MIDTOWN ATLANTA ROTARY CLUB UPCOMING SPEAKERS CONTACT MAPQUEST MEMBERSHIP ROTARY MAKEUPS HOME HISTORY ABOUT GOALS OFFICERS SERVICE PROJECTS HAITI EVENTS NEW MEMBERS

Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club continues to build on the foundation of “service above self” with an array of community service projects supporting the Midtown community and beyond. Our primary goal is to make a difference, not only for the organizations and people we support, but in the lives of our Rotary members, who give of themselves to make our community a better place.

Midtown Atlanta Rotary promotes education through involvement with the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) Foundation as a sponsor of the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program. This program honors Georgia’s outstanding high school seniors and the teachers who have made a difference in their lives and been most instrumental in their academic development. We have been proud to be a sponsor of the STAR program for the last 43 years and look forward to continuing our support of this valuable program.

Mary Hall Freedom House Thanksgiving Dinner
With the help of a District Grant, Midtown Atlanta Rotary members provided Thanksgiving Dinner to 100 families of the Mary Hall Freedom House. Members picked up food at the Dunwoody Publix and delivered it to the headquarters of this organization.

The mission of the Mary Hall Freedom House is to improve the quality of life for women and their children by empowering them to break the cycle of addiction, poverty and homelessness. Individualized services include a spectrum of addiction treatment options. The women receive training for jobs and help in securing employment. Specific groups address domestic violence, sexual trauma and relationship issues. Medical services are also provided.

Mary Hall Freedom House
 
ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL ANNUAL COMMUNITY HEALTH SCREENING DAY

Sixteen volunteers from Midtown Atlanta Rotary helped guide 140 participants from 15 counties who attended this free health screening at St. Joseph’s hospital.

Screenings for prostate cancer and cholesterol tests were offered.
Some of the results:

• Of 113 men who received PSA tests as part of a screening for prostate cancer, 17 were found to have a PSA such that follow-up with a physician was recommended.

• Of 104 men who had a digital rectal exam as part of a screening for prostate cancer, 4 were found to have a suspicious nodule detected.

• Of 138 people who had their cholesterol checked, 77 persons had total cholesterol scores that were borderline for high risk. Of these 77, 27 had scores that put them in the high risk category.


Extending beyond our backyard, Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club’s outreach includes various international projects. Two of them are located in Haiti. We will continue to support Rotary Clean Water Projects in this poor country. In addition, this year we will again support the Hospital Albert Schweitzer by participating in the Plumpy Nut program, which provides a nutritional peanut-butter medicine to malnourished children. Our participation in this tremendous cause is in honor of Dr's. Scoot Dimon and Jim Funk, two long standing Midtown Atlanta Rotary members who have been personally involved with this outstanding hospital for 40 years.

This sampling of projects demonstrates the broad scope of service projects and organizations where Midtown Atlanta Rotary Club will be involved this year. The underlying driver of success is the power of one. One person can make a difference in the life of an individual and collectively we will make a difference in the lives of our community!

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

International Service

International Service encompasses efforts to expand Rotary’s humanitarian reach around the world and to promote world understanding and peace. It includes everything from contributing to PolioPlus to helping Rotary Youth Exchange students adjust to their host countries.

 
MEDIKA MAMBA-PLUMPY NUT / DOCTOR'S WITHOUT BOARDERS
 
Recovering from malnutrition at HAS.
Enjoying Medika Mamba
Mother feeding her child Medika Mumba
Mother feeding her child Medika Mumba
There is a 30 second commercial before Anderson Cooper's report. Please, wait.
PLUMPY NUT is a cheap, nutritious food that is saving starving children in the developing world.

Anderson Cooper reports on why this product is effective and how it could save more lives.
Child after just receiving Medika Mamba
Child Receiving Medika mamba
Twins after 3 weeks on Medika Mamba
Twins after 3 weeks on Medika Mamba

Hospital Albert Schweitzer is a 100 bed hospital with 6 community health centers serving 300,000 residents in Haiti.  Infant malnutrition remains endemic especially in the mountainous regions where single-crop subsistence is the norm.

Recently HAS treated 77 severely malnourished children in the hospital and 231 in the Nutrition Program called the “little kitchen”. 96% recovered and 4% were referred back to the hospital for long term care.  All at-risk children continue to be monitored for signs of relapse.

Health workers  are referring an average of 45 malnourished children per month, a 250% increase over last year.

HAS’s early Intervention developed 70+ “little kitchens”,(community based programs including meals, cooking demonstrations, health lessons and caregiver-child bonding activities for moderately malnourished children and caregivers).  Caregiver receives monthly food ration for 1 year or more and are encouraged to join a mothers’ club - a monthly support group – there are over 100 support groups to date.

Upon discharge from the hospital, HAS provides advance treatment to each child by supplying them with Plumpy Nut ( a locally made therapeutic food consisting of peanut butter, vitamins, milk powder and high-quality vegetable oil.  Plumpy Nut was developed by Doctors Without Boarders).  Plumpy Nut costs approximately $5 per kilo (2.2 lbs) an average of $100 provides one child with full-course of treatment for 6-8 weeks.

HAS needed an estimated $30,000 to cover the cost of Plumpy Nut  - Midtown Atlanta Rotary Board of Directors and the Midtown Atlanta Rotary Foundations recently approved the contribution of $2,000 to cover a portion of the cost of the Plumpy Nut and related prevention/treatment plans. HAS has instituted the Nutrition Program going forward - ($50 covers 10 children) of the 300,000 population served by HAS. Our contribution will help treat 400 children in the program
 
POLIO PLUS

Polio Plus

In 1985, Rotary International launched Polio Plus, a 20-year commitment to eradicate polio. Polio Plus is one of the most ambitious humanitarian undertakings ever made by a private entity. It will serve as a paradigm for private-public collaborations in the fight against disease well into the 21st century.

As the polio-eradication program grew, so did Rotary's commitment and involvement.


By 1990, Rotary moved from providing polio vaccine to children in developing countries to assisting health care workers in the field, providing training for laboratory personnel to track the polio virus and working with governments around the world in supporting the historic health drive. Rotary looks to celebrate the global eradication of polio in 2005, the organization's centennial year.

Learn more about participating in World Community Service.

 
COMMUNITY SERVICE

Community Service

Community Service is the opportunity Rotary clubs have to implement club projects and activities that improve life in the local community. Community Service responds to the needs of the local community by encouraging and fostering the ideal of service to the personal, business and community life of every Rotarian.

It provides Rotarians with the opportunity to exemplify the Rotary motto: Service Above Self.

 
VOCATIONAL SERVICES

Vocational Service

Vocational Service involves club members serving others through their professions and aspiring to high ethical standards. Rotarians, as business leaders, share skills and expertise through their vocations, and they inspire others in the process

 
CLUB SERVICE

Club Service

Club Service focuses on strengthening fellowship and ensuring the smooth functioning of Rotary clubs.
Learn about effective club service in
Membership and Training.