Rotarians are servants of our communities and help the world. We are also grateful and thankful for the multitude of Blessings that we encounter. We help those needing help without asking for thanks because it is a part of our value system. Rotarians will be ringing the Salvation Army Bells in the coming weeks, but we will never know those we have helped.
Rotarians will be helping the Salvation Army and other organizations prepare meals for those to enjoy on Thanksgiving, but chances are we will not meet those enjoying such food. We will be assisting Runyan Elementary Schools with its Twelve Days of Christmas with Santa Claus and his jolly elves distributing presents. We will be providing a Christmas party for the battered women and their children at the Montgomery County Women’s Shelter. Santa will be hosting those special adults at Bridgewood Farms at a special Christmas party. Those special adults look forward to sitting on Santa’s lap to visit with him, but he gets much more than they receive from Santa. He told me, “Santa can look into their eyes and see their souls bared in all their innocence!”
As we approach Thanksgiving, let us be thankful for all the freedoms, Blessings, and Bounties we enjoy as citizens of this great Country. We are approaching the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence from Great Britain and its King. Our colonial ancestors were fighting against the world’s mightiest military power at that time. They succeeded in becoming independent and evolving into a might power. It is through the toils of our labors that we Rotarians take comfort in knowing that we have helped someone, no matter their challenges.
Rotarians are about to completely eradicate Polio from the world. The World Health Organization said it could not be done. Yet, Rotarians in conjunction with others have reduced the average annual new Polio cases from 350,000 to 33 cases so far in 2025. We are almost there and are grateful to have endured so long to make it this far. This is what builds character.
Deitra Johnson with the Rotary Club of East Montgomery County provide me with a story on addressing an embarrassing situation with young kids in schools. She told me, “Sometimes accidents happen. So one of the Rotary Club of East Montgomery County’s projects is to equip local school nurses with extra underwear. In the event of an accident, New Caney and Splendora elementary school nurses now have the necessary supplies for their youngest students.
This year, the club donated 30 pairs of underwear to each elementary school in the New Caney and Splendora school districts. Rotarians are committed to improving the quality of life for people in their communities and serving the public interest.” Service can be in a variety of levels from the biggest of projects like eradication of Polio to emergency clothing for school accidents.