Rotarians in Action-- Mission to Brazil

There is nothing I can add to this, except to say that my admiration continues to grow exponentially for Dr. Joe Rebman and all those Rotarian volunteers who took part in the latest medical mission to Brazil...

CLICK THE HEADLINE-- "Rotarians In Action--Mission to Brazil" and it will take you the blog record of the trip... the photos are stunning and the results are phenomenal.

Tom Labagh, PP

Purple Pinky Thanks!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth at the Etown Fair and donated to our Purple Pinky Project! $781 was raised to help End Polio.

Thanks to all the Rotarians and Interactors who staffed the booth and helped with the project throughout the week !

Got Purple Pinky?

Please visit our booth at the Etown Fair this week and support our efforts to raise $2000 for Polio Eradication!


Our Commitment

Not long ago, the world was paralyzed by the fear of polio. More than 125 countries were polio endemic, and thousands of families watched in anguish as the disease killed or crippled 1,000 people a day, most of them children.

In response to this suffering, Rotary began planning in the early 1980s for one of the most ambitious humanitarian programs ever undertaken by a private entity.

In 1985, it launched PolioPlus, a multi million dollar initiative to immunize all the world’s children against polio. Rotary’s commitment was so great that the World Health Assembly resolved in 1988 to wipe out the disease that had killed and paralyzed for 5,000 years.

For the 20 years since, Rotary and its spearheading partners — the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — have worked tirelessly to rid the world of the wild poliovirus.

Thanks to the generous support of Rotarians worldwide, Rotary has been able to contribute nearly US$800 million to keep alive the dream of a polio-free world.

A promise to all children


Our Progress

Since 1985, more than two billion children have received the oral polio vaccine. Five million children destined to be polio victims are walking today and enjoying a better life because of global immunization. Reported polio cases have dropped 99.8 percent — from 350,000 a year in 1988 to fewer than 2,000 a year today — and only four countries — Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan — remain endemic.

Due to the efforts of Rotary and its global partners, the world is on the threshold of eradicating the wild poliovirus.

A lasting and extraordinary gift


Our Challenge

Although tremendous progress has been made, the world is not yet polio free. The poliovirus knows no borders; it can spread from an endemic country into polio-free areas. As long as one case of polio remains in the world, no child is safe from this deadly disease.

The greatest challenge in the battle against polio today is financial. Despite the enormous resources already committed, more money is urgently needed to reach the children in the four remaining polioendemic countries.

Recognizing Rotary’s resolve to eradicate polio and its extensive volunteer network, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Rotary a US$350 million grant. In return, Rotary is committed to raising $200 million by 30 June 2012.

Together, Rotary International and the Gates Foundation will provide over half a billion dollars toward our priority goal of a polio-free world.

A realistic and manageable goal

Our Legacy

There is now an unprecedented opportunity to finish the job and eradicate polio. Consequently, every Rotary, Interact, and Rotaract club is being asked to organize a public fundraising event for each of the next four years to help meet this challenge.

All members of the family of Rotary, especially newer Rotarians, are also invited to join Rotary’s legacy by making a personal gift.

Eradicating polio means that no child ever again will be paralyzed by or die from the wild poliovirus. Additionally, the US$1 billion spent annually on polio could be used to address other public health concerns.

Now is the time to respond.

In 1985, Rotary made the historic decision to immunize all the world’s children against polio. A little more than 20 years later, the world is nearly polio free. With your help, polio will be defeated.

A chance to make a difference

2009 Golf MAJOR Wrap-up

The Elizabethtown Rotary 2009 Golf MAJOR was a fantastic success yesterday!

A wonderful day of golf, fellowship, service, funds raised for cancer research, comedy, food and drink, and warm sunny weather will be remembered for a long time.

$30,000 was raised for cancer research bringing our total contribution over the past 4 years to over $100000! Anyone who heard Dr. Yun speak at the club meeting on Friday, will appreciate how our support of the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation is being put to good use and achieving results! The success that he has had with the sphingosine kinase inhibitor and shrinking down different kinds of cancer cells is unbelievably promising.

HUGE Kudos to Golf MAJOR chair Dave Schmidt who puts endless hours into this tournament and is responsible for its amazing success. Dave's vision, passion, and leadership continue to propel this event beyond expectations every year.

John Martin 2 was relentless in securing sponsorships. We had a total of 96 sponsors this year for the tournament, many of them thanks to John. Ken Wolfe puts a lot of work into the silent auction and it's proceeds continue to grow yearly. Thank you Ken!

Kevin Engle and Engle Business Systems (A Toshiba Company) were awesome as the major sponsor this year. Not only did Kevin contribute financially in a huge way, but he was present all day to kickoff both rounds and greet each golfer on Hole #1. As Tom Labagh said, Kevin was the perfect host!

Thank you also to all of the members of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club for their support in many different ways. I personally saw more than half of the club members at the tournament yesterday (yeh- I was counting) and I know there were many others who were unable to make it but provided sponsorships or helped the golf committee with planning. It is wonderful to see such an active club. Everyone I spoke with and thanked for being there was having a great time.

Congratulations Etown Rotarians for a job outstandingly done!

One Week until 2009 Golf MAJOR

We are less than a week away from the 2009 Golf MAJOR which takes place next Monday July 27th.

I am pleased to see that a majority of club members are supporting our effort to raise funds for cancer research by sponsoring, volunteering, or playing in the tournament.

There is still room for 2 foursomes in both the morning and afternoon rounds and there is still need for volunteers. Please contact Dave Schmidt by Thursday if you would like to play or volunteer to help in either round.

This Friday's program will be by Dr. Jong Yun, a researcher from the Gittlen Cancer Research Institute, to talk about the latest advances in cancer research that we are contributing to. I am told that Warren Gittlen will also be coming and will bring video of NBC's West Wing episode that highlighted research being done at the Gittlen Institute. This is sure to be an excellent program you won't want to miss.

2009 Golf MAJOR

Elizabethtown Rotarians -

You should be aware that our 2009 Golf MAJOR will be taking place on Monday July 27^th at the Blue Ridge Country Club in Harrisburg.

The proceeds we raise from this event support both the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation and the Elizabethtown Rotary Melanoma Endowment at Hershey Medical Center. The money we raise goes towards cancer research and the annual melanoma symposium which brings cancer researchers together to share ideas, all here in our own backyard. Click here to see the Gittlen Foundation newsletter to see the details of the research we are supporting.

The support for our event continues to grow every year. Just take a look at this amazing list of sponsors http://www.elizabethtownrotary.org/GOLFSPONSORS.cfm . We have over 280 golfers registered to play already and the registrations continue to come in.

The success of our Golf MAJOR has reached levels unsurpassed by any other charitable golf tournament in our community. As an Elizabethtown Rotarian, I encourage you to join your fellow Rotarians and be involved in some way with this great fundraiser.

Ways you can be involved -

• Golf or encourage someone to golf
• Be a business sponsor or secure a business sponsorship
• Volunteer as a helper at the event
• Assist the organizing committee
• Come to the post-tournament comedy show on Monday night and/or encourage friends to purchase $10 tickets
• Provide a small memorial donation or be an individual sponsor

There is still time to get involved! Please contact Dave Schmidt (David.A.Schmidt@usps.gov) or John Martin II (ssmartin.4@comcast.net) to get involved in any of the areas above. A volunteer signup sheet will be circulated at the next couple of meetings if you can work the event in the morning or afternoon.

Be proud to be an Elizabethtown Rotarian! This golf tournament ROCKS! in many different ways. Get involved, do good, and help find a cure to the myriad of terrible diseases we call cancer.

Joe