Installation 2019-20

Rotary Connects the World

HeritageNY Rotary e-Club was chartered January 2019.
Rotarians have a vision: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

Club Achieves Presidential Platinum Citation

Our Club has achieved the 2019-20 Rotary Presidential Citation -Platinum level - the highest Rotary honor for a Club and a very rare accomplishment for a Club that is just one year old. The award was announced by 2019-20 District Governor Mahbub Ahmad in a letter to President Zaki and all members of the Club.

The Presidential Citation is awarded to a Club that achieves a set number of preassigned goals in two categories - Unite People and Take action - like membership growth and retention, service projects, contributions to the Rotary Foundation, augmenting Rotary's public image, among others., .Those Clubs achieving the goals in these two categories then compete for Platinum, Gold, or Silver Awards depending on the number of additional goals achieved in a third Category.

Our Club is only one of three out of the 44 Clubs in our District to achieve the Platinum level. A total of 10 Clubs achieved the various levels of the Presidential Citation,

Past District Governor Mahbub congratulated President Zaki for his dynamic leadership and thanked all members of the Club for their diligent work in bringing the honor to not only their Club but also to the District. He also thanked Club Adviser Bina Ahmad for helping the Club get on its feet and to achieve the great honor.

VP Sam-Rahat is our Newest Paul Harris Fellow

Our Vice-President Sam-Rahat Muqtadir has become the Club's third Paul Harris Fellow - the first in the new Rotary Year. A Paul Harris Fellow is awarded to a Rotarian who has made a significant difference in the lives of people by donating $1,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation. VP Sam-Rahat made the contribution in July this year. Paul Harris fellows receive a Certificate and a pin to recognize their contribution. Our two earlier Paul Harris Fellows were Rotarians Raaid Ahmad and Tabin Ahmad,

A Rotarian can also become the recipient of a Paul Harris Fellow award, when another Rotarian recognizes him or her for exceptional service by donating $1,000 in cash or points, to the Rotary Foundation in the recipient's name. Last year, District Governor Mahbub Ahmad recognized 3 of our Club members for outstanding service to the Club and community. They were Secretary Dr. Nazrul Islam, Dr. Muhammad Zaman and Treasurer Mati Pal.

Congratulations, you all have made us proud.!

Club Sponsors New Satellite Club

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered everyone's lives and way of thinking. Even before the pandemic Rotary has been thinking ahead and planning for the Rotary of tomorrow, where Clubs will be innovative with new types of Clubs, new membership categories, new ways of meeting.

As a new club, we have responded to this need, and taken the lead to sponsor a new Satellite Club. A satellite club functions as a short-term, transitional step on the way to becoming a full, independent Rotary club. This allows interested persons to become Rotarians without meeting the requirement of having at least 20 persons to organize a separate Rotary club. The Rotary Satellite E-Club of Heritage New York - Evening was officially approved by Rotary International in June of 2020 with 8 members, and is the third satellite Club of District 7230. Following a period of organization, the new Club has begun it's regular activities.

Satellite clubs set up their own board and have their own officers. However, instead of a President, a satellite club has a Chair. Papia Ashraf is the Chair of the new Satellite Club and the District E-Club Advisor, Assistant Governor Bina Ahmad is the adviser to the Satellite Club to help it learn about Rotary and its activities. The 8 members are residents of Manhattan, Long Island, and New Jersey. and hope to increase their membership and charter their own Club within a year. Our Club is extending its full support to the new Rotarians and their nascent Club. The new Satellite Club has been assigned to the District's Area 5, which is the same as our Club. .

2019-20 Year-End Roundup

2019-20 was the first full year of our existence. The piechart on the left highlights the total incomes and expenditures/allocations of the Club during the course of this year. It does not include the annual membership dues, which were almost entirely a pass-through. We received $37,750 in contributions from Rotary, (the large section in gold) which includes the Globat Grant, the District Grant, the COVID-19 Grant. The Club itself raised $14,450 for the various projects it carried out including the Club's contribution for the Global and District Grants (the section in green) the orange slice represents the $2,500 that members donated to The Rotary Foundation.

Here is a rundown of our officially recorded activities during this year -1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020:

1. COVID-19 Project 1: The Club provided equivalent of Taka 1,30,000 to Monu Mia Sultana Girls Orphanage in Chandpur, Bangladesh, for food assistance to the 33 orphan girls in that orphanage.

2. COVID-19 Project 2: PPEs worth $1,000 were provided to St. Johns Riverside Hospital.

3. COVID-19 Project 3: District 7230 provided a $2,000 grant on behalf of the Club to the AFYA Foundation to provide essential PPEs to Hospitals and nurses in need.

4. COVID-19 Project 4: The Club provided food assistance to needy immigrant families for a total of $3,000.

5. The HeritageNY Club gave cash donation of $200 for canned food in addition to clothing, shoes and other household items valued at $500 for the Haiti Assistance Project led by the Yonkers-East Yonkers Rotary Club.

6. The Club donated coats participating in the Coat Drive launched by the Rotaract Club of Manhattan..

7. Thanksgiving Turkeys -Five 20-lb turkeys ($100) were donated to Hostos Micro-Society School in Yonkers. These were raffled off to needy families along with more turkeys from the Yonkers Club.

8. Earlier in the year, there was a H.E.L.P project done, handing out hygiene materials (toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, eyeglasses, socks, and towels) to parents of the Queens Daughters Day Care Center in Yonkers. A grant of $750 from the Yonkers-East Yonkers Rotary Club helped finance the $1,000 project.

9. For Nassau University Hospital project, District Grant #3092 was approved for $2,500 as a matching grant for benches at the hospital entrance. The district has reimbursed the Club on project completion. Total project cost was $5,000.

10. Global Grant #1989638 "Quality education for poor rural children in Bangladesh through Teacher Training" was formally approved. The total project cost is $38,170, of which HeritageNY Club put up $5,250. District 7230 contributed $5,000, while 4 neighboring Districts contributed $1,000 each. The project implementation is expected to begin soon.

11. November was Rotary Foundation Month. Rotary President asked Rotarians to give a gift to the Rotary Foundation. It is a big achievement for the HeritageNY Club to have 2 Paul Harris Fellows who donated $1,000 each to The Rotary Foundation thereby earning the Fellowship. The District Governor awarded 3 Paul Harris Fellowships to 3 Club Members for their services.

12, New Member Project: The District awarded a $250 New Member Grant for a new Member Project. These funds were used to supplement the Interfaith Food Pantry where food packets were given out to those in need.

In recognition of these activities in the service of needy humanity in our local community and internationally, our Club has received the 2019-20 Rotary Presidential Citation – which is the highest honor for a Club.

District Governor Awards Paul Harris Recognition to 3 members

Outgoing District Governor Mahbub Ahmad has awarded 3 members of our Club with Paul Harris recognitions for their outstanding services to the Club and the community. A Paul Harris Fellow Award is given to a Rotarian who has contributed $1000 or in whose name, the equivalent has been given to The Rotary Foundation.

Under the leadership of President Zaki Hossain, in the first full year of operations the Club has received the Rotary Presidential Citation - the highest honor that is bestowed by the Rotary President to a Club. It is a tribute to President Hossain's leadership in not only planning and organizing the Club but also in executing the various activities whereby the goals the Club set out to achieve were fully met.

Club Secretary Dr. Nazrul Islam was awarded a Paul Harris Fellow recognition for his outstanding commitment to the ideals of Rotary and in ensuring the Club's activities and records were properly maintained. He was instrumental in ensuring that the first footsteps of the newly established Club were on a solid foundation, and in following through on the Club's first Global Grant application.

Club Treasurer Mati Pal was recognized with a Paul Harris award for his meticulous management of the funds of the new Club, for taking the time to learn and understand the financial standards and practices of Rotary and in establishing a sound financial foundation for the Club.

Club Member Dr. Mohammed Zaman was recognized with a Paul Harris award for his selfless work as an infectious diseases specialist, in being with the community at their time of need without heed to his personal safety.

These are truly People of Action and have provided Service Above Self to their community and to Rotary .

We congratulate them for their dedication and their continuous service.

Club Members Provide Month of Groceries to Bronx Families

Club Members are active, trying to help our local communities hard-hit by the pandemic. Their latest effort was providing 14 families in dire need, in the Bronx, with groceries to last them for one month. These families preferred the groceries to cash handouts. The supplies included rice, cooking oil, lentils. onions, potatoes. pasta, cereals, chicken nuggets, pita bread, salt, and snacks valued at $100 per bag.

The project was led by Club President S. Zaki Hossain, while Rahat Hossain arranged for the shopping and delivery to these families, many of which have young children or elderly members.

The project is ongoing with many more families in need who are awaiting supplies of groceries. Sharing a little bit of your blessings will help alleviate the suffering. these families are going through on a daily basis. Please donate to the Club tinyurl.com/heritageNY.

Club holds first Zoom Meeting

The Club has come of age. After meeting via Conference call since its inception, President S. Zaki Hossain and Secretary Nazrul Islam decided to take the Club to the visual medium befitting an E-Club. As such members of the Club gathered at a "Zoom" meeting in the afternoon of May 16. It was a great get-together and members were very happy to see each other face-to-face after a long time. Members attended the meeting from Westchester, Bronx, Queens, Long Island, New Jersey and Canada.

Among the business conducted, President Zaki informed members of the projects Club members have been carrying out on their own initiatives locally - especially helping with food distribution to needy people affected by the COVID-10 virus. Club Rotary Foundation Chair Nurul Alam provided an update on the pending Global Grant Application, while Treasurer Mati Pal summarized the latest financial situation.

Member Farjana Sultan requested assistance for the Orphanage she has been working with in Bangladesh. President Zaki said assistance would be forthcoming. for COVID-19 related mitigation efforts for the 30+ children and staff. Since the meeting, 5 members - Lina Rahman, Rezaul Haider, Rahat Hossain, Raaid Ahmad, and Tabin Ahmad, have come forward and pledged the equivalent of 130,000 Taka for the orphanage. The project will be carried out with the collaboration of the Rotary Club of Dhaka Phoenix. Nazrana Yasmin, who is a member of the Dhaka Phoenix Club will manage the project and provide a report at the end of the project.

Our Club Assistance to Bangladesh Orphanage

As one of our first international projects, our Club, through the collaboration of the Rotary Club of Dhaka Phoenix, provided meaningful assistanc

e to the children at an orphanage in the village of Sreepur in Chandpur district of Bangladesh. The Orphanage provides a home for nearly 30 abandoned homeless and orphan children.

For the Eid celebration of 2019, a donation from our club was used to purchase a full set of clothing and shoes for all the children. In addition, the children and staff were all treated to an Eid Feast.

In October of 2019, in order to see for themselves the orphanage and its activities, a 10-person delegation from the Rotary Club of Dhaka Phoenix visited the orphanage, Following their visit, they prepared a report on the orphanage..

Our First Global Grant Project

Rotary E-Club of Heritage New York is proud to inform its Members that, thanks to their support, in its very first year it has succeeded in submitting a proposal for a Rotary Global Grant Project. The Project on “Quality education for poor rural children in Bangladesh through Teacher Training” is expected to receive approval from the Rotary Foundation soon.

The endeavor is a joint international project, in which our Rotary Club is the International Partner and Banani Rotary Club of Dhaka is the Host Partner. The Host Partner implements the project through a local partner which has expertise in implementing similar projects, monitors the project throughout its life-cycle, and manages the financial and reporting aspects of the project. The local partner selected to implement the project is a Bangladeshi NGO in the field of education, the Volunteers Association for Bangladesh (VAB).

For the vast majority of rural poor families in Bangladesh, education is the only avenue that offers their children the opportunity for achieving competence and skills to earn a livelihood. However, one of the most critical problems faced by the rural educational institutions is the quality and quantity of teachers who are deficient in both content knowledge and pedagogy. Our Club’s Global Grant Project aims to infuse better content knowledge and advanced modern pedagogy in ill-equipped rural teachers through training. The ultimate development objective of the project will be to enhance the educational achievement and proficiency level of rural school students. The project aims to train approximately 600 teachers over a period of three years. It is expected that these trained teachers will over their teaching careers be able to have an impact on the learning of more than 400,000 students.

It is an amazing partnership that came together to bring this project to fruition. 5 Rotary Clubs – one in New York and 4 in Dhaka, 5 Rotary Districts – one in Bangladesh and 4 in New York and New Jersey all combined to raise more than half of the Project funding. The Rotary Foundation’s World Fund stepped in with the remainder - A remarkable example of how "Rotary Connects the World".

The Project will require funds of about $35,000. Starting with base amounts of funds raised by our Club as the International Partner and Banani Rotary Club as the Host Partner, the respective Districts – District 7230 in New York and District 3281 in Bangladesh -are generously pitching in with matching funds (District Designed Funds – DDF). In addition, through the intervention of District Governor Mahbub Ahmad, 4 neighboring Districts in New York and New Jersey are also contributing about $4,000. The Rotary Foundation will be providing matching funds on the basis of the contributions of the Clubs and the Districts.

The base amount from our Club is $5,250. Our Members made kind donations which made it possible to raise the requisite amount. We are particularly grateful to President Syed Zaki Hossain, Rotarians Dr. A T Rafiqur Rahman, Dr. Fazlur R Chowdhury, Nurul Alam, Mati Pal, and a few other members and well-wishers who wish to remain anonymous for their generous contributions. Our special thanks go to Past President Nurul Alam, who developed the project proposal on the basis of a model Rotary Global Grant Project in Nepal, provided to him by District Governor Mahbub Ahmad.

Shining President Shahida Naz Huda of the Banani Club ran with the proposal and was able to convince not only her Club to lead the project, but also 3 other Clubs in Dhaka to join in and her District officials to approve the project.

It is expected that following approval by the Rotary Foundation, work can begin on the project in early summer.