This Week's ProgramApril Penton, Education faculty member at Thomas University, will speak to us about the exciting Camp STEMtastic program. In the 2013 - 2014 school year, the faculty at Thomas University met with local area schools to inquire about rising sixth grade students who exemplified an attitude and aptitude in the STEM areas and who would potentially like to participate in a week long summer camp where they would have an opportunity to explore those fields. Thirty students were selected by their teachers to be a part of the pilot camp that met in June of 2014. The camp was called "The Science of Flight," and the campers learned about various topics related to flight and its progression.
Since its inception, the original campers have been invited back each year to continue to explore different STEM fields. Each year, Camp STEMtastic adds an additional cohort of rising sixth graders. By the time the students graduate from high school, they will have had an opportunity to participate in seven different STEM-themed camps. This summer, four campus were held: Fresh Water & Marine Ecology; The Human Machine; Natural Resource Stewardship; and Bottle Caps to Benches. The Bottle Caps to Benches initiative is the culmination of a year-long effort. This group of students recently traveled to Indiana to unload their 2600 pounds of
bottle caps and pick up 13 benches!
Rotary Means Business!
"Famous Lou" Alvarado spoke to us concerning the Rotary Means Business initiative at the District level. This is an opportunity to provide networking opportunities for Rotary members as we all like doing business with fellow Rotarians! These events are typically held monthly and are coordinated between multiple clubs.
There was good discussion regarding how we might launch this program and perhaps form a southwest Georgia 'Council'. We need volunteers
Back to School Blitz - August 3rd
Reach Out and Invite Someone to Rotary!
Rotary's Role in Ending Polio
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 30 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. We've helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. So far, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion toward eradicating the disease worldwide. Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
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