Annual Report 2020-2021

COVID-19 has shaped the framework of the year.
Surprises of the year:

• We welcomed seven new members, marking the highest number of new members in a year in our circle: Gosia, Mechthild, Hubert, Jurek, Klaus, Pablo, and Torsten.

• We organized our first district-wide meeting with good participation from Polish and international Rotary Clubs on the theme "Rotary under National Socialism."

• In a district competition, our third Rotary donation won funding – for the first time, one of our projects was supported by district funds.

• The COVID balance is more balanced than expected:

  • Transitioning to a hybrid and later fully electronic format was smooth.

  • Very good attendance at meetings – especially from our international members.

  • Great speakers who we couldn’t have won before COVID.

  • A new district scholarship was created due to the input of new members.

  • We virtually visited our partner clubs: Berlin Mickiewicz, RC Zoliborz, RC Mettmann, and RC Lviv International.

  • Regularly very interesting external lecture offers, for example, from RC Warszawa Belveder and the German clubs.

Lectures of the Year 2020-2021

• Programmatic focus 2020/2021 – Challenges for the next 10 years:

  • Democracy

  • Climate change

  • Human rights (stimulated by the board meeting on data protection)

  • Migration (e.g., from the perspective of Ukraine/Belarus/employers)

• 50 regular meetings in 2020/2021 – What did we experience?

• 28 lectures, of which 11 were by members

• 10 casual meetings

• 5 meetings with partner clubs

• 5 internal meetings

• 1 fireside chat

Membership development as of June 30, 2021:

• With 34 members, we are the largest RC in Warsaw.

• Our membership grew by 25% in 2020/2021 and by 41% since 2018/2019.

• My goal was to recruit two more members – seven were added.

• Unfortunately, there were also three resignations and one club change.

• Joachim was honored as our fourth Paul Harris Fellow for his commitment to our club and especially the gardens.

Our Club’s Projects:

• Continuation of existing projects:

  • D-Scholarships RC Berlin Mickiewicz and RC Mettmann

  • Completion of the Joyo project with RV Mettmann

  • Promotion of DACHL competition

  • New projects:

    • Support for Rotaract projects

    • Joint donation from Warsaw RCs for the homeless

    • Tablet project with RC Berlin Mickiewicz

    • D-Scholarship Viadrina for a Belarusian student

    • Sponsorship of MKS Polonia

    • First-time participation in the Career Information Day of the WBS

    • German-Polish Gardens

    • Participation in core groups and meetings

    • Implementation of the third joint Rotary donation project

    • School startup kits for Belarusian refugee children – started in the 2020/2021 Rotary year and implemented in 2021/2022:

      • Joint donation of 220 school startup kits financed by:

        • Rotary Club Wiesbaden

        • Rotary Club Wiesbaden Kochbrunnen

        • Rotary Club Wiesbaden Nassau

        • Rotary Club Wiesbaden Rheingau

        • RC Bad Camberg Idstein

        • Rotary Club Frankfurt Alte Oper

        • Rotary Club Warszawa Goethe

        • German-Polish Country Committee

Our largest individual donation so far is another great example of cross-border Rotary cooperation.

Collaboration with Warsaw RCs/District

• Participation in monthly president meetings

• Involvement in cleanup actions by RC Zoliborz in City Park

• Joint donation for the homeless

• Contribution to the book “90 Years of Rotary in Poland”

Dear friends,
Together, we have navigated the club through the pandemic in good shape – without you and your help and cooperation, it would not have been possible.
I would like to especially thank my successor, Malgosia, as well as my board members for the good and dedicated collaboration.

Alexander Heinelt, Past President