Rotary Club of Saginaw

From Saginaw with Love … to appropriately rework the title of a famed James Bond movie from 1964. 

Thirty-four individual members of the Rotary Club of Saginaw and some cool friends recently helped fund FIVE ShelterBoxes to aid the beleaguered country of Ukraine. 

Each box cost $1000 and contains a family-size tent and other aid items such as mosquito nets, water filters, water carriers, solar lights, cooking sets, tools, blankets, mats and activities for children, all packed in a sturdy green box.

We know that is but a drop in the bucket on what is needed in that country nearly 5,000 miles from Saginaw, thanks to an unprovoked invasion by Russia.  But we so desperately wanted to do something as a part of the internationally-focused Rotary, and anything is better than nothing.

The 34 people who donated include16 current members of our Rotary club. But even more heartwarming is that three former members of our club chipped in AND 15 members of the Saginaw Branch of the Woman's National Farm & Garden Association. 

In a ripple effect, one of our club members is a member of the garden club, and when she told them what we were doing they asked if they could join in our effort and began donating to us.

And actually that ripple effect began when one of our club members heard about the ShelterBox for Ukraine effort by attending a Rotary Club of Saginaw Sunrise meeting and watched as its members quickly raised enough money for three of the boxes.

She took her experience to our board, and they said let’s see what WE can do. The  Rotary Club of  Saginaw board voted to take $1,000 from our savings to fund the first ShelterBox and then challenged members to individually raise enough money for a second box.
 

It just kept growing. The checks from the 34 donors ranged from $10 to $500.

So that is eight boxes from tiny Saginaw.

We have $21 extra we will donate to somewhere needy.

ShelterBox was founded in 2000 by the small Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall, England, as a project to mark the Millenium. It has since become an independent 501 (c) (3) but remains closely allied with Rotary International.

The boxes are sent to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tropical cyclones, tsunamis, floods and volcanic eruptions, and also provide emergency aid to families displaced by war or conflict.

Since 2000, ShelterBox staff and volunteers have helped to shelter more than 1.5 million people in more than 100 countries around the world.

The aid provided is tailored to the nature of each location and therefore it is not always the same. ShelterBox Response Teams distribute aid on the ground, working closely with local organizations, local and international aid agencies, and Rotary club worldwide. 

Charity Navigator rates this charity's score as 92.41, earning it a 4-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.

To those confused by the reference regarding the James Bond movie, that movie was titled “From Russia with Love.”

An unusual partnership celebrated five years of success on May 4 during a luncheon at The Saginaw Club.

The Rotary Club of Saginaw, Rotary Club of Saginaw Sunrise and Rotary Club of Saginaw Valley established back then a special scholarship foundation with the Central Michigan University College of Medicine, located in Mount Pleasant and Saginaw.

Through it they award a $10,000  “Thanks for Staying”  grant annually to a school graduate who agrees who agrees to do his or her  residency in the Great Lakes Bay and Thumb area. $50,000 so far. The money is applied to the student’s loan.

Various fundraisers over these five years and donations from the three clubs and others, the foundation keeps growing. It has a goal of $1 million, which would allow for two  scholarships annually, and is 30% of the way.

Those attending the luncheon were told the average debt for a medical school graduate is $250,000. And studies indicate that where a doctor serves his or her residency tends to be where they stay and establish a practice.

The keynote speaker on May 4  was Dr. Steven Vance, an emergency medicine specialist at Covenant Healthcare and since 2016  associate dean of clinical education at the CMU School of Medicine. He received his medical degree in 2001 from the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.

Dr. Vance (pictured) recalled that during Covid he lived in a borrowed travel trailer parked outside his home because he didn’t want to jeopardize his family’s health due to so many deaths where he worked. He said medical students from the school delivered thousands of vaccines to the community during Covid. And he recalls Rotary members asking during the pandemic how they could help.

Michigan still does not have enough primary care physicians for its population, he said, and the CMU College of Medicine was founded to provide physicians for Michigan. And he also called on Rotary clubs to help the CMU Medical School get recruits and train them in our community.

The school recently celebrated its first 500 graduates, starting from its inaugural class in 2017. 80% of its students come from Michigan and 50% of its graduates were matched to Michigan residency programs. 78% of those graduates chose primary care specialties.

In 2015, District 6310 started a Rotary Hero of the Year honor, acknowledged at the April district convention and receiving a certificate.

Each club nominates its Rotary Hero based on his or her longtime service to the club and to his or her community.

The 2022 winner from the Rotary Club of Saginaw is Janet I. Martineau.

She joined the club in 2009. Paul Harris +1. Secretary: 2010-2017,  2020-2024. Committees: Centennial (oversaw creation of new club logo and customized badges), golf scramble, Saginaw on Stage concerts, Friday Night Live hot dog booth, grant writing. 

Began club’s Facebook page in 2011: Write and post stories about our speakers and activities; have taken and posted upwards of 900 photos of our speakers and activities; in 2022 began live Facebook broadcasts of some of our speakers. 

Administrator of club webpage: researched and wrote eight site pages on home page (club history, our legacy of giving, bios on charter members, Camp Rotary development, etc.); write homepage stories with photos; maintain membership roster with member photos. Write press releases for club. 

Perfect attendance: 2014-2016.

Community service: served on boards of Riverside Saginaw Film Festival, Creative 360, Roethke Home Museum, Friends of Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, Saginaw Hall of Fame, Chippewa Nature Center. 

Have volunteered and/or served on committees/special events for Saginaw Bay Symphony, Saginaw Choral Society, Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, East Side Soup Kitchen, Saginaw Arts and Enrichment Commission, Midland Center for the Arts, Saginaw Children’s Zoo, Art Serve Michigan, READ Association, Saginaw County Spelling Bee, Great Lakes Bay Great Read (book dealt with bullying). Was a big sister in the Big Sister/Little Sister program.

Retired from 40 years of working at The Saginaw News.

This year we entered, for the first time, a cookie house competition sponsored by the Positive Results Downtown Saginaw organization for its Holidays in the Heart of the City celebration. And we won the first place prize in our category of clubs and organizations.

The creation was a replica of a  Centennial family home and barn in Saginaw Township owned by past club president Ursula Steckert, who died of Covid this year. She had also been a Rotary exchange student when she was in high school.

It was designed and decorated by Cathy Tafel with assistance from Linda Hegenauer, Melissa Spranger and Tom Brubaker.

Club members Melissa Spranger and Jonathan Webb (standing at back) recently delivering special dictionaries/encyclopedias to a third grade classroom in Saginaw Township.

An annual program sponsored for our club, this year we will distribute nearly 700 of the books to 12 Saginaw County schools.

Saginaw citizens trapped in fires hopefully now have a better chance of surviving.

In January 2019, the Rotary Club of Saginaw -- Downtown presented the City of Saginaw Fire Department a check for $4,500 to purchase four thermal imaging cameras.

Fire Department Chief Chris VanLoo (pictured, center) called the frontline apparatus a wand-like device with a small screen that upon arriving on the fire scene can be used to scan and locate any people trapped inside.

So far this year alone the department of 38 firefighters has been called to 16 fires. And it is under severe budgetary struggles as well. VanLoo said when he began 28 years ago there were 100 firefighters on duty.

The money for the donation was raised by our club's annual golf scramble fundraiser ....so again thanks to all who participated in that September event.

At left is club secretary Laura Crase and at right club president elect Cathy Tafel.

In April 2018, we presented AMP (All Music is Power) performers Laurie Middlebrook & Donny Brown (second and third from right) +with a check for $5,000 — raised by  our Saginaw on Stage fundraiser. AMP provides an interactive music experience for students with special needs. Check them out at allmusicispower.com

Today (June 27) several members of our club stopped by the Savoy Bar and Grill, 127 S. Franklin in Saginaw, to present its co-owners with our first annual Ethics in Business Award. 

The newly created honor, a first for a Michigan-based Rotary Club, honors a local business exemplifying our famed Four Way Test pledge and a commitment to the community.

Since opening the Savoy in 2007, owners Steven Jeffrey West Jr. and Jim Atwood -- and a crew of volunteers -- have hosted a free Thanksgiving dinner for needy citizens at the eatery.

At our Jan. 27 meeting, Covenant Kids Foundation was presented with a $3,000 check from money raised through our 2015 Saginaw on Stage concert. 

At left is club member Dave Oppermann, a Saginaw on Stage committee member, presenting the check to Heather Appold, the Covenant Kids coordinator.

Covenant Kids is a fund component of Covenant HealthCare. It helps supply equipment and other needs for pediatric services covering youths from birth to 18 -- emergency care, trauma center, intensive care, neonatal intensive care, surgery, neurosurgery, cardiology, diabetes and enderinology care, and rehabilitation. -- Photo by Janet I. Martineau