Eliminate Project

Happy New Year! I hope that the holidays were a special time with your family and friends and that you feel refreshed and renewed as 2014 begins.
January takes its name from the Roman god Janus, who is usually represented with two heads. He looks both to the past and to the future, which is a good way for each of us to approach the New Year. 2014 is a blank canvas right now. How will we Kiwanians leave our mark on it? As of the last giving report Dec. 15, the New York District has raised $725,233, for EliMiNaTe, which is 40 percent of the goal set by the multi-division and division coordinators who took part in the cluster meetings last year. So far, 60 percent of our clubs have participated. So much for the past; let's look to the future.
Believe it or not, 2014 is the last full year of our campaign to rid the world of maternal neonatal tetanus. KI hopes to reach the goal of $110 million by the International Convention by June 2015. We New Yorkers have much work to do this year for the EliMiNaTe Project! So it's time to roll up our sleeves, put our shoulders to the wheel, and do whatever it takes to contribute our part of the goal.
The EliMiNaTe Campaign Team in Indianapolis has designed a program for all districts to strategize for the months ahead. Similar to a football huddle, it is a time to regroup and refocus our efforts to achieve our goals. All multi-division and division coordinators are expected to attend. Since these district meetings were planned to take place between January and March, I scheduled our "huddle" to take place during our Mid-Winter Conference in February. This will avoid the necessity of planning another meeting with folks from all over the state traveling during the winter months. Gov. Joe and his executive team have graciously scheduled two forums on Saturday morning and given us space on Sunday morning to accommodate the time that is needed. The EliMiNaTe forums were planned so as not to interfere with other forums that MDCs and DC's need to attend, so please plan your travel itinerary around these times. Any other EliMiNaTe club coordinator or interested Kiwanian is also welcome to attend.
There will be Zellers available at Mid-Winter, and time to present these at the Saturday evening banquet. If you have been thinking of obtaining a Zeller for yourself or someone else, this is the time to do so! Have you honored your past president or your past lieutenant governor? There's no time like the present!
I have a dream ... that we can announce at Mid-Winter that New York has raised $1 million here and that all of our clubs have participated.
Opportunity is knocking at the door of our New Year. Let's welcome it in and continue to make our world a better place by working to EliMiNaTe maternal neonatal tetanus once and for all!
Excelsior!
 

Column Posted on Web Site January 29, 2014