March 9th, 2009 Polio Plus
Posted by Steve Kelleher
Carol Coffin, District 7790 Director for Polio Plus thanked Ally for the invitation to speak to our Club today on
this subject that is near and dear to her heart. She recalled several
personal experiences that she has encountered throughout her life with
polio victims and shared that it is likely that each of those present
has a similar story to tell.
Rotary Meeting for Monday, March 9nd held at the Alfond Youth Center - Here is a recap in case you missed our meeting!
Sergeant at Arms
==============
Jeff Jolicoeur was our Sergeant of Arms today.
Greeter
======
Harold Buzzell welcomed us to the meeting today .. thanks, Harold!
50/50 Tickets
===========
Mark Ford sold $90 worth of 50/50 tickets. Scott Bullock won $45 in the raffle and donated his winnings back to Rotary. Scott will sell tickets in next week. John Fortier won 10 free tickets to the next 50/50 drawing. Harold Buzzell will again be the Greeter for meeting on March 16th.
Fined for pictures in the Paper
========================
Gary Hammond had his picture in the paper and was fined.
Cell Phones
==========
A $10.00 fee for cell phone ringing continues for the 2008-2009 Club yearNo fines were issued today.
World Service Cups
================
The World Service cups will support the village of Los Naranjos, Honduras where Alice Anderman travelled to after the holidays. She will be returning in November and it's hoped the club will send supplies with her for the villagers in need.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
=======================
Wally Buschmann introduced Stan Peterson from the Old Town Club.
Ally introduced Carol Coffin, District director for polio Plus and member of the Unity Club.
Happy Dollars
===========
Janet Parkhurst offered $2 because she just returned from a great escape to Captiva Island... and is glad to be back!
Elizabeth Vanderweide shared some recent stats for the Harold Alfond College Program. In the first two months since its expansion, they have received 1000 inquiries and have given out the first 24 non-MaineGeneral scholarships. As a token of thanks, the program recently gave Maine hospitals a "brownie day".
Paula Mitchell was thankful for the breakfast that was put on by the Woodlands for the Humane Society.
Carol Coffin was very appreciative of the singing that serenaded Stan and her today!
Tim Beals had 5 Happy Dollars in recognition of his son's Youth hockey achievements recently. They recently won the state title in their age group and his son recorded 17 shut-outs this season. They did run into some very high powered competition in RI at a regional tournament and did not fare as well as they would have liked. Overall, it was a good experience.
Tom McGowan was happy about a contact he made recently with an old friend through Face Book. He was also happy about the fact that his plumbing skills are still in tact.
Announcements
===============
Ally welcomed Glenn Leavitt back to the Club.
Ally also presented Elizabeth Vanderweide with her Rotary membership packet.
Mark Ford reported that the Club has had a great turnout for EREY and encouraged those who will be participating to get their checks in by March 31st. As previously announced, the Club will be matching donation on a 1:1 basis. Mark also noted that we will be having a Paul Harris Fellowship Program in May. Ally thanked Mark for all of his hard work on this effort this year.
Today's Program: PolioPlus (Carol Coffin, District Director for PolioPlus and Member of the Unity Cllub)
============================================================================
Carol thanked Ally for the invitation to speak to our Club today on this subject that is near and dear to her heart. She recalled several personal experiences that she has encountered throughout her life with polio victims and shared that it is likely that each of those present has a similar story to tell.
She then shared some remarkable statistics for the group:
Ø In 1988, polio was infecting over 1000 children/day ... in 2007, there were less than 2,000 new cases reported worldwide.
Ø Since 1988, the incidence of polio is down 99%
Ø In 1988, polio was being reported in 24 countries .. today it's in only 4: Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nigeria.
Carol then presented a video from RI that has been created to focus on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation $100M challenge which needs to be completed by 12/2010. After the video, she shared that the expectation of RI is that each club will be responsible for contributing $1,000/year for 3 years to support this effort and that particular attention needs to be placed on making new Rotarians aware of this project. Carol also reported that RI has been awarded another challenge grant from the Gates Foundation. This one extends to 2012 and is in the amount of $250M if RI can raise $100M during that time frame. This results in an additional $2,000/club/year.
Some discussion ensued regarding the accounting for past and current donations to PolioPlus and it was determined that some clarification will be needed to insure that the clubs donations are being appropriately recognized at the District level.
Stan Peterson then presented a plan for the District and its clubs to meet its goal for the Gates Foundation challenge. Specifically, the program called "Pumpkins for Polio" would involve at least 18 clubs can raising 2,000 pumpkins each and transporting them (N=36,000) to UMO on a predetermined week end in October in order to beat the Guinness Book of Records for the largest number of Jack o' Lanterns lit in one venue (the previous record is 31,000). He further proposed that the pumpkins be sold/sponsored for $3 each which would result in $6,000/club or $108K for the District. For an additional contribution, donors' names could be carved into each pumpkin. Stan noted that Johnny's Seeds has already committed to donating the pumpkin seeds. He estimates that an acre of land is needed for each 1,000 pumpkins.
Carol shared that in October, the Foundation approved a Polio Plus inscription for each new PHF, starting in July, 2009.
Questions:
1. How is the money spent?
Carol noted that the money is spent for set-up, supplies, purchasing the serum, and refrigeration.
2. What happens when we hit 0 new cases??
Hitting zero new cases is a couple of years away. The major factor in the 4 countries listed is cultural barriers and perceptions regarding the use of vaccine. When we hit the target, however, there will be an ongoing need for maintenance, vaccinating newborns and treating water since the polio virus will still be in the environment.
3. How much has the Club given this year?
A little over $3,000. Carol noted that this needs to be specifically designated for PoliaPlus in order to insure proper credit is given to the Club.
Ally thanked Carol for her presentation and presented her with a 4 Way Test keychain.
The next meeting will be on Monday, March 16th when the speaker will be Nancy Findlan, who will be discussing YETE.
Sergeant at Arms
==============
Jeff Jolicoeur was our Sergeant of Arms today.
Greeter
======
Harold Buzzell welcomed us to the meeting today .. thanks, Harold!
50/50 Tickets
===========
Mark Ford sold $90 worth of 50/50 tickets. Scott Bullock won $45 in the raffle and donated his winnings back to Rotary. Scott will sell tickets in next week. John Fortier won 10 free tickets to the next 50/50 drawing. Harold Buzzell will again be the Greeter for meeting on March 16th.
Fined for pictures in the Paper
========================
Gary Hammond had his picture in the paper and was fined.
Cell Phones
==========
A $10.00 fee for cell phone ringing continues for the 2008-2009 Club yearNo fines were issued today.
World Service Cups
================
The World Service cups will support the village of Los Naranjos, Honduras where Alice Anderman travelled to after the holidays. She will be returning in November and it's hoped the club will send supplies with her for the villagers in need.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
=======================
Wally Buschmann introduced Stan Peterson from the Old Town Club.
Ally introduced Carol Coffin, District director for polio Plus and member of the Unity Club.
Happy Dollars
===========
Janet Parkhurst offered $2 because she just returned from a great escape to Captiva Island... and is glad to be back!
Elizabeth Vanderweide shared some recent stats for the Harold Alfond College Program. In the first two months since its expansion, they have received 1000 inquiries and have given out the first 24 non-MaineGeneral scholarships. As a token of thanks, the program recently gave Maine hospitals a "brownie day".
Paula Mitchell was thankful for the breakfast that was put on by the Woodlands for the Humane Society.
Carol Coffin was very appreciative of the singing that serenaded Stan and her today!
Tim Beals had 5 Happy Dollars in recognition of his son's Youth hockey achievements recently. They recently won the state title in their age group and his son recorded 17 shut-outs this season. They did run into some very high powered competition in RI at a regional tournament and did not fare as well as they would have liked. Overall, it was a good experience.
Tom McGowan was happy about a contact he made recently with an old friend through Face Book. He was also happy about the fact that his plumbing skills are still in tact.
Announcements
===============
Ally welcomed Glenn Leavitt back to the Club.
Ally also presented Elizabeth Vanderweide with her Rotary membership packet.
Mark Ford reported that the Club has had a great turnout for EREY and encouraged those who will be participating to get their checks in by March 31st. As previously announced, the Club will be matching donation on a 1:1 basis. Mark also noted that we will be having a Paul Harris Fellowship Program in May. Ally thanked Mark for all of his hard work on this effort this year.
Today's Program: PolioPlus (Carol Coffin, District Director for PolioPlus and Member of the Unity Cllub)
============================================================================
Carol thanked Ally for the invitation to speak to our Club today on this subject that is near and dear to her heart. She recalled several personal experiences that she has encountered throughout her life with polio victims and shared that it is likely that each of those present has a similar story to tell.
She then shared some remarkable statistics for the group:
Ø In 1988, polio was infecting over 1000 children/day ... in 2007, there were less than 2,000 new cases reported worldwide.
Ø Since 1988, the incidence of polio is down 99%
Ø In 1988, polio was being reported in 24 countries .. today it's in only 4: Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, and Nigeria.
Carol then presented a video from RI that has been created to focus on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation $100M challenge which needs to be completed by 12/2010. After the video, she shared that the expectation of RI is that each club will be responsible for contributing $1,000/year for 3 years to support this effort and that particular attention needs to be placed on making new Rotarians aware of this project. Carol also reported that RI has been awarded another challenge grant from the Gates Foundation. This one extends to 2012 and is in the amount of $250M if RI can raise $100M during that time frame. This results in an additional $2,000/club/year.
Some discussion ensued regarding the accounting for past and current donations to PolioPlus and it was determined that some clarification will be needed to insure that the clubs donations are being appropriately recognized at the District level.
Stan Peterson then presented a plan for the District and its clubs to meet its goal for the Gates Foundation challenge. Specifically, the program called "Pumpkins for Polio" would involve at least 18 clubs can raising 2,000 pumpkins each and transporting them (N=36,000) to UMO on a predetermined week end in October in order to beat the Guinness Book of Records for the largest number of Jack o' Lanterns lit in one venue (the previous record is 31,000). He further proposed that the pumpkins be sold/sponsored for $3 each which would result in $6,000/club or $108K for the District. For an additional contribution, donors' names could be carved into each pumpkin. Stan noted that Johnny's Seeds has already committed to donating the pumpkin seeds. He estimates that an acre of land is needed for each 1,000 pumpkins.
Carol shared that in October, the Foundation approved a Polio Plus inscription for each new PHF, starting in July, 2009.
Questions:
1. How is the money spent?
Carol noted that the money is spent for set-up, supplies, purchasing the serum, and refrigeration.
2. What happens when we hit 0 new cases??
Hitting zero new cases is a couple of years away. The major factor in the 4 countries listed is cultural barriers and perceptions regarding the use of vaccine. When we hit the target, however, there will be an ongoing need for maintenance, vaccinating newborns and treating water since the polio virus will still be in the environment.
3. How much has the Club given this year?
A little over $3,000. Carol noted that this needs to be specifically designated for PoliaPlus in order to insure proper credit is given to the Club.
Ally thanked Carol for her presentation and presented her with a 4 Way Test keychain.
The next meeting will be on Monday, March 16th when the speaker will be Nancy Findlan, who will be discussing YETE.