Rose Bowman Memorial Bus Update.
Earlier this year I requested Rotarians donate to refurbish a bus to be delivered to a small Mexican village to honor the memory of Past District Governor Rose Bowman. I appointed a committee to oversee the project, including Leon Bowman, Larry McGee, Chip Ross and Jerry Wilkins. The primary objective was to get the bus operational and delivered to the Mexico community of Cabo Corrientes, which is adjacent to Puerto Vallarta. The bus is now fully repaired, and on December 2, 2017, the bus started its journey to Mexico. $21,698.44 has thus far been raised for the project. Approximately $7,750 has been expended (towing and repair of the bus). A replacement engine, batteries and other items have been donated to significantly reduce the costs to get the bus operational. The reminder of about $14,000 will be leveraged with Rotary International Grant funds to provide support to the community of Cabo Corrientes.
Photo Caption: Governor Tom Carroll with Ignacio Palomera, (El Tuito) Leon Bowman, Mike Crouse, Larry McGee (Twin Cities), David Stevens, Keith Tatton (Cumberland), Ryan Friesen, Patrick Johnson, Bayne Mann, and Andy Toperchuk (Strathcona).
Youth Protection.
Our District has a long history of providing service to youth in programs like Interact, Rotary Youth Exchange, and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). Many club mentoring programs, literacy projects, and other initiatives also help young people. Unfortunately, no organization is invulnerable to abuse. They can and do occur in even the most seemingly positive settings. Predators often seek teaching, coaching, or other positions that give them access to children and teenagers. Others who are committed to working with youth sometimes find it hard to believe that some adults will abuse the trust placed in them, so they may not notice the signs. Our District takes youth protection very seriously, and it relies on Rotarians to foster safe environments that prevent abuse and to respond appropriately when it occurs. The Statement of Conduct for Working with Youth provides the basic principle for District 5020 Rotarians to follow when working with young people in any capacity:
“Rotary International strives to create and maintain a safe environment for all youth who participate in Rotary activities. To the best of their ability, Rotarians, Rotarians’ spouses and partners, and other volunteers must safeguard the children and young people they come into contact with and protect them from physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.”
2018 District Conference.
Please take a moment to register for the 2018 District Conference (Tacoma). https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50092/SitePage/2018-district-training-and-conference Conference Co-Chairs Greg and Mary Horn of Lakewood Rotary are busy making sure the 2018 Conference and Training Assembly is the best yet. Contact Jennifer Durham at jdurhamrotary253@gmail.com if you have questions.
Rotary’s December Theme is Disease Prevention and Treatment.
Our health is everything. Yet 400 million people in the world can’t afford or don’t have access to basic health care. We believe good health care is everyone’s right. Disease results in misery, pain, and poverty for millions of people worldwide. That’s why treating and preventing disease is so important to us. We lead efforts both large and small. We set up temporary clinics, blood donation centers, and training facilities in underserved communities struggling with outbreaks and health care access. We design and build infrastructure that allows doctors, patients, and governments to work together. Our members combat diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and polio. Prevention is important, which is why we also focus on health education and bringing people routine hearing, vision, and dental care. Rotary makes amazing things happen, like:
- Providing clean water: Rotary has worked with partners to provide more than 80 percent of Ghana’s people with clean water to fight Guinea worm disease.
- Reducing HIV infection: In Liberia, Rotary members are helping women get tested for HIV early in their pregnancies. They used prenatal care to reduce new HIV infections in children by 95 percent.
- Ending polio: Rotary members have played a key role in bringing the world to the brink of polio eradication. Their efforts have not only ended polio in 122 countries but also created a system for tackling a myriad other health priorities, such as Ebola.