Saturday, October 24, 2020 was World Polio Day.
“How can we meet our Zone 33 Polio Plus giving challenge of $45 per member to help The Rotary Foundation eradicate polio forever?
E-CLUB PROGRAM
PRESIDING TODAY IS: Bonnie Branciaroli, President
Ding! We’re now in session.
Welcome all – visitors, fellow Rotarians and guests alike to this E-Club program!
Remember the Four-Way Test!
At the beginning of each meeting we remind ourselves of the The Four-Way Test. Therefore, please remember to ask yourself always . . .
Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Reflective Moments
“Your greatness is not what you have, it’s what you give.”
– Collection of Generous Quotes
“Having children made us look differently at all these things that we take for granted, like taking your child to get a vaccine against measles or polio.”
– Melinda Gates
“Humans have always used our intelligence and creativity to improve our existence. After all, we invented the wheel, discovered how to make fire, invented the printing press and found a vaccine for polio.”
― Naveen Jain
Leadership Quotes
“We are achingly close to getting rid of polio – more than 99 percent of the way there. Finishing the job is a big challenge, but it is very doable if we keep up the effort.”
– Bill Gates
“Whenever I go doing my work in Africa, the Rotarians have been there before me. It is a very humbling thing to discover just exactly what "Service Above Self" adds up to when you see it in practice in the field.”
– Bono, International musician
“The fact that health prevails most of the time in such a complex living structure is a small miracle that goes unnoticed by most people most of the time.”
– Matous Bursik
Events
October 24 – World Polio DayNovember – Rotary Foundation Month
December 1 – Giving Tuesday
World Polio Day
Saturday, October 24 was World Polio Day.
Rotary has been engaged in the worldwide fight against polio since 1985 when the organization launched the Polio Plus program. Polio Plus was the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication through the mass vaccination of children.
To most Americans today, polio (Poliomyelitis), a paralyzing and potentially fatal disease that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours, is not considered a health threat. Cases due to wild poliovirus have decreased by over 99% since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases then, to 33 reported cases in 2018. However, as long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting the disease.
What We Can Do
So, how does Rotary raise $50 million per year over the next two years, with every dollar to be matched two to one from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to continue this fight against polio until it is totally eradicated?
Answers:
• Consistent donation to the Rotary Foundation.
• A minimum $45 per capita (per member) annual donation to Polio Plus
• Accept the challenge to achieve our Foundation Goals
What Goal Can We Achieve?
The Mountain State Rotary E-Club (MSRE) is part of Zone 33, which encompasses a large portion of the eastern sector of the United States. To learn more about Zone 33, visit: https://www.rizones33-34.org/
Polio Plus
Zone leadership has asked each District within Zone 33 to contribute $45 per capita to Polio Plus. That means each member of our (your) club is willing to donate $45 sometime during the 2020-2021 Rotary year. In your annual spending budget, how much is $45? Considering the good it does in the world, let’s all make an effort to donate to Polio Plus this year.
How to Donate
Rotary Direct is an easy, online donation platform located in Rotary.org and MyRotary. You must have a MyRotary account to use the system. A MyRotary account is simple to activate. Just go to: https://my.rotary.org/en to open an account.
Once your MyRotary account is opened, it’s easy to donate through Rotary Direct, which can be found here: https://www.rotary.org/en/donate
Once you click on Donate, the link connects to https://my.rotary.org/en/donate
Just follow the prompts. You can choose between Annual Fund and Polio. Polio will take your dollars to Polio Plus.
The Rotary Foundation
Our E-Club offers an Annual Fund donation option to members with each quarterly billing. If you don’t want to use Rotary Direct, just send your $25 payment with your dues. This $25 goes to the Annual Fund, and not Polio Plus.
This Rotary Foundation giving will elevate our club to a 100% Sustaining Club, a goal that helps sustain our Rotary Foundation, which provides needed funds for District and Global projects through grants awarded to clubs from the Foundation.
In the 2019-2020 Rotary year, the E-Club of District 7545 (Mountain State Rotary E-Club) was awarded a Club Foundation banner for three catagories: EREY, 100% Foundation Giving and second overall District-wide for Top Three Per Capita in Annual Fund Giving! The banner will be awarded to the Club by District Governor Sean J. Sawyer at our virtual social hour on October 29. (See more info below.)
Here is the report from Rotary International for District 7545.
So what does this all mean?
Rotary International is comprised of over 35,000 clubs, the Mountain State Rotary E-Club was recently awarded three banner awards by The Rotary Foundation.
The E-Club received the following Club Foundation Banner Report that displays a club's progress in the current Rotary year toward becoming a 100% Foundation Giving Club and a 100% "Every Rotarian, Every Year Club", and toward qualifying for Top Three Per Capita in Annual Fund Giving banner recognition.
Top Three Per Capita in Annual Fund Giving
Banners are given to the three clubs in each district that give the most per capita to the Annual Fund. To be eligible, clubs must achieve a minimum of $50 in per capita annual giving. The E-Club was one of only 1,550 clubs worldwide to achieve this award and came in second within District 7545 for Annual Fund per capita giving at $260.95 per capita.
Rotary clubs must achieve a minimum Annual Fund contribution of $100 per capita during the Rotary year, and every dues-paying member must personally contribute at least $25 to the Annual Fund during the year. Our E-Club was one of only 3,400 clubs worldwide to attain the EREY status.
100% Foundation Giving
This banner is awarded to clubs that achieve an average of $100 in per capita giving and 100 percent participation, with every dues-paying member contributing at least $25 to any or all of the following during the Rotary year: Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, approved global grants, or Endowment Fund. Again, our E-Club was one of only 4,000 clubs worldwide to become a 100% Foundation Giving Club.
All in all, for 2019-2020, the Rotary E-Club of District 7545, dba Mountain State Rotary E-Club was the only club within our District of 7545 to receive all three banner awards!
It means we need to keep up our good work!
A Giving and Fun Event, Thursday, October 29
Many Rotary clubs add a fifth option to the Four-Way Test, and that is: Have Fun! What kind of event can we as an E-club create around World Polio Day that could spur Polio Plus giving?
We have invited our D7545 District Governor to our first 2020 Social Hour event on Thursday, October 29 at 6 p.m.
Along with DG Sean and District Paul Harris Society Chair, Jordon Feathers, we'll be discussing Polio Plus and the Rotary Foundation, with many rewards to be recognized, both individual and club.
For those of you who missed the Awards Social Event, the Zoom recording may be found here:
More Info on Polio and Polio Plus
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