ROTARY TO THE RESCUE WOODLAND HILLS CLUB COUNTS 50 YEARS OF PHILANTHROPY.

Byline: Mark Kellam Valley News Writer

For 50 years, the Woodland Hills Rotary Club has been helping people in its home community and others as far away as Central America and South America.

A majority of the donated funds were raised ``one hot dog at a time,'' said Sheri Polak, past club president.

The group celebrated the half-century mark with a luncheon April 5 at the Woodland Hills Country Club.

The group's main fundraising project for several years has been selling food - including many, many hot dogs - at the summer concerts in Warner Center Park, Polak said. The club also sponsors two arts and crafts shows a year in the park.

Locally, the Rotary club has annually given scholarships to students at El Camino and Taft high schools and helped pay for construction of computer labs for the West Valley Boys & Girls Club and the West Valley Jeopardy Program.

Club members also adopted a class at Reseda Elementary School. Club members go to the school once a week and help students learn to read, Polak said. In another example of their dedication to education, the Rotarians donated 15,000 books to 10 area schools in 1988.

Many of the club's philanthropic endeavors have benefited residents in foreign countries.

Club members raised funds to buy two ambulances for Taxco, Mexico, and one ambulance for Porto Santos, Brazil. The Rotarians also paid for five firetrucks for Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.

Club members also bought Jaws of Life equipment for two cities in Guatemala and potable water systems for the Mexican cities of Tecapulco, Acamixtla, Paintla and Huizteca, as well for El Sacio, El Salvador. They also helped two preschools in Ensenada, Mexico.

In addition, the club raised money to have 63 dams built or repaired in Mexico.

Helping local children with health problems is another goal for the Woodland Hills club.

The Rotarians paid for a special helmet for a baby who was so brain-damaged at birth he wasn't adopted, Polak said. After three months with the helmet, the baby had made considerable progress and a family adopted him, she added.

Club members also paid to have a van equipped for a boy with spina bifida. The boy's mother had found out she had cancer and was having difficulty carrying him in and out of the family van. The club paid to have a hydraulic lift installed so the boy could be moved into the van while he was in his wheelchair.

In the past, the club also donated two vans to Rancho del Valle, a facility for handicapped children in Winnetka.

The local Rotarians have paid for facial surgeries for many children in Third World countries. Most of the surgeries are for cleft pallets, Polak said. In Third World countries, children with facial deformities are often hidden from view because their families are ashamed to let them be seen in public. ``But after their surgeries, the children look great,'' Polak said.

Club members also help the elderly in Third World countries. They have paid for cataract surgeries for 780 people over the years.

The Woodland Hills Rotary Club meets at noon on Wednesdays at the Woodland Hills Country Club, 21150 Dumetz Road. For more information about the club, call [phone] or visit www.whrotary.org.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Among those who attended the Woodland Hills Rotary Club's 50-year celebration are Sheri Polak, past club president; Les Grossman, lieutenant governor; Dave Woods, past club president and past lieutenant governor; and Tom Klarin, current club president.

Mark Kellam/Valley News