Vassar-Haiti Project during the Pandemic (Aired on September 20, 2020)

For twenty years, the Vassar-Haiti Project (VHP) has improved the lives of Haitians in the remote mountaintop Haitian village of Chermaitre and its surroundings, raising funds primarily by selling Haitian paintings and crafts. As a result of these efforts, Chermaitre and the surrounding area is served by a 300- student school, a clinic that treats 3,000 patients annually, and clean water, the last from a Rotary Global Grant sponsored by the Poughkeepsie-Arlington Rotary. But with the Covid-19 situation in 2020, an in-person art sale would be too dangerous, so VHP mounted an on-line auction and other virtual events. RadioRotary is helping promote the sale with an interview with Lila Meade, Executive Director of VHP, and two active students from Vassar, Alice Fan and Sam O’Keefe. VHP is partly operated by Vassar’s Rotaract Club and has close connections with 14 Rotary Clubs, District 7210, and The Rotary Foundation. The current efforts include setting up an $86,500 solar-power system to bring much needed electricity to the clinic, for which 14 Rotary Clubs and Rotary District 7210 have contributed $66,000.

Learn more:
The Vassar Haiti Project: http://www.thehaitiproject.org/
The Rotary Foundation Global Grants: https://my.rotary.org/en/take-action/apply-grants/global-grants
Rotaract: https://www.rotary.org/en/get-involved/rotaract-clubs
Rotary District 7210: https://rotarydistrict7210.org/

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Fall Prevention Week (Aired on September 13, 2020)

Trauma Injury Prevention Coordinator at Vassar Hospital Jill Bubel visits RadioRotary to promote the Lower Hudson Valley Fall Prevention Week, a series of online events devoted to teaching older persons how to avoid those often traumatic and sometimes deadly falls, the most common cause of serious injury or mortality in persons over 60. The events are sponsored by the offices for the aging of the counties in the lower Hudson Valley and include a balance class based on the Kovacs exercises, classes in Tai Chi, information about making homes safer, and much more. Programs for the week include materials for fall prevention from Rebuilding Together, students from Stoney Brook, and Northwell Health.

Learn more:
Lower Hudson Valley Fall Prevention Network: https://www.facebook.com/lhvfallprevention
Fall Prevention from National Institute on Aging: https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/prevent-falls-and-fractures
Trauma Center at Vassar Hospital: https://www.healthquest.org/poughkeepsie/trauma.aspx
Tai Chi for Health: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi 

More Resources:

The Zoom and Facebook Live technology review designed to help older adults to use these virtual platforms with more ease: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=769120840538658

The presentation by Dr. Neal Smoller, holistic pharmacist from Woodstock about “Medication and Fall Risk”:  https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__drive.google.com_file_d_1-5FUOl-5FXyX8UIdKYXfVSuGVrVArhqZhGsL_view-3Fusp-3Dsharing-5Feil-26ts-3D5f69150a&d=DwMFaQ&c=y10fAQ-MjRVdTmbaCO4gBbko2jPu1Pu3w_E_ih7sRcg&r=-nxR3e22jWnzT9Us-N9deLHG_a-C0cykXD4hE5o324U&m=dqugmcW6o-K3GoDsZijHUjzTo0vjH2H1ZXD5Vf0As-s&s=FKPWYmmjUVWFScOzqzcUUGaWN1HOt4ofUzf_SmYpkxA&e=

The live Introduction to Tai Chi class from Bowdoin Park: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__drive.google.com_file_d_1wgLZAKlLR4PluN144G8Dvk9wlk0IiHBr_view-3Fusp-3Dsharing-5Feil-26invite-3DCN7ymNYJ-26ts-3D5f6ff97a&d=DwMFaQ&c=y10fAQ-MjRVdTmbaCO4gBbko2jPu1Pu3w_E_ih7sRcg&r=djsh2P2ZWvPyC5xAuko2PTRBLPGepCAVPmlC1RO-caY&m=BfA6j-ZQILoWIvNBs5lE2mCIRQcdwOaiXahD1dOcZDo&s=eOetNFaReihmTtYZAv8arv4a1pVX5pmK1l4VL_lMPpY&e=

The home safety tour from Rebuilding Together:  https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__youtu.be_BrCaGUy5MXA&d=DwMFAg&c=y10fAQ-MjRVdTmbaCO4gBbko2jPu1Pu3w_E_ih7sRcg&r=djsh2P2ZWvPyC5xAuko2PTRBLPGepCAVPmlC1RO-caY&m=TOmDpWNbzK73e81gncfhRSHIAo3VxGD7VV5uXA4bHUQ&s=JB1E-PpYu4uXz2jlXv4BGT252JNcehmRISYm_W7o9rM&e=

A link to a home safety checklist: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.rebuildingtogetherdutchess.org_sites_default_files_PDF_2020-5FRTDC-2520Home-2520Safety-2520Checklist.pdf&d=DwMFAg&c=y10fAQ-MjRVdTmbaCO4gBbko2jPu1Pu3w_E_ih7sRcg&r=djsh2P2ZWvPyC5xAuko2PTRBLPGepCAVPmlC1RO-caY&m=HhOtohe0O0d8geneiUE0WFDKE4B9LzZCWlhL6IYpPC0&s=mqkjdZjdUaaVLL7ui_PCxgsL3IQMksUUgkuUVnHIVNg&e=

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September 18, 2020 · Posted in Aging, Events, Health, Quality of Life  

The Borgen Project to End World Poverty (Aired on August 30, 2020)

Scott Oatkin, Political Affairs Ambassador for The Borgen Project, visits RadioRotary (via Zoom) to describe the efforts that he and other volunteers are making to encourage the United State Government to do more to help end world poverty. Around the world more than 700 million people live in extreme poverty, and The Borgen Project is dedicated to the proposition that the world’s richest nation should be leading efforts to improve economies. A better world economy would be better for the United States as well. The Borgen Project got started 7 years ago when Clint Borgen was a volunteer in Kosovo and saw first-hand how many people live without enough food or other necessities because of low income. More recently Mr. Oatkin also experienced how really impoverished people live when he was a part of the Rhinebeck Interact’s mission to build a school in rural Nicaragua, which led to his involvement in The Borgen Project. Rhinebeck Interact is a high-school club sponsored by Rhinebeck Rotary. Mr. Oatkin is now a junior political science major at NYU. As a Borgen Project Ambassador, he lobbies government officials to do more about world poverty.

Learn more:
The Borgen Project: https://borgenproject.org/
Interview with Clint Borgen: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/borgen-one-mans-seven-year-project-to-downsize-poverty/
Rhinebeck Interact on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/395583917202375/
Rhinebeck Rotary: https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2252

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September 8, 2020 · Posted in Financial Aid, International Programs, Law, Service Organizations  

Ending Canine Discrimination—and More (Aired on August 23, 2020)

Foundation Manager Nicole Juchem visits RadioRotary via Zoom to describe themany ways that the Animal Farm Foundation improves the way dogs, especially those who have been discriminated against because of appearance or breed, are accepted and also how their other programs training dogs or using their special qualities help people across the United States. Although the Animal Farm Foundation is based in a large farm in Amenia, NY, it works around the nation to rid localities of laws or covenants that discriminate against particular canine breeds or dogs who are perceived as “pit bulls.” The Foundation also takes rescue dogs and trains them to be service dogs that can aid humans with vision, hearing, or anxiety problems. Their Paw of Purpose at Rikers Island Prison enlists prisoners to work with dogs to the benefit of both the dogs and the prisoners. Volunteers for Pets Together are using dogs and other pets to aid persons who have been socially isolated by the pandemic or just by life. There is much more that the Animal Farm Foundation is doing, so listen to this great interview and learn.

Learn more:
Animal Farm Foundation: https://animalfarmfoundation.org/
Paws of Purpose on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154483000337076.1073741870.51042412075&type=3
Pets Together: https://petstogether.org/
Breed-Specific Canine Discrimination: https://bestfriends.org/our-work/best-friends-advocacy/ending-breed-discrimination

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September 8, 2020 · Posted in Animals, Law, Mental Health  

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