The Rotary Club of Sackville wants you to “be kind to yourself”. That’s the message the club is putting out over social media today as part of #90ActsFor90Years, a social media campaign in celebration of the club’s 90th anniversary in Sackville. The message will change daily for 90 days, encouraging small acts of kindness, including items such as “support Sackville business”, “recognize a caregiver”, and even “delight in delectable desserts.”
Morgan Rosenberg is Rotary Sackville’s acting and incoming foundation chair and one of the organizers of the campaign. Here she is in conversation on Tantramar Report:
Rosenberg says the #90ActsFor90Years campaign is a way to get Rotary out in the community, even though the club can’t meet in person due to pandemic restrictions.
“We really just wanted to get Rotary out there in the community, not only for big projects. People know that we’ve contributed to bigger things for the community,” says Rosenberg. “But acts of kindness are small things too.”
Rotary has published a calendar outlining acts for kindness for June, but they are open to ideas for July and August, says Rosenberg, and encouraging people to share and join in on the campaign.
“We have one coming up that’s going to encourage people to garden,” says Rosenberg. “We’re hoping people will post pictures of their garden and use our hashtags, #RotarySackvilleNB, #TimeToBeKind, #90ActsFor90Years.”
“And if you have an idea of something that you’d like to do, we haven’t set our calendars for July and August,” says Rosenberg. “We’d love to hear from the community, what they think an act of kindness is.”
Rosenberg says the group will be making community donations and expressing support throughout the three month campaign.
Sackville town council issued a proclamation at their final meeting in May, naming June as Rotary month in Sackville. On Monday, June 14, the Rotary flag will be raised at town hall.
Other events may happen over the course of the summer, says Rosenberg. “Everything is going to be playing by ear,” she says. The group will be at the Farmers Market selling masks and tote bags featuring the Rotary 90th anniversary logo, with proceeds going toward the Sackville hospital. “You’ll also see on the 90th logo on some other things, like for the dictionaries that we give out in September to grade school kids,” says Rosenberg.
Rosenberg says the Rotary philosophy is encapsulated in the phrase “service above self.” “It’s how can you get involved? How can you help? And it can be something like a really big project, like a park, or something really small, like sending flowers to somebody at the Drew.”
“It doesn’t have to be huge,” says Rosenberg. “I think that sometimes and it’s also about, you have to be kind to yourself. You can’t forget yourself in this. If you’re not kind to yourself, you can’t be kind to others.”
Rosenberg encourages people to check out the club’s Facebook and Instagram pages to participate in the campaign. “If you have an idea, put it up on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love to see your pictures of you doing things to help your community or yourself. We really want you to be involved,” says Rosenberg. She also wants to make sure people know that, “Rotary is still ongoing, and we hope to be here for another ninety years.”
