Sooooo...much of the city is shut down for a second day (today) due to the snow and very low temps. I'm fine with it because I've been spending most of my time at home for the past 4 1/2 years but I have friends that are climbing the walls and so frustrated. Do y'all remember that time that we were all at home and NO ONE was out and no one went anywhere? It was a time we never thought would end and even then, we thought we'd never forget. Then Snowpocalypse 2022 happened and we realized that we DID forget about those months of solitude and survival in a way we'd never experienced before. Even for me, I needed that reminder.
Perspective is everything, isn't it?
Also, I've heard that the sign of true maturity is when you stop looking at everything through your own lens and begin to imagine how someone else might see it. Usually, the perspective is quite different.
Then there is THAT perspective. I'm a living example of this quote. Another one that has affected me deeply is "What if everything you're going through is preparing you for everything you've always wanted." And because I'm a glass-half-full sort most of the time, I see it. I've gone through a lot to get through these past years but I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be.
I hope you can find a perspective that helps you get through these next few days until our outdoor temperatures rise a bit. I feel pretty darn grateful to be looking out from the warm inside at the beautiful white snow. And I'm incredibly thankful that I have food in my cupboards and medicine on my shelves.
For this week's Random Awesome Deed suggestion, I encourage you to check in with one of our Rotarians that you know lives alone or you think might be at risk in some way. I will be making some calls as well. I love to see the good work we do in the community and my heart is even warmer when I see us taking care of each other.
Now let's go forth, be great stewards of Rotary and Catalysts of Caring in our Community!
Please be well, be safe, and be kind. There are a lot of people needing just that.
In Rotary Service,
Kathleen Saltmarsh-Voss
President
Rotary of Colorado Springs
Topic: Weekly Rotary Meeting
Time: Feb 18, 2022 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 852 1712 5280
Passcode: 4039519754
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Meeting ID: 852 1712 5280
Passcode: 4039519754
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbQttQn2G1
Please consider inviting someone you know that might be interested in being part of the oldest, largest Rotary Club in Colorado Springs! This is an informal gathering where we can share a drink and get to know prospective Rotarians while telling them about how great our club is AND spend some time with fellow Rotarians as well! We will be meeting at Brakeman's Burgers (behind The Antlers Hotel) at 10 S. Sierra Madre St., Colorado Springs.
If you are interested in being part of the party that is FLIGHT 2022!, please come to the weekly Rotary meeting directly AFTER the club's weekly meeting on Friday or tune in to the following zoom link.
There is help needed with the fabrication part of FLIGHT 2022. If you are available or able to move butterfly/dragonfly parts around, please contact Tina Dewey, FLIGHT 2022 Chair at tinadhomes@gmail.com.
Meeting ID: 865 2228 1182 Passcode: 274601 One tap mobile +12532158782,,86522281182#,,,,*274601# US (Tacoma) +13462487799,,86522281182#,,,,*274601# US (Houston)
Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 929 205 6099 US (New York) Meeting ID: 865 2228 1182 Passcode: 274601 Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdCCxdvGaP
We are in the initial stage of forming a Veterans Group in the COS Downtown Rotary Club. This group will serve as a cohesive unit in community service projects (thanks, Samantha Chapman, for including us!), have its own space on the ClubRunner page (thanks, Mike McGrath!), and strengthen both Rotary and Veteran bonds. The first initiative for the Veterans Group is to honor World War II Veterans. (Thank you, Kerry Pearson, for your legwork on this project!)
If you are a Veteran, please contact Chip Frazer at carl.frazer@gmail.com or 202.595.4295 with name, branch of service, and (if desired) dates of service and/or military campaigns. If you know a Veteran in the club, please let Chip know, since we'd like to get the word out as far and wide as possible.
The next International Committee meeting is Friday, March 11 right after the club's weekly meeting and we will be meeting in Sportivo's.
Currently, we are working on the following projects:
Practical Education Network (PEN) in Ghana
Hunger project in Niger
Trampled Rose In Ethiopia
Locally Haiti
Vision project in Bisceglie, Italy
If you are interested in participating in our International Committee, please email Jordan Davis at Jordan@sociallyexceptional.biz to be added to the notification list!
We see the decision to vaccinate as a civic and humanitarian imperative. Rotary is not a political or religious organization, it is a service organization and this is the lens through which we are advising you of our position.
Global vaccination is the path to ending the pandemic and the emergence of new variants. Rotary endorses and strongly encourages vaccination for all individuals including our members who are currently able to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In areas where COVID-19 is surging, communities are facing extreme challenges, health systems are overwhelmed, and contentious rhetoric is dividing us. It is critical that the virus be contained so that the world may begin to heal. To that end, the purpose of this statement is to reinforce Rotary’s position.
Misinformation has become an “infodemic” that hinders the fight against COVID-19. In line with our Four-Way Test, Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are committed to providing our members with science-based information.
Rotary International staff at One Rotary Center were required to be vaccinated by 10 October 2021, as a criterion for employment after that date. RI’s employee vaccination rate stands at over 99 percent.
Globally, Rotary is actively engaged in assuring equity in vaccine access to all people. Our efforts have included advocacy with the G-20, and a proof-of-concept program with GAVI/COVAX to leverage our frontline experience with polio eradication to facilitate vaccine delivery in several low- and middle-income countries where Rotarians are active. While we know many clubs are already deeply involved in COVID-19 prevention, we are working on additional strategies to multiply our collective efforts. GAVI/COVAX is a partnership including WHO and UNICEF focused on global access and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines.
Those children for whom vaccines are not currently available are at significant risk. Until vaccines are available for all children, the vaccination of adults is the best way to protect children who cannot be vaccinated. Pediatric admissions for COVID-19 are rising precipitously in areas of low vaccination.
Rotary salutes health care workers everywhere as they continue to provide lifesaving services. Local recognition of these heroes by each of our clubs can help to encourage them to continue their important work. Rotary abhors any harassment and attacks on healthcare workers.
Rotary and Rotaract clubs are encouraged to
set good examples by being exemplary role models;
redouble their efforts to support COVID-19 treatment, prevention, and vaccination efforts.
Vaccines have proven to be one of the greatest advances of modern medicine. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines save between 2 to 3 million children’s lives each year, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative estimates the polio vaccine has saved more than 19 million children from paralysis. Vaccines are safe, effective and are responsible for eliminating or controlling many other vaccine-preventable diseases such as smallpox, measles, rubella, and Ebola. And now, there is the opportunity to end the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccines.
The eradication of polio remains a goal of the highest order for Rotary. We can apply the lessons we have learned in fighting polio to the efforts in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regards,
Shekhar Mehta John Germ President, Rotary International Chair, The Rotary Foundation
If you have bulletin announcements, please email the EXACT WORDING of your announcement to KSaltmarshVoss@yahoo.com by Wednesday at 5 pm. I don't write your announcements but I do make them nice 'n' fancy!
As you're doing your shopping online, did you know that you can support our Rotary Club with every Amazon purchase? Here’s how:
Go to smile.amazon.com (not amazon.com). Amazon Smile is the same company, same account, same password, but the Amazon Smile program gives one half of one percent of every purchase to charity. No, it’s not a lot, but it’s also not nuthin’ (to be exact: about $150 for the Club so far). So again, go to smile.amazon.com
Sign into your Amazon account as you normally would
On the very top left of the page, next to the AmazonSmile logo, are three horizontal bars. Click there for the drop-down menu.
Scroll ALL the way down to “Your AmazonSmile”; it should be the last option right before “Sign Out”; Click on “Your AmazonSmile”
On the right side of the page, click on the “change charity” box under Your current charity (Note: If you are currently supporting another charity, that’s awesome! These instructions are for those who are not doing so. Also, if you have not previously selected a charity, your default option will be St. Judge Children’s Research Hospital.)
Type in Community Service Fund of the Rotary Club of Colorado Springs; click Select
That’s it. You’re all set. Just remember to go to Smile.Amazon.com when you shop from now on.
Rotary Rally ~ Thursday, March 3 @ 4:30 - 6 pm
