Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Working Wardrobes

By Al Rosenstein

Our regular weekly breakfast meeting of the Rotary Club of Irvine Spectrum was afforded the opportunity to hear a presentation from a director of "Working Wardrobes".
 
By collecting used mens' and womens' clothing, shoes, shirts, and all other accessories, Working Wardrobes offers an opportunity for men and women who are in need of another chance in the work-place. WW supplies these people with complete outfits to present themselves for up-coming job interviews. They also provide
 
Since 1990, Working Wardrobes has served nearly 40,000 men, women and teens emerging from a life crisis and committed to re-entering the workforce. They offer professional wardrobing and grooming services, career-readiness and image workshops, and a comprehensive career development center to increase their clients' confidence and success in the workplace.

Over 4500 men and women are outfitted every month. Thanks to the generous giving of donors of clothing, this wonderful enterprise can continue to progress. More information is available at their
website.

Monday, July 21, 2008

We "Saw the Stars"

in LA at the Rotary International Convention, June 15-18
by Gillian Bradshaw

The stars, of course, were the 20,000 Rotarians from all over the world who attended the Convention this year! Wow, what an experience! The huge Rotary sign over the entrance of the LA Convention Center could be seen from quite a distance, and there were also flags on several of the hotels, so people definitely knew there was something important going on in town!

When I entered, I was overwhelmed by the huge stack of children's' books for the Wide World of Books project - the 242,624 books collected put us in the Guinness Book of Records, which was our goal!

House of Friendship
Taking Ed Hardenburgh's advice to get a real flavor for the convention by visiting the House of Friendship - and, as high as my expectations were, this exceeded them! First was the colorful "Birmingham, UK" booth promoting the 100th RI Convention to be held there next year - complete with a Yeoman of the Guard and Town Crier.

Then I "traveled" from "continent to continent" visiting the booths of the many countries represented (many wearing their national costume), and learning about the many "Service above Self" projects that our fellow Rotarians are doing all over the world, making a difference in the life of hundreds of thousands of people. I was particularly interested in the African exhibits, as I will be participating in the Humanitarian visit to Uganda with Outreach To Africa in October. There were choirs from far and wide performing most of the time, so it was indeed a jolly place! Thanks to Ed for making this so successful!

Rotary Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Each day focused on a different era in Rotary - I attended the Plenary Sessions for "Today" and "Tomorrow". "Today" focused on our challenge to finally eradicate polio throughout the world, and our partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to accomplish this. For the first time ever, the President of Rotary and the Executive Directors of UNICEF, CDC, and WHO were together in the same room, all of whom gave compelling speeches on this topic.

"Tomorrow" focused on the Rotary Foundation and our focus on Africa, particularly the devastating consequences of AIDS and the need for Rotary to lead the charge to educate, medicate, and ultimately eradicate this disease - if we can do it with polio, surely we can do it with AIDS! Finally, a "Birmingham Bound" presentation, featuring a Town Crier, Yeomen of the Guard, encouraged us to mark our calendars for Rotary's 100th International Convention to be held 21-24 June, 2009.

Hollywood Bowl Concert Under the Stars
Imagine the Hollywood Bowl completely full…now imagine it completely full of Rotarians from all over the world! What an amazing feeling! It was a gloriously warm night and we were treated to a performance by Burt Bacharach, followed by Hollywood movie music from films, the highlight being a fireworks finale lighting up a huge sign above the stage "Rotary International End Polio."

Best of All
Feeling the pulse of Rotary, meeting wonderful people who share the same passion to improve lives throughout the world via "Service Above Self." Many memories and great excitement about next years’ event - please try and share this experience also!