
The Rotary Club of Five Points has exceeded its PolioPlus Goal

The Rotary Club of Five Points is all about the green. Raising green for Polio Plus, that is. Each year the club votes for its “top leprechauns” to dress up and walk in the St. Pat’s Five Points parade. This year’s parade theme is: “It’s a birthday party!” celebrating 100 years of Five Points. The club sponsors a float and Five Points Rotarians and their families walk or ride along. It’s fun for all for a great cause!
Five Points Rotary’s Membership Co-Chair Patty Cavanaugh conducted the Club’s 1st Red Badge Program Ceremony for Cheryl Stanton and her Sponsor/Mentor Nick Foong. The Red Badge Program allows new members to integrate more quickly into the Club and the Family of Rotary by accomplishing various Rotary-oriented tasks/activities with the guidance of their mentor. Congratulations to Rotarian Cheryl, the Club’s 1st Red Badge Graduate!
University of South Carolina senior, David Wolfer, has been named as a recipient of the Rotary Global
Grant to study at Makerere University with a focus in the policy and management of HIV/AIDS and
infectious diseases. Wolfer is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Five Points in Columbia, South Carolina,
which is in Rotary District 7770.
As a member of the South Carolina Honors College, Wolfer is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
He is a Palmetto Fellow and a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, Passport Travel Grant, Walker
Institute International Experience Award, South Caroline Nurse Foundation Nursing Care Scholarship,
and J. Randall Guy Healthcare Scholarship. Additionally, Wolfer is a member of the International Nursing
Honors Society Sigma Theta Tau-Alpha Xi chapter. He graduated from the Wolfer School of the Arts and
Sciences in White Rock, SC.
Wolfer’s interest in global health is supported by his numerous campus activities and research
experience. After a family trip to Uganda and Tanzania in 2010, Wolfer’s passion for disease prevention
and treatment began and continues through his involvement with the University of South Carolina’s
Student Nurse Associate and GlobeMed. Wolfer returned to Uganda this past summer for a six week
study abroad experience where he worked at Mulago Hopsital in the Infectious Disease, Medical
Emergency, and Pediatrics units. Alongside his studies at Makerere University with the global grant,
Wolfer proposes to increase the breadth of the nursing library and available technology for students
in Uganda. Through partnerships with other Southeastern universities, Wolfer hopes to build the
library enough to attract more students to improve the African nursing shortage. Wolfer also plans on
partnering with a local Ugandan Rotary Club to increase the scope of their current project to increase
communication for healthcare providers in rural clinics. Both his studies and his community project fall
under the area of disease prevention and treatment, one of Rotary’s six areas of focus.
The Rotary is the world’s largest privately funded international scholarship program whose scholars
further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and
geographical areas by encouraging person-to-person diplomacy. Rotary Global Grants are valued at over
$30,000, provide nine (9) months of study abroad, and encourage recipients to engage in community
service work.
Wolfer brings the university’s total of Rotary Scholars to 84 since the 1994 establishment of the Office
of Fellowships and Scholar Programs (OFSP) which assists students as they prepare applications for
national fellowship competitions. To learn more about such competitions and view a complete list of
the University’s Rotary Scholars, visit www.sc.edu/ofsp.
For more information about applying for the Rotary Global Grant, join OFSP for a Rotary Workshop on
Tuesday October 14 at 4 p.m. in Legare 322.
David Wolfer is the son of Regina Yutzy-Wolfer and Dr. Terry Wolfer of Irmo, South Carolina, both
professors at USC. Please share this release with The State, The Daily Gamecock, and The Free Times
(Columbia, S.C.).
On April 30th, members of the Rotary Club of Five Points (Columbia) Club held a club social at a local ballpark to support, in person, the club sponsored baseball team. Members of the Palmetto Baseball League, the Five Points Rotary “Warriors” baseball team secured a one run victory in a dramatic ball game. After the game, the team heard a short address by Club President Andrew Folks about “Service Above Self” and the lessons to be learned about it through baseball.
This is the sixth year the Rotary Club of Five Points has sponsored a youth baseball team. Funding comes from the proceeds generated through the Club’s annual parking project.
University of South Carolina senior Leila Heidari has been named a Rotary Global Grant Scholar to obtain her Masters in Global Health at Oxford University in Oxford, UK during the 2014-2015 academic year. Heidari is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Five Points in Columbia, South Carolina. Five Points Rotarian Louis Dessau, who led the nominating process for the club, says, “We have many talented students in the Columbia area who can represent Rotary throughout the world. Leila Heidari is exceptional and will be reporting back to us during her year in the UK. Rotarians everywhere should feel pride in what they accomplish by donating to the Rotary Foundation, which enables students like Leila to spend a year abroad and learn how people from different cultures can do business with one another and live together peaceably.” President Andrew says, “One of my goals in this year is to be involved in the community, to let people know what Rotary is and what Rotary does for young people to help them succeed. We’ll follow Leila through her year as a Rotary scholar and after she returns from Oxford. Thanks to District 7770 for making this possible.”
Submitted by Emerson Smith
Public Relations Chair
Rotary Club of Five Points
The Rotary Club of Five Points Columbia is making it easy to sign up to become a Rotary Benefactor. In addition to having plenty of copies of the form required by The Rotary Foundation, a club member who is an attorney, Lisa Hostetler (pictured), has volunteered to prepare codicils to wills for club members – for free! Five Points Club President R. Andrew Folks stated this in regards to the initiative:
“We wanted to encourage our membership to not only sign up as a Benefactor, but also to close the loop by making it easy to literally make the provision for Rotary in their will. We are so thankful to our club member Lisa who is volunteering her expertise. I hope that many of our members will take advantage of the offer. I also hope other clubs take our idea and use it themselves!
The Rotary Club of Five Points currently has 19 active or senior active members listed as Rotary Benefactors in a club of 76 members.
At the April 20th Rotary Club of Five Points meeting the Club celebrated by recapping their Literacy Project activities during the year and honoring Teachers of the Year from six area schools.
The first Literacy Project celebrated was the Club’s annual Dictionary Project conducted in the fall of last year. Members distributed dictionaries to 180 third graders across four elementary schools in the Five Points area of Columbia.
The Five Points Club also welcomed six principals and six “Teachers of the Year” to its April 20th meeting. Each Teacher of the Year represents a school in the Five Points area of Columbia and received a plaque and $100 gift certificate for school supplies. The honorees included:
Doris Arvelo, Religion Teacher, was honored as St. Martin de Poores Teacher of the Year by Principal Sister Robeta Fulton.
Mary Ann Tillman, Music Teacher, was honored as AC Moore Teacher of the Year by Principal Chantelle Baker-Parnell.
Derrick Theirse, Fourth Grade Math and Science Teacher, was honored as South Kilbourne Teacher of the Year by Kim Spivey.
Douglas Brandon, Second Grade Teacher, was honored as Rosewood Teacher of the Year by Principal Elizabeth Williams.
Ernesto Bernal, Spanish Teacher, was honored as Hand Middle School Teacher of the Year by Principal Marissa Vickers.
Judith Ray, Science Teacher, was honored as Dreher High School Teacher of the Year by Principal Jeanne Stigelbauer.
The Club capped the meeting with a presentation by Ms. Betsey O’Brien, Director of Education Programs for NAMI, The National Alliance on Mental Illness. O’Brien detailed NAMI’s “Families and Teachers as Allies” teacher in-service program, a free NAMI program to school systems. The audience of teachers, principals and Club members received an overview of the program and how to obtain additional information at www.nami.org or by contacting Betsey O’Brien at NAMI SC at 803-733-9592. The Rotary Club of Five Points is also fielding a team in the 2012 NAMI Walk on May 19th in Columbia and is also a Silver Sponsor of the event.
© Copyright 2013-2021 by Rotary District 7770 | Rotary International District 7770, Eastern South Carolina |