As I write this newsletter to you, strains of
“The Lion Sleeps Tonight” are echoing through
my head and I see all types of African animals
having a mini-safari on each of our Rotary tables.
It was a great meeting last week as we introduced
a new international program!
But before I digress, let’s review the
activities of this past week:
Ballcaps off to those who joined President Gail,
Lisa, Stephanie, Justin, Bobbie, Gwen and Sylvia
at the Mar Vista Family Center for lunch this
past Tuesday with our 80 campers!
We served yummy Italian sandwiches which were assembled by Lisa, Steph, Gwen and Bobbie and paired with over 100 slices of watermelon cut by Iris, Rob and Gail. Add some chips, carrots and cookies and you have a complete meal! Yum Yum!
It’s always a special treat to see Lucia and Victor there, who support us in distribution and enthusiasm! Only 2 more weeks left to join us for such a special 1-hour burst of Rotary feel-good time together!
Let Gwen know if you can join us on Tuesday, August 4th. All are welcome 11:30 am - 12:30 pm.
(We'll be serving the kids again today! ... Word on the street is that this will be “Burrito day”!)
Now, back to the Safari…while dancing through
the meeting room, I happened upon my cohort
in crime, Rich Shelton, PVSR International Service Director, who also danced up
to the podium.
(Way to go Rich!)
It was our great pleasure to recount the history of our relationship with the Jacaranda School in
Malawi, Africa, discuss our recent communications with Executive Director Luc Deschamps and
Founder Marie Da Silva and announce the
Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary
🎉 MALAWI LEGACY PROGRAM! 🎉
A three tiered international educational program
that will strengthen our immediate and long-term bonds with the Jacaranda Foundation and School!
Tier 1: 🏆
The creation of the Kathrine Russell/Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club’s Women’s College Scholarship Program! An ongoing college scholarship program that will annually provide 3 Malawi high school girls with an evergreen college scholarship.
Our goal will be to annually underwrite 3 students with a scholarship so that by the 4th year, we will have 12 students progressing though our women’s scholarship program. With so few women being afforded college education and employment opportunities in Malawi, we see this as a way to help young girls envision a better future for themselves and educational options to strive to achieve. Education will be the key to transforming and improving their culture.
Tier 2: 
The creation of a Jacaranda School Interact Club! With the help of Luc and Marie we will assist
in the formation of a Jacaranda School Interact Club. A means to teach the students the values of Rotary, assist them in creating goals and objectives,
including service projects that will create lasting impacts in their community and abroad.
Tier 3: 💫
We are thrilled to welcome Luc Deschamps,
Executive Director of Jacaranda School, who will be inducted into the Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club
as a Supporting Member.
Luc will join us via Zoom this Wednesday
(as it will be 4:30pm for him). We are thrilled to have PVSR Past-President and now, District Governor Brady Connell perform his induction.
Luc will be able to periodically bring our scholarship students and Interact students to visit with us as well. We are so excited to welcome Luc to
the Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club!
As if the meeting could not become any more exciting, we were absolutely thrilled to
welcome Rory Pullens to the podium as our guest speaker! A friend and colleague of Rich Shelton, Rory is the Chief Learning Officer of Soapbox Studios. He provided an absolutely rousing, engaging discussion about the educational work he
is doing through Virtual Reality programming! His wonderful wife Debbie assisted him by providing the
VR glasses to see a demonstration of how the
creation of 3D videos of famous actors, musicians and athletes can engage students to pursue learning and to grow their educational pursuits.
Soapbox has deployed these glasses and programs
to many libraries, schools and universities and are in the process of developing key relationships to make these programs available to students throughout
the country. Needless to say, we were absolutely gobsmacked at the technology and the impact
that it will have on our students in the future!
How empowering it will be to make these
professional artistic icons available to teach students one-on-one through the use of the VR glasses!
We are looking forward to a field trip to the Soapbox Studios in Hollywood and to team up with Rory
to find ways to work on educational
projects together in the future!
As promised, Director of Club Service-Social and Social butterfly Racquel Frawley has planned
our first PVSR Happy Hour of the new
Rotary year on Thursday, August 6th.
We will meet at Tomat at 5:30PM to enjoy an evening of fellowship on their rooftop patio!
Tomat is located in the Westchester Triangle (adjacent to the Book Jewel) at 6261 West 87th Street. Please join us and bring your friends for a lovely evening as we will be up on the roof
until about 7:30PM.
Come one, come all! Don’t miss our first
Fun, Fabulous, Fellowship Meeting this coming Wednesday morning, July 29th! Our very own
DG Brady will give us an overview of his trip to the International Rotary Convention recently
held in Taipei.
We will also see DG Brady perform a very
special induction of TWO NEW MEMBERS!!!
We will welcome our dear friend and a 2025
"Rotarian at Heart" award recipient and colleague, Jenny Aragon, to our ranks!
As well as welcoming our first
long-distance, around-the-world Zoom induction
of Luc Deschamps at Jacaranda School in
Malawi, Africa.
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WE WELCOME NEW FRIENDS!!
We will also welcome visiting Rotarians David Bastida
who is the Treasurer of the Rotary Club Madrid Serrano in Spain and his wife Mercedes Huete who will give us an overview of their Rotary Club!
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🎉 WE CELEBRATE!! 🎉
If that is not enough excitement, we will welcome
our Birthday Fairy and acknowledge July Birthdays!
We promise, it will be FUN, it will be FABULOUS
and as always GREAT FELLOWSHIP together!
See you Wednesday morning!!!
Rotary Makes Us Happy!
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Update on the Gail and Rob Champions Retreat fundraising offering! A few dates have
been booked but more dates have been added!
Reminder this offer is open to any and all Rotarians.
Their gorgeous 4-bed, 3.5 bath home in the Signature
gated community at PGA West, La Quinta
still has dates available!
This home is an oasis in the desert, with a private pool, California room, and view out to the driving range – an amazing retreat! We will make "Champs" available at the Rotary Friends-and-Family rate for 4 weekends in the coming Rotary year to those who will donate to our Club. Three days, two nights - $1,500.00 – it’s a steal!!
Depending on availability, additional weekends
could include:
• November 13th-15th
• December 11th-13th
• January 8th-10th
• April 2nd-4th
• May 28th-30th
Gail and Rob have offered to go with you to host your weekend, or you can have the house all to yourself! contact Gail or Rob for more details!
To view more photos of Rob and Gail's
stunning La Quinta home, click here!
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NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Please join us for a special evening of service and thanks to our LAPD first responders! We will gather on Tuesday, August 4th, 4-8 PM at Concert Park in Playa Vista, to serve dinner from our Rotary booth to all attendees.
Come thank those who protect us!
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BALLET BEYOND BORDERS
Love Dance? Love Arts & Global artistry and inspiration? Check out Ballet Beyond Borders returning to Westchester next month for a 3-day event full of dance, cultural exchange!
Save the date for this free event open to the community at LMU & The Book Jewel.
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DISTRICT BREAKFAST
Come support DG Brady in his first District Breakfast on Saturday, August 15th from 8am - 11:30am at the Proud Bird. The club has filled 2 tables of 8 in support of
DG Brady's first District Event!
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WESTCHESTER SATURDAY STROLL
Get your “Strolling Shoes On” as we gather later on Saturday, August 15th from 4 PM-7 PM to serve at the Westchester Saturday Stroll sponsored by Drollinger Properties. We will serve our famous Stroll Sundaes
ice cream with all the toppings!
Come help Rob, Dave, and Evan scoop ice cream,
and the ladies provide toppings and serve the crowds -
so much fun together and a favorite among the community!
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ROTARY DISTRICT 5280 PICNIC
MAKE WAVES at the upcoming District Picnic and
Cardboard Yacht Regatta on Saturday, August 29th
from 5pm - 9pm at the Seaside Lagoon,
Redondo Beach. As you might anticipate,
we will make a "Sweet" contribution to the event along
with Rotarian in Training DJ Addy O'D mixing some
80's classics for the day! We'll be there to support
DG Brady (rumor has it a dunk tank may have
our DG ready to make a splash!).
We will provide additional info on
how YOU can GET INVOLVED!!!
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SUMMER SOCIAL
Get ready to put your dancing shoes on and step up to
the Karaoke mic as the Summer Social is in the works!
Make a note on your calendar to join us on Sunday, September 6th from 4 pm - 9 pm!
More details to follow, but as always,
A "DO NOT MISS EVENT!"
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THE ROTARY WHEEL EMBLEM
A wheel has been the symbol of Rotary since our earliest days. The first design was made by Chicago Rotarian Montague Bear, an engraver who drew a simple wagon wheel, with a few lines to show dust and motion. The wheel was said to illustrate "Civilization and Movement."
Most of the early clubs had some form of wagon wheel on their publications and letterheads. Finally,
in 1922, it was decided that all Rotary clubs should adopt a single design as the exclusive emblem of Rotarians. Thus, in 1923, the present gear wheel, with 24 cogs and six spokes was adopted by the "Rotary International Association."
A group of engineers advised that the geared wheel was mechanically unsound and would not work without a "keyway" in the center of the
gear to attach it to a power shaft.
So, in 1923 the keyway was added and the design which we now know was formally adopted as the official Rotary International emblem.
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PLAYA VENICE SUNRISE ROTARY
Serving our Community since 2005
Rotary Four-Way Test:
1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and
BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
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ZOOM LINK
For Wednesday's meeting
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