In the Limelight - 2nd Quarter Roundup

October through December, the 2nd quarter marked the end of another successful quarter for RACUOCFMF. After finishing a successful 1st quarter we were able to carry on the same momentum to the 2nd quarter where we were able to complete 8 projects in all 6 avenues. “In the Limelight” the quarterly roundup gives an insight of the activities and achievements of the club during the 2nd quarter. 

President Rtr. Akhila Wijetunga expressed his views with regards to the club's performance during the 2nd quarter of the year as follows.

“The 2nd quarter of the club was a very challenging one for the members of the club in my perspective. All those challenges led to another successful quarter with a number of projects and two of the biggest projects of the club, King Spin 2.0 and Glass Ice 3.0 being successfully carried out. All the credit goes out to members of the club who worked tirelessly tackling every challenge one by one to make this quarter a perfect one.”

Awards and Recognition

President of the Month

President of our club Rtr. Akhila Wijethunga was selected as the President of the Month for October, by the Rotaract District 3220. This is a very deserving award for our President for his unprecedented hard work and commitment towards Rotaract and towards driving the club to new standards. 

Community Service

Colombo Blind Walk

The 2nd quarter kick started with "Colombo Blind Walk", which was held on the 12th of October. It was organized as a part of the international celebrations for the “World Sight Day”. 

Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town, Rotaract Club of Achievers Lanka Business School, Rotaract Club of Australian College of Business and Technology, Rotaract Club of Colombo Midtown and our very own club partnered together to organize this project with the objective of raising awareness of the issues faced by the visually impaired and encouraging eye donation as a means of sharing the gift of vision.

In addition, with the help of Sri Lanka Eye Donation Society, the necessary documentation for eye pledges were made available to all Rotaractors, Rotarians and the general public during the event and we were able to get over 200 eye pledges signed by the end of the event. The project was chaired by Rtr. Krishmal Fernando and Rtr. Viraj Wickramasinghe.

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Share the Joy

“Share the Joy” was a joint project carried out with the Rotaract Club of Alumni of University of Moratuwa, which was held on the 22nd of October at the Vajira Child Development Centre, Pitakotte. The aim of the project was to share love, joy and happiness with the little ones who needed them the most. The few hours we spent chitchatting, singing and playing with the little ones surely added life long memories to our lives. This project was chaired by Rtr. Laleshi Weerasinghe and Rtr. Wasundara Welagedara. Read More

Rotaractors with the little ones of Vajira Child Development Centre

Professional Development

Glass Ice 3.0

"Glass Ice 3.0" was the ultimate career and personality development workshop and the signature Professional Development project hosted by our club for the third consecutive year. The project was held on the 16th of November at the Sports Ministry Auditorium with the aim of promoting professionalism and developing leadership among the youth. 

The evening was graced by the presence of four inspirational personalities; Mr. Sidath Wettimuny, Cricketer, Golfer, Former Head of the Interim Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket; Ms. Jayanthi Kuru Uthumpala, Journalist, Women Rights Activist and Mountaineer; Mr. Indi Samarajeewa, Blogger and Co-founder of Kottu, Director of Yamu and Mr. Danu Innasithamby, Media Person, Traveller and Stage Actor, who shared their personal experiences which inspired and motivated the audience present at the occasion.  

Kudos to our project chairpersons Rtr. Kanishkaa Balakrishnan and Rtr. Hasangi Tennakoon on a job well done. Read More

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Finance

King Spin 2.0

“King Spin 2.0”, the largest bowling tournament of the year, was held on the 15th of October from 2.00 pm onwards at the Excel World Bowling Arena. This exciting project was able to bring about a massive turnout of over 150 participants including Interactors, Rotaractors, Rotarians and the general public at large, and was able to give an incredible bowling experience to all the participants. The competition was open for both Rotary Family and General Public. 

A special appreciation goes to our project chairpersons Rtr. Uvini Liyanage and Rtr. Limashi Kosgoda, for making this project a massive success. Read More

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Club Service and Member Development

Orientation Day

The orientation for the new comers of the 1st year batch was held on the 18th of October at Winner Academy, with the participation of more than 50 freshers who were eager to join our club. The purpose of this program was to introduce the club to the first years and to get them to join us in supporting and strengthening the club. 

The programme consisted of three sessions. First, was the general meeting for the month to introduce the formalities to the newbies. Then, an introduction to the Rotaract movement, was conducted by our very own District Rotaract Representative Rtr. PP Anuradha Senanayake and District Editor Rtr. Pramodha Weerasekara. The last session comprissed of few team building games which were organized to create a bond between the new-comers and the members of the club. 

The orientation day was chaired by Rtr. Ruchika Senarathne and it was indeed a day filled with knowledge, fun and great memories to cherish.

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Board Trip

The annual Board trip of our club was held on the 28th of October. It was a fun filled trip which saw the participation of 19 Board members of the club. The trip provided a great opportunity for the Board members to bond together and to create long lasting memories.

Kudos to the efforts of our Club Service Directors and the Project Chairperson Rtr. Shenali Fernando, for making the Board trip one of the most memorable experiences to all the Board members who participated.

RAUOCFMF Board Members at the Board Outing

Public Relations and IT

Photoshop Workshop

Photoshop Workshop was the first project organized by the IT Avenue of our club which was held on the 25th of October at the Faculty premises. It was conducted by our very own President Rtr. Akhila Wijethunga and was organized with the intention of enhancing the Photoshop skills of our members. The project was chaired by our IT Director Rtr. Shanal Mendis.

What is Rotaract

With the popularity and reputation Rotaract has garnered over the years, ‘What is Rotaract?’ is a question we are often asked. It is also the very question we intended to answer through this project; hence the name ‘What is Rotaract’

A documentary video was filmed as our team directed the question of ‘What is Rotaract’ towards a dozen of randomly selected people around the premises of Majestic City, Colombo. It provided us an insight to the general impressions people had drawn about Rotaract; both positive and negative. 

As the next phase, we set about comparing and contrasting what Rotaract actually is by questioning the ones who know it the most: our fellow members. This was filmed and combined with the initial video to deliver the message far more clearly. The video was widely shared across social media pages and we were able to reach a wider audience. The attention it drew was impressive and we invited nominated members from fellow Rotaract clubs to continue what we had started and carry the real meaning of Rotaract to the non-Rotaractors. We saw our efforts take wings as the Rotaract Club of Pune, India had uploaded a video of their own too.

The project concluded with the take home message; Rotaract is not just a club, but also a social service hub that strives to make the world a better place. This project was chaired by Rtr. Hiranya Jayalath and Rtr. Adeepa Goonetilleke. 

The Blog

For our blog, every month is an exciting month. Hence many milestones were surpassed during this quarter as well.

During October, we were able to surpass the 140,000 view count, and also to publish our 230th blog post. During November and December, we surpassed the 155,000 and 160,000 view counts and was able to publish many more exciting blog articles for our readers.

As of now, our blog has a view count close to 166,000 views. We would like to extend our deep gratitude to all our readers for their support and enthusiasm and especially to our amazing club members without whom the blog would not have been where it stands today.  

Outlook for the 3rd Quarter 

Moving into the 3rd quarter of the year, our club is focused on carrying forward the momentum but with more focus on each project in order to obtain success in terms of both quality and quantity. 

The club will continue “Future for Us” this year as well which will be carried out in three phases this time. Further, three signature projects of three avenues have already been carried out namely, “Cultura” under International Services Avenue, “Rotaraction” under Club Service and Membership Development Avenue and “Rotastic” under Public Relations Avenue. Few other projects the club plans to carry out in the upcoming quarter are Boss phase 2 and 3, Bollywood Night, Sandtastic and Bake Sale.