Stafford Rotary - Newsletters - Current (Mar 10, 2010)

Stafford Rotary Highlighter

March 10, 2010

The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands

March Is Literacy Month

March 3 Meeting

President Dave presided and welcomed guests Andrea and Mischa Coble and AG Steve Aycock. Andrea is the president of the North Stafford Rotary, and her daughter Mischa was a Rotary exchange student to Brazil last year. Mischa thanked our club for sponsoring her. Micha Coble

Program:

Our speaker was Patrick Ramos who works with Operation Rebound, a program of the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

Patrick Ramos

Operation Rebound provides unparalleled sports opportunities and support to our troops and veterans of any branch of service and first responders who have suffered permanent physical injuries in the line of duty. CAF established Operation Rebound in 2004 as a valuable resource for service members and veterans who suffered permanent physical injuries in the Global War on Terror.

In June 2008, CAF extended the program to recognize the sacrifices of military veterans past and present as well as those of first responders such as law enforcement and firefighters who were the first to respond to the September 11, 2001 attacks on our nation. Unrestricted contributions now support all who have protected our freedom from military veterans of past eras to first responders who risk their lives daily to ensure the security of our homeland. CAF Operation Rebound is proud to support all who have served.

Operation Rebound

Initiatives:

v Grants. Offer grants for equipment, training, coaching, and travel for those individuals who seek to move beyond becoming merely active to higher levels of competition in their chosen sports.

v Military Medical Center Physical Training Program (MMCPT). The intent of the MMCPT program is to provide a structured physical training program for active duty service members who are continuing treatments and recovering from permanent physical injuries at military medical centers. CAF will provide coaches for running, swimming, biking, and strength and conditioning who will work in concert with resident prosthetists, recreational therapists, and medical hold unit commanders to ensure that physical training is done in compliance with individualized rehabilitation programs and applicable military regulations.

v Sports Clinics. Sports clinics are designed to introduce beginner athletes to various sports such as bicycling, handcycling, running, swimming, basketball and other sports. CAF elite athletes will provide coaching and mentorship at sports clinics. Sports clinics are held throughout the calendar year and may take place at military medical centers as well other locations within the community. Often times, sports clinics will be sponsored by CAF's Catch A Rising Star program that is open to both military and non-military challenged athletes.

v On-Line Forum. The on-line forum is a place where Operation Rebound members/participants can stay connected with fellow wounded service members and their families. Topics are selected by wounded service members and conversations are grown through participation throughout the country and the world. The forum will be facilitated by the Operation Rebound Program Manager and experienced CAF athletes will lead discussions on a number of topics.

Program Goals:

v Reach out to wounded service members and veterans, primarily through site visits, using both successful challenged athletes and disabled U.S. military veterans, to provide education about “what is possible".

v Foster dialogue, through both direct and indirect means, and serve as a resource that can help answer questions for service members and veterans suffering permanent disabilities.

v Inspire injured American service members and veterans to become active and physically fit through participation in the San Diego Triathlon Challenge and other CAF events throughout the year.

Eligibility:

Participation in Operation Rebound is open to any U.S. service member or veteran who suffered a permanent physical disability - such as loss of a limb(s), sight, or spinal cord injury -- in the Global War on Terror.

Mr. Ramos showed a video of one of the veterans in the program.

There were several questions after this inspiring presentation, the most important one being "How can we help?" The answer is that donations are needed to fund participation in the triathlon camps. Here is the link to make a donation:

https://www.kintera.org/AutoGen/Simple/Donor.asp?ievent=96433&en=aiJRL1MDJkJOI1NKI8IMJ2PMIrKYK5NHIeIWKfNYF

Announcements:

Mike Torosian announced that next week we will meet our club's contestant in the G. Graham Green III Music Competition. Since March is Rotary Literacy Month Mike is organizing a Rotarians reading in the schools project.

Carol Foley announced that everyone attending the district conference is requested to bring a new children's book. These books will be given to the Salvation Army's Book Buddies program.

Linda announced the joint St. Patrick's Day party with the Rappahannock Rotary is on for March 17. Details will follow.

Are You Reading the Bulletin?

What is the Rotary Significance of February 23?

Mike Cattell was happy to announce his son is now in the Boy Scouts.

AG Steve was happy to announce that our club's speech contest winner also won the area speech contest.

Carol was happy for Patrick's program and happy that winter seems to finally be over.

Fred is happy the weather is getting warmer.

Jeff Small is happy that club members draw together like a family in difficult times like the losses we've had this past week.

Aric is happy Jeff is such a great international service chair.

Joe especially enjoyed Patrick's presentation. One of the veterans pictured in his presentation is a friend of Joe's wife.

Andrea thanked our club for inspiring the formation of the North Stafford Rotary.

President Dave thanked Patrick for his presentation and announced that the Paralyzed Veterans conference was held in Washington this week.

What Are You Reading?

One of the positives of spending three weeks on a Caribbean island is that I am catching up on my reading. Prior to coming down here, I loaded my Kindle with a few books, and packed a few other paperbacks, which once read I could exchange at our resort. WINTER GARDEN by Kristin Hannah is on my Kindle.

I chose to download WINTER GARDEN simply because it was on the NY Times bestseller list for fiction. As often as I enjoy the books, I dislike others. This time, I found a winner on the list.

Kristin Hannah has managed to merge historical fiction with an interesting story on familial relationships. The book has a significant number of twists and turns, so I don't want to give away any of the surprises. Most interesting to me was the descriptive geographic narrative on Washington state, Africa and particularly Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. I wish I had brought maps with me!!

I did a bit of research on Ms. Hannah, and I found out she has a law degree, but chose to become a writer when a difficult pregnancy forced her into bed rest. Her analytical training is evident in her writing, as is her sensitivity to human emotions.

The book is long, but worth the read. It is also educational (much of what she imparts is based on little known fact), emotionally evocative, and strangely compelling.

Enjoy.

Vicki Lewis

New Member Corner

March Is Literacy Month

Country music legend Dolly Parton and Rotary clubs may seem an unusual pairing, but their shared passion for promoting literacy more than bridges any perceived pop culture gap.

In 2009 Rotary International formed a groundbreaking collaborative arrangement with Parton’s Tennessee-based Dollywood Foundation to promote early childhood reading. Under the agreement, Rotary clubs in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are encouraged to support the Dollywood Foundation’s Imagination Library program, which provides an age-appropriate book each month to children from birth until age five, so that parents and other family members can begin reading to them as soon as possible.

The Imagination Library

What is the Imagination Library?

Launched by country music star Dolly Parton and The Dollywood Foundation, the Imagination Library fosters a love of reading among preschool children by providing them with a free hardcover book every month from birth to the age of five. Rotary clubs and districts are encouraged to support literacy through the Imagination Library.

Who benefits from the Imagination Library?

Over 450,000 children under the age of five receive books from the Imagination Library each month. The program supports early childhood literacy and a lifelong love of reading. Over 15 million books have been donated to children since the program began in 1996.

Where is the Imagination Library?

Currently, the Imagination Library has programs in over 900 communities across Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

How does it work?

Rotary clubs and other community groups help make the Imagination Library work. Participating communities provide access to the program for all preschool children in their area. They promote the program, register children with the Imagination Library, and pay for the books and mailing. Once a child is registered, the Dollywood Foundation takes over sending the child a new book each month.

How are the books selected?

A committee composed of individuals from education, child development, academia, and early childhood literacy select the books for the Imagination Library. The children’s classic The Little Engine That Could™ is the first book of each library and Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten by Joseph Slate is the final book in the collection. Each book arrives in a polybag and is addressed to the child.

How much does it cost?

Local communities are billed each month based upon the number of books mailed to their children. The average cost of the books, labeling and mailing is $ 28.00 per year per child. The only additional expense is the cost of registration brochures, which is based upon the size of the order.

Where can I learn more?

Visit the Imagination Library Web site, www.imaginationlibrary.com.

Left: StoveTeam International cofounder Nancy Hughes. Right: Factory owner Gustavo Peña (far left) demonstrates use of the Ecocina stove to a group of women in El Salvador. Photos courtesy of Nancy Hughes

Rotary International on FacebookSix years ago, Rotarian Nancy Hughes had a career-defining experience as a volunteer with a U.S. medical team in Guatemala.

She met an 18-year-old indigenous woman who had lost the use of her hands at age 2 after falling into a cooking fire. Hughes learned that the common practice of cooking over open, indoor fires led to a high incidence of burns and smoke inhalation, especially in children. The team’s doctors restored function to the woman’s hands, and her expressions of gratitude spurred Hughes to search for a way to prevent such injuries.

In 2004, Hughes, a member of the Rotary Club of Eugene Southtowne, Oregon, wrote the first of five Matching Grants that provided more than 2,300 safe stoves in Guatemala over a three-year period. She discovered a less expensive, lighter prototype, however, in a 50-pound portable stove called the Ecocina. The stove resembles a large cement flowerpot and has a partially covered top and a sheltered opening on one side. Designed by Larry Winiarski and Eugene Southtowne Rotarian Ken Goyer, the Ecocina is insulated to prevent burns and requires up to 50 percent less wood than an open fire. It also reduces smoke and carbon monoxide output by at least 70 percent.

In 2008, Hughes and five other Eugene Southtowne Rotarians founded StoveTeam International. Aided by two Volunteer Service Grants, she and others from her club traveled twice to El Salvador and Guatemala to scout locations for Ecocina factories and educate communities and local organizations about the stoves. That same year, a group of volunteers, including Hughes, constructed workbenches and storage areas for a factory near Sonsonate, El Salvador, that employs up to 15 workers. Two Matching Grants supplied raw materials and helped subsidize the $40 cost of the stove to buyers. In its first full year of operation, the factory produced 6,000 Ecocinas and is now self-sufficient.

“We decided we were not about producing stoves; we were about producing factories to produce stoves,” Hughes says. “And I really like the idea that we are providing people with employment.”

“We are all very grateful because this has changed our lives,” echoes factory owner Gustavo Peña, pointing to the company’s positive impact on “all who do the factory work” and “all those families who receive an Ecocina.” Peña coordinates village Ecocina demonstrations with Peace Corps volunteers and solicits outside interest, including a recent order from the Mexican government for 3,000 stoves. He has also helped train owners for three factories in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. These Matching Grant-supported factories started producing Ecocinas in early 2010, and a fourth, independently funded factory will begin operating in Nicaragua in April. Rotary clubs in El Salvador and the Guatemala Sur club in Guatemala have contributed to the effort by overseeing distribution, assisting in construction, and offsetting the cost of the Ecocinas to buyers.

Since its founding, StoveTeam International has received approximately $370,000 from 40 Rotary clubs, Foundation grants, and private donations. “Demands for new factories arrive in my e-mail every week,” says Hughes, who is planning operations in Fiji, Mexico, and Paraguay. “New factory owners are learning stove production and business practices and more and more people are receiving fuel-efficient stoves every day.”

Each member of the team should arrive early enough to assist fellow team mates in the set up and remain to assist with the take down. In that way, your team can make these assignments a fellowship opportunity.

SETUP involves hanging the welcome banner, the Four Way Test banner, the club banner, the Paul Harris Fellows banners and as many of the banners from other clubs as possible; bringing out the podium; bringing out the badge box and other materials for the Sergeant at Arms. All of the items are in the room between our room and the kitchen.