WOW!

Way to go, SBS Rotarians! Thanks to the efforts of club members, the vision of Fraser Smith, a core Organizing Committee and, of course, the talent and generosity of Sunny Shams (and 'friends'!), the SUNNY AND THE KIDS project contributed $25,002.88 to the SBS Rotary Children's Water Spray Park initiative.

Singing Barista raises more than $25,000 for Kids’ Water Spray Park

Sunny Shams, mild-mannered barista, used his formidable musical talent to raise more than $25,000 for a new Rotary Water Spray Park for kids.

On July 26th and 27th, Sunny and his friends entertained near sold-out audiences at the Charlie White Theatre in Sidney. Sunny—who is both a Lyric Tenor and a jazz pianist with a loyal following in Victoria—invited friends to help him put on one of the concerts of the year. Sunny’s first set of jazz standards, performed with Lukas Peladeau and Don Leppard, set everyone’s toes tapping. More than one attendee said they had “tears in their eyes” at the end of the concert, when they realized the depth and range of this young man’s talent. Also revealed was another up and coming talent, Adam Sakiyama. This recent graduate of Stelly’s Secondary sang, played the piano and left the audience wanting more. The opera duets and trios sung by Sunny and his friends, Sahara Sloan and Javier Gutierrez, soared and flew, thrilling the audience. A teen-aged attendee (who prefers to remain nameless) said she “loved the opera portion of the program!”

Chair of the Organizing Committee, Fraser Smith, expressed his pride in both Sunny and the community that came out to hear him. “Sunny is a consummate performer, who contributed every penny of profit to help build a water spray park for the children of this community. Sidney has produced a fine, talented young man who is selfless about giving back to the town that nurtured him.”

“Our service clubs contribute enormously to life on the Saanich Peninsula and I decided I wanted to help,” says Sunny. “I am so pleased that I was able to help the Sidney by the Sea Rotary club in its efforts to build a children’s water spray park in our town.”

The Water Spray Park will benefit local children and add to the tourism value of the Town of Sidney. The campaign to fund the children’s water spray park is almost complete.The Sidney by the Sea Rotary Club will hold a “reverse draw” in late September, which will conclude the fundraising.

Sunny and Fraser

Sunny and the Kids Coordinating Committee

SHOW ME THE MONEY...

On August 16, we had an interesting presentation from the RCMP regarding Money Laundering. One of the RCMP's roles within its Initiative to Combat Money Laundering is to inform the public. This is the reason that they are making presentations at service clubs like ours. It is important for businesses of every kind to be informed about how they can be used to launder money, and how they can help to make it more difficult for criminals to prosper.

To most businesses, money laundering is something that happens somewhere else, involving only criminals. The truth is, it can happen anywhere, anytime, and you may not even be aware that you have been involved. Money laundering is the process whereby criminals conceal illicit funds by converting them into seemingly legitimate income. While the term refers to the monetary proceeds of all criminal activity, it is most often associated with the financial activities of drug traffickers who seek to launder large amounts of cash generated from the sale of narcotics.

Money laundering can have devastating social consequences. Laundered funds provide financial support for drug traffickers, terrorists, arms dealers, and other criminals to operate and expand their operations. Investigations reveal that criminals manipulate financial systems in Canada and abroad to support a wide range of illicit activities. For example, drug trafficking alone generates billions of dollars in illicit funds for criminal organizations every year. Businesses supported by the proceeds from crime create unfair competition and can bankrupt legitimate competition in the market.

The presentation touched on the different methods used to launder money, and what to be on the lookout for, and how to spot and report suspicous transactions. They also gave us an overview of FINTRAC — a federal government agency created to collect, analyze and, when appropriate, disclose financial intelligence on suspected money laundering and terrorist financing activities.

The presenters left us some good information brochures, but for those of you who weren't there, you can read the same information online at: http://www.rcmp-grc.ca/poc/launder_e.htm#Moneygrc.ca/poc/launder_e.htm#Money and at

http://www.fintrac.gc.ca/intro_e.asp

REACHING OUT TO OTHERS

We all met an amazing young woman on Thursday, August 9th: Nakita Sekhon. At just 17 years of age, Nakita was recognized as one of Canada's "Top Twenty Under Twenty" in 2006. This award celebrates and honours Canadians who have demonstrated a significant level of innovation, leadership and achievement but have not yet reached the age of 20. Top 20 Under 20 is a national youth awards program presented by Youth in Motion and sponsored by ING Canada, ING Foundation, Bell Canada, CHUM Limited and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

And while Nakita is proud of this award, that's not why she came to talk to us. She came to tell us about Jamsher Children's Village, the mission of which is to support orphaned children through partner agencies and volunteers by providing opportunities to contribute towards the children's education, healthy living environment and help enable their future.

Nakita's "passion for action" surfaced early, when she was 11 and on a visit to India with her family. She was deeply affected by the poverty and hardship she saw there, and how much it contrasted with her life back here in Canada. From that sprang the origins of her dream of founding the Jamsher Children's Village Orphanage in Punjab. That dream is on its way to becoming a reality, with 3.5 acres of land already donated by her family—land that had been in the family for generations. She has set a fund-raising goal of half a million dollars, to be achieved over the next couple of years, and plans to have construction start in the fall of 2009.

What makes Nakita's accomplishments even more meaningful is that she has undertaken all this while stuggling with an on-going chronic medical condition, Reflex Neurovascular Dystrophy, that leaves her in almost constant pain. Nakita is the immediate past lieutenant governor for Kiwanis Educating Youth International (KEY Club) in the Pacific Northwest District. She volunteers with B.C. Children’s Hospital, and annually speaks to medical students about the issues surrounding youth in health care. Nakita has accumulated over 5,000 volunteer hours in the last 4 years. She was recently awarded the Kiwanis Educating Youth Opportunities Fund, the first ever Canadian recipient of this award, and an “Amazing Kids” scholarship from her local business community.

An amazing young lady, indeed!

SHELTERBOX

Early last week, Peter forwarded an update to members about where the ShelterBox that we purchased had been sent:

"...the ShelterBox donated by the RC of Sidney by the Sea has been sent to Karachi, Pakistan, to aid Cyclone Yemyn victims in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Your box was part of a shipment of 56 Canadian boxes sent to the area."

For those of you who didn't have an opportunity to follow the link to the Shelter Box website, here's a little bit more information:

July 23 — Another 200 ShelterBoxes should arrive in Pakistan tomorrow - bringing to 920 the total now dispatched to victims of Cyclone Yemyin. The aid sent has provided enough tents to house more than 10,000 people, plus other essential equipment such as water containers, mosquito nets, cooking equipment - and 500 of ShelterBox's new flatpack wood-burning stoves. Having set up the logistics for the distribution of aid to the most needy area, the charity's SRT members have now returned to the UK and the next consignment of boxes will be distributed by Pakistan's National Rural Support Programme, the agency with which ShelterBox has been working.

Local children help ShelterBox Response Team member carry a box.

GOVERNOR NORM'S CHALLENGE

At our July 26th meeting, President Peter introduced us to District Governor Norm's Challenge -- an avenue to increase member participation in club, district and Foundation activities.

Those who meet the challenge will be awarded a special "Rotary District 5020 Express" pin by Norm at or before the 2008 District Conference. As always, the Four Way Test applies. In order to receive your pin, you must have points tallied in each of the three activities: two in club, one in district and one in Foundation. A bonus may be added to give a score of 100.

Club Activities:

1. Do a makeup or a Friendship Exchange at another Rotary Club
2. Invite a student to a Rotary meeting or event
3. Serve as a club officer/director or chair of a club committee
4. Bring a new Rotary member into your club

District Activities:

1. Attend a Membership or Foundation seminar in the district
2. Attend the DLTA of 2007 or 2008 in Victoria
3. Register to attend the District Conference, May 30-June 1, 2008

Foundation Activities:

1. Become (or renew) a Rotary Foundation Sustaining Membership
2. Become a Rotary Foundation Benefactor this Rotary year
3. Make a contribution of $1000 or more to the Foundation this year.

Bonus:

• Attend DG Norm's official visit to our club on September 6th.

Peter handed out challenge forms at the meeting. If you weren't there, sidle up to Peter and ask for one next week.

Bits and Bytes from the RI Website

• The Rotary International Board of Directors has changed the tentative site of the 2009 RI Convention from Seoul to Birmingham, England. The event was provisionally scheduled in Seoul for 21-24 June 2009. The change was necessary because some segments of the planning for the convention were behind schedule. These delays and other associated issues hindered the ability of local Rotary clubs to organize and host such a large-scale, international meeting.

• President William B. Boyd and General Secretary Ed Futa presided over the election of the new RI officers (at the Salt Lake convention). The highlight came when the voting delegates cast their ballots for Dong Kurn Lee of the Rotary Club of Seoul-Hangang, Seoul, Korea, for president of RI in 2008-09. Lee will be RI’s first president from Korea. Mr. Lee is chairman of the Bubang Co. Ltd. and Bubang Techron Co. Ltd. manufacturing companies in Seoul and a former trustee of the Bank of Seoul. In 2005, Republic of Korea President Roh Moo-hyun appointed him as an international goodwill ambassador. Inspired by the volunteer work of his father, the late Won-gap Lee, Mr. Lee joined Rotary in 1971. He served as a director of Rotary International and a trustee of The Rotary Foundation, which is supported solely by voluntary contributions and works to improve health, support education and alleviate poverty. He has also volunteered for a variety of jobs around the world to oversee a follow-up project for Rotary International.Korea has the fourth-largest number of Rotarians after the United States, Japan, and India.

• Ray Klinginsmith, chair of the 2008 Convention Committee, invites Rotarians to join him next June in Los Angeles. More than 3,000 people have already registered.

• Bringing Clean Water and Hope for a Better Future: A recent RI Foundation Matching Grant allowed Rotarians in India to provide 36 hand wells to rural villages in Andhra Pradesh state where there is a severe shortage of water. Access to clean water will improve the quality of life for those living in these villages by helping to prevent disease and alleviate poverty. In partnership, the Rotary clubs of Vinukonda Central, India (D3150), and Castle Hill, Australia (D9680), have not only brought safe drinking water to these communities but improved health and hope for a better future as well. Every Rotarian, every project, and every contribution makes a difference every year.

OUR VERY SPECIAL GRAD!

We're all very proud of Ing Sirikulbordee — our Rotary International Youth Exchange student from Thailand. She graduated from Parkland Secondary School this June, a celebration shared by her family who came across the Pacific to cheer her on, and to meet some of the people who have shared this special year with her.

We all remember Ing's first visit to our club — she knew just a bit of English, but she wasn't shy about using it, and she made a great first impression on our members. When she began to attend some of our meetings in the final months of her stay, it was gratifying to see what changes just a few months had made, and how much she had become part of her temporary community. Ing is truly a model of what the Rotary International Youth Exchange program is all about.

We wish Ing the best of luck in the future — and we're sure whatever path she takes, she will be very successful.