WELCOME TO ROTARY DISTRICT 5240

Rotary District 5240 consists of almost 3,000 members in 69 Rotary Clubs. The District spans four counties in Central California - San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, Ventura County, and Kern County – as well as a Chapter Club based in Guatemala, a Next Gen Club in Westlake Village, and the international-focused Rotary E-Club of One World District 5240.  Our clubs are active in all aspects of Rotary, including community and international service, youth programs, and fellowship activities.

MARTA BROWN, DISTRICT GOVERNOR 2023-24

Can you believe it's already September? Time is flying, but you know what they say – time flies when you're having FUN!
 
I'm thrilled to announce that registration is now officially open for the 2023 Rotary District 5240 Conference happening on October 20th and 21st, 2023, in the vibrant city of Bakersfield!
 
Our Conference Committee is on a mission to make this event both incredibly educational and a blast of a good time for all District 5240 Rotarians and our wonderful guests. We're kicking off the festivities with a Foundation Fiesta! We'll be raising funds for the Rotary Foundation Annual Giving Fund and the noble cause of Polio Plus eradication. Click here to register. 
 
But that's not all! Get ready for Friday and Saturday nights filled with hosted FUN Zone Hospitality Suites and there's more fun in store! Saturday promises a day chock-full of learning and inspiration with captivating speakers and breakout sessions. You'll discover how to expand your club's ability to change lives through projects around the globe and right in your own communities. So, go ahead, register to attend, and book your room, because we want to see YOU in Bakersfield next month!
 
September is the Month of Service and clubs are asked to participate in a project with another service organization in their community. In support of this opportunity, the District and Kern County Clubs received a Proclamation from the Board of Supervisors declaring this month of service in Kern County.  
 
Clubs are also creating a Flash Mob on September 30th throughout the District showing Rotarians doing good work. Think about a project you can easily do in 20 to 30 minutes (Clean up a beach or a park, plant flowers at a park, paint over graffiti, etc.) and on September 30th at 9:30am show up at your designated location wearing your Rotary swag and quickly do your work, bring your club banner, and record it. In the end, place a sign "Rotarians Were Here" and send the video to Randy Strong  rotarystrong4@gmail.com, so Randy can do his magic and create a video for us to share!
 
As for me, July and August went by in a blur as I crisscrossed our wonderful District, visiting Clubs and meeting Rotarians. I've been blown away by the incredible projects and programs each of our clubs passionately supports all year long. Plus, I've had the absolute pleasure of being hosted by many of our clubs at their fantastic events. You too can participate in these projects by checking out the District Calendar at rotarydistrict5240.org/events for events in your area. If you don’t see your club’s event, please make sure to check the box to add your event to the District calendar feed and join the FUN!.
 
If we haven't had the pleasure of crossing paths yet – I'm looking forward to meeting you very soon as I continue my visits or at the District Conference!
 
Having Fun,
Marta

DISTRICT 5240 CONFERENCE

  • Friday Registration: 4-7 pm
    • Foundation Fiesta Dinner: 6-9pm
    • Hospitality Suites at the Fun Zone: 8-10 pm
  • Saturday Registration: 7-10 am
    • Breakfast Buffet: 7:30 am
    • Morning Presentations: 8:10 am
    • Breakout Room Sessions
    • Lunch Buffet: 12-1:30 pm
    • Breakout Room Sessions
    • Dinner: 6-9 pm
    • Hospitality Suites at the Fun Zone: 8-10 pm 
 
 
District 5240 Foundation Gala Photos- Thank you to those who joined us on this special evening as we inch closer towards our District goal of $1 Million in Rotary Foundation Giving!  Click here for photos from the Gala!
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Stories From Around the District
Grover Beach 5 Cities and Pismo Beach 5 Cities Support Grover Beach Elementary in a Clean Water Project
In January 2022 the Grover Beach Rotary learned of Grover Beach Elementary’s efforts to provide a clean water project for a kindergarten in Viet Nam. This project is an educational fundraiser for the installation of a Gravity Water Project.  The school that Grover Beach Elementary decided to partner with is a residential Kindergarten that has difficulty providing clean water for its students in the Ban Lien District of Viet Nam.  Grover Beach Elementary decided to partner with Gravity Water, (c) 3 non-profits focused on turning rain into safe drinking water through a rainwater capture and filtration system to clean the water of waterborne Illnesses and diseases. The project was developed by Sienna Robertson, school counselor, with the support of principal Petra Reynolds. There is also an educational component of the project where students learn about the country and location of the school the project the students will be assisting. Students have begun corresponding with school members in Viet Nam.
 
The financial cost of the project was $2500. Early in the project, the Grover Beach Rotary got the ball rolling with a donation of $500. The students themselves undertook fundraising efforts and raised a total of $1500 through a variety of on-campus fundraisers. The Pismo Beach Rotary learned of the project and decided to also contribute with a $500 donation. This was a great project all around. It was a youth project conducted in an international way that will provide ongoing benefits to students on both sides of the Globe.
 
 
RC of Thousand Oaks and Thousand Oaks Rotary Foundation Jointly Fund New Van for Gold Coast Veterans Foundation
The Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks and its affiliated Thousand Oaks Rotary Foundation jointly provided $33,000 in funding to Gold Coast Veteran’s Foundation (“GCVF”), a local nonprofit, to purchase a van so it can increase its capacity to serve veterans in Ventura County through greater outreach efforts and veteran access.
 
The van increases the capacity of GCVF to rapidly serve veterans in need, with one-on-one, peer-to-peer assistance, enabling the nonprofit’s Mobile Veteran Outreach Program to reach and change the lives of a greater number of veterans.  The van is used to deliver food and to transport veterans to essential medical, counseling, employment and financial appointments.  The van is also used for wellness checks of at-risk veterans.
 
Positive outcomes ultimately expected from the new van include increased veteran employment and finances, food sustainability, successful outcomes with VA administrative issues and a better quality of life, health and well-being of veterans in Ventura County.
 
The new van includes a full vehicle wrap with GCVF information and that highlights the generosity of the Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks and the Thousand Oaks Rotary Foundation.  The project is also providing opportunities for Rotary Club members to volunteer in assisting with the Mobile Veteran Outreach Program.
 
Gold Coast Veterans Foundation is a local nonprofit dedicated to the care of the 43,000 veterans and their spouses who live in our community, and operates the only full service facility dedicated to veterans and their families in Ventura County.  Each year, GCVF services over 2,500 veterans who reach out to them for care, through various outreach, benefits access, housing, medical, financial, wellness/counseling and other programs.
 
 
Rotary Club of Cayucos International Service
A Peace Pole is an internationally-recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family. It stands vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four sides. There are estimated 250,000 Peace Poles in nearly every country in the world dedicated as monuments to peace.
 
The Rotary Club of Cayucos, in collaboration with the Cayucos Elementary & Middle School installed a Peace Pole on the school grounds in April 2023.  The Pole's message, May Peace Prevail on Earth, is listed in eight different languages, and braille.
 
Cayucos Rotary is excited to sponsor the Peace Pole, and hopes the Pole will inspire, awaken and uplift the human consciousness, starting with the students, teachers, parents, Cayucos community leaders and visitors. 
 
Rotary Club of Ojai - Membership
Our Membership Committee organized a couple of fireside chats for newer members at a local brewery. Our Fireside  Chats are smaller, more informal gatherings which give us an opportunity to get to know these newer members. It also gives the newer members an opportunity to ask questions about Rotary. At this particular meeting we had a light agenda about a specific Rotary topic e.g. TRF   What does it mean? What does it do?  We also hand pick some long time members to show up and share about how they got into Rotary and to say what Rotary means to them. It’s always a super feel good event.
 

Rotary International District 5240
C/O Synergy Computing, Inc.
5662 Calle Real #425
Goleta, CA 93117

info@district5240.org
844-999-5240