Events

Christopher Pollock, Historian-in-Residence for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and author, shares with us the history and features of our beloved Golden Gate Park as well as the Park's recent 150th anniversary.

With the 150ᵗʰ anniversary of Golden Gate Park in 2020, he launched the latest version of his book, first published in 2001, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories. The publication by Norfolk Press is a hybrid of a history and tour guide of the park’s many features. This was preceeded by another publication, Reel San Francisco Stories: An Annotated Filmography of the Bay Area, published in 2013, which is about the some 650 movies filmed in the Bay Area since the beginning of talkies.

Chris started his career as a designer specializing in interior architecture. With this experience, he changed gears to focus on historic preservation, specializing in historic research. A native of Connecticut, Chris has resided in San Francisco since 1979.

This is a regular membership meeting of The Rotary Club of San Francisco, open to all Rotarians, visiting Rotarians, prospective members, and guests. 

The meeting is free, but you must register to get the link. 

Meeting Schedule:

12:00 Noon: Log in or dial in

12:15 PM: Meeting begins

1:30 PM: Meeting adjourns

In March 2021, we gathered to organize baby wipes for the Homeless Prenatal Program, but we only got 1/3 of the job done. So, please join us for round #2! We still have 28 cases of baby wipes to separate into baggies for HPP. We do this work, because HPP does not have the resources to give out entire packages of wipes to its clients.

We need 12-15 people to help with this effort! We will meet at Hoogasian Flowers, an open-air warehouse, to sort and bag the wipes at a social distance. Limit: 15 people. Masks are required. Double masks are preferred.

Join us for the next Speakers Committee meeting. Committee members and anyone interested in this Committee are welcome. Please register for more information.

The annual District Conference where clubs in the District come together to celebrate the year's accomplishments under the leadership of District Governor Mary Bates will be held on May 15, 2021. This year's District Conference will be virtual. In the morning will be a special keynote speaker, PDG Deepa Biswas, Founder of Pace Universal School, Piyali Junction, India. The evening portion will feature Rotary Club Excellence awards and the traditional Governors’ “Passing of the Pick”! 

First 200 registrants get a gift box.

More information and registration

Drivers (limited to six) needed to pick up pre-packaged meals at The Arc San Francisco, 1500 Howard Street (cross street is 11th Street) and deliver to either Arc Mercy Community (Haight), Arc Bay Street Apartments (North Beach) or select individual residences of Arc participants who are experiencing food insecurity. Exact directions will be provided when you pick up the meals.

Hand delivery of meals must occur between 4 PM and 5:30 PM in advance of the Monday Night Dinner Club with Friends Like Me via Zoom to be held on the first and third Monday of each month. We recommend that each driver come with a companion so that one can wait in the car while the other person hands out the meal. IMPORTANT:  If you sign up and cannot participate for any reason, please notify Lance Scott at least 24 hours in advance.

Members of our Club are invited to join the Zoom call on Monday, May 17 from 5:30 PM to 6 PM for fellowship with friends at The Arc. Please contact Lance Scott at least 24 hours in advance for the link.

Frank Schulenburg, Wikipedian and Executive Director of Wiki Education, will share how
Wikipedia’s contributors ensure the free encyclopedia’s quality and how Wiki Education
systematically works to make Wikipedia a platform that represents the knowledge of all people.

Wiki Education is an independent non-profit institution that supports Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects in higher education contexts across the United States and Canada. In this role, it serves as the bridge between academia and Wikipedia. Formed in 2013, Wiki Education is a spin-off of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that runs Wikipedia.

Frank Schulenburg, who has been contributing to Wikipedia as a volunteer since 2005, will provide a better understanding of how Wikipedia’s contributors communicate with each other, how they resolve conflicts, and how one of the world’s most crucial information sources continues to produce trustworthy information on a multitude of topics.

Between 2008 and 2014, Frank served on the Executive Team of the Wikimedia Foundation and spearheaded a number of global initiatives aimed at improving the encyclopedia’s coverage and quality. In 2014, Frank founded Wiki Education, an ed-tech nonprofit that works with post-secondary educational institutions across North America to support students in learning to edit Wikipedia, and which has a special emphasis on recruiting editors from non-majority identities. In his free time, Frank enjoys writing Wikipedia articles, photographing nature, and cycling.

This is a regular membership meeting of The Rotary Club of San Francisco, open to all Rotarians, visiting Rotarians, prospective members, and guests. 

The meeting is free, but you must register to get the link. 

Meeting Schedule:

12:00 Noon: Log in or dial in

12:15 PM: Meeting begins

1:30 PM: Meeting adjourns

Rotarians Making a Difference: Three Clubs Take on Great Projects

Three clubs will be sharing projects they are doing or have completed.

Rebuilding Panamanian Coral Reefs
Steve Bender, RC Newport Beach CA
Our coastal sinks – kelp, coral and wetlands – provide significant carbon sequestration solutions that can help restore balance in our climate challenged world. A group of Rotarians have taken on rebuilding coral reefs off the coast of Panama. This is the kind of project that makes a dramatic difference for our environment but also brings together employment for the local community and volunteer opportunities for Rotarians. Learn more about this powerful project.
 
EV Charging Stations
Alan Anderson and Rick Estenson, RC Northfield MN
The Rotary Club of Northfield, Minnesota, started a Rotary Climate Action Team in 2017, after our club made climate action one of its top five priorities, in a new long-range plan. Besides working to educate our club members, we also wanted to do a Rotary project that 1. Has an impact and 2. Is visible in the community. Since our small town had no public electric vehicle charging stations, we partnered with the city of Northfield, to install 2 sets of 2 stations each, in our downtown area. They have been well received, and through the company Charge Point, we can track their use. We look forward to telling you more about it and answering your questions.
 
Energize San Mateo
Rick Raybin, RC San Mateo CA
Our target is to build a sustainable economic environment by introducing clean energy with employment opportunities that support the community while addressing inequalities regarding access to sound climate practices. The project has engaged well over a dozen governmental, educational, business and non-profit entities to build awareness and provide resources. This effort demonstrated how Rotary clubs can bring disparate organizations together to make a difference in their community. Find out how our Club has made this happen.
 
Share Your Project with RCAT Network
Resources and Project Library
A brief presentation of the new RCAT Website.  Project sharing is the heart of this Network. We want to upload hundreds of projects and allowing Rotary clubs to learn from each other and to share areas of common focus. Join us for an update on this effort.

Please join the Rotary Climate Action Teams (RCAT) Network for this informative view of the climate crisis. To find out more about RCAT, the Network, and the Speakers Forum, go here. 

Join us for our monthly Development Committee meeting. Committee members and anyone interested in development for the Rotary Club of San Francisco are welcome. Please register, and login information will be sent to you. The Development Committee will meet for 30 minutes and will discuss a variety of topics to maximize fundraising for the Rotary Club of San Francisco. If you have questions or want more information, please contact Christopher Wiseman, Vice President of Development.

REGISTER HERE

In honor of Gay Pride Month, the Rotary Club of San Francisco will celebrate and learn from The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgences, a charity, protest, and street performance organization that uses drag and religious imagery to call attention to sexual intolerance and satirizes issues of gender and morality. During this presentation, Rotarians will have an opportunity to get to know Sister ZsaZsa Glamour and understand the services this Order provides to San Francisco and around the world.

The Sisters have grown throughout the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, and South America, and are currently organized as an international network of orders, which are mostly non-profit, charity organizations that raise money for AIDS, LGBT-related causes, and mainstream community service organizations, while promoting safer sex and educating others about the harmful effects of drug use and other risky behaviors. In San Francisco alone where they continue to be the most active, between 1979 and 2007, the Sisters are credited with raising over $1 million for various causes, or almost $40,000 on average per year. 

Sister ZsaZsa Glamour has been a sister with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence since 1991. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, she was called to join the order after becoming friends with Sister Roma and Sister Blanche de Root. While the order has many projects, she has served as Producer of Project Nunway 666 (raised $11,000 in one night), numerous school visits, representing the order at Life Ball in Vienna, and booking the talent for the Halloween event from 1992-1995.

This is a regular membership meeting of The Rotary Club of San Francisco, open to all Rotarians, visiting Rotarians, prospective members, and guests. 

The meeting is free, but you must register to get the link. 

Meeting Schedule:

12:00 Noon: Log in or dial in

12:15 PM: Meeting begins

1:30 PM: Meeting adjourns

Join us for our monthly Youth Leadership Committee meeting. Committee members and anyone interested in youth development are welcome. If you have questions or want more information, please contact David Dye or Lisa Christian

This is our Club’s bi-monthly Community Service Committee meeting held on the first Wednesday of every other month starting in August 2020. We will discuss local domestic projects that are conducted by our Club’s volunteers as well as current projects, the calendar, volunteers, and Club communications. Committee members and anyone interested in new projects, volunteering for projects, or even leading projects are welcome. 

During the pandemic, all meetings until further notice will be conducted via Zoom. Please register, and login information will be sent to you. If you have questions or want more information, please contact Bob Hermann, Vice President of Community Service. 

REGISTER HERE

Come and enjoy the fun at our twelfth annual Bike Build! This year, we are partnering with TogetherSF for the event at their new location in the Mission District.

After a year pause due to COVID, we'll be assembling 130 brand new bikes for distribution to kids in the first, second, and third grades in the Bayview area of San Francisco. Also, a helmet and a lock will be given with each bike.

We'll start building the bikes at 8:00 AM so we can have them ready for the kids when they come at 11:00. We have scheduled the kids to come in three waves by grade from 11:00-2:00. Officers from the San Francisco Police Department will be on hand to help fit the bikes to each kid, and teach them how to ride and about the rules of the road. The proud new bike owners will ride a special learning test course.

Lunch will be provided to volunteers. Clean-up will be from 2:00-3:00 for those who can stay to help.

Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors, friends, and family are all welcome. Please wear Rotary-themed gear. Long pants and closed-toe shoes recommended. Masks are required. Gloves and hand sanitizer will be available.

Any questions, please contact Bill Poppen

Drivers (limited to six) needed to pick up pre-packaged meals at The Arc San Francisco, 1500 Howard Street (cross street is 11th Street) and deliver to either Arc Mercy Community (Haight), Arc Bay Street Apartments (North Beach) or select individual residences of Arc participants who are experiencing food insecurity. Exact directions will be provided when you pick up the meals.

Hand delivery of meals must occur between 4 PM and 5:30 PM in advance of the Monday Night Dinner Club with Friends Like Me via Zoom to be held on the first and third Monday of each month. We recommend that each driver come with a companion so that one can wait in the car while the other person hands out the meal. IMPORTANT:  If you sign up and cannot participate for any reason, please notify Lance Scott at least 24 hours in advance.

Members of our Club are invited to join the Zoom call on Monday, June 7 from 5:30 PM to 6 PM for fellowship with friends at The Arc. Please contact Lance Scott at least 24 hours in advance for the link.

Join us for our next Membership Committee meeting. Committee members and anyone interested in membership are welcome. Please register, and login information will be sent to you. If you have questions or want more information, please contact Terry Pickering, Vice President of Membership.

REGISTER HERE

Drivers (limited to six) needed to pick up pre-packaged meals at The Arc San Francisco, 1500 Howard Street (cross street is 11th Street) and deliver to either Arc Mercy Community (Haight), Arc Bay Street Apartments (North Beach) or select individual residences of Arc participants who are experiencing food insecurity. Exact directions will be provided when you pick up the meals.

Hand delivery of meals must occur between 4 PM and 5:30 PM in advance of the Monday Night Dinner Club with Friends Like Me via Zoom to be held on the first and third Monday of each month. We recommend that each driver come with a companion so that one can wait in the car while the other person hands out the meal. IMPORTANT:  If you sign up and cannot participate for any reason, please notify Lance Scott at least 24 hours in advance.

Members of our Club are invited to join the Zoom call on Monday, June 21 from 5:30 PM to 6 PM for fellowship with friends at The Arc. Please contact Lance Scott at least 24 hours in advance for the link.

Club members are welcomed to join the meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Rotary Foundation (SFRF). For connection information, please contact SFRF President Dan Joraanstad.

Join us for our monthly Development Committee meeting. Committee members and anyone interested in development for the Rotary Club of San Francisco are welcome. Please register, and login information will be sent to you. The Development Committee will meet for 30 minutes and will discuss a variety of topics to maximize fundraising for the Rotary Club of San Francisco. If you have questions or want more information, please contact Christopher Wiseman, Vice President of Development.

REGISTER HERE