World Polio Day is just twelve weeks from now - 24 October 2024 ...what is your club doing to END POLIO NOW?  Whether you're planning a plunge, pizza for polio or another fun activity to raise awareness of eradicating polio, let's get the word out!  Perhaps you might want to share your creative ideas with our District Newsletter so that others may benefit and help make this the year that we eradicate Polio.

And if you are looking for ideas, the Marblehead Rotary Club has had great success with a rather simple idea:  Purple Pigs for Polio!  Each week Purple Piggy Banks adorn our luncheon tables, and Rotarians and guests are invited to feed them with spare pocket change and/or green, leafy bills. You would be surprised how much these pigs can consume!  Last year alone, their bellies were filled with almost $4,000 from weekly feedings and Happy Dollars during the month of October.  With the Gates Foundation, 2:1 match, that's almost $12,000 raised to continue our global polio eradication effort.   If you're interested in Purple Piggy Banks for your club, Amazon links where you can find purple pigs in various sizes (we use the larger pigs on our tables) follow:

Rotarians from around the district, along with their friends and family, are invited to Melrose Rotary Club's new Second Monday Social.  Each "Second Monday" club members, along with their guests, meet at JJ Grimsby's restaurant at 301 W. Wyoming Ave, Stoneham, MA from 5:30-7:00 for a social get together.  The next Second Monday Social is August 12.

 

"It's a great way to meet members from other clubs, chat with new and old friends, and the food and drinks are great, too" says club co-president, Don Putney. In addition to the opportunity to gather socially, there is an opportunity to financially support a worthy cause and vote for the organization to receive the donations. The current "Vote Your Charity" options are aid to Ukraine, a school in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a local area food program. All of the donations collected at the Second Monday socials will be awarded at our December social to the cause that received the most votes at our July thru December gatherings.

 

Co-presidents Don Putney and Mark Hutchinson hope that you'll us at our next social on Monday, August 12th! 

This first-hand account of the wildfires in Jasper, Alberta, Canada comes from District 5370 Governor Brian Edwards.

 

Hello Rotary family,

 

We are devastated that large sections of the town and park of Jasper, our jewel in the mountains, have suffered such fire damage. The town has lost about 1/3rd of the structures, mainly residences.  It is currently shut down, without water or power.

 

Approximately 10,000 town residents and 15,000 park visitors were successfully evacuated, with no known injuries.  We thank the firefighters who put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe, the police, first responders, town and park officials and no doubt many others who calmly look after us. And the members of the Rotary Club of Jasper, who provided traffic control support in this time of crisis. All are safe and accounted for, although dispersed across Alberta and British Columbia.