The Rotary Club of
Vancouver Sunrise
 
Chartered 1987
 Vancouver Sunrise Bulletin for October 2022
Stories
Our Walk to Help Future Generations Walk Polio-Free
 
On a rainy October 24th evening, a hardy group of 75 Rotarians, family members and friends donned their Gortex jackets and red regalia to celebrate and raise awareness about Rotary International's End Polio Now campaign. Two groups - one from downtown and one from City Hall - participated and met up at Science World. 
 
The event started with the City of Vancouver's Polio Proclamation being signed at City Hall by Councillor Peter Fry.  He was joined by Councillor Lisa Dominato and representatives from each of Vancouver's Rotary Clubs, as well as DG John Berry and Mary Anne Velayo.  
 
Reminder! You can still make your annual Polio Plus donation or help the cause by donating through AG Mary Anne's donation site here and get a tax receipt plus personal and club recognition for your contribution: 
Vancouver Sunrise Gets International Coverage!
Our little club made the international newswire with a feature story in the October 2022 issue of Rotary International's Rotarian Magazine.
 
Check it out here: 
Scholarship Recipient Gives Back to her Community
 
The amazing impact of our community service was recognized this past month when we heard from Dr. Tamara Mihic - pictured above receiving the 2019 UBC Pharmacy Sci Alumni Agent of Change Award.  
 
Here are Tamara's words from her thank-you letter. 
 
...I graduated from King George Secondary School in 2008, and I was the lucky recipient of the Sunrise Rotary Club Scholarship that year.
 
I used my scholarship to attend the University of British Columbia and complete a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences degree. After that, I went on to complete a hospital pharmacy residency and then obtained my post-graduate Doctor of Pharmacy at UBC. For the past 6 years I have worked at St. Paul’s Hospital as a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist specializing in the areas of mental health and addiction. Two years ago I helped implement an Opioid Stewardship Program at St. Paul’s to review our use of pain medications, and prevent adverse events including overdose and development of opioid use disorder. I also teach at UBC and developed my own elective course around the pharmacist’s role in caring for patients with substance use disorders. 
 
Having grown up in Downtown Vancouver, I feel extremely privileged to now give back to my community every day by caring for our most vulnerable... I thank you for continuing to support those students and allow them to achieve their goals as I have achieved mine. 
 
Finally, this scholarship had one final, unexpected benefit for me. I met my husband Mark Zhou (a Rotarian) at UBC and this past December we welcomed our beautiful son Maksim. It is our goal now to raise him to be kind and give back to his community whenever possible.
Read more...
Promoting Healthy Communities & Vaccine Access

Mark Zhou and Ajit Johal joined us on October 5th to tell us about their work as creators and drivers of immunize.io, a local not-for-profit organization that works with local and international pharmacists, community groups and health organizations to promote access and availability to approved vaccines - including support for the global polio immunization campaign.

Ajit is the Clinical Director of immunize.io.  He teaches at UBC within the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science and is the voice and face behind immunize.io's education webinars and media spotlights. Co-founder Mark is Operations Manager, and also a pharmacist who applies his experience in operations optimization, project management, technology adoption and implementation. 

Their mission is to immunize the world against preventable diseases by promoting community access and collaboration between healthcare professionals.  Their commitment starts with a 1-for-1 promise to donate one vaccine abroad for every vaccine they administer locally.

Thank you for the amazing work Ajit and Mark!
Strath Interactors Plan an Action-Packed Year
 
If we ever seek more inspiration as Rotarians, we need only consult our youth clubs.  This month, our Strathcona Interact Club (pictured below), kicked off their new year with a working session to plan their community service projects. Here's their starting list:
  • A Toiletries Drive for the local Homeless
  • A Community Movie Night Fundraiser,
  • A Community Skate with Hot Chocolate 
  • A Toy Drive for Children at Strathcona and Raycam Community Centres
  • A Community Cleanup with Strathcona Policing Center
  • Volunteering to help the City of Vancouver with a Community Solid Waste Disposal Day.
Can't wait to see the results!
 
Hippo Rollers - A Simple & Sustainable Solution
 
 
On October 12th, Luke Vorstermans, from the Rotary Club of Gibsons gave us an update on the progress of his club's work to promote the District 5040 Hippo Roller project in South Africa. 
 
On average, a woman spends six hours a day collecting and transporting water to supply her family’s daily needs. A single hippo roller carries enough water to meet the basic needs of five people per day. 
 
Fewer trips to collect water means women and children can spend their time on productive educational and economic opportunities along with access to better hygiene and living conditions.  Packages of seeds for locally-viable produce are now included with the hippo rollers - making the program even more beneficial. 

To learn more about this project or to help with funding this social revolution by bringing this life-changing tool to those who need it - https://portal.clubrunner.ca/252/page/international-project
Strathcona Community Centre Gets a Fresh Update
 
Students, staff and friends of the Strathcona Community Centre gathered on October 17th to celebrate the new Indigenous-themed mural that graces the Centre's back entrance.  
 
You can check out the result in person when you're next in the neighbourhood for service projects with our Strathcona Elementary EarlyAct Club, volunteering at our monthly Food-on-the-Corner program or attending our next Hoop-a-thon event (April 22, 2023). 
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