Stories


PolioPlus Society PolioPlus Society Pins for the Ridgetown Rotary members At its April 17, 2023 meeting, District 6380 Assistant District Governor Ken Corlett presented every member of the Ridgetown Rotary Club with both a certificate and a lapel pin recognizing them as members of District 6380’s PolioPlus Society. Ken noted that the Ridgetown club was the only club within District 6380’s 44 clubs that had 100% of its members donating to the PolioPlus Society. The purpose of the Society is to encourage Rotary members to give a minimum of $100 US a year to the PolioPlus fund until we achieve our goal of eradicating polio. Rotary International has been active in the elimination of polio worldwide for over 35 years and that eradication is so close to being complete. Rotary International volunteers have helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. The number of polio cases has been reduced by 99.9 % worldwide. Of the 3 strains of wild poliovirus (type 1, type 2 and type 3), wild poliovirus type 2 was eradicated in 1999 and wild poliovirus type 3 was eradicated in 2020. As of 2022, endemic wild poliovirus type 1 remains in two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. Front row l-r: Paul Brown, Henny Boeters, Judie Wigcherink, Brian Pasmore Backrow, l-r: Warren Jansen, Kees Boeters, David Klatt, Jeff Geddes, Reinout Von Martels, Ron Bolohan, Bob Wilson, Joel Van De Hogen, Ben Van Heeswijk, Murray Scoyne, D. 6380 ADG Ken Corlett, Terry Youlton	PolioPlus Society	Cornelis (Kees) 'CASE' Boeters	2023-04-29 04:00:00Z	0
Donation to Shelter Box Rotary Club donates to ShelterBox At its meeting on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023 the Ridgetown Rotary Club members voted to donate $7200 to ShelterBox for the purchase of 6 shelter boxes to help with the earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria. ShelterBox and Rotary are official project partners in international relief. ShelterBox is an international disaster relief organization that hand-delivers aid to families devastated by conflict or natural disaster, to give them safe shelter and the tools to rebuild communities. Read more...	Donation to Shelter Box	kb	2023-02-15 05:00:00Z	0
Rotary’s Response to the 1918 Flu Pandemic An estimated 500 million people worldwide became infected. Many cities closed theaters and cinemas, and placed restrictions on public gatherings. Rotary clubs adjusted their activities while also helping the sick. This is how Rotary responded to the influenza pandemic that began in 1918 and came in three waves, lasting more than a year. The Rotary Club of Berkeley, California, USA, meets in John Hinkel Park during the 1918 flu pandemic. Photo by Edwin J. McCullagh, 1931-32 club president. Courtesy of the Rotary Club of Berkeley. Read more...	Rotary’s Response to the 1918 Flu Pandemic		2020-10-08 05:00:00Z	0
Rotary at the Start of the United Nations Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world. During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter. Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.” Read more...	Rotary at the Start of the United Nations		2020-10-08 05:00:00Z	0
First Club in Philippines Opens Door to Rotary in Asia In early 1919, Rotarian Roger Pinneo of Seattle, Washington, USA, traveled to the Philippines to try to organize a Rotary club in Manila. Leon J. Lambert, a Manila business leader helped Pinneo establish the club. Several months later, on 1 June 1919, the Rotary Club of Manila was chartered and became the first Rotary club in Asia. The club would be the only one in the country for more than 12 years. Eventually, Manila club members organized Rotary clubs in the Philippine cities of Cebu (1932) and Iloilo (1933). Iloilo club members then started a club in Bacolod (1937), and Rotary continued to expand across the country. Read more...	First Club in Philippines Opens Door to Rotary in Asia		2020-10-06 05:00:00Z	0
History of Women in Rotary Women are active participants in Rotary, serving their communities in increasing numbers and serving in leadership positions in Rotary. The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary. “My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world,” said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01. The vote followed the decades-long efforts of men and women from all over the Rotary world to allow the admission of women into Rotary clubs, and several close votes at previous Council meetings. Read more...	History of Women in Rotary		2020-10-06 05:00:00Z	0
Young Inventor Eco-Friendly Bricks Come Full Circle Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.” Read more...	Young Inventor Eco-Friendly Bricks Come Full Circle		2020-10-06 05:00:00Z	0