February 16, 2010

IN THIS ISSUE
Dr. Linda Venczel, Bill and MElinda Gates Foundation, "The Partnership Between Rotary and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Reaching Polio Eradication" | GSE is Looking for a Few Good Families in May | Environmental Committee Project: Removal of invasive Weeds from Coal Creek Park | Service to Youth Volunteer Opportunities at Eastside Baby Corner | Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship

PLEASE NOTE:
If the regular parking garage is full and you are turned away or redirected,
please go to the Harbor Club parking lot.

THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM

Dr. Linda Venczel
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
"The Partnership Between Rotary and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Reaching Polio Eradication"

Dr. Linda Venczel joined the Global Health Program on October 1st, 2007, as Senior Program Officer, Vaccine Preventable Diseases. In this role, she is currently focusing her efforts on expanding the Global Health Program's approach in global health and engagement in polio eradication. She is also responsible for surveillance activities, providing support for national immunization, supporting integration of immunization campaigns and routine immunization with other child and family health programs, and communications and social mobilization related to promoting immunization and responding to adverse events and rumors.

Dr. Venczel came to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where she most recently served as the deputy branch chief of the polio eradication branch. Prior to joining CDC, Dr. Venczel worked as the Regional Advisor for the immunization activities in the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), focusing on measles elimination and the outbreaks of vaccine-derived poliovirus in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. She worked in Bolivia with PAHO and focused on measles elimination and improvements in routine immunization in indigenous populations from 2000-2002. She is a graduate of the Epidemic Intelligence Service, where she worked with the hepatitis branch on outbreaks control and investigations. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa from 1997-1999.

A doctoral and master's of public health graduate of the University of Chapel Hill in North Carolina, Dr. Venczel is an epidemiologist and microbiologist. Her PhD was focused on water and sanitation improvements to reduce disease and death due to cholera and diarrheal diseases in South America.

Dr. Venczel resides in Fremont and is the happy mother of two boys, Ismael and Gabriel.

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GSE is Looking for a Few Good Families in May
Judd Lees

The Eastside Clubs will be hosting the incoming Group Study Exchange team from Bolivia from Sunday, May 23, through Sunday, May 30. If you've done it before, you know how rewarding it is for you and your family.

You will only be responsible for feeding the GSE guest at night, providing a bed, feeding them in the morning, and getting them to a pick-up spot at the Bellevue Club every day at 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Others will provide activities and meals throughout the day.

Check your schedules and your family's interest in making a lifelong friend from Bolivia, and contact Judd Lees if you are interested.

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Service to Youth Volunteer Opportunities at Eastside Baby Corner
Keri Stout

On behalf of the Service to Youth Committee, I am excited to offer a wonderful volunteer opportunity for our group at Eastside Baby Corner, our 2010 Rotary Auction recipient. We have a 2-hour slot for us to give our time and energy to Eastside Baby Corner in Issaquah on Saturday, April 17, 10:00 a.m.—12:00 noon. Please join us as we sort donations; dress in comfortable clothing and shoes.

Space is limited to 15 Rotarians. To sign up, follow these easy steps:

1. Go to the Eastside Baby Corner website
2. Click the button on the right side of the screen that says "click to volunteer."
3. Click the link "sign in" to register the first time you use the site.
4. Use the "join code" (Join Code: rotary1) when prompted as you register – this will allow you to join our specific group's events.
5. Click the button next to the date (April 17) and you're finished!
6. Eastside Baby Corner will then send you a confirmation with directions and instructions.

If you have questions about the volunteer activities or how to register, please contact me (Ph 425-746-9077 ext. 3208).

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Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship
Richard Penny

Bellevue Rotary Club is now accepting scholarship applications for the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship.

About the Scholarship
Supporting the Rotary Foundation's goal of world understanding and peace, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship is a grant of $25,000 intended to fund the cost of tuition, room and board associated with one year of undergraduate or graduate study abroad at an overseas institution of higher education. Funding will be for the 2011‐2012 academic year.

Who is Eligible?
Applicants should have accumulated at least two years of college or university credit and should be proficient in the language of the country they propose to visit. Bellevue Rotary will give preference to students who live, study or work in the greater Eastside Lake Washington area. Applications are especially encouraged from students or graduates of these local colleges and universities:

• Bellevue College
• Cascadia Community College
• City University of Seattle
• Lake Washington Technical College
• University of Washington Bothell

More information on eligibility criteria can be found in the Program Guide (see below).

How to Apply Interested applicants can download an application and Program Guide from the Rotary International website.

Applicants should mail five copies of their completed applications to:


All applications must be postmarked by April 1, so don't delay!

Click here for a printer-friendly version of this information.

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