Announcements:
- As decided at the last Foundation board meeting, we will donate a total of $50000 to Hospice Elgin. Funds will be allocated from the donation by Faye Ferguson, sale of the food trailer, and general fund.
- World Immunization Week – the Polio Eradication Program has proved that vaccines work. President Gerry presented a video about the Big Stars of the COVID charge to vaccinate. These global health leaders like U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chair Bill Gates, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore, and World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus talk about what Rotary has achieved in the fight to end polio.
- Stay tuned to President Gerry and President Elect Barbara as they role out the Polio Tulip Campaign. You help yourself and the Campaign when you place your order of 25 bulbs for fall planting.
- Our new fundraiser, the fall Discovery Tour is continuing favourably. There are 2 upcoming committee meetings next week.
- Next weeks Wednesday meeting will feature President Elect Barbara as she presents her “History in Rotary”.
- Danielle Perro, 2019 Rotary Global Grant Scholar, and labmate Magda Mareckova have just launched the first episode of their podcast series ‘Unheard of – The hidden voices of endometriosis’. The series is about raising endometriosis awareness and seeking for answers to some of the biggest questions identified by the endometriosis community, while elevating the voices that often go unheard – the voices of people with endometriosis and early-career specialists & researchers in the field. Please listen to our first teaser episode here: https://unheardof.libsyn.com/website
Program:
Re District Grants: President Gerry reported that we have a memo of understanding with the District such that we can apply for District Grants in the future. The District will match whatever the club invests. Training to start a District grant is available online from the District.
https://rotary6330.org/sitepage/foundation-grants/district-grant-qualification The following is a discussion led by Nancy about grant eligible projects that come under the 7
th Rotary Focus, the Environment:
- A pollinator garden of purple flowers with a Polio Eradication theme and plaque
- The Southampton club worked with the Horticulture Society on upkeep
- Pinafore has an arbourist
- Cost of a garden in a roundabout is 10-15 Thousand dollars
- Gerry will investigate a garden at the entrance to the Elevated Park as he lives close to the chair.
Members “Soap Box”
Barbara and Mary both said it is not easy to live in Aylmer currently because many residents hesitate to get the vaccine while not complying with efforts to limit spread of COVID. Stew offered his personal explanation: We live in a me first society; if there is a perceived risk to a denier, no matter how small, they will not participate. There is no consideration of risk to others in the community or the larger population. They do not wish to participate for the greater good of the nation or any subset thereof.
Stew has grow lights that help to germinate vegetable seedlings while in a south facing window.
Barbara: Marinas are giving away blue winter boat covers that can be used as row cover for gardens.
Ron saw acres of plants grown under plastic sheeting.
Trudy showed her indoor garden of tomatoes etc.
Adriana: Marco Jr is at home finishing his Masters and does some gardening. Andew finished his last exam at Western/engineering. He got good marks. He would like to go to University and apprentice in Germany on a New Generations exchange.
Catharine: This was interesting news for her as she has a niece doing a Masters in Criminology; she could apply for this exchange.
Mary: She in unhappy with the COVID deniers as they can’t be forced by police to wear masks in public. She mentioned altercations deniers had with the police.
Nancy: Some people dying of COVID refuse to recognize COVID. Is this weaponizing God?
Barbara: Triage actions by health professionals force them to decide who lives and who dies.
Adriana: Spoke of COVID in Mexico. COVID patients have dark thick blood and are being treated at home. Some hospitals accept only COVID patients. She continues to have relatives with COVID.
Ron: Cannabis has been a staple crop for millennia. (Editor does not remember where that comment came from)
Another note from the Editor: I thought
info@rotarystthomas.org was not working because I could not get an email addressed to
info@rotarystthomas.org to come back to my personal email. But it worked for Trish and another email I got after placing it in “Contact Us” on the website. Board members are contactable from their links on the home page.
