I have been trying to rack my brains for a way to honor Jerry and Cassy Venters at the District Assembly on Saturday, April 27th at the Cameron YMCA. Both have had key leadership roles in our district and are retiring from those positions this year. They aren't leaving Rotary or District 6040, just wanting to travel more and complete a few items off their bucket list.
PDG Cassy has most recently been our District Foundation Chair and has handled so many things so well in our district. Her duties included Group Study Exchange, District and Global Grants, District and Global Scholarship, The Foundation Dinner, Annual Fund Giving and many, many more things too numerous to name here.
PDG Jerry begin our Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) program five years ago and has been the chair for all of those five years. He also started the Pars for Polio (now Play for Polio) five years ago and has just given up that job in the last year. But, these are two very successful programs that have benefited our district a great deal.
So, then it came to me...they both love the Polio Plus campaign. Jerry had polio as a child and they have been very supportive of this program over the years. So, I thought it would be a nice honor...if you choose (or your club)...to make a donation in their name to polio. You can do that for as little as $25 at Rotary.org/give . Click on the RED DONATE button and it will walk you through the steps to give. Please select yes to make the donation in honor of someone and include Jerry and Cassy Venters as the name of the honoree. Also, click on yes, that you would like to notify someone of this dedication and put my email in that space as jmmccoy17@gmail.com. The gift amount will remain anonymous and you can preview all your entries before hitting the submit button. However, I would love to know the dollar amount given so I can tally the results...and promise to keep that confidential as well. But, I will understand if you choose to keep this to yourself. I plan to give the Jerry and Cassy a card with all the donors names in it at the assembly on April 27th to express our appreciation of their service to our District.
I have also attached the Rotary Foundation Contribution Form if that is an easier way for you to give. Please just check the Polio Plus box in section 2. And remember to let me know that you have sent a gift in their honor at jmmccoy17@gmail.com. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need any help or have any questions.
Lastly, remember that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches each donation 2-1. So, for every dollar donated, it becomes $3. I think this is the perfect way to honor Jerry and Cassy. The Polio eradication efforts have been our signature Rotary project since 1985 and is very near and dear to the Venters hearts.
Thank you in advance for considering this request