Governor Frank's May Message

 
 
 

GOVERNOR FRANK'S MAY MESSAGE

Half of District 7090 is in Lockdown again and numbers of COVID infections continue to rise in Ontario.  The border remains Closed with no expectation that it will open before the end of my term.  For the first time, health care is looking a lot better on the American side of the District with many more vaccinations, including second doses being administered.  Judy and I thankfully have had our first dose with a booking in August for the second one.  Rotary International President Holger Knaack is asking every Rotarian to encourage everyone who can be vaccinated to take advantage of it.  Vaccines have been extremely effective in reducing Polio to less than one percent and to 2 countries.  We can beat this infection too, if we follow precautions and get vaccinated.  And get back to some normalcy. 
 
As you know India is in a crisis and running out of beds and oxygen.  And, sadly, Rotary International President-Elect Shekhar Mehta is hospitalized with COVID.  Our prayers for a speedy recovery go out to him and his family. In light of this, the District Leadership and the District Foundation Committee have agreed to donate $10,000 from our DDF reserve and to challenge those clubs who have the capacity to donate $500 - $1,000 USD to purchase oxygen concentrators for India.  A combined donation of $20,000 will buy 20 of these units.  Your donation would be most appreciated.  See the letter request that follows my article below for the details on the project.
 
I would like to commend the clubs and Rotarians in New York State for proceeding with the Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup last week.  We certainly collected a lot of garbage, including plastic.  With the lockdown in Ontario and Quebec, we have postponed the cleanup on this side of the border, which is most likely not going to happen until June at the earliest.  For those clubs that had done a lot of pre-planning and reaching out to partners, thanks.  It should be pretty straightforward to resurrect these plans at a later date.
 
DGE Anne has asked me to take the lead on this initiative in her year, which I am pleased to do.  It fits nicely into Rotary’s new area of focus, Protecting the Environment, and our District’s commitment to promoting Healthy Communities.
 
DGE Anne and her team have pulled together an excellent Club Training Assembly to be held on Saturday, May 15 from 8:30-noon.  You can register online and pick 2 sessions of interest to you from 24 topics.  There is something for everyone.  We are encouraging every Rotarian to register.  It is via Zoom and it is free.  Please go to our website and register right now or click here. 
 
Zone 28 & 32 are planning a “Celebrating Our Foundation” Gala Fundraiser and Sandi Chard is planning a Pre and Post Gala event on May 12 starting at 7:00 p.m.  This event is to raise $75.00 for the Annual Fund, which supports our District and Global Grants, which have been diminishing over the years, while requests for grants has been exploding.  $25.00 goes towards Polio Plus. I am asking every Rotarian to consider registering for this. The cost is $100 USD plus 10% service charge.  $100 is fully tax-deductible.  You can register through our District website.
 
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Regards,
 
Frank Adamson,
Rotary Club of Fonthill,
Governor, 7090
 
29 April, 2021
 
Dear DGs, DGE Classmates 2021-2022, and friends:
 
As the COVID-19 virus surge sweeps the country of India, we are reaching out to all of you for support to change lives.
 
After consultation with the Chair of the India Rotary COVID Task Force the most urgent need is for portable Oxygen Concentrators. These units are portable and will serve many in the coming weeks and months. Here is the message from PRID Ashok Mahajan, Chair of the India Covid Task Force:
 
"One of the avowed objectives of the Task Force is to help establish “ROTARY OXYGEN BANKS” in every metropolis in India. We aim to set up a Bank of Oxygen Concentrators in each city. The Bank would loan an Oxygen Concentrator to a patient in need, with the proviso that after the immediate crisis is over, the concerned person would return the Concentrator to the Oxygen Bank. Such a Bank would be of help to a large number of people over an extended period of time.
 
Hopefully, this devastating wave of the COVID Pandemic would abate in a while. After that, the Oxygen Bank would be of immense value for any subsequent wave and would be a sensible fall-back option. The Oxygen Bank would also be of immense value to economically disadvantaged individuals suffering from ILD (Interstitial Lung Disease) or other Chest ailments that require Oxygenation for the patient.”

The project will be open for three weeks from the date we send the financial routing information due to the urgency of the situation in India.
 
Suggested donation but any amount is welcome:
 
The price of each Oxygen concentrator in India is approximately US $1000 which includes shipping and handling. Our goal is to have the funds purchase at least 100 units if not more.
 
This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with agencies and the South Asian community like the Gujarati Samaj, Hindu Temple, Sikh Gurdwara, Mosques, and other Indian organizations and share this critical information.

Please encourage individual donations as well. Charitable receipts will be issued upon request.  Our next letter will include banking and mailing details of the Rotary Foundations who have stepped forward to assist in saving lives.

Please stay tuned.