Thanks to all of our wonderful community support, our Annual Rotary Polio Plus Dinner was a wonderful success. It was a beautiful evening in a beautiful setting. The weather was perfect, and the band was outstanding. This was the first time the event was held at Las Palomas, and I hope it won’t be the last…it was a great evening. When all the expenses were paid, we were able to net approximately $6000. thanks to the sale of 225 tickets, live auction sales, and the
50-50 drawing. Our profits were enough for our club to continue to support the global Rotary mission to have a polio-free world. Thank you…Thank you…Thank you!
November was the month of Rotary vision screening in the schools and a huge, three-day vision clinic, where we screened over 500 people for glasses. This is a very labor-intensive undertaking where we depend on the assistance of ophthalmologists and optometrists who volunteer their time to assist with this endeavor. Rotary members begin this journey by going to all the elementary schools and screening the students to identify those with vision problems.
Those students are then given an appointment on one of the three days that the clinic is being held to be examined by one of the volunteer doctors. This event takes a lot of coordination and volunteer commitment to be successful. It also takes leadership from someone to coordinate all the moving parts. This year, Lucy Bustamante filled this position. Lucy, better known by many of us as the owner of Lucy’s Spa. never hesitates to step forward when asked to serve her community or Rotary…when you see her, thank her for her service. The new glasses will be delivered in December.
Our Rotary is presently involved in writing a new global grant. The total amount needed for the project we are pursuing is $85,000. If this Grant is approved, it will allow us to help people who might need a prosthesis. Unfortunately, our community has a high degree of diabetes, which has caused many people to lose a limb. To pursue a global grant in Rotary, you must have an international partner. Our partner comes to us from a Utah club and has committed to at least $23,000 of the total amount. We also have a handful of other Rotary clubs in the United States that have agreed to donate funds to this project. We are well on our way to making this a reality and altogether have 2/3 of the funding pledged that is necessary for this project. This project is equipment-intensive as well as training-intensive. I will keep you posted as this project comes to fruition. This is the same way we tackled the water treatment facility, but now it delivers drinking water to all the great schools in town each day.
As we embark upon the holiday season, I wish you the very best of holidays for you and your families, and hope that you keep a soft spot in your heart for the less fortunate. We would love to increase our membership in our Rotary club. And invite you to come to a meeting.
