Since 2010: 451 volunteer blood donations, potentially saving 1,353 hospital patients’ lives.
Matthew Pollard (left) and Harry Carter welcome a donor for Capital Rotary’s 2016 blood drive. The annual summertime event collected 61 pints, each helping to save the lives of up to three people. Over the past six years, the Columbia-area club has supported the American Red Cross with a total of 451 volunteer blood donations, potentially saving 1,353 hospital patients’ lives.
Dr. Tommy Gibbons (left), 2016-17 Capital Rotary president, presents a plaque to David Boucher to recognize his leadership of the Columbia-area club in 2015-16. As past president, Boucher now will be in charge of club donations to the Rotary Foundation that funds international programs promoting education, peace and world understanding.
Perry Lancaster (left) and Allison Atkins (second from left) are the newest Paul Harris Fellows for Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club, signifying a $1,000 donation in their names to the Rotary Foundation to support world understanding and peace projects. Lancaster is a clothing sales professional active in community charitable work. Atkins is community relations and development director for the Lexington/Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council. Capital Rotarian Mike Montgomery (far right) assisted with Lancaster’s and Atkins’ donations, while Mark Bokesch is the club’s Foundation gifts director.
Capital Rotary Club president David Boucher (left) has been presented a Service Above Self Award by Rod Funderburk, District 7770 Governor for 2015-2016, in appreciation for outstanding and dedicated support of the international service club’s ideals. “Service above self” is Rotary’s principal motto because it best conveys the philosophy of volunteering without expectations of personal reward, thanks or praise.
Ione Cockrell, an assistant governor for Rotary District 7770 in the eastern counties of South Carolina, presents a Club Leadership Citation for 2015-16 to Capital Rotary president David Boucher. The Columbia-area club was recognized for its participation in local and district community service projects and for contributions to Rotary International’s international humanitarian outreach programs.
Capital Rotary Club president David Boucher did not think of himself as a long-distance runner when he took up jogging 25 years ago – but now he has circled the globe by completing 24,902 miles (the circumference of the earth) on daily three-mile stints downtown.
It’s fitting that Boucher celebrated his last ‘round the world lap in March during the Rotary District 7770 conference at the Columbia Convention Center. Not only did he run the distance, but he also celebrated the last 900 miles by raising money for Rotary’s CART Fund for Alzheimer’s research. Using his Facebook page and club announcements, Boucher solicited sponsors at a penny-per-mile for the 900 mile finish.
He’s also collected change off the streets while jogging for the past year-and-half in Columbia – a total of $68.86 in coins of various denominations. This money, too, was donated to CART, and Boucher invited Capital Rotarians to match it by contributing $68.86 on their own.
The overall donation goal was $10,000. As of late March, Boucher’s efforts had brought in more than $7,000 with additional checks to come. The CART Fund – Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust – was started by a Rotarian in Sumter County in 1999 and has been adopted by many clubs since that time.
One-hundred percent of the money collected is used as seed money for cutting edge research to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. CART has provided over $5 million in grants since its founding.
Capital Rotary was honored twice at the recent 2016 conference for Rotary District 7770. The district includes 80 clubs and about 5,000 Rotarians in 25 eastern counties of the state. Capital Rotary was named first runner-up for Club of the Year in the “medium sized” category, based on a listing of programs and accomplishments.
A past president of the club – Ione Cockrell – was presented a plaque by District Governor Rod Funderburk to recognize her selection as 2015-2016 District Rotarian of the Year. This award is given to one individual each year who has demonstrated exemplary humanitarian service and personal volunteer efforts. Cockrell was cited for playing a key role in relief efforts after many parts of District 7770 suffered significant devastation from rainfall and floods in October 2015.
Cockrell, a financial planner, joined Capital Rotary in 1993 and was its 2000-2001 president. She has been a significant donor to the Rotary Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation that supports humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs worldwide.
On two Saturdays in March, members of Columbia’s Capital Rotary Club joined with other volunteers to lend a hand in rebuilding a home damaged by catastrophic rains and flooding in the Midlands last October. Their work was part of a disaster recovery partnership between Rotary District 7770 and the St. Bernard Project.
The St. Bernard Project was founded 10 years ago to assist St. Bernard Parish following Hurricane Katrina’s devastating strike at New Orleans, LA. Since that time, it’s grown into a nationally-recognized leader in disaster resilience and recovery. St. Bernard Project has rebuilt homes for over 950 families with the help of more than 100,000 volunteers in five states and, most recently, in Columbia.
Capital Rotary’s volunteers painted, hung drywall, applied mud to the drywall and did lots of sanding to prep for paint at a Blythewood home suffering significant damage. Rainwater came through the home’s roof, damaging insulation and destroying the kitchen and laundry room ceilings, followed by mold. St. Bernard Project removed the ceilings and insulation and – with Rotary’s help – worked toward getting the home in good order for its owners to return after renting quarters nearby.
“It was a fabulous experience and we made a real contribution,” reported one Capital volunteer, in the true spirit of Rotary.
Capital Rotarian Ben Carlton (left) is congratulated by past president Mark Bokesch as the latest member to join the ranks of the club’s Paul Harris Fellows, signifying a $1,000 contribution to the Rotary Foundation. Paul Harris Fellows receive a special pin, a certificate and a medal to honor their donation. Gifts to the Rotary Foundation help fund international programs promoting world understanding and peace. Carlton – a local corporate law attorney – joined Columbia’s Capital club a year ago. Bokesch is the club’s chairman for Foundation giving.
Capital Rotary president David Boucher (right) receives a diamond circle pin from Mark Bokesch as a new member of the service club’s Bequest Society. The Society is made up of Rotarians who have pledged $10,000 or more for the Rotary Foundation in their estate plans. Funds are used to improve needy families’ living conditions, increase food production and access to fresh water, provide immunization and medical treatment, and support education for international understanding and world peace. Bokesch is Capital Rotary’s director of Foundation giving.
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