July 25th, 2025 - Bimonthly Meeting

The Power of Rotary

Masroor Malik, dressed in a black suit with a light blue button-down shirt, describing a slide in his presentation. The slide is titled,
Solon Rotary Club member Masroor Malik describing the impact of the life-saving medical equipment donated by the club in Karachi, Pakistan.

We had an inspirational meeting this morning. In the 15 short years we’ve been chartered, we have funded $650,000 of causes! At today’s meeting, Masroor Malik (pictured) showed us our work in Pakistan. With the help of the Rotary there, we upgraded their NICU saving 20,000 lives. Glenn Gable told us how we supplied running water to a village in El Salvador. Bud Thomas talked about work in Uganda supplying sanitation to two schools. Scott McRill reminded us that we bought decontamination units for the Solon firefighters. Lastly, Angee Shaker shared our commitment to the Solon Senior Center.

Glenn Gable speaking about our work in El Salvador
Scott McRill describing our contribution to the Solon Fire Department
Angee Shaker reading a letter of thanks from a representative of the Solon Senior Center
 

Karachi, Pakistan

A view inside the Karachi, Pakistan emergency room for children.

Solon Rotary Club paired up with the Childlife Foundation and the Rotary Club of Karachi New Central, with help from grants from Rotary International, to support a five-bed pediatric emergency room wing in a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. $55,000 of equipment was donated to support the hundreds of patients this hospital sees each day. The club also sponsored seminars for patients on neonatal care and cleanliness. About 20,000 critically ill patient lives have been saved due to this effort.

Chiltupan, El Salvador

Member Glenn Gable with the cistern installed on the farm cooperative.

Solon Rotary Club teamed up with the Santa Tecla Rotary of San Salvador, Rotary International, St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, and AB Project Manager to bring a well to a sustainable farm cooperative to support about 130 El Salvadorian residents in a poor Cantoon nearby. These residents often walked three hours per day gathering water for themselves and crops. A grand total of $72,000 was raised to support the project, $18,000 of which came directly from Solon Rotary Club. The residents recently added a cistern to expand the reach of this project. Thanks to their access to water, the Cantoon has grown to about 400 people and they are considering paving their local road.

Mbale, Uganda

One of the latrines and wash stations installed at Museveni Primary School.

We partnered with the local Rotary Club of Mbale Metropolitan and NGO Drink Local Drink Tap to install latrines and wash stations at Namatala Primary School and Museveni Primary School in Uganda, at a cost of $67,500. Along with wash basins, 40 latrines were installed to support the almost 3000 students and associated faculty.

Solon Fire Department

Member Scott McRill and some of Solon Fire Department's finest cutting the ribbon.
The Rotary Club of Solon is pleased to have donated three decontamination units to the Solon Fire Department.
 
As part of Clark Schaefer Hackett’s 80th Anniversary Healthy Heroes project, Rotary Club of Solon Treasurer Scott McRill, who is also a partner at Clark Schaefer brought the idea for these decontamination units to the Rotary Club. We were thrilled and honored to be able to provide three of these units, one for each fire station, to the city of Solon for the safety and health of our first responders

Solon Senior Center

President Jim Hyde and member Leslie Bagdasarian paint a railing at a local senior's home.

Solon Rotary Club has a special relationship with the Solon Senior Center. In a previous year, the club provided a $7,000 donation support “Solon Spins,” a project to provide residents of all ages an opportunity to bicycle. The project is a joint collaboration between the Solon Senior Center and Solon Recreation Department. Bicycles will be available to borrow through the senior center and Solon Community Center. This year, club members have also gathered to prepare emergency kits for seniors and help a local senior with outdoor maintenance. Emergency kits contained items like batteries, blankets, toilet paper, and other essentials. At our local senior's home, members trimmed and cleaned up the landscaping, lay down fresh mulch, and helped repaint stair railings and doorways.

If you value service above self, reach out to find out how you can join our club!