2011-12 Rotary Club of Harrisburg

COMMITTEE DESCRIPTIONS

HARRISBURG ROTARY FOUNDATION

The Harrisburg Rotary Foundation is our local foundation. It is a charitable organization and therefore all contributions are tax deductible to donors. All funds received are used to support local service initiatives of the Club. The Foundation is governed by a board of trustees consisting of nine members of the Club, up to three of whom are appointed each successive year by the Chair, who is the immediate past President of the Club. No trustee may serve more than two successive terms. The trustees generally meet quarterly and make their recommendations on charitable activities to the Club Board. The Foundation's funds come largely from club members who are expected to make a minimum annual contribution of $100.00 to support its charitable initiatives each year. The Foundation receives and disburses additional gifts domestically and internationally as designated by the donors.

DEVOTIONS COMMITTEE:
Offer a brief non-denominational prayer of thanks prior to each regular Rotary meeting.

GREETERS COMMITTEE:
Two or three person team per meeting.  They receive money from visiting Rotarians and guests prior to each meeting.  Distribute attendance cards to each member of Harrisburg Rotary and welcome all who attend the meeting.  At the beginning of each meeting, announce to the entire club the names of visiting Rotarians and guests.  Periodically, solicit contributions from members for Good News Reporting.

HISTORIAN:
Compiles, maintains and reports on the history of the Club.  He also is preparing a Club Centennial History 1911-2011, to be issued at the Club Centennial.

MUSIC COMMITTEE:
Arranges Club singing as part of the weekly meetings and/or provide musical programs.

NEW MEMBER INFORMATION COMMITTEE: New members and proposers are invited to a Rotary Orientation.  The President-elect serves as chair with input from the Executive Director, Harrisburg Rotary Foundation President, Rotary International Foundation Chair, and the Rotary President.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE:
Provide informative and entertaining programs of interest to the Club members.

PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE:
The public relations committee works with Club leadership and each committee chair to determine what activities warrant coverage from District, local, regional and national media.  This is accomplished through news releases, media alerts or direct media contact as appropriate.  We have written and designed the Club’s informational brochure.  We also supply photo updates to the Club’s webmaster.

ROTARY ROUNDUP COMMITTEE:
Provides factual and creative information for Rotary Roundup on the meetings, speakers, and fun information on Harrisburg Rotarians.

STRATEGIC PLANNING COMMITTEE:
Provides annual forum for club members and leaders to gather for the purpose of determining long/short term goals and objectives.  To seek committee commitment for implementation of these goals and objectives and to monitor the progress.

Membership:
MEMBERSHIP INDIVIDUAL:
The purposes of the Membership Committee are:  (1) identifying appropriate classifications for membership; (2) formulating strategies for attracting new members; and (3) communicating membership development efforts to the Club at large.

The Membership committee will strive to meet two objectives: Know the expectations of our membership and seek strategies and initiatives to allow membership to secure these expectations. These noble objectives are the bed rock of our Club's commitment to growth by our individual members and by the club as a whole.  Retention is a key factor.

MEMBERSHIP CORPORATE:
The purpose of the Corporate Membership Committee is as follows:  (1) Identify potential Corporate prospects. (2) Facilitate meeting with prospect. (3) Monitor and assess satisfaction of Corporate members. (4) Communicate Corporate membership development outcome to Board and club at large.

NEW ROTARIANS COMMITTEE: All new members will serve on this committee. It meets once a quarter so that new Rotarians can learn more about Rotary and plan one Rotary meeting.

Community Service and Projects:
EYE VISION SCREENING:
The Rotary Club of Harrisburg provides Eye vision screening and corrective glasses to students of the Harrisburg School District.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY:
The Rotary Club of Harrisburg provides hands on labor and solicits in-kind donations of materials that are used to rehabilitate a single family home in the City of Harrisburg. The Committee's leadership works closely with the Harrisburg Chapter of Habitat for Humanity to identify a house that is in need of repairs.

HOMELESS INITIATIVES:
The Committee identifies local homeless project opportunities. Additionally, Committee will strive to involve other Clubs within District to maximize the service outcome for which the project is focused.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST COMMITTEE:
An exciting morning of cooking, serving and eating with others along with raising funds. Our annual pancake breakfast is held at the John Harris Campus of Harrisburg High School.

SALVATION ARMY BELL RINGING COMMITTEE:
The Harrisburg Club assists the Salvation Army with raising funds through bell ringing at Strawberry Square’s Atrium during the Christmas season.

SPECIAL EVENTS/FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE:
Committee sponsors the 2nd Thursday of the Month, Happy Hour, Fire Side Chats, and Semi-annual golf tournaments during the course of the Rotary year.

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS: Rotarians are asked to give a $10 contribution towards the purchase of personal items needed by our troops overseas and the transportation costs associated with shipping these to U.S. military installations.

District and International Service:
GRANTS:
The Committee interacts with the Board and Committee Chairs to identify grant opportunity for existing or new projects or initiatives. This includes providing assistance to Committee Chairs in the creation of a grant request.

GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE COMMITTEE:
Works with Rotary District Committee to organize and support District sponsored Group Study Exchange teams to and from various countries. These teams of four or five persons spend a month in intensive introduction to the business, social and cultural life of another country (or of our region, in the case of visiting teams.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION COMMITTEE:
Interprets the work of the Rotary International Foundation to the Harrisburg Rotary Club. This committee highlights important projects funded by the RI Foundation, and assists in members' continued strong support of giving to that important work.

WORLD FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE:
Reviews, considers, and pursues international service projects, in coordination with the District and International Rotary offices. Sponsors and organizes international service projects in which local club members can provide direct service to those in need.

New Generations:
ECOLOGY:
Committee solicits speakers to present programs to the Harrisburg Rotary Club concerning the environment, seeks volunteers for improving water quality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed through stream bank plantings and promotes projects to preserve our environment.

ROTARACT:
The Committee organizes and assists the development and on-going operations of our club sponsored Rotoract Club. The committee assists the Rotoract leadership in assuring professional development, leadership development, and service projects exist in a balanced manner for development of each Rotoract member.

ROTARY LEADERS CONFERENCE COMMITTEE (RYLA):
Recruit 2 students from Harrisburg High School and Bishop McDevitt to attend the annual Rotary Leaders Conference held annually at Messiah College in June.

SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE:
Selects one student from Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg Sci-Tech, Harrisburg Career Technology Academy and Bishop McDevitt High School to be awarded a $2,000 scholarship each.  Committee members select the winners based on criteria that includes grades, class standing, a written essay and is balanced by personal need.  Scholarship winners are invited to attend a Rotary meeting where they are introduced to the Club.

STUDENTS/TEACHERS OF THE QUARTER COMMITTEE:
Quarterly during the school year, our Club celebrates and recognizes the scholastic achievements of one student and one teacher from Harrisburg High School, Harrisburg Sci-Tech, Harrisburg Career Technology Academy and Bishop McDevitt High School.

YOUTH EXCHANGE COMMITTEE:
Each year this committee provides the necessary support to enable one or more area high school students to participate in a school-year long Rotary Student Exchange program in another country. The committee also makes arrangements for and supports one or more "inbound" exchange students from another country who participate as exchange students under the sponsorship of our club. The Rotary youth exchange program, like the Group Study Exchange, serves the important cause of promoting international understanding.

YOUTH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TEAM (YCDT):
All chairs and sub committee chairs are responsible for convening their committees to do the work of the team, seeking input from the Chair on items having major impact and reporting on the progress of their projects to the Chair.  The overall Chair is responsible to report to the Rotary Board and Club.
Operations Committee-
The Operations Committee is responsible for the management and administrative process for the sessions. Committee Chairs serve on the    Operations Committee.
Duties include:

• Serve as liaison to Leadership Harrisburg Area
• Evaluate the monthly session activities and recommend changes where appropriate.
• Finalize Annual YCDT Grant Guidelines
• Grantwriting for YCDT Program/Operations

Resource Development Committee-
The Fund Development Committee guides the students in the fundraising activities of the program.
Duties include:

• Fundraising training and development
• Accompanying students in development efforts
• Identify prospective donors or programs
• Grant writing with the possible assistance of TFEC
• Input into marketing materials

Public Relations Committee -
The PR Committee is responsible for the internal and external promotion of the YCDT program.
Duties Include:

• PR Policy & Overview
• Development of collateral materials / samples
  • Brochure(s) samples (recruitment and endowment)
  • Power Point sample
  • Articles
• Media Liaison
• Website
• Photo Ops

Schools Committee -
The Schools Committee is responsible for the recruitment and the ongoing maintenance of a consistent relationship with the schools.
Duties Include:

• Recruiting Students
• Student selection
• Welcome reception and orientation
• Student issue resolution
• Student involvement in projects
  • Site visits, Field trips, Rotary events

Finance Committee -
The Finance Committee manages the overall finances of the project to include endowment and operations.
Duties Include:

• Analyze Foundation reports
• Develop monitor, and report on budget
• Provide for annual outside audit
• Authorize payment of expenses
• Ensure the record keeping of all donations
• Serve as liaison with TFEC

Student Advisory Committee -
The Student Advisory Committee acts as YCDT student representation to the Operations Committee, consisting of a few current YCDT students and Rotarian advisor as chair.