PRESIDENT’S CORNER … by Prez Bill

Greetings Skantarians!  A wealth of good news this week. 

Meals on Wheels – Another great speaker (arranged for by PP Bill Conole – thank you , Bill!)  Meals on Wheels Fund Development and Community Relations Director Michael Nortman gave an excellent overview of his agency’s programs and services.  There was plenty of interesting Q&A afterwards and Kathy Crelot was good enough to drop off Meals on Wheels brochures provided by Mike to the Chamber of Commerce.  Thank you, Kathy! 

International Women’s Day – The International Women’s Day website has been stood up (thank you PP Roberta Williams!), so registration and payment can be handled online.  While things are moving smartly ahead help is always welcome; meetings for this event are held after our regular Club meeting.  Thank you and see you next Thursday!

Skaneateles 2016-17 District Grant … from Mission of Miracles website

Portable Dental Unit …. Mission of Miracles

Bill Dawson, a member of Christ Church in Manlius, first started assisting the dental team on the 2015 Mission of Miracles. With other volunteers, he helped to sterilize implements, keep records, and distribute toothbrushes and supplies donated by Central New York parishes. A retired electrical engineer, he also discovered he could be especially useful repairing important medical equipment. But when one of the two portable dental kits began to fail, Dawson concluded that it was beyond repair—and a replacement was needed.

     “To acquire a high quality unit,” Dawson recalled, “the local team in El Salvador would have to import one, which presents significant costs and logistics challenges.” So the Mission of Miracles team began to explore options to replace the broken unit. Dr. Gard Lorey, a Skaneateles dentist and long-time Mission volunteer, ultimately secured funding for the unit with a [District 7150] grant from the Skaneateles Rotary Club.

     When volunteers with the fourteenth Mission of Miracles head to El Salvador this weekend, they will be transporting the new portable dental unit, which is valued at several thousand dollars. The unit, which travels in a wheeled case slightly larger than a typical suitcase, includes a vacuum unit for suction, as well as an air compressor and foot pedal controls to drive dental drills. When this year’s Mission wraps up, the local Salvadoran team will continue to use the unit—hopefully for years to come. “When you plant a seed you don’t know what might sprout from it,” says Dawson. “It has worked out well!”

International Women’s Day + Rotary = Making Change!

This night will be a dynamic blend of community activism, Rotary goodwill, and fun among friends. Rally your friends and come join hands to make a difference!

After nearly eradicating polio from the face of the earth, Rotary International has taken on another disease that impacts everyone and threatens to become a tsunami in terms of our health care system: Alzheimer’s Disease.

     This is the focus of the Skaneateles Rotary Club’s third annual International Women’s Day Celebration, which is Thursday, March 9th, at the Lodge.

     Rotarians in a club on Martha’s Vineyard started this now-global Rotary effort because they asked themselves: “With polio on the way out, what is the next disease that affects everybody?”  The answer was clear:  Alzheimer’s Disease.

     While polio cripples the body, Alzheimer’s cripples the mind. Alzheimer’s not only devastates families, it devastates communities. If left unsolved, public health officials say this disease will devastate the entire health care system within the next ten years. It is being called the most critical public health crisis facing America. It is also being called a “tsunami” and “sinkhole” as told so well in a PBS documentary January 25th.

     Why is it a focus of our Skaneateles Rotary Club’s International Women’s Day event?  Women bear a disproportionate amount of the Alzheimer’s burden.  They are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s, AND they are much more likely to be caregivers.  Two-thirds of all Alzheimer’s caregivers are women.

Join us for this festive night with a purpose!

Tickets are $50. Go to: www.iwd.yapsody.com to register.

All proceeds will combat Alzheimer’s disease.

Contact Amy Tormey with any questions: [email protected]