Rotary’s Work in Eradicating Polio (Aired on October 17, 2021)

Carole Tjoa, District PolioPlus Chair

North Rockland Rotarian and 7210 Past District Governor (2006-07) Carole Tjoa, currently the District PolioPlus Chair, once again joins RadioRotary to update the progress on polio eradication. After polio in 1979, was completely eliminated from the U.S. by the Salk and Sabin vaccines, Rotary used the vaccines to eradicated polio in the Philippines, then in 1985 carried the program to South America, Asia, and Africa, the continents where wild polio was infecting some 35,000 annually. Rotary was joined with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. CDC in 1988, joined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation starting in 2007. Foundation. The immunization program has eliminated the wild polio virus from everywhere but Pakistan and Afghanistan, which continue to have fewer than 200 cases annually between them. Listen, and learn more, both about polio and the remarkable life of Mrs. Tjoa, who came from Hong Kong to the U.S. on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship and has since received degrees from Oxford
in England and Columbia in New York. She joined Rotary in 1988 soon after it first admitted women.

Learn more:
Global Polio Eradication Initiative: https://polioeradication.org/
PolioPlus: https://www.endpolio.org/
Carole Tjoa: https://www.rocklandtimes.com/2017/03/23/unsung-hero-carole-tjoa-rotary-club-of-north-rockland/
Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships: https://www.pfw.edu/dotAsset/eeaeb34f-0487-4999-9082-0c680d268ce6.pdf
North Rockland Rotary Club: https://northrocklandrotary.org/

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October 24, 2021 · Posted in Global Polio Initiative, Health, International Programs, PolioPlus  

Addiction Prevention & Education (Aired On October 10, 2021)

CAPE is the Council on Addiction Prevention & Education in Dutchess County.  For this program, Dora Celestino, Community Educator, and Christina Goebel, Senior Peer Engagement Specialist from CAPE visit RadioRotary to talk about how CAPE works with schools and teenagers to educate them about the harm caused by this common form of substance use disorder—including addiction to alcohol, other drugs, gambling, or sex— and how it can be prevented. CAPE also works with persons recovering the disorder including supplying recovery coaches. One of the tools that CAPE uses is the Victim Impact Panel, a program presented by persons affected by the disorder, including family members. Such a Panel is often mandated for persons who have been arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. Listen to the program to learn the warning signs of substance use disorder.

Learn more:
CAPE (Council on Addiction Prevention & Education: https://capedc.org/
Dutchess County Addiction Prevention Services: https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/County-Executive/38732.htm
MARC Foundation: http://www.marc-foundation.org/

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October 15, 2021 · Posted in Addiction Recovery, Education, Mental Health  

Italian American Festival in Kingston (Aired On October 3. 2021)

As Columbus Day approaches, so does the 14 th Annual Italian Festival in Kingston, sponsored by the Ulster County Italian American Foundation. Festival Chair Anna Brett and Highland Rotarian Tony Marmo join Jonah Triebwasser and Kathy Kruger for a fun-filled program on the fun-filled festival, which takes place beside the Roundout Creek in T.R. Gallo Park at the lower end of Broadway in Kingston, NY. The Festival celebrates the Italian heritage of Ulster Country with foods and music that came to American from Italy along with the many immigrants to Ulster County. The event and parking are free, but many vendors at the Festival sell pizza, Italian desserts, other foods. There is music from local bands and singers all day (and also a world-famous accordionist), a puppet show, a spaghetti-eating contest, activities for children, and even a fire- breather. Community heroes are recognized, including the Festival’s Signore and Signora.

Learn more:
Ulster Country Italian American Foundation: http://www.ucitalianamericanfoundation.org/
Kingston, NY, Waterfront: http://thekingstonwaterfront.com/
American Italian Heritage Museum in Albany: http://www.americanitalianmuseum.org/
Highland Rotary: https://highlandrotaryclub.com/

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October 4, 2021 · Posted in Events, Hudson Valley, Service Organizations  

Dictionaries for Schools and More (Aired on September 26, 2021)

RadioRotary welcomes Mary French, director (and founder) of The Dictionary Project, a nonprofit that provides dictionaries, primarily to children in third grade. Inspired by the example of Annie Plummer, who began giving dictionaries to schools near her home in Georgia in 1992, Mary French of Charleston, South Carolina, and her husband started The Dictionary Project in 1995. Four years later the Project had provided dictionaries to all the schools in South Carolina and was helping get dictionaries to those in need of them worldwide. Among its other dictionary-related activities, it—along with a number of other sources—provides a “Word of the Day” for improving vocabulary. The Dictionary Project partners with service clubs, such as Rotaries, in delivering dictionaries to school children. It offers nine different English-language dictionaries, including three from Merriam-Webster, as well as other types such as foreign-language dictionaries.

Learn more:
The Dictionary Project: https://www.dictionaryproject.org/
Merriam-Webster: https://www.merriam-webster.com/
Word of the Day: https://www.dictionary.com/e/word-of-the-day/
Pleasant Valley Rotary: https://rotarydistrict7210.org/clubinfo/pleasant-valley

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October 1, 2021 · Posted in Arts & Letters, Children, Education, Literacy, Rotary Club Projects