District Approves Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Grant for Ethiopia

District 7620 Humanitarian Grants Committee held a Forum on August 18, at which all of the Clubs in our District were invited to present proposals for District Grants for Rotary year 1012-2013.   We had an impressive slate of projects and the Committee is pleased to have approved the following 12 projects. 

1. The Rotary Club of Olney, in cooperation with the Cyrus Friendship Program, will train pairs of Greek and Turkish Cypriots in conflict resolution and leadership for four weeks in the United States.  The District will contribute $1,500 to support this project.

2. The Lake Shore Club, in cooperation with the Glen Burnie, Greater Severna Park, Baltimore Washington and the Parole Clubs, have organized a project to provide state of the art equipment to educate and train special needs children and their families at the Cisco Center in Severna Park.  The District will contribute $4,500 to this project.

3. The metroBethesda Club, in cooperation with a Wider Circle, an award winning  nonprofit located in Silver Spring, will work with underprivileged new mothers in Montgomery County to help them understand and cultivate better parenting skills. The District will contribute $1,500 to support this project.

4. The Mt. Airy will provide a trike for wounded warriors going through physical rehabilitation at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda.  The District will contribute $1,500 to support this project.

5. The Sykesville Club is working with the Good Samaritan Orphange in Tanzania to open a school on the orphanage grounds, to provide vocational education and training to children who live at the Orphanage, as well as to members of the larger Mbeya community.  The District will contribute $2,500 to support this project.

6. The Parole and Collage Park Clubs are working with Safe Blood in Peru to promote the donation of safe blood in Peru through education and recruitment of volunteer blood doners.  The District will contribute $3,000 to support this project.

7. The Lenardtown Club, in cooperation with several other Clubs in the District, will construct the first half acre of an eventual 2.8 acre naturally sustainable oyster reef.  This project will serve as a model for oyster restoration and water quality improvement in the Chesapeake Bay.  The District will contribute $4,500 to support this project.

8.  The Montgomery Village Club, in cooperation the Peace Corps volunteers, plan to purchase a gasoline powered grinder for grain for the villagers of Yo in Burkina Faso.  This project will help to generate funds for small local businesses, gardens and educational needs. The District will contribute $1,500 to support this project.

9. The Potomac-Bethesda Club will work with the Joshua Youth Academy AIDS Orphanage and School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to fund the housing and educational needs of the orphanage.  The District will contribute $4,500 to support this project.

10.The Potomac Rotary Club will transform the entryway of Children's National Medical Center in Washington.  The Club will provide a colorful, friendly hand-painted mural to welcome the children and their families.  The District will contribute $3,000 to support this project.

11.The Beltsville Rotary Club has put together a program to provide nutritious food on weekends for the Beltsville Academy first graders and their families.  The District will contribute $1,500 to support this project.

12.  The Bladensburg Club, in corporation with other Clubs in the District, will purchase 15 disaster aid boxes for South Sudan.  The District will contribute $3,000 to support this project.

For further information on any of these project, please contact the lead Clubs.  Several of these Clubs would certainly welcome participation by other Clubs in the District.