The Rotary Foundation -
Ohio District 6650

ROTARY CLUB OF CANTON - LIBRARY 'Play and Learn Kits'

The Rotary Club of Canton created ‘Play and Learn Kits’ designed to rotary among the ten Stark Country District Libraries Children’s Departments providing the children and families an opportunity to play together in a learning environment.

Each ‘Play and Learn Kits’ contained various activities designed for children birth through age eight. The kits covered areas of Kitchen, Laundry, Blocks, Science, Natures, Sensory, Large Motor, Music, Post Office, and Tools.

ROTARY CLUB OF BOARDMAN - ASSISTS THE BEATITUDE HOUSE

The Rotary Club of Boardman donated funds and helped raise awareness of the Beatitude House which is committed to disadvantaged women and children providing housing, education and family support.

The Boardman Rotary Club not only collected household supplies and donated much needed funds, but the Club President, Terry Daprile, rappelled down a building to raise funds and awareness of the organization.

ROTARY CLUB OF CANFIELD - REFURBISH WAR VETERNAN'S MUSEUM IN CANFIELD

The Rotary Club of Canfield partnered with the Canfield Community War Veterans Museum to update and refurbish a room and develop it into a research library.

The museum was originally build in 1809. The Rotarians updated fixtures, shelving, and provided new computer research technology tools.

The museum offers a place for school children and local community members to view and research the history of war as it pertains to Canfield, Ohio, and the nation.

ROTARY CLUB OF NEWCOMERSTOWN - BEAUTIFY DOWNTOWN

The Rotary Club of Newcomerstown purchased supplies to install electrical connections on utility poles in downtown Newcomerstown to beautify the downtown during holidays and festivals.

ROTARY CLUB OF SUGARCREEK - GOOGLE-PLAY "HELP STUDENTS LOVE LEARNING"

The Rotary Club of Sugarcreek partnered with Garaway Schools to supply 20 Google Nexus Tablets and cart to elementary students to inspire a relevant love of learning and reading.

The tablets were used in learning centers and allowed more than 150 students to play learning games, read electronic books and engage in technology learning excitement.

Rotarians are continuing to work in the schools as volunteers using the tablets with the students in the learning centers.

ROTARY CLUB OF NORTH CANTON - HOMEWORK HELP PROJECT

The Rotary Club of North Canton partnered with the North Canton Public Library to match volunteers and elementary students for homework assistance one day a week for eight weeks last fall and eight weeks this spring.

The Local District Grant provided funds for homework supplies, tutoring aids, and refreshments for the students, parents, and tutors.

Over the period, 292 homework sessions were facilitated by 152 volunteers. The parents of the students enjoyed the library and hospitality room during their child's sessions, the adult and teen volunteers benefited from assisting the students, and the students benefited from the fresh perspective of the volunteers in assisting in their studies.

Basic Education and Literacy is one of the Six Areas of Focus of The Rotary Foundation. The work of Rotary begins in the community, and The Rotary Foundation has focused efforts in six key areas to maximize impact:

• Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
• Disease prevention and treatment
• Water and sanitation
• Maternal and child health
• Basic education and literacy
• Economic and community development

NILES CLUB PROJECT - THE WILDER FIELD FLAG POLE PROJECT

The Niles Rotary Club completed its 2015 District Simplified Grant Project, “The Wilder Field Flag Pole Project”. The Niles Rotary Club worked with the Dragon Baseball Boosters and Mr. Al Guarnieri, Director, to purchase and install a 40-ft flagpole at Wilder Field in Waddell Park in the City of Niles.

Pictured left to right: Jim Yuhasz, Jim Fisher, Al Guarnieri, Dana Warren, Joe Johnson, Steve Simunich, Marlene Rhodes, Jerry O’Brad, and Dave Rhodes.

NILES CLUB PROJECT - DICTIONARIES FOR THIRD GRADERS

The Niles Rotary Club donated 180 dictionaries to area third graders this year with club funds.

Pictured are third grade students from the Niles Intermediate School enjoying their dictionaries along with Principal Christopher Staph, Rotary Past President Steve Simunich and club member Jerry O'Brad.

This is the fifth year the Niles Rotary Club has provided dictionaries to the students.

LOUISVILLE CLUB PROJECT - RYLA SUPPORT FOR FOUR STUDENTS

The Louisville Rotary Club utilized their Local District Grant Funds to provide support for four students to attend the District's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) educational conference which was held February 19-21.

Nearly 100 high school juniors from the District were awarded admission to the leadership conference where they learned about themselves, how to interact with others in a positive way, and what it takes to be a leader.

RYLA's program teaches students the fundamentals and ethics of leadership, the importance of communication skills in effective leadership, problem-solving and conflict management, Rotary's purpose and service to the community, and the elements of community and global citizenship.

The event is life-changing for many students who go on to utilize the skills as they complete high school and ultimately their careers.

RYLA Students: Jonathan Reynolds, Amanda Blind, Brandon
Counts, Paige Haren, and RYLA Chariperson, Catherine Catlett

SALEM CLUB PROJECT - DICTIONARIES FOR AREA THIRD GRADERS

The Salem Rotary Club donated 232 dictionaries to area 3rd graders this year. Pictured here are children from United, Reilly and St. Paul Elementary Schools with Club President Barb Stamp and Member Carolyn Jones. This is a long-term project for the club and goes back many years.

These hard-bound, keep-sake dictionaries have colorful illustrations, photographs, and diagrams and are designed for children ages 8-11. The dictionaries include more than 36,000 entries, 1300 quotes from classic and contemporary literature, and Greek and Latin word roots to aid spelling and vocabulary building. The children are able to bring home a wonderful gift from our Rotary Club to share with their family.

Color pictures describing the event appeared in our local newspaper (full page article). Many of the teachers had their student prepare thank-you letters using new words from the dictionary. The club enjoys having these shared at our meeting. We even have had children comment that this is the first book that they have ever owned.

Rotarians with prior third-grade students will note that these dictionaries become the cornerstone of the student's book collection and are used for many years to come.

SPECIAL RELIEF PROJECT - SEPTEMBER 2015 - DOMINICA

Dominica (DOM-i-NEE-kə) is a beautiful volcanic island country in the Caribbean Sea, northwest of Martinique, covered by a rainforest with waterfalls, springs, and rivers, and a population of 72,000. It has one of the lowest per capita gross domestic product rates in the Eastern Caribbean. The main agriculture is bananas, and Dominica has been working toward an eco-tourism destination for the past decade.

Dominica is the island that fellow Rotarian and Boardman audiologist Dr. Sheryl Figliano has performed three annual missions to give people of the island the gift of hearing. Her team has distributed thousands of dollars’ worth of digital hearing aids and batteries in Dominica donated by her patients, Rotarians, and the community at large.

On August 29th, hurricane Erika pelted Dominica with 15 inches of water killing more than 20 people. Mudslides did tremendous damage. The Prime Minister said the damage inflicted by the storm set the island back 20 years. "The extent of the devastation is monumental," he said, “Hundreds of homes, bridges and roads have been destroyed. We have, in essence, to rebuild Dominica." Annie Edwards, Rotary Club President of Roseau, Dominica, said the damage is devastating but all Rotarians are safe. She has set-up an account to assist in aid efforts.

Dr. Peter Apicella, District Foundation Chair, visited Dominica a few years ago with his wife and was taken by the beauty of the area and the friendliness of the people. Dr. Apicella said, “The community we visited literally washed down hill into the ocean from the storm.”

UPDATE:  Rotary Clubs in our District 6650 raised more than $6000 to split between the two Dominica Rotary Clubs of Roseau and Picard/Portsmouth. These local Rotary clubs are making a difference by helping rebuild their communities, and our District is proud to assist in their efforts.