R o t a r y  D i s t r i c t  7 6 1 0 Service above Self

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A Victory, Not A Conspiracy: Bill Gates And Ending Polio

A Victory, Not A Conspiracy: Bill Gates And Ending Polio

Matthew Herper, Forbes Staff, 1/12/2012

This morning brought a victory in humanity’s battle against the germs that surround us, infect us, and define our history: polio virus appears to have been eliminated from India, one of only four nations in which the disease that paralyzed Franklin Delano Roosevelt is still endemic.

Even that simple statement needs lots of qualifiers. India has gone a year without a homegrown case of polio, but more surveillance will need to be done in order to make sure the virus is really under control, and it’s years too early to even think about stopping polio vaccination. People need to keep getting polio vaccine until the virus is gone in the other three countries that are left: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. (Until now you could remember them by the pneumonic PAIN; now it’s just PAN.)

Still, this is cause for celebration. In the words of Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has spent more than $1 billion on the polio effort: “This is a major milestone in the global fight against polio. Children in India are now protected against this debilitating, but preventable disease, bringing us one step closer to saving and improving the lives of all children.”

Read More at Forbes.com

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February (Second Edition) Conference Gazette

February Conference Gazette

January Conference Gazette

December Conference Gazette

November Conference Gazette

Join other Rotarians in District 7610 for fellowship, fun and a celebration of service through the 2011-2012 club year. Enjoy traditional sharing of club successes and the outstanding New Generations programs. Take a leisurely private tour of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello or explore the Piedmont Wine Trail on a guided tour.

After two days of fellowship, dancing and special programs, enjoy the excitement when the District 7610 Rotarian of the Year is announced at the Saturday night Governor’s Banquet.

Make sure March 29-April 2, 2012 is on your calendar and click on the Conference Gazette links above to learn more about Conference plans.

District Conference Checklist

Exhibit Reservation Form

Project Showcase Applications

DisCon Newsletter AD Information

Ad Reservation Form

District 7610 Annual Photo Contest

Fairfax RC Hosts Party for Homeless

Fairfax RC Hosts Party for Homeless

By Laura Hills, Fairfax RC

S anta and the Rotary Club of Fair-fax brought holiday cheer again this year at the club’s 11th annual Christmas Party for Homeless Kids.

Paula Kelly, the clubs Community Service Director, chaired the event, and said, “Members of the club donated gifts and funds for weeks. I am touched as always by the outpouring of generosity from my fellow Rotarians. There were gifts for 35 children, as well as stuffed Christmas stockings assembled by the club secretary, Jennifer Rose. The Fairfax City area Girl Scouts also participated in the party by reading to the children.”

Honored guests were families served by FACETS (Fairfax Area Christian Emergency & Transitional Services, Inc.) 130 guests attended, with transportation provided by Fairfax City CUE buses. A buffet dinner was served with donations from Chick-fil-A. Laura Hills, club pres-ident-elect, donned her Santa hat and played holiday songs on her keyboard, leading everyone in singing.Annandale Rotarian Gregg Modesitt played Santa again this year and posed for pictures with the children.

Fairfax RC president Brian Lunkeman said, “Our club is delighted to be able to provide this event, especially at this time of year, for families in our com-munity who have no home of their own. We hope in our small way that we have helped them cope with their situation as best they can. We want each of our guests to know that they live in a community that cares about them and that they are not alone.”

Club President Brian Lukeman led singing for carols played by President-Elect Laura Hills at Fairfax RC party for homeless children

By AG Kylie Bransford (KIWIS RC)

After Hurricane Irene left the area, thousands of Northern Neck residents were without power.  Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, a local power company, brought in the assistance of linemen crews from other areas of Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky. With approximately 225 crew members in town from outside the area, Northern Neck Electric asked the Warsaw Rotary Club if they would cook and serve the crews breakfast and dinner. 

As fundraisers, the Warsaw Rotary Club prepares, cooks and serves all types of food at different events, the largest being the Richmond County Fair. The Warsaw Club is self-sufficient with their cookers, supplies and mobile access.

As a dedicated community Rotary Club, the Rotarians cooked and served food, beginning on Sunday night, August 28 with dinner and cooking and serving the last meal after breakfast on Saturday morning, September 3. Breakfasts involved a prep time between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. and serving began at 5:00 a.m. Dinners involved a prep time between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. and serving at 7:00 p.m. The Rotarian day usually ended around 9:30 after clean-up.

The meals were massive. Breakfast would include 40 dozen eggs, 30 pounds of bacon, and 30 pounds of sausage and 35 pounds of hash browns.  The women from Northern Neck Electric Cooperative cooked bread. The linemen crews were even surprised with homemade sausage gravy a couple of mornings.

An elaborate menu was served every night from seafood, which included soft shell crabs, crab cakes, 60 pounds of shrimp, hushpuppies, French fries and dessert to filet mignon, baked potatoes, French fries, green beans, and dessert and New York strip, shrimp, baked potatoes, peas, salad, and dessert.

Kudos to the Warsaw Rotary Club for all  their hard work and time supporting the local area. It is Rotarians such as these who make Rotary what it’s all about – Service Above Self.

1,000 People = 250,000 Meals

1,000 People = 250,000 Meals

By Former Rotarian Alan Grielsamer

In three shifts over an eight-hour period Saturday, November 5, more than 1000 Northern Virginia volunteers—including members of the McLean, Tyson’s and Dunn Loring-Merrifield Rotary Clubs packaged 250,000 meals to help eradicate hunger worldwide. The event benefitted Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief organization that coordi-nates the distribution of food and other life—saving aid to countries around the world.

The meal-packaging activity brought together multi-ple faiths and multiple generations, ranging from local Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and McLean Little Leaguers to World War II veterans from American Legion Post 270 in Mclean. Special guests included local politicians and Rotary District Governor Jon Allan.

The event raised more than $50,000.00—or 25 cents a meal—from individuals, organizations and corpora-tions to help eradicate hunger. The meals are com-prised of long-grain rice, a soy protein mixture, a vita-min packet and dehydrated vegetables. The ingredi-ents are measured and poured into bags. Stop Hunger Now sends 90 percent of the meals to schools in impov-erished regions of the world and the remaining 10 per-cent going to disaster relief areas.

McLean Rotarian Bob Hahne, and his late wife Barb, organized all three events from an idea sown at a district conference.

Robert Hahne and Carmen Martinez, members of the McLean Rotary Stop Hunger Now committee

Slide Show

By Peter Vu (Gainesville-Haymarket RC)

The Sixth Annual Children’s Wellness Festival in Manassas provided a Saturday morning of health screenings and fun for over 300 kindergarten to eighth-graders.

The event is co-sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Gainesville-Haymarket, Bull Run and Manassas with the Manassas City Public Schools Health Advisory Board. A number of medical staffers volunteer their time for the annual event, providing limited screening to children who might not otherwise have health care. Amerigroup Insurance Company even provided a moon bounce.

Screenings include height, weight, hearing, vision and dental checks and, if necessary, a visit to the “doctor’s office on wheels,” staffed by the Greater Prince William Community Health Center. This mobile clinic includes a mini-lab, can do urinalysis and has wireless capability to access the health center’s patient records.

Even Interactors got involved, with students from Battlefield, Osbourn Park and Stonewall Jackson high schools, some even acting as interpreters. GHRC member George Layne, the club’s Interact advisor, got a good opportunity to plug Interact in an article in the local newspaper!

After six years, the formula for a joint event such as this is perfected, but it still takes a whole lot of work organizing, promoting, and staffing a day that benefits hundreds of families.

Celebrate Rotary Awareness Month by training members on Rotary history, programs, or how to raise awareness of your club’s projects among your community. Or, ask members to share a personal story or experience that they have had because of Rotary. Every Rotarian has a Rotary story that can be educational and inspiring. The beginning of a new year is a good opportunity to renew inspiration for the rest of the Rotary year.