May, 2021

 

Don Meyer, District 5970 Foundation Chair

 
Foundation First newsletter
May, 2021
 
 
 
Dear Rotarians,
 
This pandemic has certainly caused us all to reflect on the mortality of our lives.  We wonder, what can we do to connect us to something that lives on past our lives, something that has a lasting impact into the future.  That’s exactly what the Rotary Foundation does for us.  It connects each one of us to the future.  It helps us transcend ourselves and become part of something really big. 
 
Here Is Something Really Big!
 
“We are excited to announce a very special opportunity in our District to increase the impact of our giving to the End Polio Now campaign. 
 
Jon Luckstead, longtime member of the Dubuque Rotary Club, and a polio survivor, is challenging our clubs to reach their PolioPlus goals for this year with a matching gift challenge.  Jon has agreed to match all gifts to the PolioPlus fund between now and June 30, 2021, dollar for dollar, up to $25,000.   When we meet Jon’s challenge and match his $25,000 gift, we will have exceeded this year’s District goal.  Thank you, Jon!  
 
Please remember that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also matching gifts to PolioPlus 2 to 1.  Thanks to Jon, your gift to PolioPlus will now be matched 3 to 1!  The real winners are the tens of thousands of children that will be vaccinated because of your gifts, and whose lives will be saved from the deadly polio virus. 
 
All gifts from clubs and from individuals will count toward meeting this challenge. 
 
You will be hearing more from your club leadership soon!  Help us End Polio Now!”
 
                              
 
 
 
District Grant Project in Marion Is Fun For Kids
 
With the 50th Anniversary of the Marion-East Cedar Rapids Rotary Club and humanity’s first steps on the moon, the Club inspired by the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association set out to recognize those achievements as well as to inspire youth to explore careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math by developing a fun interactive art project on the Lowe Park Art Walk.
 
The project commemorates the historic first transmission of an image by Collins Radio by bouncing a signal off the orbiting Echo Satellite from the Echo Hill Station, near Lowe Park, to the Collins’ facility in Richardson, Texas, on August 20, 1960. This accomplishment led to the future ability to communicate with and track manned space flights, including the moon landing, as well as the development of deep space satellites and GPS. Citizens of our local communities provided the knowledge and technical skills to accomplish these advances.  The Club raised funds providing three, 8-foot granite tablets telling the history, science and legacy of those who made it possible.
 
 
There are also two, 8-foot diameter parabolic dishes, 100 feet apart. The 100 feet represents the diameter of the Echo satellite.  A person can whisper into one dish and another person can hear it at the other dish. The third piece of the interactive art project is a replica of the Echo Satellite. It is a 6-foot diameter stainless steel globe located near the dishes.
 
                                                
 
On Tuesday, May 4, at 11:00 AM, the Marion-East Cedar Rapids Rotary Club will dedicate its “Echo Hill Station” Lowe Park Art Walk project. The public is welcome.
 
Contact Information:
 
Erik Miles, Project Chair
Rotary Club of Marion-East Cedar Rapids
(319) 373-4139
 
Final Report on Rotary Rush
 
Thanks to each of you who took advantage of the Rotary Rush opportunity!  The final results show that 50 Rotarians from 20 different clubs participated, resulting in $19,369 of new gifts to the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation.  Your ongoing support means so much! 
 
Update from Global Scholar Rebecca Draus
 
Becca has been busy with her studies at the University of Strathclyde and with her Rotary activities in Scotland.  Check out her latest update here.   
 
Yours in Rotary,
 
Don Meyer
District Foundation Chair                                                                                                                           
                                   
 

Donald Meyer

District 5970 Foundation Chair

donald.meyer@wartburg.edu