UNITE FOR GOOD

March is here and we have lots to do in the coming months!  With so much to do, we really need to invite more people to join us in Rotary so we can expand our good works at home and around the world. March is a great month to ‘Reach One’ and ‘Invite One’ to a meeting, service project or social.  Our lives are better because we joined Rotary.  So, think of family, friends, and co-workers, who will benefit from membership.
                  
Plans are being developed to have Community Service Projects throughout the State during the month of April.  Major environmental clean-up projects are being planned by clubs working together to ‘Create Lasting Change’ to our Island.  Please join your club for Service Project District wide.
 
Mark your calendar for a Global Service Project from May 2 to 9.  Plans are being finalized to travel to Pohnpei, Micronesia to work with the Rotary Club of Pohnpei at Health Fairs to teach basic health and first aid.  And prepare for our International Rotary Convention in Taipei, Taiwan from June 13 to 17 (Be sure to come early and stay late to see more and do more). These are great opportunities to learn more about our neighbors and the world through Rotary.

And while marking your calendar be sure you keep August 21-22-23, 2026 open to attend our 2026 District 5000 Conference to be held on Oahu, near the airport for easy access by car and plane.  Friday, August 21 is a State Holiday, and we will return to having golf, pickle ball, tennis, and horseshoe tournaments.  The evening will include dinner and drinks while we celebrate our clubs and all the great projects that you, the Rotary Clubs of Hawai’i have been doing this year. Saturday will provide information and fellowship on “Peace Through Leadership”, throughout the day and into the evening with lunch and dinner included. Childcare services will be provided during the daytime events with lots of fun activities planned so our families can attend this District Conference.   Sunday will include our Inter-Faith Services in the morning, followed by brunch and  all the new information about our District 5000 Rotary for 2026-2027.  The House of Friendship will feature Club Projects and vendors with Rotary items you may want to have.  All this for the price of $250.00 for the entire weekend.  Discounted rooms will be available at the Best Western with shuttle service from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to our Conference.  Rooms at a discount will also be available in Waikiki at the Alohalani Hotel.  Please look to join us for the District Conference which we know will be informative, fun, and affordable for both our Oahu and Neighbor Island members. Registration is open now with more details to follow. 
 
 Our Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) programs are ongoing.  Oahu and Hawaii Island had successful weekend events for our youth.  Maui and Kauai are working to re-establish this wonderful youth program at this time.
 
Your Club Presidents for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 have just completed intense training as your President-Elects in Los Angeles.  We have a great group of Rotarians ready to take on new leadership roles throughout District 5000. Be sure you say “YES” when asked to serve on a committee or do a project for your club. 
 
I’m excited to see how all of you, our members and clubs work together in the coming months to share Rotary with more people, work on great service projects in Hawaii and Micronesia and join together at our International Convention and District Conference.
 
MAHALO,
Nancy Cabral
District Governor
Rotary International's presidential message for the 2025-26 Rotary year is "Unite for Good". This message encourages Rotary members to be a force for unity and positive change by embracing growth, service, and connection. It emphasizes that Rotary members are "People of Action" who don't just wait for change, but actively create it by uniting for good. 

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District Calendar
Stories from Hawai'i Rotary
Hawaiian Legacy Forest at Haleiwa Project. Saturday, April 25, 8:30am to noon. 62-394 Joseph Leong Hwy, Unit B, Haleiwa. To sign up, contact Tina Doty at chrstndt7@gmail.com
After a brief introduction and explanation on how to plant, one group may plant, fertilize, and water for an hour while another group may be weeding, clearing, and doing other labor.  Another group might be repotting seedlings.  They have some supplies like gloves, picks, shovels, etc. and will provide the native Hawaiian plants for planting.  Haleiwa Legacy Forest, which was once royal crown lands owned by Princess Kamamalu.  You can read more about the background at our website:  https://legacyforest.org/haleiwa   Haleiwa Legacy Forest was founded in 2022, and the initial project involves approximately 400 acres that we intend to reforest with native and endemic Hawaiian trees and plants.  
May 1-3, 2026 Work Days at Camp Erdman to pain Rotary Hall, cabins, etc and carpentry projects, laying a stone pathway and removal of encroaching brush. No special skills required.  Feel free to invite anyone.  You can choose just Saturday, just Sunday or both and spend the night in a camp cabin.  If interested in joining, email Don Anderson at vmcadon@mac.com
Work days on April 11 with Rotary Club of Kahala Sunrise (with Interactors) or April 25 with Rotary Club of Honolulu.  Hamakua Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, 268 Hamakua Dr, Kailua. During the event, we would restore our native forest on Pu'u o 'Ehu (the hillside above Hāmākua Marsh), enjoy bird watching by the wetland, and learn about the site history and how our work improves the environment. Our restoration usually involves invasive plant removal and we can also do a group tree planting. This nonprofit has restored about 6 acres of the dryland forest at Hāmākua. To sign up your club or yourself, call Anna Friedman at :  (808) 699-7684 or email: anna@healthyclimatecommunities.org
 
If you would like them to speak to your club, here's their contact information: Healthy Climate Communities. Email: anna@healthyclimatecommunities.org, Phone: (808) 699-7684, Project title: Mālama Hāmākua
D5000 is starting up a Young Professional Exchange (YPE) program, similar to the GSE (Group Study Exchange) program, which was discontinued years ago.  YPE is a Rotary District created program intended for young professionals (Rotarians or non-Rotarians) 25 to 35 years old. The purpose is to provide young professionals with opportunities for cultural immersion and professional development abroad with the goal of building a new generation of global leaders with global experience and perspectives.  This program allows participants to gain cultural experiences, observe and engage with their professional fields, share skills and build international and personal relationships with other countries. They will also have the opportunity to network with professionals in their field, participate in humanitarian service projects and build relationships with host families and other Rotarians.   
To commenorate Rotary's birthday in February, we are launching an "Each One, Reach One" campaign with lots of media coverage, but we need everyone's help at the grassroots level to get the word out about Rotary.  If all of you can reach out to maybe 5 people you think would be good Rotarians and invite them to a meeting, project or event, it will open their eyes to what an amazing organization we have.  We need more hands to do impactful projects and support the clubs.  Please think about people around you and reach out to them!  When you see the Facebook ads, please share it with your contacts. We need YOU!  
The Rotary Peace Centers will accept applications for 2027-28 Rotary Peace Fellowships from 1 February through 15 May 2026. The Rotary Foundation will select up to 170 peace fellows this year to attend one of our nine partner universities with leading programs in peace studies, sustainable development, and conflict prevention and transformation. The fellows will be able to participate in a one-year professional development certificate program to learn advanced peacebuilding skills or earn a master’s degree in a variety of disciplines related to peace and development.
2026 D5000 International Service Project, May 4-7:  ROOTS (Regional Outreach Opportunities for Training and Sustainability) for a Healthy Micronesia
Please join us for our official Rotary District 5000 Service Trip to the Federated States of Micronesia May 2-9.  We will be staying on the island of Pohnpei.  We will focus on basic community health-related screenings and trainings including nutrition, vision, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and first aid.  If you don’t have health care experience, don’t worry, we’ll provide training. For more details, please join us at our information session on Thu Jan 29th at 4:30pm.  
 
Two Main Objectives:
• Advancing sustainable emergency, critical, and ophthalmic care through training and medical equipment donation to Chuuk and Pohnpei through Dr. Lorenzo Albala, Dr. Sila Bal, Dr. Cecily Wang, Dr. James Ham, and Paramedic Chico Caballero.
• Advancing sustainable community health and wellbeing through Rotarian-led workshops and screenings at community health and wellbeing fairs utilizing local and international partnerships
Report from the Interact Students at St. Joseph School in Hilo:   Last year, we created the M.E.D.I.C project, an ongoing project dedicated to creating medical kits that included essentials for homeless people. These medical bags included bandages, disinfecting wipes, neosporin, expandable towels, and more. We also made female bags that had female hygiene products. With these bags, we included inspirational quotes and a small toy in order to lift the receiver’s spirits as sometimes little things can impact a person’s emotions. We also included multi-colored rosaries for people to choose from so that they can also further enhance their belief in God and practice their faith
 
 
SOUTHWEST PELS 2026
Feb 20-22, 2026
LAX Marriott, California
 
 
ROTARY ZONE 26/27 INSTITUTE 2026
 
Phoenix, Arizona
September 3 - 6, 2026
 
 
 
 
 June 13-17, 2026
 
Taipei, Taiwan
 
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ROTARY DISTRICT 5000
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 P.O. Box 3325 Honolulu, Hawaii 96801
 
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