as a result of the sustained support of Rotary Clubs throughout the world working with international health partner organisations.
Looking ahead, we will need to maintain the momentum for some time to come to achieve the District target of $500,000; $6,000 per Club on average. Smaller Clubs in less populous areas will find this a challenging target. The collective effort will need larger Clubs in the bigger towns and cities to aim higher. Already, a few Clubs have raised in excess of $6,000. It would be great if at least half the clubs in the District could achieve the $6,000 by June 2012, and at least 20 could go well past it.
There will be another fundraising week promoted throughout RIBI next year. We have gained a lot of experience about what works and what doesn’t. We should, in particular, be able to help more Clubs to promote ‘purple pinkie’ events, based on the experience of the Clubs which mounted successful events this year. With a longer lead time it will be possible to engage more schools in events. The planning lead time was short for this year, yet a number of schools participated enthusiastically in “Thanks for Life” week events. DG Bill has given his personal thanks to everyone involved. I would like to add my thanks, to all the Rotarians who have worked to make the fund raising for “End Polio Now” such a success to date.
Stephen Chorley - District Foundation Chairman
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“Thanks for Life “– Looking Forward
I would like to add my congratulations to everyone who played their part in the recent 'Thanks for Life' campaign. As so often happens in Rotary, the results were magnificent. The work undertaken so willingly by so many members, and no doubt supported by your families, is a credit to your Clubs. You will probably know that there will be a repeat next Rotary year, and with the recent experience behind us, we can look forward to another even greater effort to rid the world of Polio.
George Berstan – District Governor, Elect
Purple Pinkie 2010
The Story So Far
More Information
Needed
Background
At least 83 (95.4%) Clubs in District 1010 supported the RIBI appeal to meet the “Gates Challenge”. Most Clubs have and/or will be holding special events.
Initially 83 out of 87 Clubs gave details of plans for the campaign. More recently out of 87 Clubs in District 1010, 37 (42.5%) have to date responded with a summary of what has been done. These 37 Clubs collectively expect to raise £53,234,27 ; a fabulous total so far. Each of the Assistant Governors has the full details of the responses to date.
Please Help:
With excellent feedback already from 37 Clubs it would be great to hear from the remaining 50 to build a complete picture of what actually went on in District 1010.
The call for information has two main benefits to everyone in District 1010:
a. There is clearly a PR benefit from having the whole picture in terms of what was done and the total money raised in the District.
b. Clubs can learn from each other to get better ideas for future programmes.
As soon as convenient, I would be grateful for any outstanding answers to the following questions [you may not have answers to all of the questions]:
1. What did you do?
2. What do you still have to do?
3. How much money have you raised?
4. What media coverage was achieved?
5. Were any recruitment opportunities identified?
6. What were the positive aspects of the TFL project(s)?
7. What could have been done better?
8. What are your suggestions for RY 2010/11?
Some of the events still to happen should be significant fundraisers with, in some cases, a four figure target being achievable.
Information when convenient would be appreciated.
1. Summary of Activities
1.1 Clubs were planning to be involved in the following main activities:
Supermarket Collections 34 Clubs
Public Displays 31 Clubs
School Events 28 Clubs
High Street/Shopping Centre Activities
16 Clubs
Dinners/Dances/Lunches/Coffee Mornings
9 Clubs
Sponsored Events 8 Clubs
Public Entertainments Events 8 Clubs
Money Allocated from Club Funds
6 Clubs
Interact Club Involvements 5 Clubs
Raffle 2 Clubs
Silent Auction 2 Clubs
TOTAL CLUB EVENTS 149 Events
1.2 The involvement with schools was patchy ranging from full cooperation and detailed programmes to not even responding to communications. The main reason for negativity was the late involvement; schools set their plans at the beginning of the academic year, sometimes earlier. Some Clubs, such as St Andrews and Oldmeldrum had good support from local schools.
1.3 Interact Clubs were very effective either with their own projects or supporting their Rotary Club.
1.4 Response to public collections was variable with the message of polio being less emotive than collections for such events as the Haiti earthquake. The polio message linked with other messages such as Shelter Box was more effective.
1.5 Bag packing in supermarkets raised more money than standing outside with a tin.
1.6 Tesco stores were very supportive but there was quite a lot of local variation in what they would allow. Agreement across the board beforehand on what would or would not be permitted would be helpful to save unnecessary or counter productive effort by the Clubs. There were a few cases of Tesco refusing to allow collections because of previously agreed approval given to other charities. Smaller stores, beyond the nominated 377, were helpful on a local level.
1.7 Apart from bag packing, planned events often produced a better return.
1.8 Limited evidence of benefits from decorating shop windows. Using an empty shop for a short term “Charity Shop” was very effective.
1.9 A personal approach to a senior person e.g. the editor or managing director, in a newspaper, or a local radio programmer, from the DG or some other senior Rotarian, did bring a beneficial response. As a consequence, in District 1010, there were items on Radio Tay and Wave 102 as well as in the Dundee Courier and the Sunday Post, before and during the week. This meant, in some areas, that the general public already knew some of the background to Thanks for Life.
2. Materials Used
2.1 The six posters were useful but had too much detail; more useful for schools than impact in shopping centres. Some more effective posters produced locally.
2.2 The leaflets were used but the final draft asking for two £1 coins to be attached was not seen as a good idea. The leaflet should concentrate on being informative and leave off the fundraising.
2.3 The distribution of the leaflets and the A2 posters was less than effective.
2.4 Pull-up banners were good but orders placed well before Christmas did not arrive until early February.
2.5 Sticky badges were good.
2.6 Video material was of variable quality.
3. Overall Summary
3.1 All Clubs appear to have found the TfL project a worthwhile exercise.
3.2 The TfL project was good for increasing public awareness of Rotary.
3.3 The TfL project was good for encouraging collaboration between Clubs.
Supermarket/Shopping Centre collections, for example, often involved local Clubs working together.
3.4 Examples of recruiting new Rotarians to date are only a handful of potentials.
4. The Future
4.1 Repeat for RY 2010-11 recommended in a revised format based on experience. Pooled experiences across RIBI should be provided in a guidance document.
4.2 Support material needs to be distributed better with some issues, such as posters and leaflets, reviewed in light of experiences.
4.3 Consider adding some of the smaller items available in the Guernsey RC product list, such as balloons, to materials available from “central funds” to Clubs although the term “central funds” is not defined.
4.4 TfL needs to be in Clubs and schools programmes a.s.a.p. and certainly in the planning stages that happens well before the start of RY 2010-11. Schools definitely require plenty of forewarning as they programme many activities, including charity collections, very far in advance.
4.5 Is February the best month even though the weather may have been an exceptional? Consider events around October Polio Day?
4.6 For major fundraising, the emphasis should be more on events. Public collections, including supermarket involvement, are worth continuing especially if bag packing in an option.
4.7 Beyond Tesco, other stores were happy to participate on the agreement of the local manager. Collective agreements with a chain to cover their stores would be helpful.
4.8 At one local heat of the Primary School Quiz the parents and teachers in the audience were asked who had heard of the Thanks for Life Campaign and none held up their hand, but when asked if they’d heard of the Purple Pinkie week most of them raised their hand. This should not be a surprise with Thanks for Life, Polio Plus and Purple Pinkie all being mentioned. For the future it might be better for the advertising campaign to headline mainly the Purple Pinkie theme as it seems to have captured people’s imagination.
On Thursday 11th March, I shared the above information with a number of District Governors from around RIBI. You will not be surprised that District 1010’s contribution to “Thanks for Life” compared very favourably with the experiences from other parts of RIBI.
Some Events Still to Happen
Saturday 27th March 2010
The Rotary Club of Perth Kinnoull is delighted to announce the exclusive visit to Scotland of the Black Dyke Band. The West Yorkshire brass band will perform in Perth's Concert Hall on Saturday 27th March. The band, once described by Sir Elton John as the best brass band in the whole world, is the most recorded band in the world with over 300 recordings and growing every year. It is also the most successful contesting band in the world, having won the British Open no fewer than 29 times (most recently 2006) and the National Championships 21 times (most recently 2008).
In 2006 as part of its initiative to sponsor the work of young people, Black Dyke Band, under the guidance of Dr. Nicholas Childs assisted by qualified members, formed the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band . The purpose is to inspire and motivate young people aged 11 to 18 years to achieve their full potential as musicians, composers and citizens.
The Black Dyke Band performed in Perth two years ago in a sell out concert and tickets are selling fast for their performance on the 27th March this year. Proceeds from the concert will support Rotary national and international charities.
The world famous Black Dyke Band return to Perth in a concert organised by the Rotary Club of Perth Kinnoull.
Sunday 22nd May 2010
JumpNuts
Six self-styled ‘Geriatric Geronimos’ from Dunfermline Rotary Club – with an aggregate age of over 360 years – will take a leap of faith on 22nd May over Perthshire’s Strathallan Airfield in a team tandem skydive for three good causes. CHAS, Shelterbox and Polio Plus
You can help by sponsoring a brave skydiver by logging onto:
to make a donation
