Stories

Rotary Swimarathon 2023!

Watertown Rotary Polio Swimarathon 2023 - Help the fight against Polio!

Tom Walker

Tom Walker - Rotarian, Paul Harris Fellow, and great human being. We will miss you.

ShelterBox Ride

www.ShelterBoxRide.com

ShelterBox Ride sponsored by Rotary

Saturday, June 5, 2021

Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge

13499 County Route 123

Henderson Harbor, NY 13651

Registration – 7:00 AM

50 mile ride – 8:30 AM

25 mile ride – 9:30 AM

11 mile Family Ride – 9:45 AM

Cost preregistration

Until 4/1 - $40

Until 5/17 -$45

Registration at event - $50

11 mile Family Ride with children

$30 first rider, each additional member pays $15

(Riders 12 or under are free)

Active military riders receive a $5 per person discount.

Voluntary Fundraising: Please consider making your ride a fundraising effort for ShelterBox USA. Raise $250 or more and you will be awarded a ShelterBox full zippered bike shirt. Cool comfort double knit has a push pull effect, pulling moisture from the back and pushing it off the face.

Helmets are required for all riders.

Register by down loading the on-line form or picking up a registration form at one of the YMCAs, Black River Adventurers, ReCrea’s Bike Studio or by going to Active.com.

Can’t ride…still want to donate; go to ShelterBoxUSA.org

Want to become a sponsor or learn more about ShelterBox, email Tom Deuson ShelterBoxRide@gmail.com

THE RIDES:

The ShelterBox Ride will primarily take place in scenic Henderson the courses consist of gentle rolling hills along Lake Ontario and through picturesque farmland. All roads are in very good repair, and have low volumes of traffic. The rides are open-course; riders must adhere to all New York State rules of the road.

50 mile - Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge to Smithville, scenic South Harbor and North Harbor Roads, back to the West View for gourmet Rest Stop, to Wehle State Park, Stony Point Lighthouse and return to Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge for a celebration with a spaghetti and meatball lunch.

25 mile – Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge to Wehle State Park, to Stony Point Lighthouse and return to Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge for a celebration with a spaghetti and meatball lunch.

25 mile – Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge to Stony Point Lighthouse, to Wehle State Park, to Association Island RV Resort where there will be a rest stop, back to the West View for for a delicious spaghetti and meatball lunch. . 25 mile – Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge to Stony Point Lighthouse, to Wehle State Park, to Association Island RV Resort where there will be a rest stop, back to the West View for for a delicious spaghetti and meatball lunch. . 11 mile - Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge on scenic country roads and return to Bill Saiff’s West View Lodge for a celebration with a spaghetti and meatball lunch.

In 2019 we had 154 riders our 2021 goal is 160 riders.

MISSION STATEMENT

Provide an event that takes rider safety and rider satisfaction as the first priorities.
Provide an event that reflects positively on ShelterBoxUSA, Rotary, our sponsors, our volunteers and the communities in which the rides take place.
Provide an early season bicycling event that the biking community of Northern New York enthusiastically supports.
Provide an event that continues to grow and evolve into a significant annual event.

All proceeds benefit ShelterBox USA.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Through the generosity of our riders and our sponsors the ShelterBox Ride has earned over $89,000 for ShelterBoxUSA.

WHAT IS SHELTERBOX

ShelterBoxUSA is a cutting edge charity that hand-delivers emergency shelter for families devastated by natural disaster and conflict. Our signature ShelterBoxes and Shelter Repair Kits contain the tools to transform lives and rebuild communities. We cross boundaries and cut through red tape to provide emergency shelter. Since its inception in 2000 ShelterBox has responded to 300 disasters in 100 countries and helped provide emergency shelter to well over 1,500,000 people.

People We Help

Our goal is to help 50,000 families who lose everything in a disaster every year and we can achieve this goal with your help.

The Aid We Deliver

The ShelterBox solution in disaster response is as simple as it is effective. We deliver the essentials a family needs to survive in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Each green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.

2020 Deployment Information

The global pandemic has made the past year difficult, particularly for disaster affected families around the world who have lost their homes and are unable to socially distance.

Despite the challenges posed by coronavirus, ShelterBox served 200,000 people (that's 40,000 families!) across 13 countries with emergency shelter and life-saving aid and hygiene supplies.

40,000 families were supported with emergency shelter and other essential household items, including tents, tarpaulins, tool kits, blankets, mosquito nets, solar lights, cooking sets, water carriers, water filters and hygiene products.

Swimarathon Final Report

Rotary Club of Watertown Swimarathon team raises

$ 6,010 for Polio Eradication

Watertown Rotary Club swimmers swam laps at the local YMCA on February 27^th in an effort to raise donations to fund the eradication of polio in our world. The swimmers raised $6,010, or 120% of goal, which will be matched by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2 for 1 when Rotary International raises $50 million for 2021. This union of fundraising has assisted our Rotary Club to provide nearly $18,030 towards support of vaccinating over 30,050 children worldwide in 2021. Pictured are swimmers President Jeff Combs, Larry Sorel, Jeff Wood, Howie Ganter, Jeff Barnard, Beth Linderman, Don and Dianna Woodhouse and coordinator Don Klug.

For as little as 60 cents, a child can be protected from polio.

The Rotary Club of Watertown began raising funds in the fight against Polio in 1985. Our club has used an event called Swimarathon since 2011 each February as a fundraising event that donates 100% of all funds to The Rotary Foundation PolioPlus initiative. Each swimmer seeks out donations from fellow Rotarians, friends and community members by promising to swim laps in the pool. A donation of $100 will provide the oral vaccine to 167 children.

Unless we eradicate polio within 10 years, as many as 200,000 new cases could occur around the world each year. Only two countries have reported cases of polio caused by the wild virus, but no child anywhere is safe until we’ve vaccinated every child. Rotary began an initiative in 1979 to raise funds to be used to provide the oral vaccine to the world’s children with the goal to eradicate Polio. We are not alone. Rotary International is in partnership with the WHO, UNICEF, CDC, Global Polio Eradication Initiative and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Lunch Money Donation Update

The finishing touches being put on the installation of the new welcome sign on Washington Street with the Rotary logo prominently featured.

Lunch money donations in action! President Jeff Combs presents a check in the amount of $1,000 to Jose Ferrer of the Mental Health Association in Jefferson County.

Zoo New York Director Larry Sorel accepts a check in the amount of $750 presented by Jeff Combs. The Club’s donation was made using a portion of the lunch money donations donated by Club members and will be used to support the mission of the zoo.

Your lunch money donations helping to provide rides! A $750 check was presented by President Jeff Combs to Jeremiah Papineau of the Volunteer Transportation Association.

Rose Day 2019

Rose day is trending slow this year. Need everyone to rally as we need 1300 dozen with 2 weeks to go…..please sell, sell, sell !

Thank you,
The Rose Day Committee

Rose Day 2019

It's hard to believe it's that time of year again!

Rose Day kick-off is March 27th. Make sure to come to our Rotary lunch that day to hear what this year's theme will be and what they have in mind. The committee will be handing out the sales cards and posters. We need to sell 100 dozen more than last year. We don't have the Outdoor Expo this year or the Purple Heart raffle tickets to sell this year. We need everyone to step up to the plate and really sell roses. We no longer have the income from the Outdoor Expo this year so we have to cover that short fall to help with the club budget.

You can order roses online from the Rose Day web site www.RotaryRoseDay.com so if you would like to buy your roses online check it out just click on the web address and it will take you to the page or click on the link on the left side under links.

Cut off date to turn in rose orders is May 22nd and the roses will be delivered on June 6th

The Endgame is Near

For Polio Eradication, the Endgame Is Near

A Rotary Presentation Jan. 29, 2019 by Don Klug

In 1988 — when the wild poliovirus was in more than 125 countries, paralyzing 350,000 people every year — the World Health Assembly launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to help eliminate the disease through a mass immunization campaign.
In 2007 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation joined other major health organizations already committed, contributing nearly $3 billion toward eradicating polio by 2020.
"What we're looking at now is the endgame of polio eradication," says Dr. Jay Wenger, who leads the Gates Foundation's polio eradication efforts. "We are closer than ever, and we're optimistic that we can see the end of wild poliovirus disease by as early as this year," he said.
12 Known Cases. According to Dr. Wenger, there are only 2 countries where known cases of the wild poliovirus exist today: Afghanistan and Pakistan. "In the last couple of years, we've seen unprecedented progress. In 2015 we could only find 74 cases; in 2016 we found 37, and then in 2018 we've found only 20 in only two countries."
The reason: a mass immunization effort to orally vaccinate 2.5 billion children in 122 countries.
In a lot of places, children don't always get all the vaccines that they are supposed to, and that's a chronic problem, said Dr. Wenger.
The virus can only live in people, he says, and it needs new people to infect to keep on spreading and keep on living. "If you make all those people in an area immune, then the virus can’t find new people to infect. So if we can get enough children in an area vaccinated, the virus dies off."
Even after seeing the last known case of polio, the Gates Foundation will still monitor the situation over the next two years. Continual surveillance is necessary. Until there are no additional cases after a several-year period can polio be deemed completely eradicated.
Since 1988, the number of cases has been reduced by 99.9 %, saving more than 13 million children from paralysis. Economic modeling has found that the eradication of polio would save at least $40 billion to $50 billion between 1988 and 2035, mostly in low-income countries.
Bill Gates is hopeful the disease will become the second disease after smallpox to disappear for good. "Progress in fighting polio might be one of the world's best-kept secrets in global health." But soon, he hopes, it will be a secret no more. "If things stay stable in the conflicted areas, humanity will see its last case of polio this year."
According to the WHO, as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200 000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world. Just remember, Polio is just a plane ride away!
Dr. Jonas Salk, the Pittsburg University medical researcher who devoted his early life’s work to developing the Polio vaccine, worked seven days a week and sixteen hours a day for years during his quest to find a cure. We share this with you today because we want you to know how really devoted he was. Once he developed the vaccine he had to test it. Of course he used laboratory animals, but the final test had to be on humans. He needed to test the vaccine. Salk believed so strongly in the quality of his work that he was willing to risk his own safety to prove he was right. His wife and three sons also volunteered and placed their health on the line too as they all became test subjects. The tests were successful and the vaccine was deemed not a health danger. None of the people injected with the vaccine developed polio. This allowed the vaccine to be tested on a wider scale and today we all know the results.
What you may not know is that Dr. Salk could have become a very wealthy man from his discovery and hard work. When asked who would own the rights to the polio vaccine, he replied, “There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” He believed such benefit work should be freely shared. Salk gave away his discovery of the vaccine so it would be available to everyone.
What began 62 years ago in Dr. Salk's laboratory and later implemented by Bill Gates and others has been one of the great medical achievements of our time.
In 2019 The scorecard looks like this: Polio Cases as of October 2018

*Afghanistan: 16 as of September 2018

*Pakistan: 4 Cases as of August 2018

*Nigeria: 0 cases (last case Aug of 2016)

*Syria/Congo: 0 cases (last case Nov 2017)

So what is “The Final Strategy”?

The strategy for the eradication of polio rests on immunizing every at risk child until there is no one left for the disease to transmit to and the disease eventually dies out. The Initiative is spearheaded by the following Organizations:

WHO (World Health Organization) who are responsible for planning, technical direction, surveillance and eradication certification.
Rotary International whose responsibilities include fundraising, advocacy, and volunteer recruitment.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) are in charge of deploying scientists and public health experts to WHO and UNICEF.
UNICEF is in charge of the distribution of the vaccine and helping countries develop communication and awareness strategies.
The Gates Foundation continues to match RI funds as well provided a large portion of the funding.^[2]

Key tactics used by the GPEI include strengthening childhood immunization through oral vaccines, conducting surveillance through investigation of acute flaccid paralysis cases among children under 15 years old (in order to determine areas where the virus is truly eradicated), and conducting "mop up" campaigns in areas where cases of polio have been identified.^[3]

The Endgame

The final steps of polio eradication are as follows:

Detect and interrupt all poliovirus transmissions
Strengthen immunization systems and withdraw oral polio vaccine
Contain poliovirus and certify interruption of transmission
Ensure the remaining investments made to eradicate polio go to the greater cause of improving global health^[9]

What is Your Part?

Please participate by swimming and raising funds or donate to The Rotary Foundation and note your donation as Polio Eradication. Any donation of at least $25 will be matched by our club towards your PH recognition.

10 Reasons to Donate to The Rotary Foundation with Polio Eradication In Mind

Posted by Don Klug on Jan 16, 2019

10 Reasons to Donate to The Rotary Foundation with Polio Eradication In Mind

by Don Klug, Watertown Rotary

Why Donate? Any donation in the amount at least $25 is noted by Mariko to the Foundation and is credited towards TRF and your PHF recognition.
Why Donate to Polio Plus? Since the mid 1980’s one of Rotary missions has been to eradicate this crippling childhood disease. The Bill Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization has partnered with Rotary International in our fight. We are not alone in this struggle.
What is Polio? Polio is an infectious disease caused by a virus that lives in the throat and intestinal tract. It is most often spread through person-to-person contact with the stool of an infected person and may also be spread through oral/nasal secretions. Those who develop symptoms may incur paralysis or death.
How common was polio in the United States? Polio was one of the most dreaded childhood diseases of the 20th century. With the introduction of Salk vaccine in 1955, the number of cases rapidly declined to under 2,500 by 1957. By 1965, only 61 cases of paralytic polio were reported.
Is polio still a disease seen in the United States? The last imported case caused by wild poliovirus into the United States was reported in 1993.
Who should get polio vaccine and when? The poliovirus vaccine used in the United States is IPV. It is a shot given in the leg or arm, depending on age. The Polio vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines. IPV is routinely given to children, who receive 4 doses over time.
If Polio is not a significant threat here, why should we care? Unfortunately, polio lurks in the shadow of war and highly populated poverty stricken countries. Polio remains in two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Are we in danger? As long as the disease exists we are threatened. There is no cure for polio once infected. The focus of modern treatment has been on providing relief of symptoms, speeding recovery and preventing complications.
What is the cost? The cost to immunize a child costs $0.60. Where else can you make a contribution that will have such a significant impact? With each $1,000 in donations 1,666 children will receive immunization.
We are SO close! Rotarians have helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. Even though we are 99.9% of the way to eradicating this disease, there remains a threat! We are within the 3 inch line of the ‘football goal line. We have yet to win. Please make your pledge now to TRF, noting End Polio NOW! Your minimum gift of $25.00 is eligible for Paul Harris Society recognition.

Rose Day Brochure

Rose Day Brochure Ads

We are again putting together our Rose Day brochure and are looking for members who would like to advertise their business with a business card size ad in the brochure. The cost is $100 and this brochure is placed with each dozen roses that we deliver. So it can potentially reach 2000+ people. Below is a copy of the one of the pages of last year's brochure. It is a tri-fold brochure. Please contact Marsha if you would like to place an ad.

2016 Polio Swim a thon

2016 Polio Swimathon

Posted by PP Don Klug

The 2016 Polio Plus Swimarathon

The Foundation Committee offers a hearty thankyou to our Board of Directors and all who participating in the February 20, 2016 annual Global-wide Polio Swimarathon. Last year, our Club garnered over $3660 toward polio eradication during this event. Our 2016 Rotary Club “End Polio Now” campaign was successful in securing $3,762, an amount that will provide the oral vaccine for nearly 6,300 children. As well, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match these funds two for one, thus tripling the donation and the number of children that can be vaccinated. Again, thank you to all for your donations and participation.

2016 Polio Swimathon

Posted by PP Don Klu

The 2016 Polio Plus Swimarathon

2015 Purple Heart Summary

Watertown Rotary Club -

I wanted to send out this final Watertown Rotary Club summary of the 2015 Rotary Purple Heart Scholarship Raffle:

GRAND TOTAL for 2015 (these numbers are the updated final tally based on ticket sales at the raffle drawing event):

Donations	$2,382.00
Tickets	$25,878.00
Sponsors	$33,500.00
Total	$61,759.00

TICKETS: of the 3,500 tickets we printed for 2015, we sold 2,911. This is the most tickets that we have sold in any single year, breaking last year’s record by 213 tickets.

SPONSORS: Thirty-five sponsors (individuals or organizations donating $1,000 or more to the fund) contributed $33,500 this year. This is nearly $7,000 more than the 26 sponsors last year. If you, yoir organization or anyone you know is interested in becoming a sponsor or just contributing to the fund in the future, please let me know (contact information below).

RAFFLE DRAWING: The winners of this year’s drawing were:

Grand Prize ($10,000 cash, ATV or snowmobile)	Mike and Caleigh Flynn, Massena
Second Prize ($1,000 cash)	Brooke Morrison, Watertown
Third Prize (42” HDTV)	Fred McAdam, East Aurora

2015-2016 SCHOLARSHIPS:

Name	Home	College	Relationship	Note
Brittany Gregory	Fort Drum	U of Albany	Daughter of PH recipient	2015-2016 Joe Blake Scholarship designee
Amanda Hunter	Chaumont	Nazareth College	Daughter of PH recipient	2014 scholarship awardee
Davina Jones	Gouverneur	SUNY Brockport	Daughter of PH recipient	2012/ 2013/ 2014 scholarship awardee
Thomas Bauschke	Watertown	SUNY Oswego	PH recipient	2014 Joe Blake scholarship awardee
Savina Mitchell	Evans Mills	Alamo Colleges	Daughter of PH recipient	1^st time awardee

Last, but not least, I want to thank the Purple Heart Scholarship committee members for all it did this year to make the scholarship fund and a the raffle a great success:

John Bocciolatt	Carl McLaughlin
Maureen Cean	Jan Mosher
Tom Deuson	Tom Piche
Howie Ganter	Mike Plummer
Jeff Jones	Jill Renshaw
Stevie Kiggins	Terry Roche (Emeritus)
Jim Lafferty	Mark Smith
Paul Levos	Linda Thompson

We are always looking for additional members to help our so if anyone is interested in joining this committee and helping play a major role in giving back to those Service Members and their families who have sacrifices so much for us all, please contact me at 489-3633 or gpearsal@twcny.rr.com

It has been an honor to lead this committee and I have great hopes for continued success in the future.

Gilbert H. Pearsall, Jr.

Watertown Rotary Purple Scholarship Committee Chairperson

Quote of the Week - Who Said It?

Posted by Chris Trombley on Nov 19, 2012

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.

Thought for the Week - Who Said It?

Posted by Chris Trombley on Nov 19, 2012

An optimist is the human personification of spring.

Mark Your Calendars!

Posted by Chris Trombley on Nov 19, 2012

Here you can post little tidbits of information, reminders, or anything else!

Integrated eBulletin for Easier Communication

Posted by Chris Trombley

ClubRunner makes it easy to publish your weekly Club eBulletin, and send to all members and friends of the club, by incorporating home page stories and events with the push of a button.