Stories

“You can’t take it with you, so you better figure out where you want it to go,” says Tom Bolt, Esq. and Charter President of the Rotary Club of St. Thomas Sunrise.

The CEO and President of Innovative, Sean O’Donald visited the Rotary Sunrise breakfast club at the Windward Passage Hotel today and brought news about the progress being made to build out the telecom’s network.

In it's fourth year, the 2014 Kids Triathlon brought over 100 children to Magens Bay to celebrate competion, fun & fitness. 

Over 100 members of the community joined Rotarians in launching the Practice Preace Initiative at the University of the Virgin Islands.

As part of Rotary Sunrise's Peace Initiative, Dr Bernard Wheatley, CEO of the Schneider Regional Medical Center on St Thomas, addressed the Club's October 1st meeting quantifying the cost of crime and how it affects the Hospital.  With the rise in gunshot and stab wounds resulting from crime, Wheatley said, the medical center finds itself in "a tough situation for a small place."

From 2010-2012 the Emergency Room received 149 cases of gunshot injuries.  The combined gunshot cases within this 3 year period cost approximately $2.5 million in treatment costs.  Of the 149 victims, almost 72% were uninsured, placing a significant burden on a hospital budget that has seen a $6 million decrease in funding in the last four years.  

Rape cases come in second in number and cost.  During this same period (2010-2012) 385 rape cases were seen at the Hospital and incurred $1.2 million in treatment costs. 

Stab wounds also comprise a large portion of violence-related injuries with 145 cases reported between 2010 and 2012.  Treatment costs amounted to $600,000.  Between stab wounds, blunt force trauma, rape and gunshot wounds Schneider Hospital racked up about $5million in treatment costs.  Wheatley admitted that the Hospital cannot prevent violent crimes, but they must provide treatment to the victims.  In addition to the medical treatment Wheatley described violence-related procedures that include a lockdown protocol, when an gunshot victim is admitted. 

Drs. Frank Mills and Asha DeGannes  from the University of the Virgin Islands Eastern Caribbean Center kicked off  The Rotary Club of St Thomas Sunrise’s 2013-14 Peace Initiative earlier this week.

Mills and DeGannes are the point people for the university’s Anti-Violence and Peace Initiative, an ongoing UVI effort that surfaced recently after a murder on the St. Croix campus rocked the community.

Mills described the victim as a recent UVI graduate who, upon receiving his degree after an unusual amount of time, had embraced UVI President Dr. David Hall in a gesture of joy and gratitude.

“One month later he was dead,”  Mills said.  The shocking loss re-energized the university which hosted several seminars this spring to address the issues surrounding the violence and to come up with solutions.

Mills, whose particular skills include statistics and demographics, has worked for years gathering information and publishing the results ,  cited some of the factors that play into the culture of violence: dysfunctional family patterns;  a parent demonstrating violence towards a spouse, partner or child; drinking among school children, gangs,  lack of truancy policies.  He reminded the audience that young men growing up with these experiences are seven times more likely to turn to a life of crime and violence.

 After conducting a series of town hall meetings last October a university advisory panel identified various areas of focus which now require a collaborative effort on the part of the University, and the various agencies, health institutions and community organizations that deal with one of more of the factors that contribute to the culture of violence. 

Sunrise Rotary  is joining the thousands of Rotary clubs throughout the world that are committed to focusing on the epidemic of violence that consumes neighborhoods, communities and in some cases, entire countries. The absence of community peace is the most critical issue for the territory, according to a recent poll done by V.I. Source. 

Peace and Conflict Resolution which is one of Rotary International’s six areas of service will be the core focus for Rotary Sunrise during its 2013-2014 Rotary year.  Mills and DeGannes were the first of many speakers , the club has engaged to begin a dialogue. With “Engage Rotary, Change Lives”  as the 2013-14 Rotary International Theme and call to action, Sunrise President for 2013-14 Shaun A. Pennington sees the local Rotary community as the very group to best bring Rotary’s influence and resources to bear in beginning to  turn the tide of the serious  violence that is tearing the community apart.

 “Rotary  can best serve this University initiative by acting as the catalyst to bring the community together”, Pennington said .  “The initiative is “community peace” not simply our youth”, she continued.  February 21 is Rotary’s 107^th Birthday, also known as World Understanding and Peace Day and  is being targeted as the kickoff date for a major peace summit.  Leading up to the events to take place early next year, Rotary Sunrise has scheduled a number of guest speakers at their meetings whose work is focused within those areas affected by violence, as well as individuals who hold the keys to solutions, Pennington said.   For more information on these speakers or how you can support this community effort contact Shaun A. Pennington at 340-777-8144.

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The Lucinda Millin Home for the Aged was a bundle of activity on Saturday, December 7^th when Rotarians, Interacters and friends of Rotary Sunrise gathered to setup and light not one, but two Christmas trees for the Home’s residents.  The event started with Sunrise’s Interact Club at Montessori Academy leading a medley of local carols.  Music and song continued with members of the St Thomas Reformed Church choir, with banjo in hand, accompanying Interact violinist, Isis Collier, in a medley of traditional and religious Christmas carols. 

Rotarian Diana Parker’s husband, Dennis, attired in Santa’s costume, reacquainted himself with long-time residents many of whom asked for their picture with Santa.  After refreshments were served a gift was presented to each resident.  This service project is an annual event for Rotary Sunrise and will continue to bring joy to the residents and Rotarians alike.       

Sunrise members and guests listened intently as St Thomas/St John Fire Chief Andres Smith addressed the topic of violence in our community, how it has affected our youth,  and the impact it has on the VI Fire Service.  His appearance is part of the ongoing Practice Peace Initiative sponsored by Rotary.  The following excerpt was taken from the VI Source’s article of October 22^nd reporting on Chief Smith’s remarks.

Smith easily engaged the group's attention, speaking of violence in its embryonic form. Smith called it "the time when they stop skipping," when youngsters no longer express the joy of being alive.

Smith spoke of the direct violence firemen experience – arson, for instance – and its impact on the community. He also cited instances of victims running into a fire station as a safe harbor, "but you don't know if they will be followed by perpetrators," he added.

Smith spoke of what he called the "violent psyche," acting out in an aggressive highly charged, emotional manner. This behavior is then emulated by youngsters, he implied.

It used to be that little boys wanted to grow up to be a fireman, to wear the red helmet and get to save people. That's sadly not the case today, Smith said. In fact, he cited a problem firefighters face with kids throwing rocks at them from a safe distance, when they are fighting fires. 

There are many programs, including counseling and mentoring for youth.  Smith said it's all of us who should be concerned. "This isn't the community it was when I first began my career."

There are solutions, Smith said, but it takes all of us, a community. Citing the Junior Firefighters Corp. as a good place to start, Smith said the youngsters learn about firefighting, fire prevention, arson and fire safety, CPR, rescue and first aid, and any youngster, girl or boy, from 8 years old to high school is welcome to join. One can get more information on the Junior Firefighters Corp. by calling 774-7610, he said.

There are many programs, including counseling and mentoring for youth.  Smith said it's all of us who should be concerned. "This isn't the community it was when I first began my career."

Sunrise President, Shaun Pennington sees the local Rotary community as the group to best bring Rotary’s influence and resources to bear in beginning to turn the tide of the serious violence in the community. She said she believes that the effort can result in a 75 percent reduction of violence in the community in 10 years.

By Arnold R. Grahl  
Rotary News -- 21 December 2012

 

The year got off to an exciting start in January when India marked a year without a new case of polio. By February, the World Health Organization had removed India from the list of endemic countries.

Here’s a look back at this and other memorable Rotary events of 2012.

1. India polio free

After going an entire year without a new reported case of polio, India was removed from the list of polio-endemic countries by the World Health Organization (WHO). Ghulam Nabi Azad, India's minister of Health and Family Welfare, made the announcement at the Polio Summit 2012 in New Delhi on 25 February.

The news was a huge boost to the morale of Rotarians, who have been laboring to eradicate the crippling disease since 1985. Only three countries -- Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan -- remain on the polio-endemic list. Read More

VIMSIA Interact Club delivered gifts to the students at Jane E. Tuitt Elementary School. At the school Santa gave each student a gift bag containing with 3-5 gifts from their wish list. The Interact Club ended the day by delivering approximately 1000 books to The Family Connection.