My favorite TV show is “CBS Sunday Morning” and my favorite reporter is Steve Hartman. He does human-interest stories, including the one on “The Butterfly Effect” which I’ve used in some of my presentations in Rotary. On 12/13/15, he did a story about a “Secret Santa” in Pittsburgh who hands out money to strangers every year. I encourage you to go to this link and watch the story: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/secret-santa-hands-out-the-green-2/.
The Secret Santa says, “Kindness is the bridge between all people.” I’m pretty sure that kindness is at the heart of Rotary. Whether we’re doing service projects to help those in need in our local community or supporting international humanitarian projects to improve the health, security or quality of life for our global neighbors, we are performing acts of kindness for the benefit of strangers. As Rotarians, we understand that this is how we build those bridges that connect us with others and provide a path to mutual respect and peaceful co-existence.
Maurice “Moe” Naylon felt bad that his work schedule often made it difficult for him to attend the Thursday lunch meeting of his club – The Rotary Club of Buffalo. And, he knew he wasn’t alone. So, he came up with a novel approach for doing meeting makeups. He and some colleagues from the Rotary Club of Buffalo have started holding regular Saturday morning makeup meetings at Milos Restaurant in Williamsville. This is the venue for the Williamsville Rotary Club so the flags and Rotary bell are available. The Saturday Makeup Meetings are held every other week and feature discussions on Rotary topics.
Moe emphasizes that this is not a new club. It’s simply an extra option for doing a makeup meeting - a new approach to accommodating Rotarians who aren’t able to attend their regular club meeting during the week but don’t want to miss out on having the Rotary meeting experience.
Members of any club are welcome to attend. Contact Heather Culverwell at heatherc@buffalorotary.org for the schedule of upcoming meetings and to RSVP – something attendees are asked to do by the Thursday preceding the Saturday meeting.
In the photo: DG Kevin pays a Happy Dollar to Moe Naylon at a Saturday Makeup Meeting.
Letter to the Editor: This appeared in a recent local newspaper. We thought it was an idea worth sharing. Rotarians - you can use this to write to your local newspapers.
I want to bring readers’ attention to the imminent realization of Rotary’s amazing polio philanthropic project.
This September, Nigeria was declared polio-free. That leaves Afghanistan and Pakistan as the only polio-endemic countries. While no one can predict when polio will be eradicated, if trends continue, we could see the last case of polio anywhere this coming summer.
In 1985, we had 350,000 cases per year. So far in 2015, we have had 51.
Once polio is gone and we no longer have to vaccinate for it, the world will have time, energy and resources for other projects. The best 10 years for Rotary and Rotarians are the 10 years at our doorstep.
Roger Crysler
Polio Eradication Coordinator
Rotary Club of Ancaster
Gift of life is a Rotarian-based organization that over the past 4 decades has helped more than 17,000 children from emerging countries receive treatment for their heart disease. These children have come from 67 different countries and, without G-O-L, they would not have been treated. They would have died. Today, there are over 70 Gift of Life programs throughout the world mostly based in Rotary Clubs or Rotary Districts on 5 continents. The program provides transportation and heart related medical/surgical treatment to small children from the third world.
The Lewiston/Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Club Celebrated Giving Tuesday a little late and Christmas a little early on December 2 when they held their annual Christmas Party at the Como Restaurant in Niagara Falls, NY and donated to help fund a Sensory Room at the Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinic at Women and Childrens Hospital of Buffalo, feed the hungry through the Heart Love and Soul Food Pantry in Niagara Falls, NY and Newark Neighbours in Niagara-on-the-Lake and fund necessary Resuscitation Equipment for the Maternity Unit at Mt St Mary's Hospital.
Pictured are (left to right): Club Secretary Tom Gerbasi, Jana Mertz from Autism Spectrum Disorders, Sr. Beth Brosner from Heart Love and Soul, Karen Conlon from Mt. St. Mary's, Teresa Bell from Newark Neighbours, President Ron Danielewicz and President Elect John Hopkins.
On November 28, 2015, the Flamborough AM Rotary Club, Waterdown Rotary Club and the Waterdown District High School Interact club participated in the Flamborough Santa Claus Parade!
The firetruck was on lone from the Rotary Club of Dundas! It was a perfect evening to celebrate all things Rotary! Merry Christmas!
The Hamburg Sunrise Rotary Club sponsors a Rotaract Club at Hilbert College in Hamburg, NY. On December 3, 2015, four members of the Hilbert Rotaract Club (students of Hilbert College) gave our Club a presentation outlining some of their activities including their annual trip this past January to the Dominican Republic.
The students pay their own way with some conducting fundraisers. One student raised funds by collecting returnable bottles and cans. The students spend a week there assisting local families who have very little by helping them build and refurbish various projects including water wells and libraries.
In the photo is club president James Eiseman and committee chairman Michael Reilly presenting a check for $500 to members of the Rotaract Club and their student advisor, Daniel Roland.
On December 4, 2015 the Rotary Club of Akron-Newstead held its 26th annual Christmas Auction. The evening included a large basket auction, silent auction, and live mystery present auction. Attendees were also able to adopt an angel from our Christmas tree and providing a gift for child in need. The event raised over $22,000 to help over 70 local families, 120 adults and nearly 200 children by providing gifts and food during the holiday season. President Wally Smith applauds all those in attendance for the success of the event!
In the photo: Interact students - Hattie, Eliza, and Emily staff the Christmas Angel Adoption Tree.
Last week, the Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew held their annual Christmas & Hanukkah member celebration with a dinner at Russell’s Steaks, Chops & More. In addition to members and spouses, the evening was shared with a number of friends and family. One of those present was Doris Huber, a good friend to the club and the artist that initiated its fundraising efforts for a Haiti Clean Water project. After dinner, Doris was presented an honorary membership by president Bonnie J. Marlor and immediate past-president Robert G. Benzel.
In photo (left to right): Doris, Bonnie and Robert.
The Rotary Club of Lockport was approved for a District Grant to create a new literacy program that was launched at the beginning of the school year. The Remarkable Reading Club is the name of our new district grant literacy program. The grant provides funding for the Salvation Army to transport school-aged children from the after school program at their location, to the Lockport Public Library for an afternoon of educational fun. The Rotary district grant also covers the cost of staff, transportation, books and materials for the Remarkable Reading Club. The club will run for ten weeks of the school year, and each child will receive a brand new book at the end of the program.
At November 10th's Rotary Club of Lockport meeting, Roy Sheldrick from Ontario aka "Mr. Haitian wells" recognized the late Spencer Lerch in the presence of his widow, Sue Lerch for the Lerch's financial contribution to the ongoing well projects in the country of Haiti. During his lifetime, Mr. Sheldrick has provided leadership for the construction of 258 wells and numerous water / latrine projects in Haiti and our club has contributed to this.
In the photo (left to right): President David Greenfield, Sue Lerch and Roy Sheldrick.
In the photo - DG Kevin and Youth Exchange Student Maria Florencia Veron of Argentina, currently hosted by Jill and Greg Norton, ring the bell as part of a December service event from Buffalo Sunrise Rotary, for the Salvation Army at TOPS Market in Buffalo NY.
The Rotary Club of Grimsby held its annual Fantasy of Tree exhibit at the Grimsby Museum, commencing Friday afternoon November 21st at noon and concluding on Sunday December 7th at 4:00PM. Over 35 decorated trees were on display, as well as wreaths, and other raffle items. There was also a silent auction. What made this year's event more special were the supervised craft activities for children and the presence of Santa Clause - along with refreshments during the weekend craft hours.
In the photo (left to right): Clarence McCloskey, President; Margaret Andrewes, AG Area 5; Kevin Crosby, DG; Jim Howden, President Elect.
2 CLUBS - 2 ROTARIANS - 2 PAUL HARRIS FELLOWS = 1 GREAT COUPLE
On December 11, 2015, the Rotary Club of Brantford recognized two individuals as Paul Harris Fellows. President Rita-Marie Hadley presented the prestigious pins to Bruce Williamson – an active club member since 1986 - and his wife, Karen Williamson – a member of the Rotary Club of Brantford Sunrise. This dual presentation was a nod to these previous award recipients for their untiring contributions to international Youth Exchange, which the two Brantford Rotary clubs undertake jointly.
The Rotary Club of Welland is assisting elementary schools in disadvantaged areas of the City, has worked with elementary schools in both the Public and Catholic School Boards to determine their individual needs which were not being satisfied through regular school funding. For the past 7 years, the Rotary club, in collaboration with 2 schools each year, has embarked on an educational technology upgrade program. The approach is to provide each classroom with its own smart board projector and/or an interactive smart board which is the latest technological advancement in the educational field.
Over the past few weeks, teams of six Rotarians (and some spouses) have been donating their time and “culinary expertise” – a definite misnomer – to the kitchen at Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton. The Dundas Valley Sunrise Rotary Club sponsored six Meals that Heal at the house beside McMaster University Children’s Hospital in west Hamilton. Each team joined the house chef, Shawn Rocchi, in preparing a meal for the 60 – 80 people who are served dinner every day while staying at Ronald McDonald House to be near children who need special care.
At the December 3rd meeting of the Rotary Club of Buffalo, President Laurie Albertsson and Rotarian Margaret Brechtel presented Cynnie Gaasch from Young Audiences of WNY a check for $ 7500 for 20 iPad minis bringing their total iPads to 30 so that they can now serve 400 students annually, allowing them to serve entire classrooms in and out of school.
Members of the Rotary Clubs of Stoney Creek got into the Holiday Spirit by participating in the Stoney Creek Santa Clause Parade. Featured in the parade was the 2016 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail Classic Motorcycle, this year's Harley Raffle grand prize, fully decked out in festive Christmas lights for the parade.
On Monday, December 14th the Adult Recreation Therapy Centre (ARTC) hosted the grand opening of their new building. ARTC provides physical and recreational therapy for disabled adults (e.g. stroke and accident victims). This new location will allow them to better serve our community.
Six gorgeous houses, six amazing decorators and unseasonably warm temperatures made this year’s 17th Annual Holiday House Tour the best ever for the Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake. There were huge line-ups at all the houses but that did not appear to bother the crowds, as they stood chatting in the mild sunny weather. This is the Club’s major fundraiser and the members are ecstatic with the results of their hard work.
The Rotary Club of Lincoln Foundation Inc. was pleased to present cheques in support of local Children and Youth programs.
Lori Laird of the Town of Lincoln’s Recreation and Culture Department - Lincoln Children’s Programs, and Karen Thompson, Senior Case Worker and Mary Champ, Office Manager, Big Brothers / Big Sisters accepted cheques of $1000.00 each. Upper Deck Youth Centre also received $1000.00.
.jpg)
Letter to the Editor: This appeared in a recent local newspaper. We thought it was an idea worth sharing. Rotarians - you can use this to write to your local newspapers.
On December 11, 2015, the Rotary Club of Brantford recognized two individuals as Paul Harris Fellows. President Rita-Marie Hadley presented the prestigious pins to Bruce Williamson – an active club member since 1986 - and his wife, Karen Williamson – a member of the Rotary Club of Brantford Sunrise. This dual presentation was a nod to these previous award recipients for their untiring contributions to international Youth Exchange, which the two Brantford Rotary clubs undertake jointly.
