Rotary Club of 
             Austin - Oak Hill

 Ten U.S. Rotarians were honored by the White House on 20 April as Champions of Change for their exemplary humanitarian work locally and internationally. At the daylong event, more than 160 Rotarians attended a morning round of briefings by U.S. government officials on topics including maternal and child health, disease prevention, economic development, youth and education, water and sanitation, and peace building. RI President Kalyan Banerjee, addressing the session, said the 10 honorees clearly demonstrate a problem-solving spirit. For more information, visit rotary.org

OUR MEMBERS TACKLE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY REPAIR PROJECT  
                                                                                                        Story and Photos by Ron Landry 

On Saturday, January 28th, members of our club and from oursister club in Monterey Mexico gathered to repair and paint wood trim andsiding on a home in East Austin. This project was a Habitat for Humanityproject.  Our members were guided by wonderfulHabitat for Humanity staffers Jesse Porter - Home Repair Director, KateHerrmann - Home Repair Assistant, and Sarah Joiner - Volunteer Director.

Projects such as this one exemplify the best in communityinvolvement and volunteerism.

Oak Hill Rotary Challenge Blood Drive

Date: Thursday, January 26th
Time: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: Cannoli Joe’s Parking Lot
Sign up: www.inyourhands.org
Sponsor Code: oakhillrotary
Contact: Lee Stuart, (512) 854-7245,                      lee.stuart@co.travis.tx.us
You must log in with your name, date of birth, phone number, and then search for oak hill rotary to select a time to donate. You can ask others to join us in this event!

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The Dictionary Project is a favorite because it helps improve literacy.  This year we donated 340 dictionaries and 65 bilingual dictionaries to 3^rd graders, 375 thesauri to 4^th graders in four elementary schools:  Patton ,  Sunset Valley , Dawson, and Oak Hill.  We also donated atlases for the 5^th grade classrooms on these schools.  A proclamation was presented to each of the principals declaring the day of the delivery as Dictionary and Thesauri Day at the school.  Bookmarks with the “4 Way Test” were also given to each student.

Please join us on Saturday, November 19, 2011 from 3-5 PM at Austin Custom Winery (located at the Y).  Prices are $5.00 per glass or bottles starting at $11.50 for white wine and $13.25 for red or fruit.

Bring a snack to share.

Susan Steeg presents Angelica Reyes from Austin Academy a check to go towards GED test funding. We have had a long time relationship with this wonderful organization. 

The Rotary Club of Austin-Oak Hill recently completed their annual coat drive which provided over 125 coats, sweaters, jackets, hats, mitten and other outerwear garments for children and adults who are clients of the local West Rural Community Center.  WRCC is one of seven community centers that provide services to those in need in our community.  Services provided by WRCC include basic needs emergency assistance (rent/mortgage, utilities, food vouchers, groceries, burials, transportation, prescriptions, clothes and blankets).

We are deeply indebted to Louise Mann, owner of Wash Day Laundry who has cleaned all of the donated items for the past three years.

The Rotary Foundation's Group Study Exchange (GSE) program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for businesspeople and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of their careers. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits in paired areas of different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country's culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas. In a typical four-week tour, applicants participate in five full days of vocational visits, 15 to 20 club presentations, 10 to 15 formal visits and social events, two to three days at the district conference, three to four hours per day of cultural and site tours, and three to four hours per day of free time with host families.  
Michelle's club is having a End Polio Now fundraiser that looks to be fun!  Check it out......
 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Cook Walden Forest Oaks Funeral Home had a very moving ceremony on Friday, September 9, 2011.  The unveiling of a 9/11 Bronze Memorial took place at the location of the memorial wall. Present were representatives from the Austin Fire Department, the Austin Police Department, the U.S. Military represented by Camp Mabry, and a commerical airline pilot.  It was a very fitting ceremony.  Thank you to Tim Coffelt, General Manager of Cook Walden Forest Oaks for the remembrance.

This week has been very difficult for many of our Central Texas friends and Neighbors that have been impacted by the wildfires.  Many families have the resources and support structure to quickly recover from a home burning, or loss of clothing, and personal effects.  Some items can never be replaced no matter what the resources.  It always softens my heart to consider what effect this might have on our family and I know that Service Above Self and the principles of the 4-way test can be applied.  There are and will be many people in need and our club will come together and act as Oak Hill Rotarians by serving our fellow Rotarians, friends, and family in the area.    President Dan Rioux

Thus far our club has collected money and purchased supplies and staples that have been requested.  Judge Susan Steeg has taken the lead on purchasing and delivery the items.  Constable McCain is keeping us apprised of the situation in Steiner Ranch. One of the constables from Pct 2 lost his life in that fire. The district has identified five Rotarians who have lost their homes in Bastrop.  As the weeks pass, we and hopefully our community, will come forward and help with their time, labor and money.  And lest we forget, our Oak Hill community had a fire earlier this year and they are slowing rebuilding what was burtned.  As news of these needs come forward we will post here.

 The Rotary Club of Austin-Oak Hill recently presented the 2011 Ross Baldwin Youth Service Above Self Award to Amberlyn Fett of Dripping Springs. The award honors a young person who has, overtime, served others above self and is presented in memory of the late Ross Baldwin.  Baldwin was an active member of the Club from 1984-2007.  The  award was named in his honor in recognition of his many years of service to young people and our community.

  Rotarians, Interactors, Rotaractors, and others can use World Polio Day, 24 October, to promote polio eradication, organize fundraisers, and engage youth in the critical final stages of this campaign. Interact clubs have already raised more than US$253,000 for Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge for polio eradication. Rotaract clubs are close behind with $176,000. Interact and Rotaract clubs that make a donation using an Interact Club Contribution Form or Rotaract Club Contribution Form receive a certificate of appreciation from The Rotary Foundation. See the End Polio Now page on Facebook to find out more.

This month is New Generations Month, when Rotary celebrates its commitment to youth and young adults through Interact, Rotaract, RYLA, and Rotary Youth Exchange. Rotary clubs are encouraged to focus on youth issues and   undertake projects that benefit young people around the world. As you plan your activities for the month, consider ways to cross-promote New Generations programs and enhance collaboration between youth, young adults, and Rotarians. Ask yourself these questions to get started:   What’s one way that participants in       

In 1985, Rotary launched PolioPlus, an ambitious program to immunize the world's children against polio.  Rotary's grassroots leadership, volunteer support and initial funding for vaccine provided the catalyst for the World Health Assembly's resolution in 1988 to eradicate polio worldwide.  Spearheading partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are the World Health Organization, Rotary International, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCZ-bbkn44c

Matching Grants. Even a small club can make a big difference when participating in a Matching Grant. While Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Marana in District 5500 were traveling in Zimbabwe, they found a man who was obviously hungry. These Rotarians worked with the Rotary Club of Victoria Falls and The Rotary Foundation to create a food garden that feeds an entire village and is self-sustaining for future generations. Rotarian Randy Brooks says: “It truly is amazing how our small club contributions translate into opportunity for those in need of help. It is hard to not be overly proud of Rotary, its members, and The Rotary Foundation. ”

Well, we are one month into the 2011-2012 Rotary Year and making        progress toward our goal of completing 30 projects to celebrate our 30th year.  30/30!  Amazing to believe that our club each year completes this many projects. Just think of the projects we have lined up, and then think about the work we will all do to complete each project.  Exhausting. Now think of the impact each one of these projects has to the individuals we are working with. Take for example the dictionary project we have coming up. On the surface, sure it's just a dictionary.  But what good are we doing?  How have we helped the community?  Did you know that one's    income is on average proven to be directly related to their vocabulary and their

The Rotary Multi District Training Institute is made up of Rotary Districts in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.  MDTI was established to provide training to DGE, DGN, Trainers, Foundation Chairs and Membership Chairs. Attending from our club are Dave Capshaw, Roblyn Thorne, Brenda Osbon and PDG Jim Osbon.  Dave is currently serving the district as an Assistant Governor, Roblyn and Brenda will serve as District Trainers next year and Jim is the current District Foundation Chair.

You are welcome here and will have the opportunity to  participate in something important.

  
Giving to the Foundation. ―Some think that there is competition in Rotary between supporting our local projects and giving to The Rotary Foundation. In fact, the more we emphasize what Rotary does for people through The Rotary Foundation, the more it increases our overall spirit of giving. When a club emphasizes giving to The Rotary Foundation, most often the club will discover increases in giving to local scholarship foundations, contributions to local community service, and greater participation in local hands-on projects because a club that gets into the habit of giving will give more to all causes.  Rotarian Ronny Kerr   

Nine Rotarians went to RYLA at McKinney Roughs to serve an Italian dinner to 91 campers plus counselors last Thursday. The room was set with red and white tablecovers, there was Italian music, we wore chef hats (well almost all of us did) and red kerchiefs. Thank you to Gary Cataldo, George Kennebeck, Dan Klopp, Ron and Kay Landry, Jim and Brenda Osbon, Roblyn Thorne and Paula Waggoner.

The outgoing board of the Rotary Club of Austin-Oak Hill was properly thanked and the new board was installed at a lovely dinner at the Marriott South Hotel on June 18, 2011.  Shown here is incoming president Dan Rioux present outgoing president Gary Cataldo a plaque in recognition of his year. 

More than 400 university students from 40 countries have been selected to study abroad as Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars during the 2011-12 academic year. Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships provide undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to study at universities in the 200 countries and geographical areas where Rotary clubs are active.