We are 100+ Rotarians united by an interest in international service and travel. Many of us our long-time Rotarians, but we also have many members who are new to Rotary. We eagerly welcome new members and work hard to make people feel at home in our virtual club. Please take some time to explore our website and learn more about our club (if you haven’t already). Take special note of:
Read on to learn a little more about our club and its history.
The history of this club started about 10 years ago when a group of us from various Rotary clubs in the Twin Cities started traveling together. Over the course of 6 years, we traveled to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Philippines, Brazil, Tanzania, Honduras, Argentina, Australia, and more.
In 2020, the District Governor of 5950 came to Paula (our first club president and current membership chair) with the idea of starting a new E-Club focused on international service. She jumped on the opportunity and recruited members of the past traveling teams (some as full members and some as associate members) and off we went. We were chartered within MN District 5950 in April 2021 with 25 members.
International grants are a key focus for our club.
Year 1, we were the lead club in a small international grant in Kenya and a collaborating club for water projects in Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Kenya.
Year 2, we did another small international grant in Kenya. And (drum roll!) Rotary International approved our Global Grant for 2022-2023. This is a $95,000 Biofilter water project for people in need of clean water in Colombia. We are the first E-Club in our District 5950 to accomplish a Global Grant. In January 2024, twenty-four of our members traveled to Colombia to see our grant in progress.
Year 3, we received approval for a small international grant for a Liver Hospital project in Cairo Egypt. Forty of our members will visit Egypt in April 2024.
Learn more about our grants here.
Most of our trips have a service component or a connection with local clubs in the country. Some of our trips focus on comradery combined with fund-raising (just by participating). We’re flexible, creative, and receptive to travel ideas.
Our trips offer the opportunity for those of us without traveling partners to see the world with other Rotarians with similar interests in international service.
Learn more about upcoming trips to Cuba, the Danube, Ethiopia, and Hawaii (with more trips in the works).
We are an E-Club, and we meet virtually on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month at 6 pm Central US time. We open the meetings 30 minutes early for social time, where we gather in zoom breakout rooms for casual conversation. Meeting information is here.
We work to create opportunities to meet in person where we have clusters of members — typically Minnesota and Florida today. As our membership grows and becomes more dispersed, other potential locations for in-person socials will emerge. We also encourage members to attend Rotary International conferences and gather there.
Information about our social gatherings is available in the members-only portion of our website.
We decided on a unique approach to membership. Because we have much lower overhead than an in-person club (no breakfast or lunch, no fees for renting space), we choose to pass these low costs on to our members. And we wanted current Rotarians with a passion for international service, grants, and travel to be able to participate in our club without leaving their in-person club.
We offer two options:
Today, our membership is split almost evenly between these two options.
Download this simple 2-page application — an interactive PDF. Fill it in, save it, and email it to paularotarygh@gmail.com. Paula will contact you to arrange a virtual meeting with our membership committee. We’ll also add you to our email list so that you receive our semi-monthly newsletter and reminders for meetings.
Questions? Contact paularotarygh@gmail.com
CONTACT US
Keep in touch, or reach out to us on social media!
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