Rotary Club of Appleton News

Kenya Works

2012-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Mary Stusek, Founder and President of Kenya Works, talked about when she retired she was reading an article in the New York Times how free primary education was being introduced in areas in Africa. In some countries such as Kenya, more than a million new students appeared on the first day of school. In Kenya, the government gives each student $4.17 per year. Mary thought about sending some uniforms and books but discovered that if parents were not employed, children were not going to school. It was easier to send children in the field to work for 50¢ a day instead of providing them with uniforms and getting them to school. She decided to help provide vocational training for parents, mainly women, as well as working with primary school children. Can individuals made a difference globally against the odds of corruption, politics, ethnical distance, parochialism, climate and war? Kenya Works focuses on the entire community, works with merry-go-rounds (traditional women’s groups) and they select a local, project manager. Kenya Works has completed and is working on a variety of different projects. The New Hope Women’s Group is located 5 miles from Lake Victoria. When husbands died, his family took the land, cows and the house. Seventeen women with 57 children were left with nothing. Kenya Works helped them start a dried fish, sewing and a fermented beverage business. They also helped build 3 houses (the community supplied the labor, a local man contributed the beams and Kenya Works paid for the mud and roof). They also will be replacing the roof, floor, windows and doors of a primary school as well as providing scholarships to 2 girls so they can attend secondary school (it is not free). Kibera, Nairobi has a population of 1 million people in 3 square miles. There are three wells and electricity is pirated. Kenya Works partnered with Transform A Person Africa (TAPA) to send 3 year olds to preschool. The school is 70% self-sufficient since the parents are hired to make sweaters and school uniforms for wealthy boarding schools. In Nyanza Province of western Kenya, many very poor grandparents are struggling to feed and educate their grandchildren. The children's parents died of AIDS. Kenya Works was the first group of white people to visit the village. Their mission was to finance school construction. Kenya Works is a 501 (c) (3) tax exempt nonprofit incorporated in the State of Wisconsin. About 95% of their money comes from individual donors and 5% from churches, service clubs and corporate matching. All the funds go to work in Kenya except bank wiring fees. For more information on Kenya Works, go to www.kenyaworks.org.

Rotary Shines

2012-02-23T14:31:00.004-08:00

Rotary Shines is looking for silent auction items. In the past, we have received items such as tickets to an event, catered dinners, jewelry, guided activities, overnight stays and one of a kind items. Be creative!

Send this form to JoEllen Wollangk at jbwollangk@wisconsin.bbb.org or via fax to (920) 734-4384
Items should be delivered by April 13 to the BBB office at 1047 N. Lynndale Dr. Suite 1A.
(This is in the Lynndale Professional Park, we are cleverly hidden in the building at the very back. Use the entrance that is directly across the street from the Coldwell Banker sign.)

RYE Summer Exchange - Deadline Feb. 28, 2012

2012-02-23T14:30:00.001-08:00

The Summer Short-Term Youth Exchange Program application deadline is February 28th to young people in our area. There is a mandatory orientation session in Rhinelander on May 12 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Information on the summer exchange can be accessed at: www.summerexchange.org. If you have further questions, please find the details on the website, or call Chris Lenard in Rhinelander: wilenard@frontiernet.net or (715) 369-7259

Rotary Exchange Student at U. W. Madison

2012-02-22T12:26:00.001-08:00

Ella attended her first the UW - Madison Men's Basketball game vs Penn State at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Happy Hour - February 21, 2012

2012-02-22T12:16:00.001-08:00

The Intermezzo at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel put out a great spread of food for our Happy Hour. Thanks to the Family of Rotary and Jay Schumerth for putting this together. We did not have many in attendance but those that came had a great time.

Happy Hour - Tuesday, February 21

2012-02-16T10:15:00.001-08:00

See a different side of your fellow Rotarians and of the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. Join the Family of Rotary on February 21 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. for the Rotary Happy Hour at the Intermezzo (lounge at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel – on the east side of the building across from the escalator). Cash bar and free hors d’oeuvres (courtesy of the Intermezzo). Bring adult family members, friends or prospective Rotary members. Or just come by yourself. See old friends, meet new ones. Happy Hour is a time to relax and enjoy the camaraderie and conversation. Please join us there.

A Structural Overview of the Brain

2012-02-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

Dr. Philip Yazbak, Neuroscience Group, discussed how the brain is complex and contains a key cell called neurons that are important in processing and communicating information within the brain. The brain is sensitive to oxygen and blood supply. The brain also contains clear fluid that occupies the space between the skull and the cerebral cortex that provides insulation. Too much fluid can be problematic causing difficulty with cognition, bladder control and walking. The brain can be divided into three main parts: forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. The forebrain consists of the cerebrum, thalamus and hypothalamus which controls motor skills, sensory relay autonomics and makes us human. The midbrain consists of the tectum and tegmentum and controls pupils, eye movement, hearing and motor functions. The hindbrain is made up of the cerebellum, pons and medulla and controls coordination, equilibrium, heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the brain and is associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into 4 lobes: the frontal lobe (reasoning, planning, speech, movement, emotions and problem solving), parietal lobe (movement, orientation, recognition and perception of stimuli), occipital lobe (visual processing) and temporal lobe (perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory and speech). The brain can be divided into left and right cerebral hemispheres. Dominant functions of the left brain include: analytical thought, logic, language, math and science. Dominant functions on the right brain include: holistic thought, music, spatial abilities, visual imagery and face recognition. About 80% of people are right handed, 97% of right handed people are left hemisphere dominant and 70% of non right handed people are left hemisphere dominant. So, 3% plus 6% of people are right hemisphere dominant or split dominance.

History of neurosurgery:
Neurosurgery has been done since 5000 BC. Trephinations were performed by putting wholes in the skull to release evil spirits.
400 BC - Hippocrates thought the brain was the center of intelligence and that it did not control thoughts, ideas and feelings.
1895 - Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered an image cast from a cathode ray generator. A week later, he took an x-ray of his wife’s hand. “X” stood for unknown.
1918 - Walter E. Dandy introduces the ventriculography (injecting air into the ventricular system prior to x-ray).
1920’s – William Bovie invented the Monopolar Cautery (regulated electric current that heats up adjacent tissue to prevent blood loss).
1920’s – Walter Dandy began translating endoscopy to neurosurgery.
1869-1939 - Harvey Williams Cushing, the Father of Modern Neurosurgery, developed electrocautery, used x-rays to diagnose brain tumors, increased the survival of tumor patients, taught neurosurgeons and used electrical cortical stimulation.
1928 – Alexander Fleming discovers mold that kills steph bacteria.
1950’s – Herman Carr reports the creation of ID MRI image.
1960’s – Operating microscope developed. It was first used in neurosurgery since it had the ability to focus intense light on areas of interest with 1.5-10x magnification.
1974 – Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield and Allan McLeod Cormack developed the CT Scan or computerized tomography scan.
1974 - Raymond Damadian creates and patents the first MRI machine.
1990 – Seiji Ogawa discovered the functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI to measure brain activity by detecting associated changes in blood flow.
In another 50 years – Minimally invasive surgery, robotics and targeted therapy?

To keep the brain healthy, you should exercise it, give it intellectual challenges, use helmets and be careful of your environment (limit alcohol consumption).

Rotary Youth Exchange Update

2012-02-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

Elinor Bell, our club’s 2012 Outbound Student from Appleton East has received notification that she will be going to Hungary for the next school year.

Ella Proll our inbound student from Germany and outbound Elinor Bell will be attending the 2012 Winter RYE Conference, Feb. 24 -25 in Wausau.

The Summer Short-Term Youth Exchange Program application deadline is February 28th to young people in our area. There is a mandatory orientation session in Rhinelander on May 12 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Information on the summer exchange can be accessed at: www.summerexchange.org. If you have further questions, please find the details on the website, or call Chris Lenard in Rhinelander: wilenard@frontiernet.net or (715) 369-7259

Rotary Arts Scholarship

2012-02-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

Scholarship applicants are being sought for the Rotary Club of Appleton’s Art Scholarship Program. Through the program, up to $1,500 is awarded to one or more applicants seeking a degree or non-degree-related educational experience in his or her field of art.

To be eligible for a scholarship, the candidate must reside in the area served by the Rotary Club of Appleton including: Appleton, Kaukauna, Menasha, Neenah, Combined Locks, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Buchanan, Greenville, Harrison, Menasha, Neenah, and Grand Chute.
In addition, the applicant must be a practicing artist in one of the disciplines identified above. Teachers and students are eligible if they can demonstrate they are a practicing artist outside of the school environment. Although there is no age limitation to apply, the candidate must demonstrate that the experience will help him/her to become a more successful practitioner.

Applications are due date is Friday, April 2, and winners will be notified after May 22.

Rotary Youth Exchange Student - Ella Proll

2012-02-09T10:10:00.000-08:00

My last two months here in Appleton were so incredible. I really enjoy my time here and I had to realize that the time passes so fast! At the beginning of December I traveled with a lot of other Rotary Youth Exchange Students to Florida for one week. We had a great time at Disney, the Universal Studios, the Kennedy Space Center and the beach. The weather was warm and sunny the whole time.

I really enjoyed celebrating Christmas in the U.S., because I learned a lot of new things and traditions about the Holidays here. For example that Santa Claus brings the presents, that the families normally open their presents in the morning of December 25 and that some families give only presents which have something to do with the Green Bay Packers(J).

On Christmas the Werner’s took with me to the Packer game against Chicago Bears in a Sky box and it was a lot of fun.
Only a few days later I moved to my second host family, the Berkedal’s. They took me over the New Year to La Crosse where I saw the Mississippi River and the Rotary lights in the city park. I also had the opportunity to meet the rest of my new family.

Last weekend, we made a day trip to Milwaukee. During the day we went shopping and then to a German Restaurant for dinner. In the evening we watched the NBA basketball game of the Milwaukee Bucks verses the LA Lakers.

Thank you all for this great time here and I am looking forward to the next months of my stay!

Social Media

2012-02-09T10:05:00.001-08:00

Greg Linnemanstons, Weidert Group, discussed how social media is the most popular online activity - accounting for 19% of total time online. Facebook has 845 million active users – 80% outside of the US/Canada. There are 30 billion pieces of content shared on Facebook each month. Twitter claims 190-200 million users. Linkedin has 135 million users - 59% outside the US. Eighty two percent of online users are reached on social media. Social media is affecting businesses – 69% of business to business marketers are shifting budgets toward online marketing. Sixty-three percent of companies using social media say it increased marketing effectiveness, among other benefits. Social media is a web technology that turns communication into real time 2 way dialogue. It is a way for people to connect with people using countless platforms to share all forms of content. Social media has 7 categories: social and professional networks (Facebook and Linkedin); multimedia sharing (YouTube); blogs; microblogs (Twitter); RSS feeds and aggregators; forums, message boards and reviews (TripAdvisor); and tagging and bookmarking. Facebook is a social networking website. Fifty percent of active users log on in any given day and the average user has 130 friends. Linkedin is the largest professional networking site with more than 120 million users worldwide. More than 2 million companies have a Linkedin page. Linkedin is the #1 platform for employers looking for new employees. YouTube is a video sharing site with more one day visits than Google – 3 billion views per day. There is 48 hours of video uploaded every minute. Blogger and WordPress are free self publishing platforms allowing simple and easy content creations, promotion and distribution. It is searchable and interactive. Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets". It is searchable and highly interactive. There are 6 steps to greater social media effectiveness: start with a blog; publish an e-newsletter to promote your blog content; use e-newsetter to highlight involvement in Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and blog; use Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, etc. to promote and accelerate the dissemination of your content; share your blog with as many people as you can; and always position yourself as a resource for your target.

Rotary on the Road

2012-02-09T10:04:00.001-08:00

In lieu of our regular meeting on April 3, Rotary will be on the road. Members will be asked to sign up and go to Affinity/St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Bassett Mechanical (Kaukauna), Festival Foods (Darboy), Fox Cities Performing Arts Center or Goodwill Industries Shiner Center where you will have lunch, tour and explanation of the facility. Sign up will be on a first come first basis since each location will be limited to 25 people. Start time will be 12:15 and will end at 1:15 p.m.

Happy Hour

2012-02-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

District Governor

2012-02-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Tom Berkedal has been selected to be District Governor Nominee for District 6220, which means he’s slated to be the District Governor in 2014-2015. Congratulations Tom!

Rotary Club of Appleton Scholarships

2012-02-02T16:24:00.001-08:00

The Rotary Club of Appleton Scholarship application is now available. The deadline is March 15, 2012.

Committee Meetings

2012-02-02T06:19:00.002-08:00

The Rotary Club of Appleton Board will meet on Monday, February 6 at 3:30 p.m. at the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

The Youth Services and Education Awards Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m.

The Ambassadorial Scholarship Committee will meet on Tuesday, February 7 at 11:00 a.m.

Promoting The Earned Income Credit

2012-02-02T06:19:00.001-08:00

Marijo Upshaw, Leader of Financial Services at Goodwill Industries of NCW, discussed how the Earned Income Credit (EIC) is a Federal tax benefit for low income working families and individuals to offset income and payroll tax supplement wages. This was meant to be an incentive for people to work as an alternative to public assistance and welfare. About 20% of all individual filers and 27 million households claim EIC which is about $59.2 billion in claimed credits. EIC and the Child Tax Credit lift more than 9 million people above the poverty line. Persons who receive these credits are spending the money in the community and helping our local economy. EIC is based on your earned income, marital status and number of dependents. Earned income comes from wages, salary, tips, self-employment, union strike benefits, military combat pay and employer paid disability. It does not include public benefits. Besides the Federal EIC, there is a Wisconsin EIC. To qualify for the State of Wisconsin EIC, you must qualify for the Federal credit and be a full-time resident. There is no credit for persons who do not have qualifying dependents. In order to claim the EIC, you must file a tax return (Form 1040 or 1040A) and if you have dependents you must file a Schedule EIC. Eligible workers can claim EIC or Child Tax Credit refunds for up to 3 previous years. Outreach for this program is needed because 20-25% of people who qualify for the EIC do not claim the credit. This results in up to $10 billion per year. Those that might miss out of EIC include workers not required to file a tax return, workers just entering the labor force, new parents, divorced or separated custodian parents and workers newly eligible due to a reduction in income or loss in employment. About 70% who can claim EIC go to a commercial preparer. Some of these preparers offer Refund Anticipated Loans or Refund Anticipation Checks which charge fees and can drain a person’s income. Goodwill has been doing taxes since 2004 for low-income individuals, individuals with disabilities, non-English speaking tax payers, and the elderly (generally, household income under $57,000). If you would like more information or to volunteer for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA), visit their website at: http://www.filetaxes4free.org/.

Program Committee Theme Series

2012-02-02T06:15:00.000-08:00

The Program Committee will be presenting a theme series on "You and Your Brain". The programs will be presented on:

2/14/12 – “Structural Overview of the Brain” - Neurosurgeon, Dr. Phil Yazbak

3/27/12 – “Self Confidence & Problem Solving in K-3rd Grade Children” – Prof. Beth Haines, Lawrence University

4/10/12 – “Regulation of Emotions and the Adolescent Brain” - Prof. Lori Hilt, Lawrence University

5/29/12 – “Memory Café” - Rev. John and Prof. Susan McFadden, UW-Oshkosh.
This will be off-site at Paper Discovery Center/Atlas Mill

SAMP

2012-01-26T15:04:00.001-08:00

The Sharing Around (the World) Medical Project will pack on Tuesday, December 31 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. at the Goodwill Industries located at 1351 W. Spencer Street in Appleton.

Rotary Youth Exchange Update

2012-01-26T15:03:00.001-08:00

Things are going pretty well here. I'm on summer vacation and have been since the beginning of December. Weird, huh? Christmas was good, although it didn't really feel like Christmas. New Year's was awesome though. We had a group of about 40 people over at my house for an all-night party/camp-out. It was great. Chileans know how to celebrate! Right now I'm in a tiny town called Vichuquen, with my best friend here, an exchange student from Paris, France. We came with her host family, who has a lake house here. It is beautiful, with the mountains in the distance, and the lake just outside. I'll be here until Sunday, after which I'll go back to my town, Calera de Tango. Then my host mom is taking me to Pichidangui, a beach town about two hours north, where my family has a house. I'll be there about a month, until February. After THAT, we're going on a two-week trip south with the whole family... so my summer is pretty full with vacations. I'll be going back to school the beginning of March. It's so weird for me to be here in the middle of summer, when my whole life January has always meant winter for me. But I'm not complaining... I do NOT miss the snow.

I haven't really gotten a chance to see much of the country so far. There are three Rotary trips here in Chile. One, which already passed, is to Torres del Paine (Google it... it's BEAUTIFUL), another is to the Atacama desert up north, and another is to Easter Island. I would LOVE to go to Easter Island, but each trip is about $1200, so I don't think I'll be able to go. But hopefully I'll be able to see a little more of Chile when I go with my family.

I'm doing pretty well with the language. Still not fluent, but I can communicate easily and don't have a lot of trouble understanding. Only occasionally do I not understand what people are saying. I practice all the time by watching the Chilean tv shows and news, and am starting to read books in Spanish. Hopefully by the time school starts again I'll be able to do all the class work and make decent grades.

Laura

PolioPlus Update

2012-01-26T15:01:00.000-08:00

On January 17th, at the International Assembly in San Diego, it was announced that we had exceeded the money necessary to fulfill our commitment to the $200 million Polio Plus Challenge. As of that date we had contributed $202.6 million dollars. Congratulations to each and every one of you that has helped us reach this goal. Thank You! Thank you for the billions of children that will never have to face this terrible disease. Thank you for the more than one million children that the CDC estimates would have died from Polio complications if they had not received the vaccine. Thank you for showing the world that when Rotary accepts a challenge we fulfill our obligation.

At the International Assembly, the Gates Foundation presented Rotary with an additional $50 million dollar donation for our Polio program. This is not a challenge grant, but a separate contribution. This makes more than $400 million that the Gates have donated to the fight against polio. The Gates continue to tell the world that they support Rotary’s work in this area, because they believe that nobody will make better use of their money.

Also last week India passed the one year mark with no new polio infections. This is a major milestone in their road to complete eradication. We continue to make progress, last year according to reports I have seen there were only about 650 cases of polio reported around the world. This is an amazing improvement over the more than 350,000 cases of Polio reported when we started this journey. We have come so far, but we are not finished with our job. Until we reach the point where there are NO new cases of Polio, every child is at risk. We are now fighting the reinfection of some areas that were Polio free, this was expected, and we are dealing with these outbreaks. But we cannot stop now. We must finish this job or our more than one billion dollar investment will have been in vain.

Community Service Committee Update

2012-01-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

Part of the proceeds of Rotary Shines will be given to Even Start Family Literacy Program through the Fox Valley Technical College Foundation. This program provides basic adult education and English Language Learning to area families as the first part of a four-pronged approach to family literacy.

The Community Service Fund was established to address needs in the local area. They received 17 grant applications and awarded grants to: Community Garden Partnership: “Good Garden Works” ($788), Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters: “Age On! A Series on Growing Older, Better” ($1,000) and Lutheran Social Services at the Thompson Center: Scholarships for MindWorks providing respite for family caregivers ($1,151).

Ambassadorial Scholarship - 2013-2014

2012-01-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

The Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship program has sponsored more than 40,000 scholars abroad since it began in 1947. It is currently the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program. Its mission is to send “ambassadors of goodwill” to study in other countries to: build international understanding, increase awareness of and respect for cultural differences, and encourage scholars to dedicate their personal and professional lives to improving the quality of life for people across the world.

This one-year award covers round-trip transportation, tuition, room, board, and educational supplies up to $25,000. While each applicant can list up to five preferred countries and institutions, the final decision of study location is made by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Preference will be given to applicants whose field of study will address the humanitarian needs of the world community. Rotary District 6220 (see map above) awards one Academic Year Scholarship each year. Each local club can submit one applicant for the District competition.

Applicants must either be a resident of District 6220, or a student at a college or university in the District. Because the southern District boundary in the Appleton area is the Outagamie and Winnebago/Calumet County line, Appleton residents who live in Outagamie County are eligible for this District. Appleton residents who live in Winnebago or Calumet counties would apply through a club in District 6270, such as Neenah, Menasha or Oshkosh (that District operates on a different timeline). Winners must have completed at least two years of university or college study (or must have a secondary school education and have been employed in a recognized vocation for at least two years) when the scholarship year begins. Children or grandchildren of Rotarians are not eligible.

Click for an overview or application.

Department of Natural Resources

2012-01-22T16:47:00.001-08:00

Scheduled speaker DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp was stranded by weather in Racine, and Jean Romback-Bartels, DNR Regional Director from Green Bay stood in. The 18 year veteran with the DNR was named to her post in October of 2011. Romback-Bartels said the new secretary has fast tracked a department streamlining started in the past. A major change is that staff now reports directly to Madison so there is less disconnect with the regions throughout the state. The move has eliminated different answers to issues depending where they occur within regions and puts more responsibility on staff to implement decisions and policies. Romback-Bartels said her job now is to interface with citizens, local governments and business and industry in her 16-county region. The Fond du Lac native said she also is free to handle large projects for the secretary and select staff necessary to accomplish the directives. The DNR today, she said, is leaner than it was 10 to 15 years ago and new persons coming in are being integrated by seeking their ideas and perspectives while recognizing the way things were done in the past. It is a fine line, she admitted, dealing with competing ideas and still accomplish DNR mission of protection environment and preservation of and enforcing rules and laws. She answered questions – one dealing with the poor salmon harvest in the upper Lake Michigan and another on deer census. She said salmon has been planted but admitted ‘tongue in cheek’ fishing was terrible, but what fish would show itself to be caught or what deer (of which there are many) would show itself to be shot. Romback-Bartels said the DNR cooperates with neighboring states on issues but our jurisdiction ends at the state line.

Recognitions Committee

2012-01-11T16:21:00.001-08:00

The Rotary Club of Appleton Recognitions Committee is dedicated to identifying, evaluating and honoring exemplary Rotarian and Non-Rotarian community leaders who have distinguished themselves in one or more of the Rotary Avenues of Service. Recognition will come in the form of a presentation of the Charles and Adele Heeter Outstanding Community Leadership Award and will be accompanied by a donation to the Rotary International Foundation in the name of the recipient. Proposal forms can be found on our website - www.appletonrotary.org.