Prepare to be entertained, inspired, and energized at the Rotary International Convention in Seoul, 28 May-1 June. View the schedule highlights, including dates and times for opening and closing ceremonies, evening activities, and the House of Friendship.
After a historic year during which transmission of the wild poliovirus vanished from Nigeria and the continent of Africa, the crippling disease is closer than ever to being eradicated worldwide, said top health experts at Rotary’s third annual World Polio Day event on 23 October in New York City.
More than 150 people attended the special Livestream program co-sponsored by UNICEF, and thousands more around the world watched online. Jeffrey Kluger, Time magazine’s editor at large, moderated the event.
Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, lauded the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s...
Rotary President K.R. Ravindran has named six Rotary Global Women of Action for 2015. The honorees were chosen for their dedication and service, which has improved the lives of thousands around the world.
“Every day at Rotary I see firsthand how our members work to change lives and make a significant impact,” said Ravindran. “Rotary’s Global Women of Action embody Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self.”
The women will be honored at Rotary Day at the United Nations in New York City on 7 November. They will address attendees and lead discussions on various topics related to their work.
The six...
Schoolchildren in Ecuador are improving their reading, and their teachers are receiving additional professional development through a collaboration between Rotary and the Organization of American States (OAS).
The effort began three years ago when Richard Carson, RI representative to the OAS, and other Rotary members met with staff at the agency to discuss a set of literacy requirements for schools. They briefed the ministers of education of Central and South American countries on an approach to improve reading skills. Ecuador adopted the plan.
“We flew to Ecuador and met with the vice...
From the November 2015 issue of The Rotarian
Several years ago, I got an idea for a book, one so strange that I naturally became obsessed with it. The manuscript would consist of 30 one-page essays on the craft of writing, and 30 one-page stories. I had a title all picked out: This Won’t Take But a Minute, Honey.
I was terribly excited about Minute, Honey, which I fancied as a kind of Strunk and White for the post-modern set. And thus I set about pitching it to editors at various New York publishing houses. To call their reaction negative would be overstating the case. They were simply...
There are still a few members who have not stepped up to the plate. Please do so at your earliest convenience so that the club can meet its obligations to the District and Rotary International.
The 2015-16 membership dues are due. An electronic invoice was emailed on July 21, 2015. The due date is August 31, 2015.
You can pay online from the link in the invoice or you can always open and click the link in the My Billing Account Balance link in the My ClubRunner box on the Admin page after login.
If you wish to pay by cash or cheque, give the $225.00 to Diana Parker at your earliest convenience.
Membership fee in the club covers District dues, CN$80.00 annually and Rotary International dues, US$55.00 semi annually or US$110.00 annually.
Patrick Gibson, District 5370 Polio Plus Chair, presented a compelling account of the 'End Polio Now' campaign and featured a clip of the live streaming event on October 23rd in New York City.
After a historic year during which transmission of the wild poliovirus vanished from Nigeria and the continent of Africa, the crippling disease is closer than ever to being eradicated worldwide, said top health experts at Rotary’s third annual World Polio Day event on 23 October in New York City.
More than 150 people attended the special Livestream program co-sponsored by UNICEF, and thousands more around the world watched online. Jeffrey Kluger, Time magazine’s editor at large, moderated the event.
Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, lauded the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s efforts. After nearly 30 years, the GPEI, which includes Rotary, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is on the cusp of ending polio. It would be only the second human disease ever to be eradicated.
Lake urged the partners not to lose their momentum: “At a time when the world is torn by conflicts, when the bonds among people seem weaker and more frayed than ever before, ending polio will be not only one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but a singular and striking example of what can be achieved when diverse partners are driven by a common goal -- when we act as one,” he said.
The event highlighted recent milestones in polio eradication: In July, Nigeria marked one year without a case, and in August, the entire African continent celebrated one year without an outbreak. That leaves just two countries where the virus is regularly spreading: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
In a question-and-answer session with Kluger, Dr. John Vertefeuille, polio incident manager for the CDC, discussed the reasons for Nigeria’s success, including strong political commitment at all levels and the support and engagement of religious and community leaders.
“The foundation to Nigeria’s success has been the incredible dedication of tens of thousands of health workers who have worked, often in difficult circumstances, to ensure that all children are reached with the polio vaccine,” said Vertefeuille.
Innovative changes, including strategies for reaching children who were often missed in the past, better mechanisms for ensuring the accountability of health workers, and the engagement of doctors, journalists, and polio survivors, also aided Nigeria in reaching its goal.
Polio eradication is progressing in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, cases dropped from 28 in 2014 to 13 so far this year. In Pakistan, transmission of the disease dropped dramatically, from 306 cases to 38.
Kluger and Vertefeuille agreed that eradicating polio is a wise financial investment. Vertefeuille said financial savings of $50 billion are projected over the next 20 years.
Failure to eradicate polio, he noted, could result in a global resurgence of the disease, with 200,000 new cases every single year within 10 years.
The Rotary Interact Club of J. Percy Page High School interacted very effectively and in record numbers for our first Home For Dinner event at Ronald McDonald House (RMH) of the school year on October 22, 2015.
We had 30 Interact Club members, plus our Past President Pooja Dutta, participate in providing, preparing, serving and cleaning up our Italian feast dinner. In addition, the energetic Interactors cleaned and sanitized all of the toys and interactive surfaces in the entire four floor RMH building.
It keeps all of our daily challenges in perspective. Priceless.
Our next RMH visit is coming soon.
Rotary regards, Eric Germain Rotary Interact Club Advisor
32 Students took part in the day. 2 Teachers also!
Good job everyone!
Fun Work
Lettuce help you.
It's all about the families who have to be here with a sick kid.
The newbies got a tour of the facility by the great RMH volunteers and staff, and did a good job of playing with the RMH kids. Thank you to the volunteer members of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona who provided rides to and from RMH. In addition our Rotary Club picked up the tab for the RMH dinner groceries, and the popular Rotary Interact Club t-shirts, with the logo "Keep calm and carry on (with Rotary)". A great motto, even for the Percy Page school police officer. The RMH trip is a win win win on so many levels, for the over 100 RMH residents and staff, and our Rotary Interact team that showed up. We often get comments about how nice it was for a family who had a challenging day at the hospital with a sick child to come home and find a lovely dinner waiting for them.
PLEASE NOTE: in order to give the German Club a heads-up on increased guest numbers at the November 3 meeting, please advise Eric Germain, egermain@is2.ca, (780) 991-0417.
Dear Fellow Rotarians,
The life blood of our Rotary Club and Rotary International heading into the future is the successful recruitment and retention of new Rotary Club members. As time marches on, it is imperative that we are all actively identifying prospective new Rotary Club members, and inviting them out to our weekly club meetings.
Part of our recruiting initiative over the last couple of years, has been to have special lunch meetings devoted to inviting prospective new members to introduce them to our club, and to provide some insight into the benefits of joining Rotary. We have been holding these traditionally in the spring and the fall, with good results.
We are excited to announce our next Prospective New Members luncheon will be held on Tuesday November 3, 2015, and will coincide with our annual visit by our Rotary District Governor. Our District Governor this year is Tim Schilds, who is a dynamic speaker and is very good at highlighting the great work that Rotary is doing locally and internationally. We think this would be a great way to introduce prospective new members to Rotary.
I challenge all of our active Rotary Club members to invite a friend, colleague, family member or just someone you may know who would appreciate Rotary. The lunch cost for any prospective member will be picked up by our Rotary Club.
In fact we would like to extend our offer of a free lunch to any prospective member for any regular Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona lunch meeting, until further notice, to encourage the attendance of prospective new members throughout the year. We have attached an invitation letter for you to send out to anyone who may be interested in Rotary. Please RSVP to myself directly with the names of any prospective members who will be joining us for our lunch meeting on November 3rd.
When Matt Moreau from the Earth Group spoke to our Club in July, he mentioned that they would be making up holiday gift boxes to be available in the Fall. Each box sold will feed and educate a child for a year and sell for $80 each.
For those of you who were interested, I would be willing to gather the orders and ensure delivery.
As several members were interested in supporting this campaign, and on Matt's behalf, I now make this appeal to those of you who are interested.
Further information and a picture of the boxes can be found at earthgroup.org.
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