by Hunter Lacey of Plano Magazine
Plano West Rotary Club (PWRC) is working with assistance from the City of Plano to keep citizens informed about the COVID-19 vaccination process. Though many have access to information about the vaccine, the underserved population of Plano is not as well-resourced as other residents. Because of that, PWRC and the City have developed a strategy to share information with as many Planoites as possible.
PWRC will be distributing doorhangers across apartment complexes and neighborhoods that may have difficulty receiving timely information due to a language barrier or lack of access to the internet or other communications. The flyers will contain helpful information about COVID-19 and the vaccine in both Spanish and English. The hope is that all people across the city can have the resources needed to make an informed decision about getting vaccinated.
“If we pay attention to what’s going on in India, we see that variants came and absolutely annihilated the country. A year ago, that’s what happened overseas. Then it came here. The only way we can stop that is if we get our population vaccinated,” PWRC president Alex Johnson shared.
As of late April, approximately 61 percent of Plano residents 16 years and older had received a COVID-19 vaccine. Of that population, 42 percent are fully vaccinated, with the remainder waiting to receive their second dose.
PWRC volunteers have been going out every Saturday to distribute thousands of doorhangers. The need for this information is urgent, so PWRC hopes to accomplish this goal as soon as possible. Because of that, they’re actively seeking out volunteers. Non-Rotary members can help.
This Rotary club is a part of the national COVID-19 Community Corps run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Anyone can join and receive constant up-to-date information about COVID-19. Learn more here.
The project leaders, Bruce Mang and Antonio Harris, for this education effort are college freshmen. Different than most Rotary clubs, there are many college students in PWRC. Forty eight percent of the club are women, 34 percent are under 40 years of age, and 52 percent of the club are people of color. The club also includes immigrants from eight different countries. PWRC is the fastest growing club of the 7,485 clubs in the U.S., according to Rotary International. With an array of voices that come from different backgrounds and age groups, the club is empowered by its passion to help all people.
“We’re just trying to save our citizens,” Alex said.
If you’d like to volunteer to distribute the informational doorhangers, signup here: https://planowestrotary.com