Since 1946, the Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) has provided scholarships that promote cultural understanding, lifelong friendships, and the ideals of Rotary worldwide. This year, Buckhead Rotary proudly sponsored Dani Bergamo from Brazil.
Our goal is to reach $100 per member in GRSP contributions, which will earn our club a 50% incentive credit toward sponsoring next year’s student. This reduces the club’s sponsorship cost and allows these funds to be reallocated to such things as our signature projects.
We have made some progress due to the generosity of Mark Meltzer and Scott Thompson, but we are still approximately $1,400 short of reaching our goal. If you would like to contribute, please do so by June 25th and indicate that your gift is for Buckhead Rotary, so the club receives credit. All payments and inquiries to our treasurer Radu Zernoveanu at raduzer@gmail.com or 919.699.7238.
Ways to Give:
1. You can request this donation be added to your account and you will be billed during the next invoice cycle.
2. Pay by credit card at one of our meetings.
3. Zelle payment – pay Buckhead Rotary. Please indicate this is for GRSP.
4. Hand deliver a check at one of our upcoming meetings.
Thank you for helping us support GRSP and next year’s international student.
Opioid Crisis and the Rotary Action Group for Addiction Prevention: Volunteers Needed
The opioid crisis is widely considered one of the most severe public health emergencies in modern history. It has profoundly impacted life expectancy and productivity across the nation, with overdose fatalities serving as a leading cause of preventable deaths. Fentanyl and fentanyl-like drugs now account for up to 79% of overdose deaths in the US.
OPVEE is an FDA-approved, prescription nasal spray used for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses in adults and children aged 12 and older. It is specifically formulated to rapidly reverse the effects of life-threatening respiratory depression caused by synthetic opioids (like fentanyl) and natural opioids (like heroin) and is more effective due to its potency in reversing the symptoms of opioids over the standard doses of NARCAN.
The Rotary Action Group for Addiction Prevention (RAG-AP), a global network of Rotarians and addiction specialists, is the distributor of OPVEE to schools and first responders nationwide and promotes awareness, provides training, and helps communities acquire the drug.
Buckhead Rotary applied for and received a grant for three OD rescue kits (each kit contains two doses of OPVEE nasal spray). We are working on a partnership with police and firefighters to host free training on how to identify an overdose and properly administer OPVEE with our first school, North Atlanta High School who has requested all three kits! They will receive training for their teachers, coaches, nurses, and students. This training is scheduled for July 30th at which time the boxes will be installed before the start of the school year.
We are looking for Buckhead Rotarians who want to help with the onsite training. The first responders will conduct the training piece with Buckhead Rotarians helping to emcee (coordinate, act as host, introduce first responder, etc.) at the train-the-trainer event on Tuesday July 28th.
If you are interested in getting involved in this critical, national Rotary initiative, please reach out to Nell Benn nellbenn@agapeatlanta.org and consider attending the train the trainer event on July 28th to get additional information.
Member Spotlight
A special congratulations to Aadu Allpere and his wife Kristi who celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary on June 10th! Fifty-nine years together is an achievement worthy of applause and admiration. Their enduring partnership is an inspiration to all of us. We wish them continued joy, laughter, and many more happy years ahead.
Best regards,
Shelley Hammell