How to Connect to and Use HANDS

Who Can Benefit From HANDS?

The information available at this Web Site will be of interest to the following groups:

1. Rotarians, Clubs and Districts in search of, or, planning Humanitarian Aid projects.
2. Rotarians, Clubs and Districts who have a need for projects in their communities.
3. Rotary leaders who are responsible for promoting and advising Rotary Clubs, Districts and Rotarians on projects.
4. Anyone seeking out individuals with technical knowledge on the subject matter of the various components of executing projects successfully.
5. Anyone who wants to volunteer to serve on a project or who wants to offer their advise and expertise on a project or on a specific subject involving projects.
6. Non-Rotary organizations who partner with Rotary on Humanitarian Aid projects.

Become Familiar with HANDS Resources

The following procedure will help you to become familiar with the resources available to assist with the development, execution and evaluation of Humanitarian Aid projects. The Web Site sections and ListServ mentioned below can be accessed by clicking on the links at the top of this page.

1. Register the Home Page of this Site as a "bookmark" or "favorite place" in your Internet Directory.
2. Review the purposes of the eight section subject sections of this Web Site. Each section is linkable from the link at the top of this page.
3. Review the information contained in the World Community Service Section of the RI Web Site

Become Connected with HANDS on a Continuing Basis

Take the following steps to become connected with the HANDS on a continuing basis.

1. Register your knowledge, skills and experience with the HANDS Rotarian Knowledge Section of this web site. Instructions are on the Rotarian Knowledge page, accessible through the menu at the top of every page.
2. Sign up to be on the HANDS Yahoo! ListServe. You will not be able to post messages to the listserv until you register with Yahoo! groups. You sign up for the Listserve by clicking the link on the HANDS home page. Please review the Guidelines pefore posting messages.
3. Post messages with the ListServ, once you are registered. The ListServ should be used sparingly so as not to overburden the members with excessive e-mail. Please review the Guidelines before posting messages.
4. Post to the discussion rooms at the RI Web Site when you have a message that has some ongoing value. Time sensitive messages should be transmitted by the HANDS Yahoo! ListServ.

Stay Connected with HANDS

1. Visit the Discussion Roomsperiodically to review messages relevant to your interest areas.
2. 2. At least monthly, visit the What's New section of the HANDS Web Site.

Now you are prepared to extend the Rotary influence throughout the world in the form of Humanitarian Aid projects or to influence others to participate in those projects.

Tips for more effective use of e-mail

1. Use effective titling in the subject block. Use HANDS and then a more specific subject. This permits the receivers to quickly scan their incoming mail to determine what they need to read.
2. Post only messages that may be of interest to the registered Rotarians as a whole. Do not use the ListServ to answer or comment on messages unless your response may be of interest to the group as a whole. For example when you answer a specific question that someone has asked on the ListServ, you rarely need to communicate that to the entire list, only the inquiring party.
3. Post questions to the ListServ only when you are looking for specific answers or referral to a resource you can't locate on the several Web Sites.
4. Do not post "banter", jokes, or personal messages. We all have too much e-mail to wade through this type of communication. If you enjoy posting banter and jokes, Rotarians on the Internet (ROTI) has such a site.
5. Be very selective in "forwarding" e-mail. For example, your editor has received e-mails as long as 12 pages with a simple "yes" answer from the last person who forwarded the message. Everything else was history and all, any of us on the distribution list, needed to know was the "yes" answer.

Future Plans for this Section

As we develop new or more effective ways to connect and use HANDS we will amend this section and alert you to the new material by way of the "What's New" section.

Last Revised - 12 June 2005