March 10, 2008
Today, March 10, 2008: Our Sgt. of Arms Max Rumbaugh will lead today's program and inform us about the club's Youth Exchange Program.
Thursday, March 13: the postponed February Steering Committee meeting at noon at Cleary's.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) - May 9,10 & 11, 2008
On-line, brochure/application, on-line registration & payment option and other information now available at the district website
https://www.rotary6380.org
RYLA co-chairs Paul Brown (Ridgetown) and Jim Adams (Troy).
Howell Rotary Bowl for Kids Sake - another successful event!
Here is Dan's report:
I want to thank those that participated in the BB/BS Bowl for Kids' Sake fundraiser Saturday. The three Howell Rotary teams:
"Pins Away" -- Dan & Karen Murdock, Pat Convery, Kim Dane, & Jim Gilligan
"Pins Away Too" -- John and Jennifer Rubio, Brent Earl, Peter Bowen, & Kathy Zaenger
"Pins Away 3" -- Rick Sigler + four FOR (friends of Rick).
raised over $2,500 for this worthy cause. That is almost $300 more than last year. The captains for teams #2 (John Rubio) and #3 (Rick Sigler) did outstanding jobs in raising funds and leading their teammates. Kim Dane substituted for Renae Behr who had a last minute obligation which prevented her from bowling. We thank Renae for her fundraising efforts and Kim for her willingness to aid us. While some of us just enjoyed the fellowship, others proved to be better bowlers. Yes, I may be able to walk faster than John Rubio; but he proved to a much better bowler with a strong competitive spirit. We also want to thank John's and Jim Gilligan's daughters for bowling with us.
Rick Sigler recruited a high school bowler for his team. Miss Chelsea Allen proved up to the challenge with a 196 pin score in her first game. But Rick recovered in the second game to take top honors. And Brent Earl picked-up a rather difficult split that made me wonder if he was just dumbing down his game so not to make the rest of us feel bad. Overall our total pin count of 3455 and money raised may make us competitive to win the Rotary Club competition this year. But whether we win or not, I am proud of our efforts this year and again thank all who supported this effort with their time and/or money donations. I need to collect money from a few of you who have yet to fund your pledge. Please bring you monies this Monday if at all possible. Checks should be made payable to Big Brothers Big Sisters, not to me or the Rotary Club.
Your Bowl Meister
Dan Murdock
Nice job, Dan!
President Elect Kim Dane, last week, laid out some goals for our club and its fund raising efforts along with Committee Assignments. The following are those goals:
Howell Rotary 2008/2009
MAKE DREAMS REAL: Theme for Rotary President Elect DK Lee
Area's of emphasis: Water, Hunger & Health, Literacy, Reducing Child Mortality
Proposed Service Projects:
Member volunteers
August:
October: Bike Race Proceeds to United Way (All club members have a role)
December: Salvation Army Bell Ringing with Rotary & Interact Club (Goal 10 club members)
February: Walk 4 Warmth (Goal 15-20 club members)
Feb/March/April: One Rotary Interact/Rotary combined service project (Goal 8 club members)
March: Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl A Thon (Goal 15-20 club members)
April: Howell Rotary Interact 5k Run (Goal 10 club members)
May Gleaner's Event (All club members have a role)
Giving/Donations in 2008/09
Howell Rotary Club donates back to various organizations in
Goals for Giving in 2008/09
$1000 Polio Plus International Rotary Project to eradicate Polio World Wide (
$1000 Rotary Foundation (
$1000 Host Youth Exchange Student
$ United Way Bike Event (all proceeds go to the United Way Kick Off Campaign)
$ 500 Literacy Project Local or International (Kathleen Zaenger to recommend to club vote)
$ 500 Parks & Recreation Committee (Can be more if this committee submits plan for approval)
$ 500 Walk 4 Warmth Club Donation
$ 500 Big Brother Big Sisters Bowl A Thon Club Donation
$ 500 Howell Rotary Interact 5k Run Club Donation
+$5500 Total Fundraising required to meet clubs 2008/09 Goals
Join Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson this April 25th to 27th at the fourth and culminating Rotary International Peace Forum. This North American event in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, is the final in a series that has taken place this year in Bulgaria, Turkey and Africa. You can download a brochure here.
Google.org gives Rotary $3.5 million to help end polio worldwide
Rotary will match grant, dollar-for-dollar within one year
(Evanston, IL - USA: February 2008) Rotary International received $3.5 million from The Google Foundation, a non-profit managed by Google.org, in support of Rotary's top philanthropic goal to eradicate polio, a crippling and sometimes fatal disease that still paralyzes children in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East and threatens children everywhere.
The humanitarian volunteer service organization will raise funds to match The Google Foundation grant, dollar-for-dollar, over one year. The grant will directly support polio immunization activities carried out by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a partnership spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF.
Polio eradication has been Rotary's top priority since 1985. Since then, Rotary has contributed $650 million to the eradication effort, a figure which will rise to more than $850 million by the time the world is certified polio-free.
Tremendous progress has been made. To date, the number of polio cases has been reduced from 350,000 children annually in the mid 1980s to approximately 2,000 cases in 2006. Although the GPEI has succeeded in slashing the number of polio cases by 99 percent over the past two decades, the wild poliovirus still persists in four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
"This grant comes at a crucial time for the initiative, as more funds are needed to reach children in the most challenging regions of the world," said Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, President of Rotary International. "We have the technical tools to beat polio, and we're almost there. All we need is for the rest of the world to follow The Google Foundation's lead in supporting the effort to eradicate this vaccine preventable disease once and for all."
Founded in Chicago in 1905, Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary's global membership is approximately 1.2 million men and women who belong to more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.
Google.org is a hybrid philanthropy that uses a range of approaches to help advance solutions. They can operate in a traditional manner by supporting partners' work with targeted grants. But they can also invest in for-profit endeavors or lobby for policies that support their philanthropic goals. Additionally, Google.org can tap the company's innovative technology and, most importantly, its inspired workforce.
Contact: Vivian Fiore at 1+847-866-3234 or vivian.fiore@rotary.org
For more information visit: www.rotary.org , www.google.org or www.polioeradication.org