Tehachapi News

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Earlier this year, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a grant to Rotary International for $100 million to eradicate polio. The thousands of Rotary clubs around the world responded with gratitude –  and a challenge to each member to collectively match that sum. The Rotary Club of Tehachapi is part of that effort.

Tehachapi Rotary Club president Rick Stein invited their foundation representative to address his members with the information.

“People ask me, ‘what does Rotary do,’?” stated Stein, “and I explain how back in the 60s and 70s that it was Rotary that lead the “K.O. Polio” campaign here in the United States. Polio still exists, crippling especially young children, in less than a half a dozen third world countries, and this grant is meant to finish the job.”

“Then I usually get the ‘what have you done for me lately or locally?’ question, and I invite that person to come to a Rotary meeting and learn first-hand,” explained Stein.

For the matching funds to rid the world of polio, Stein is inviting members and the public to come up with ideas.

Locally, the Rotary Club provides a platform at their weekly meetings for information from various groups. Lately, they’ve heard from the Wind Museum formation committee, the Open Door Youth Center, Save Mart’s organic spokeswoman, Main Street Tehachapi, the Senior Center, and more.

Rotary also works with the fire department in a senior citizen smoke alarm program; hosts on the annual Holiday Dinner for seniors; sponsors Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) with scholarships, and also works the INTERACT teen group at Tehachapi High School to develop leadership and business skills, along with community service and international good will. The local INTERACT club has more members than the sponsoring Rotary.

Tehachapi’s Rotary Club will participate in the Tehachapi High School Career Fair and the city’s annual 4th of July festivities, and is currently planning a sizeable raffle to raise money for the Senior Center.

“We’ve come a long way from being the group that brought a cow to public events and held the one-shot, Bingo-styled Flossie Fluff on a grid area of the park to see where Flossie would manufacture the substance,” said Stein.

Rotary meets Thursdays at Noon at Kelcy’s Restaurant.