A strength of Rotary is its worldwide reach, giving Rotarians many opportunities to serve in locations all around the world. Because of the broad reach of Rotary, it is able to provide resources at both the local and at the international level.
One of these opportunities is the Rotoplast program. Undertaken by Rotary in 1992 this medical mission has served in Guatemala, Myanmar, Columbia, India, Bangladesh and many other countries. This year, one of our Collegeville members, and 8 of our District members were fortunate to serve as non-medical support in that program. Our District, 7430, raised the $100,000 needed to enable Rotary to host this Guatemala Medical Mission for children and young adults who suffer from cleft palate and/or cleft lip.
The Mission ran from Sept 2nd for 10 days. It included 7 days of surgeries and a day of follow up. Families stood in line for hours with hope that their child could be a part of the program. Many of the children had no prior surgery, which means that they could not eat or communicate properly, and were likely to be shunned by their community. Many can’t attend school due to their incapacity to speak.
The Rotoplast medical team was able to serve 113 patients, doing surgeries ranging from lip repair to bone grafts to closing the gap in the roof of the mouth. It was truly amazing to see the love and care that was given to these very special children. Every child went home with a bigger smile.
World Environment Day movement started more than 40 years ago. The annual day of action embraces smaller and less-developed nations while tackling even bigger topics: from sustainable consumption to the illegal trade in wildlife. Since its beginning in 1974, World Environment Day has developed into a global platform for raising awareness and taking action on urgent issues from marine pollution and global warming to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. Millions of people have taken part over the years, helping drive change in our consumption habits as well as in national and international environmental policy.
Members of the Collegeville Rotary Club would like to congratulate the dedicated men and women of the Collegeville Fire Company on their newly built firehouse. This has taken many years of effort and is finally completed. This new firehouse is a tremendous asset to the community and serves to ensure the safety of the citizens of this community.
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Several members of our club along with two students from PV High School Interact Club spent several hours on Saturday morning removing hundreds of pounds of trash and more than a dozen tires and other large items from a field alongside the creek near First Avenue across from Kimberton Whole Foods store. Thanks for all that participated.
Our club level speech contest was held on March 11, 2018. The first place winner will be going on to the regional competition on April 14, 2018..png)
We are pleased to welcome Mark Million as our new club president effective on 7/1/17. Mark has been a very active and dedicated member of our club for the past 3 years. We are looking forward to implementing his many new initiatives to continue the club rejuvenation that has started with Mary Cook. Thank you very much Mary for getting us through the transition phase and putting us on a sound footing with several new members and a new meeting location at Ursinus College.
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