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Rotary Meetings
Tomorrow's Meeting All Virtual
Tomorrow's meeting will be all virtual; the Zoom meeting code and password to attend appear in the right-hand column under the "Send email to club" line.   If that does not work for you, contact robert@russelllawoffice.com and the meeting identification number and password will be e-mailed to you.
January 26, 2022 at Rotary
Wally Cole recited the Pledge of Allegiance on our behalf and Pete Wasberg offered the invocation.  Guy Olson from the Sunrise Rotary Club was our only guest.
 
For announcements, additional volunteers were sought to work this past Saturday's speech tournament concession stand.  It was also announced that Dave Peters has now been moved to Broadway Hospital in Fargo.  For Brags & Fines, John MacFarland thanked Anthony Nordan for handling last week's invocation when John could not do so.  Keith Olson welcomed brother Guy back to Minnesota, reported on Keith's doctor getting shingles and how bad that was, prompting Keith to get the first of his shingle vaccines; Keith said that put him on the mat for two days as he was completely lethargic afterwards. He still recommended getting the vaccine.  Keith, by the way, is going to spend some time in Arizona now.  Randy Kempfer reported he too went in for his shingles vaccine.  Hal Leland paid for missing the last two meetings. 
 
Our scheduled program had to cancel the day before our meeting, so our program consisted of three videos on Rotary's efforts to rid the world of polio and what different clubs in our Rotary District (62 in all of North Dakota, northern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and Thunder Bay and Nipigon, Ontario) have used Rotary Foundation grants to do community projects.     
The Rotary Foundation at Work
Since the earthquakes of 2015 that destroyed their homes, multitudes of Nepalese have had to migrate to Kapurdhunga, a remote village in Nepal, where widows and their children trek several miles every day in search of drinkable water.  In Laguna Beach, Florida, a local nonprofit organization, R Star Foundation, partnered with the Monarch Beach Sunrise Rotary Club to apply for a Rotary Foundation Global Grant. The $60,210 Global Grant will now eliminate the need for the daily long-distance search for drinkable water for the inhabitants of the migrant village. Rosalind Russell, founder and executive director of R Star Foundation expressed her excitement at the grant, saying “…we try to find out from the villagers what they need and go from there.”  Jill Fabricant, a member of the Monarch Beach Sunrise Rotary Club and Ms. Russell worked for 18 months on the grant proposal. The project also includes a sanitation station with handwashing facilities and a septic system.
 
Fast Facts: Nepal
• Slightly larger than Arkansas – over 30 million population
• World’s Highest Peak – Mt Everest at over 29,000 ft above sea level
• World’s Highest Lake – Tilicho is at least 16,000 ft above sea level
• World’s Deepest Lake – Shey-Phoksundo is 447 ft deep
• World’s Deepest Gorge – Kali Gandaki, is 18,000 ft deep
• Nepal aims to ensure clean water and sanitation for all by 2030
Blood Needed!
It was noted at a recent Rotary Zone meeting with RI Board Member Suzi Howe that the health care industry is in major disarray due to burnout (the national health care worker shortage is at 20%).  Also, there is a great need for blood of all types.  The need for blood has never been as great as it is currently, so we are asking clubs throughout District 5580 to work with their local blood banks to make a local blood drive a club make up or program.
 
Worst Blood Shortage in Over a Decade
(Retrieved from https://www.redcrossblood.org/)
 
The American Red Cross is facing a national blood crisis – its worst blood shortage in over a decade, posing a concerning risk to patient care. Doctors have been forced to make difficult decisions about who receives blood transfusions and who will need to wait until more products become available. Blood and platelet donations are critically needed to help prevent further delays in vital medical treatments. Please schedule your blood donation today.
What is causing the blood shortage crisis?
• 10% overall blood donation decline since March 2020.
• 62% drop in college and high school blood drives due to the pandemic. Student donors accounted for 25% of donors in 2019 but just 10% during the pandemic.
• Ongoing blood drive cancellations due to illness, weather-related closures and staffing limitations.
• Additional factors like a surge of COVID-19 cases and an active flu season may compound the already bad situation.
At a time when many businesses and organizations across the country are experiencing pandemic challenges, the Red Cross is no different. We are all learning how to live in this new environment, how we spend our time, where we work, how we give back, how we make a difference in the lives of others – donating blood must continue to be part of it.
 
Speakers
Feb 02, 2022
Brief History of Fergus Falls Rotary Club
Feb 09, 2022
Otter Tail Power Hoot Lake Solar
Feb 16, 2022
Feb 23, 2022
Fergus Falls Update
Mar 02, 2022
Habitat 500 (Mile Bike Ride)
View entire list
Service Above Self
Wednesdays at 12:00 PM
Fergus Falls Area Family YMCA
1164 Friberg Ave.
Fergus Falls, MN 56537
United States of America
Weekly club meeting on Wednesdays at Noon. Join Zoom here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87429960785?pwd=MUQrMlhmajNlUGxiL2RqMWxWeW11QT09
VenueMap
Venue Map
Meeting Responsibilities
February 2, 2022
 
Invocation
MacFarlane, John
 
February 9, 2022
 
Invocation
Olson, Keith
 
February 16, 2022
 
Invocation
Hunt, Tim
 
February 23, 2022
 
Invocation
Austvold, Kathy
 
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Secretary
 
Past President
 
Rotary Foundation
 
Vice President
 
Board Member
 
Board Member
 
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