A Major Opportunity for You, Our Club, and Our Community

The Rotary Responds Committee is the Club’s initiative to look at ways we can respond to disasters. We have already helped the City deal with one of its most pressing internal problems through our discussions.

We have discovered a project that the Rotary Club of Amite has developed that we think is perfect for our area and are looking for one or two people to head it up. We already have Club volunteers and positive interest from the new Rotaract Club of New Orleans. We expect much more Rotary involvement, including participation from our own Interact clubs.

The Amite Club has designed a two-day program for kids in emergency preparedness. We are targeting similar project for next June after the end of school at the beginning of hurricane season on a Friday and Saturday or maybe just Saturday. The Amite Club offers the project to kids 10-17 years old. We can do that or perhaps focus only on teenagers.

Their program gives a binder with literature on fire, alcohol, gun, drug, and driving safety. It includes contact information for relevant emergency organizations. The participants also receive a Rotary shirt with an appropriate project identifier. The first day, approximately eight-hours in length, is filled with training and instructional classes including drone displays, k9 officer exhibition, drug enforcement, local police presentations, comments by government officials, homeland security personnel, alcohol awareness, driving, boat and fire safety, etc. The second day is CPR training. Teens can sign up for one or both sessions. There will be expenses which can be offset by sponsorships.

We most likely would start out small with a pilot project, possibly in concert with one of our Interact schools. We would, of course, have information on hurricane preparedness.

But we can do it anyway we want. We need people who are excited about this idea and will put their own vision on it.

Our Club needs a signature project, one that the entire region can identify as an essential contribution to the vitality and growth of our community and this could eventually be that.

Please consider taking a leadership role. After all, that is what Rotary is all about: leaders getting together, discussing issues, and taking action. And in this project, we would be

doing just that, taking action to help our kids by training them in emergency preparedness for themselves and their families.

Let me know if you are interested: Randall Feldman, 504-782-6500, rfeldman@ramamail.net