Our presenter on August 5th was Karen Kendrick-Hands, the Co-Founder of the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group. (ESRAG).
Ms. Kendrick-Hands is a Madison, WI Rotarian but she and her husband raised their children in Grosse Pointe, both graduating from GP South. Bringing her passion for Rotary and mitigating climate change together, she co-founded ESRAG in 2017.
Until recently, Rotary International had six areas of focus: Promoting peace, Fighting disease, Providing clean water, sanitation & hygiene, Saving mothers & children, Supporting Education, and Growing local economies. There is now a seventh: Supporting the environment. Being an area of focus enables environmental service projects to receive global grants. It also brings Rotary’s seven areas of focus more in line with the United Nation’s 17 sustainable goals.
ESRAG assists Clubs, Districts, and RI in planning and implementing service projects, building awareness, building global and local support, inspiring action for sustainable solutions, and supporting RI in environmental initiatives. The organization has 11 Green Themes, which include such service projects as organizing a clean-up, planting trees, and beating plastic pollution. It also partners with groups such as Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions, and Tradewater, whose goal is to reduce the world’s carbon footprint.
To learn more and/or become an ESRAG member (like Liz Vogel), please visit www.esrag.org.