Yspaniola

We asked Amy Porter, who is based in the Dominican Republic, to speak on behalf of her charity, Yspaniola. I really wanted our members to hear about her charity, but as it was impossible for Amy to attend our meeting due to being on another continent, we decided to hold a webinar. We used Zoom software to allow Amy to dial-in and speak to our club about her charity. Using this software (free to download), we were able to see Amy, speak to her, and listen to her enthusiastic presentation about a wonderful charity.

The Dominican Republic is over 4000 miles away from Birmingham, so being able to hear about the wonderful charity despite the distance was a great feeling. Software and services like this allow us to maintain a familiarity with people far away that might be lost over a phone call or email.

The live video allowed Amy to really put across her enthusiasm that otherwise might have been lost. Another benefit was that we were able to have other Rotary members join us on the presentation who might not have been aware of the charity. Some of them were even watching from the comfort of their own home. We have been trialling this for a while. Due to us meeting early on a Friday morning, it is not always possible for our members to attend, so we now make all of our meetings live via this service. Those that can’t make the meeting can then still log-in and take part.

Access to the meeting can either be via a laptop, computer, tablet, or phone. If a member can’t get to a screen or doesn’t have a camera, they can still participate by dialling a phone number and taking part as if it were a phone call. It’s how we keep our meetings inclusive, accessible for members both here at home and globally.

I wanted to demonstrate that even though, as Rotary, we might not always be where the action is happening, we can still find ways to interact, help, present and be Rotarians. We are not limited by our location, only by our imagination and desire! For Amy to be able to present to 5 different Rotary Clubs, members from District, and members of my own club who were not present, despite her being 4000 miles away, was amazing.