Rotary Shines

Rotary Shines will be held on Friday, April 19 at the OuterEdge in Appleton. The cost is $100 which admits two adults. This is our club’s one and only fundraising event. Tickets will be sold next week. As part of Rotary Shines, the committee is offering a presale of chocolates from Wilmar’s. For every 5 boxes sold, a $50 gift card to Avenue Jewelry will be given away. Rotary Shines is in need of sponsors! The proceeds of 2013 Rotary Shines will benefit: the Fox Valley Memory Project, Clean water projects for school children in Gangavathi, India, and at Kinama II and Mubimbi III Elementary Schools in Burundi and PolioPlus. If you or your company is interested in being a sponsor please contact: Chad Hershner, Ruth Ann Heeter or Michelle Devine-Giese. Do you have a piece of art or jewelry you would donate? Can you assemble a martini or gardening basket, deliver a cord of firewood or serve a meal in your home? Unique and unusual silent auction items help make the bidding fun and exciting! Put on your thinking cap and get creative! If you would like to donate something for the silent auction, please contact Ruth Ann Heeter at raheeter@foxcitiesmagazine.com.

District 6220 News

Shipra Seefeldt will be the Assistant Governor of District 6220 Area 5 beginning July 1, 2013 and Tom Berkedal the District Governor Elect. Tom will be the District Governor in 2014-2015. The District Conference will be held in Appleton May 16-17, 2015 at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. It will be the first time that District 6220 and 6250 will hold its conferences together. This will represent two thirds of the State of Wisconsin.

Rotary Shines, Rotary Shares

The World Service Committee has chosen to support water projects from the proceeds Rotary Shines. In May 2012, The Rotarian magazine said that “water and sanitation, one of Rotary’s six areas of focus, is a local concern of global importance.” The return on investment in clean water and sanitation was estimated at 747%. In January 2012, Sridhar and his four siblings visited the school where he completed 5th grade. About 750 children attend this state supported school that serves lower to middle class and the poor. They saw a crumbling, rusty holding tank that provided water to the children. When they saw this, Sridhar and his siblings made a pledge to replace this with a new system that can provide clean, cool water to these students. In addition, our Club will be giving $2,052 to complete this project and the Rotary Club of Gangavathi-Central will provide oversight and follow-up. The Sri Vidya Foundation will also be providing funding. Egide Nimubona wanted to help provide clean water to schools in Burundi. Clean water is a rare commodity in Burundi. Water infrastructures were originally brought in from missionaries. The Mubimbi III Elementary School Water Project was started last year by the Rotary Club in Neenah and the Bujumbura Rotary Club who raised $2,000 to provide a water fountain. After members of the Neenah Rotary Club visited the area, it was determined that a water tank built in the 1960’s was in need of major repairs and 4 additional fountains were needed to satisfy the needs of about 1900 students. Some of the additional cost ($2,600) will come from the proceeds of Rotary Shines. Local Rotarians are managing the project. This water will benefit the families of the students who will take buckets of clean water home after school. This water will decrease disease making students miss fewer classes. The Kinama II Elementary School Project will provide water to an elementary school that has no water. Students ask permission to leave to get polluted water from neighboring creeks that is 2 miles away. This creates class disruption and most don’t come back to school. The school has 773 students and 16 teachers. The goal is to capture water from a spring to allow students and the community to have clean water. Local Rotarians will manage the funds, make a contribution and report back to our Club.

Children with Disabilities Grants

The Children with Disabilities Committee of the Rotary Club of Appleton is again ready to entertain applications for grants from the Helen Thom Roemer Fund. This Fund was created in 1941, and each year provides money for projects or programs that benefit children with disabilities within a 50-mile radius of Appleton. The Fund is managed by the Appleton Rotary Foundation and administered by the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc. Typically, we have between $20-25,000 to distribute each year, and that normally is divided among eight to ten not-for-profit organizations. As you may know, trust limitations generally prohibit using these funds for employee salaries or general operating funds. For more information or an application, please click here.

Rotary Arts Scholarships Available

Rotary Arts Scholarships are awarded to assist an arts professional seeking a degree or non-degree related educational experience to further their work in his or her established area of expertise. For more information and an application, please click here. The deadline is April 1, 2013.

SAMP

The Sharing Around (the World) Medical Project will pack on Tuesday, February 26 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Goodwill Industries Shiner Center in Appleton.

SAFEGUARDING WISCONSIN’S WATER RESOURCES IN A CHANGING CLIMATE

Paul Robbins, Director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at U. W. Madison, discussed how we will see a global population of 9-10 billion people and then it will level off by 2050. Most people will live in cities. Our climate is changing. It is estimated that the drought in the Midwest made the GDP 1% off over its duration making it the most expensive national disaster in American history. Winter temperatures have warmed more than any other season in recent decades especially in northeastern Wisconsin. The duration of ice cover has decreased by 19 days over the last 100 years. We have had warmer fall temperatures, later freeze dates and earlier ice break up dates. From 1950-2006, we have had higher precipitation levels most by big storm events. The frequency of events of 2” or more has doubled since 1950 making the water harder to use. Projected seasonal temperature changes in 2055 will average 6º higher. The models project winter and early spring up to 40% wetter, more precipitation will fall in extreme events and winter precipitation is more likely to fall in the form of rain. Wisconsin has many water resources: 800 miles of coastline from Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, 200 miles of the Mississippi River, 15,000 lakes, 13,500 miles of navigable rivers, 5.5 million acres of wetlands and 1.2 quadrillion gallons of groundwater. There are many impacts of climate change such as the demand for water and groundwater will increase with warmer temperatures, harmful blue green algae blooms will occur more frequently with increased summer temperatures, sediment and nutrient loading will increase due to early and more intense spring runoff events, and water level flow rates and temperatures in streams and lakes will be affected impacting fish. There are ways to adapt to the changes around these water resources. A “no regret” approach takes actions that will provide a benefit across any and all future climate scenarios, focus on actions that can save time and resources and are cost effective in the long run, build upon existing efforts, and engage diverse stakeholders in planning and implementation. An example of this is how U. W. Oshkosh built a biodigester, the first commercial scale dry fermentation unit. It can use the waste from food, agriculture and yards to produce energy at a minimum cost. It reduces excess nutrients in the Lake Winnebago watershed, reduces the pressure on landfills and creates jobs. The insurance industry, especially reinsurers, is also focusing on climate change for risk profile decisions. The Nelson Institute is built around 4 core visions/values: discovering through interdisciplinary science and training, convening the public on campus to debate complicated issues, translating scientific results to the public and engaging the undergraduates and graduate students to be out in the public to do service learning and internships. The Institutes areas of expertise include: Center for Climate Research, Land Tenure Center, Center for Sustainability and Global Environment, and the Center for Culture, History and Environment. The 7th Annual Nelson Institute Earth Day Conference will be held on Monday, April 15 where Dr. Jane Goodall and Celine Cousteau will be speaking. What do communities and businesses need from universities to adapt to a changing world? What do we value that might be at risk due to climate change? Are some priorities worth paying for? What do you value that is beyond a price?

2012 Rotary Program Theme Series

Next week, Tuesday, February 19, we will be starting this year’s series based on the 2012 Nobel Conference theme “Our Global Ocean”. There will be 4 - one hour presentations. Next week, Paul Robbins, U. W. Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies will discuss "Safeguarding Wisconsin's Water Resources in a Changing Climate". The next presentations will be held on March 19, April 16 and May 21.

KENYA AND UGANDA INTERNATIONAL PROJECT: A FUTURE VISION PILOT COLLABORATION PROJECT AUGUST 2-16, 2012

Past District Governor Tom Friese discussed how the Kenya and Uganda International Project was a collaborative project involving 12 clubs (including the Rotary Club of Appleton) in District 6220 that raised $11,000. These funds were matched by the District Project Fund and each person who went on the trip contributed $500 raising a total of $25,000. These funds went only to existing and the development of future projects. Nine people went on this trip – 6 were Rotarians from District 6220, a Rotarian from 6250 and an attorney from Stevens Point. The travel expenses were up to each individual that went on the trip. The reason for the trip was to expand future projects, look for new opportunities to serve with other clubs, prepare for Future Vision, partnership with Future Vision Pilot and Future Vision mentors. Future Vision is a new way The Rotary Foundation grants funds. All projects need to fit within these categories: maternal and child health, education and literacy, disease prevention, peace and conflict resolution, water and sanitation and economic development. The group first landed in Nairobi at 9:30 p.m. after two 8-hour flights and a layover in Amsterdam. They were met by members of the Rotary Club of Karen. Some stayed at the homes of Rotarians and others at the Apostles of Jesus Seminary. While they were in Kenya, they toured Nairobi with their host club. The Karen Heath Center can’t get the permits to have the water run from the street 30 yards to the building. They have a cistern outside and a tanker truck comes periodically when they have enough money to fill it with water. The major focus of going to Kenya was to go to Nyumbani Village and work on a water project that started a year ago with the Rotary Club of Greater Portage County. In the Nyumbani village, there were 900 children orphaned from parents who died of AIDS. Grandparents who range in age from mid to late 30’s to 101 are raising these children. They helped further a water project installing 3 water cisterns each holding 10,000 gallons. The group then went on a bus and traveled to the Maluni Village to install 3 water cisterns. The people in the Maluni Village harvest rainwater to these cisterns from the metal roofs. They get about 23,622 inches of rain annually. These cisterns will provide 8-10 people with fresh water for 8-10 months. One hundred thousand seedlings will be planted that will mature in 5 years and be sold as lumber. The group then flew to Antibi, Uganda where they met Rotarians and attended their formal 2 ½ hour meeting. The next place the group went to was Arua, Uganda where they provided an update on Power Four and discussed the possible expansion to include breastfeeding mothers. There is also a research project with the Rotary Club of Arua, Arua Regional Referral Hospital and the McMurry University in Kampala to prepare a package of instant oatmeal predigested so there is no cooking. Funds were used to provide 70 beds and mattresses for the Arua Referral Hospital. The benefit of this trip/project was friendship and opportunities to serve and collaborate with other Rotary clubs.

Catalpa Health

Lisa Kogan-Praska, President & CEO of Catalpa Health, told of “Mark”, a sophomore in high school, who texted his mother that he did not know how to approach her, that he felt helpless and that he needed to talk to someone. His mom tried to make an appointment for him but since it was not considered an emergency he had to wait 60 days to get an appointment. Last year, there were over 4,241 untreated mental heath pediatric cases in the Fox Valley. In 2010, over half of the 10,825 calls to the crisis center dealt with mental health issues. Suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for youth in Wisconsin - the 13th highest rate nationwide. One in 10 kids suffer from mental illness and only half are getting the care they need. About 65% of boys and 75% of girls with mental illness are in the juvenile correction system. About 50% of kids with mental illness will drop out of high school. Catalpa Health was formed to create a center of excellence for children and adolescent mental health care that provides the right care at the right time close to home. Affinity Health System, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and ThedaCare joined to create a center for mental health for kids ages 2 through 18. The 2011 LIFE Study affirmed that mental health needed to be a priority in the Fox Valley. Catalpa has 4 key goals: improve access for pediatric mental health services, double the number of clinical visits over the next 5 years, increase clinical providers and increase collaborations. Catalpa is improving access by increasing availability to tele-psychiatry for medication management, collaboration with community providers and organizations to coordinate care, and conducting a broader range of individual and group therapy. Increasing collaborations will strengthen the relationship between primary care physicians and behavioral health providers, give greater coordination for transition to and from the inpatient unit at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, develop strategic partnership with community providers and resources, and provide outreach/education with emphasis on prevention. Better coordination is the key to better outcomes. It is important to be able to share in electronic health records so that all of the providers can share information and treat the patient together. Establishing benchmarks in care is important so they know they are creating outcomes that drive lasting change. In order to provide long term access to care and achieve the desired quality outcomes to meet the increasing demand for mental health services for youth and adolescence in the Fox Cities, Catalpa must build a sustainable financial model, diversified payer mix, grant funding, active fundraising and outreach effort. Affinity, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and Thedacare agreed to collectively invest $2 million annually to support Catalpa Health.

Rotary Shines

Rotary Shines is in need of sponsors! The proceeds of 2013 Rotary Shines will benefit: the Fox Valley Memory Project, Clean water projects for school children in Gangavathi, India, and at Kinama II and Mubimbi III Elementary Schools in Burundi and PolioPlus. If you or your company is interested in being a sponsor please contact: Chad Hershner, Ruth Ann Heeter or Michelle Devine-Giese.