Sunday 27 September 2015

RCBW Celebrates World Elders' Day

Rotary Club of Bombay West celebrated World Elders' Day (which falls on 1st October every year) by felicitating and honouring several senior citizens from the community for Lifetime Harmonious Living with Family, Friends and Community.  Rotary Club of North Island were the co-hosts of the event which was attended by over 200 senior citizens from the neighborhood.

Speaking on this occasion, District Governor Elect (DGE) Rtn.Gopal Mandhania urged the elders present to do good for the society, to contribute in any which way towards making the lives of less fortunate better and always keep a positive frame of mind to remain happy and peaceful.  He also requested the elders to consider registering for organ donation which is a very noble act and gives life to fellow human beings who are suffering because of organ failures.

Earlier, President of Rotary Club of Bombay West, Rtn.Shirish Rege welcomed the gathering while Rtn.Anil Khanna, President of Rotary Club of North Island proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the organizers and sponsors of the event. He specially appreciated the efforts of Rtn.Mohanlal Gupta, the octogenarian member of Rotary Club of Bombay West, Rtn.Shanti Grewal of RC North Island, Ms.Meera Sheth, Vice President, Inner Wheel Club of Bombay West and Rtn.Hima Dalal, Director, RC of Bombay West for their untiring efforts at making the event a success.

The felicitation programme was followed by a top-class musical event performing with a live band.  Singers Rochana Dahanukar, Hari Gandhi, Chandramohan Saigal, Prakruti Vasani, Usha Jayachandran, Deep Bhatkal and Pankaj Sheth sang old bollywood classics of the golden era which was well appreciated by the elders.  Songs like Kajra Mohabbatwala and Dumadum Mast Kalandar brought the elders on the dance floor to the merriment of all present. The musical event was ably compered by President Elect of Rotary Club of Bombay West, Rtn.Aslam Merchant interspersed with shayaris and humour.


All in all, an evening to remember...  seeing the happy and smiling elders were the moments which we shall cherish for a long time to come.

Sunday 6 September 2015

2nd Chandaben Mohanbhai Patel Rotary Excellence Awards - 2015

The second Chandaben Mohanbhai Patel Rotary Excellence Awards Ceremony was held on Friday, 4th September, 2015 at Chandaben Mohanbhai Patel College of Homeopathy, Vile Parle West, Mumbai where over 100 students from neighborhood schools and institutions were felicitated and awarded cash prizes.

First Lady Kavita Rege welcoming the Chief Guest
These awards  were instituted last year by Rotary Club of Bombay West (RCBW) with the help of donation of Rs.100 lakhs by Past President and Ex-Sheriff of Mumbai, Rtn.Mohanbhai Patel through his family trust to Rotary Service Public Charitable Trust (RSPCT). Earnings from the dedicated corpus created by RSPCT would be utilized every year to give away cash prizes of Rs.10000, Rs.5000 and Rs.3000 to students ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd in their respective schools / institutions at Board/University level examinations.

R/Ann Veena Khanna welcoming Dr.Mohanbhai Patel
The cash awards and certificates of excellence were handed over to the students by Shri Amrishbhai Patel, Ex-Minister of School Education, Sports & Youth Affairs, Govt. of Maharashta, President of Shri Vile Parle Kelvani Mandal (http://www.svkm.ac.in/) and Chancellor of NMIMS – a deemed university, in presence of Past President Rtn.Mohanbhai Patel, President Rtn.Shirish Rege, President Elect, Rtn.Aslam Merchant, Past President Arvind Shah who also headed the Club Committee for the Awards and Rtn.Samapti Patel, Director – Youth Services alongwith over fifteen members of the Club.  

Shirish Rege addressing audience
Inspirational talks by Rtn.Mohanbhai Patel, Shri Amrishbhai Patel and President Shirish Rege were the highlights of the evening which the students and parents will cherish for life.  

Before the awardees left the venue, they were handed over framed picture of them receiving the awards which was a delightful surprise element planned and executed meticulously by the Club.


The ceremony was witnessed by several principals and teachers of the select schools, parents and family members of the awardees, specially invited guests, Inner Wheel Club members, Rotarians and Rotary/Anns.  Rtn.Shefali Shah ably compeered the event while Rtn.Aslam Merchant, Rtn.Ramesh Damani and Rtn.Nilesh Samant respectively introduced Shri Amrishbhai Patel, Rtn.Mohanbhai Patel and Rtn.Shirish Rege to the gathering. 

Friday 4 September 2015

Toilets & Bathrooms for Adivasi Students at Talasari Ashram School


Bhoomi Poojan ceremony of the Toilet and Bathroom Project taken up by the Rotary Club of Bombay at Gokhale Education Society’s Anudanit Prathmik Ashram Shala, Tal.Talasari, Dist.Palghar was performed on 3rd September, 2015.  This initiative of Rotary Club of Bombay West is a humble contribution towards achieving the Prime Minister’s dream of a Swachh Bharat when the country celebrates Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary in 2019.



President Rtn.Shirish Rege was the Chief Guest at the event which was also attended by President Elect Rtn.Aslam Merchant, Rtn.Dr. Anand Gupta, Director, Rtn.Mohanlal Gupta and Rtn.Kishen Agarwal.


The project involves upgrading and repairs to nineteen existing boys and girls toilets, construction of new toilets and bathing areas for boys and providing water storage and flushing facility to all the toilets in the school premises.  The Club has also extended its support in fixing ceiling fans and tubelights in the multi-purpose hall for the comfort and convenience of the students.  The total project outlay is estimated at over Rs.15 lacs.

On our way back from Talasari, Rtn.Kishen Agarwal offered his impressions of the project…. “President Shirish and his team have conceived and meticulously planned this education rural upliftment project of upgrading and building new toilets for girls and boys…. Our (club’s) support would speak loud and clear in future.  Indeed, a vey satisfying project participation for me and am requesting every fellow Rotarian to experience the same when we have such rural project visits organized by the club.

-Rtn.Aslam Merchant

Tuesday 1 September 2015

Rotary Global Rewards Program for Members.... One More Reason to Join Rotary


Message from Rotary International President:

There was once a strong young man who was offered a job as a woodcutter. He set about his task with energy: The first week, he turned 18 trees into firewood. The second week, he worked just as hard, but was surprised to find he had chopped only 11 trees. The third week, despite working nonstop from morning till night, the number was six, and he went despairingly to the foreman to offer his resignation. "I am losing my strength. I can no longer cut as many trees as I once could."

The foreman looked at the young man, who seemed to him in fine health. "Have you thought of sharpening your ax?" he asked.

"Sharpen my ax? Who has time to sharpen an ax?" the young man asked indignantly. "I have been too busy chopping wood!"

When we aren't making the kind of progress we feel we should be making, the natural response is to redouble our efforts. Sometimes, though, the better response is not to work harder, but to work smarter. Look at your tools. Analyze your processes. Are you directing your resources in the most effective ways? Or are you pouring all your strength into chopping wood with a dull ax?

For the last 20 years, we have relentlessly beaten the drum of membership in Rotary. We set goals and launch campaigns, all focused on bringing in more and more members. And yet, our overall numbers remain the same.
It is time to sharpen our tools. Instead of focusing on the question, "How can we bring more members into Rotary?" we should be asking ourselves, "How can we add more value to Rotary membership, so that more will join and fewer will leave?"

One way we are doing that is with the new Rotary Global Rewards program, which launched in July. This innovative program allows Rotarians to connect with, and receive discounts and concessions from, businesses and service providers around the world. Individual Rotarians may submit their own business to be included alongside those with which Rotary has already negotiated relationships; the most appropriate offers will be added to the listings. We have also created the option of allowing businesses to return a percentage of their profit on each transaction to our Rotary Foundation, and several companies have already been locked into this part of the scheme. Each month we will update the list with additional offers that we may receive. I urge all of you to try it out by signing up on My Rotary at Rotary.org now. The more Rotarians participate, the stronger, and more beneficial, the program will be.

Much more than another loyalty program, Rotary Global Rewards is a new way to benefit from being a Rotarian, and being part of the Rotary network. It is another way to combine business and service. And it is yet another way to add value to Rotary membership. We cannot forget that our potential members will be asking themselves, "What's in it for me?" We need to demonstrate the value of Rotary by showing that becoming a Rotarian will enrich their lives, as it has ours.

K R Ravindran
President 2015 - 16
Source: Rotary International