Eureka Rotary - A Message from the Club President

Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Over 1.2 million Rotarians belong to approximately 34,000 clubs located in 167 countries.

Rotary was formed on February 23, 1905 in Chicago. Founder Paul Harris and the original members rotated the meeting site from one member's business to another, leading to the name "Rotary." Clubs formed rapidly throughout the United States over the next decade. By 1921, Rotary Clubs were established on six continents.

The Rotary Club of Eureka is the oldest club in our North Coast Region. Our club was formed on October 10, 1923 by the host club, the Rotary Club of San Francisco which is the second oldest Rotary Club in the world. Since that time we have sponsored several new clubs ourselves. Our membership numbers over 150 men and women who embrace the Rotary theme of "Service Above Self."

Rotary meetings provide an avenue of networking and fellowship among business and professional leaders in our local community. It also provides an opportunity to respond to the needs of other people on both international and local levels.

WHAT WE DO - INTERNATIONALLY

Through our network of clubs, major international projects have taken place. In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunize all of the world's children against Polio. Since that time Rotarians have contributed over $850 million and mobilized hundreds of thousands of PolioPlus volunteers to immunize more than one billion children worldwide. This effort has been so effective, that during 2008-09 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $355 million, in a matching grant, to help Rotary eradicate polio. We have until June 30, 2012 to complete raising our matching $200 million requirement. Many other projects undertaken have focused on clean water, hunger, and literacy.

The Rotary Club of Eureka has provided funding through Matching Grant programs to many areas of the world including India, Africa, and Mexico. Most notably is our decade long effort in Siberia to bring medical innovation to that isolated region. Those efforts have been so successful that now patients travel great distances to seek medical care in the regional hospital. Our newest initiative, Safe Blood Africa, seeks to combine the expertise of our past President of Americas Blood Centers with the people of Nigeria to train and equip them in the necessity of proper blood banking. This project will save countless lives from death during child birth, malaria and injury due to lack of a safe and available blood supply.. In addition, our club has responded to disaster needs such as the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the hurricane(s) in the southern United States.

Another major international program is Rotary Youth Exchange which started in 1929. Each year Rotary sends over 8,000 men and women from over 80 countries to study abroad. These connections with other clubs and projects outside of our area help foster understanding the goodwill. This year the Rotary Club of Eureka will sent two students to Italy and Norway, respectively and will host a student from Brazil and a student from Norway.

MEETING LOCAL NEEDS

The Rotary Club of Eureka has also responded to many local needs. After all, this is where we live. Of special interest and emphasis are the needs of our youth. Several of our projects have involved upgrades to soccer and softball fields including our centennial project of restrooms and snack bar facilities at Washington School. In prior years, the Humboldt Room at the County Library was made possible by donations from our members. We also help sponsor the Summer Reading Program for children at the Library and help send our county’s winning students to the State Science Fair every year. Annually we give a new dictionary to every 3^rd grader in Humboldt County. Our major local project this year will continue to be our Back Packs for Kids program. Eureka Rotary, along with the other clubs in our area, pack bags or back packs full of food every Thursday evening and deliver it to needy children through the school system on Friday. These students are provided good nutrition during the weekday through the school lunch programs, but would spend a hungry weekend at home were it not for Rotary helping to support the local food bank.

To learn more about the Rotary Club of Eureka, please visit other areas of the website, contact one of our members or myself, or write to: P.O. Box 65, Eureka, CA 95502.

Yours in Rotary,

Greg Pierson