Reported by Lori McLeod
In recognition of World Polio Day, Oak Bay Rotarians lined the Avenue to spread the word and encourage support for Rotary’s goal to end polio. As noted by Bill Boyd, Chairman, The Rotary Foundation Trustees, Rotary International: “Rotarians around the world have made tremendous progress in the fight to eradicate polio. We are at an historic moment - less than 1% away from the end of polio forever. In honor of World Polio Day on 24 October 2011, we are asking for your help to tell the world about Rotary’s achievements and to finish the job.”
In answer to this call, teams of Oak Bay Rotarians jumped into action raising both awareness and donations. The noon till 1:00pm shift set things up and got everything rolling at 6 stations on the Avenue. The 1:00pm till 2:00pm shift continued spreading the word and took care of the take-down. Thanks to Heather Aked and Joan Peggs for their organizing and mobilizing.
On the sunny side of the street…
Ted Chambers, Mary Canty, Lorna Curtis, Heather Aked, Brian Lamb and David Maxwell displayed Oak Bay Rotary’s banner and commitment to the cause at the corner of Wilmot and Oak Bay Avenue. Mary even wore her Rotary name badge! Lorna was topping up with caffeine in an effort to exude more energy to attract passersby. She mentioned that she saw the television ad for World Polio Day and thought it was very well done. Joan Firkins, who was wandering the Avenue and visiting all the booths to show her support, was encouraging everyone to watch her YouTube video which was shot on the Avenue. Just go to www.youtube.com and type in ‘rotary polio eradication’ and you’ll find lots of great Rotary videos from around the world. Lesley Cobus from Monterey Centre popped by and was the first contributor to this booth’s donation pot.
Twenty five steps down, in front of Scotiabank, were Tricia Timmermans, Jack Petrie, John Jordan (left) and Corey Burger. Thanks to Tricia for lending this reporter her camera to document the first shift. Thanks to Corey for his photo documentation of the second shift. John’s tactic was to position himself strategically in front of the bank’s door and block entry as he engaged folks with the catchy line “Have you heard the good news on polio?” Jack and Tricia were busily making up songs to attract passersby (and telling John he sounded like a certain religion) and Jack’s dog Nessie was an irresistible draw.
Just twenty-five more steps along, between the other Scotiabank and Pharmasave, Vicky Pitt, Wolf Schopper, Pablo Diemecke, Barry Mutter and Jessica Van Der Veen passed out brochures in an effort to raise awareness. Jessica was a bit late for her 1pm shift but no fine is warranted as she was delayed justifiably engaged in Rotary work for the upcoming Merrython.
Across Hampshire inside the lobby of CIBC, Perry Bamji, Don O’Coffey, Wynn Taylor and Pete Lawrie passed out info on World Polio Day and our Oak Bay Rotary Club. The two Joans were visiting when this reporter came by and it was noted that perhaps the reason this booth was a bit slow was that President Joan hadn’t given the team any buttons.
Across the street in the shadows and shivering in the cool breeze…
Also shivering in the shade, stationed in front of Athlone Court, were Rod Sim, Leslie Rogers-Warnock, Jim Force and David Westler. This booth was voted “Best in the Village” for their exceptional A/V support. Of course, the fact that Jim was decked out in a Rotary hat, coat and badge helped too.
To wrap up my report, I want to say “Great job fellow Oak Bay Rotarians!” Hope I didn’t miss anyone as I put away my reporter’s pen around 1:15pm…so if you showed up after that…you were late and you will be fined!
Since I’ve been advised that I can be as long-winded as I want because we are now posting our Bulletin on a blog, I’ll leave you with these thoughtful words from our President:
Club members,
Two successful events to date in celebration of World Polio Day – The END POLIO NOW light up on Monday night and the Rotary/polio awareness day on Oak Bay Avenue today. Donations received totalled $239.68.
A special thank you to all members who participated in one or both of the events.
On Monday evening, PDG Joan Firkins was interviewed; she gave a brief history of Rotary’s involvement in the campaign to eradicate polio as well as her experiences on several National Immunization Days in Ethiopia.
Mary Canty and Joan Toone, both polio survivors, were also interviewed. They gave their experiences of contracting the virus and the ensuing treatment to overcome the paralysis.
Excellent weather, good foot traffic and great visibility on the Avenue today brought in the donations; many stopped, asked questions and were quite surprised that polio was ‘still around’.Yours in Rotary.
Jp
Joan Peggs
I like this format. I will certainly try to learn to blog ...
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