With the Holidays upon us, this becomes a busy time for most of us. I think this is true even in a year like 2020. Besides things in your personal life, it is a busy time for our club. We have our two remote fundraisers, the ‘Nut and Chocolate Sale’ and the ‘Virtual Cooking Class’. Please take advantage of these opportunities. Share the links with your family and friends. Since both of these activities are remote, anyone can participate from anywhere and help us raise money to fund our projects.
Speaking of projects, the Community Service Team has brought us 2 activities allowing us to impact the lives of some of our neighbors. In collaboration with Solid Ground we can continue the holiday tradition of sponsoring recently homeless families. There are several options for your participation but December 15 is the deadline. You can also provide stockings, stuffed with toys and other items, to children in need. Contact Dennis Erno for details.
In the Rotary calendar, December is ‘Disease Prevention and Treatment Month’. Our WASH project in Nigeria fits right into this theme since it will deliver improved hygiene for children.
We will not be holding our regular morning meetings on December 22 and 29 so mark your calendars. We will be having a Holiday Virtual Social on December 22 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. If you have ideas to make this a more festive and engaging event, please share them with Kay Baker and Bill Klumpp.
The district is offering two interesting programs. Please click on the links to register.
Save the date for the following December Rotary District 5960 Friday Features. Guests Welcome!
Friday, December 4th - Rotate the Circle - One Rotary Summit Finale
The excitement from One Rotary Summit 2020 on Membership, Public Image, Foundation continues!
Come and learn about "the circle” and hear from clubs how they use the 3 Pillars to rotate the circle and move their club activities to the next level.
The information is practical. You will leave with a different mind set to review your club’s activities.
Thirty minutes of sharing and 30 minutes open for discussion. It will be fun, friendly and fast-paced. You will be pleased.
Attendance at the One Rotary Summit is not a prerequisite for this Friday Feature. It is for members who want to help their clubs grow.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Friday, December 18 - "COVID - 19: The Path Ahead"
Testing, treatment, and vaccines will be discussed as part of an epidemiologic overview of the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Minnesota.
Tracy Sides, PhD, MPH
Public Health Policy Analyst & Consultant
Tracy Sides works as a policy analyst at the Public Health Law Center at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, MN, and as a public health consultant on equity-oriented projects. Previously, she worked as an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Minnesota Department of Health.
Tracy earned a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology and a Doctorate in environmental health sciences from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She has extensive experience in a variety of public health settings. She worked on the successful Minnesota State tobacco litigation and has led research and evaluation projects for the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and community-based organizations. While at the Minnesota Department of Health and the University of Minnesota she developed and managed public health surveillance systems; facilitated national working groups; and created training on epidemiology, data interpretation, and other public health topics for health professionals, attorneys, and the general public.
Tracy is a member of the St. Paul – Sunrise Rotary Club.
Please join us for an exciting virtual cooking demonstration with renowned Chef Ken Galloway, former Executive Chef and General Manager of the Wayzata, Edina and Dellwood Country Clubs and the White Bear Yacht Club. Funds raised by the purchase of each ticket go to support the Rotary Scholarship Fund and other Rotary community projects. Where: Virtual via Zoom - REGISTER NOW! Date: Wednesday, December 16th, 2020 Time: 6:30-8:00PM Cost: $25 During this online course, Chef Ken will lead a Q & A and discussion on the proper methods for preparing and cooking a Holiday Roast Tenderloin, along with instructions on food and wine pairing. We will also engage in a live step-by- step demonstration on creating a beautiful Christmas Yule Log (Buche d' Noel). ARDEN HILLS / SHOREVIEW ROTARY CLUB PRESENTS *A list of ingredients to purchase for the Yule Log will be sent out prior to event
December 2020 Update Regarding the Amaravati Sewing School Project
As previously reported, the Pandemic has disrupted everything in India except for the deeply rooted poverty that is so pervasive in the ghettos in the cities and in much of the rural areas. Amaravati has not been spared. In a recent conversations with Gummadi Franklin, Pushpa’s founder and chair, and his wife, Shirley, who live in Arden Hills, they have been very positive about the school and the role they hope it will continue to have in Amaravati.
The school has been permitted to reopen, but only partially and only for five students. The teacher is there for only three hours, but Pushpa is considering remaining open for another three hours to accommodate teaching another group of five students.
As those of you who have followed the progress of the school will know, the school had come together very well prior to the onset of the Pandemic, but the Pandemic has affected everything. The elders in the community want the school to remain and Pushpa has been very frugal with the funds our District 5960 grant has provided, so believe there will be sufficient funds to reestablish the school as further steps in the reopening of the school can be taken.
As previously reported, a first graduating class received their certificates of completion prior to the Pandemic. A picture of the graduating class seated with their arms raised as they wait for their certificates is shown below.
Two of the graduating students are picture in another picture below, one, who was chosen to speak to the gathering at the graduation ceremony and another who is receiving her certificate from Chairman Franklin. Also with the students and Chairman Franklin is the Teacher (Suzanne) and a teaching assistant.
Pushpa's mission is to help marginalized community members of rural Guntur District villages transition from migrant farm labor, subsistent lifestyles, dependent on seasonal labor and temporary shelter, to sustainable livelihoods in healthy communities. Its mission has not changed. The organization’s main goal is to work together with underprivileged (tribal) members of rural Guntur District villages to find ways to enable socio-economic change in small ways, one person, one family, one student, at a time, through projects in which the recipients themselves participate. (See http://pushpaproject.org/vision_mission.htm )
One of the elders in Amaravati is pictured below after he was given the honor of cutting the green ribbon in a ceremony for the opening of the school in May of 2019.
A lot of hard work went into establishing the school and there are many people to thank for their hard work and significant contributions. Pushpa is working hard to fully reopen the Sewing School out of respect for the hard work that went before and out of respect for the funds received from the District 5960 Grant. The Sewing School has graduated its first class and the Organization looks forward to fully reopening the school when it is possible. We are now awaiting further word as to further progress regarding the reopening.
The leaders of PUSHPA, both here in Arden Hills and in the Guntur District of India are especially grateful for the support for the new sewing school from the Arden Hills Shoreview Rotary Club and Rotary District 5960 and have expressed their gratitude privately and acknowledged the Club’s sponsorship of the school by erecting the sign shown in the picture below.
We and Pushpa are thankful for the matching grant received from Rotary District 5960 and to the following Rotary Clubs for their generous support of our project: Belle Plain; Brooklyn Center; Forrest Lake; Fridley Columbia Heights; New Brighton Mounds View; Prior Lake; Roseville; St. Croix Falls; St. Paul No. 10; Siren Webster; West St. Paul Mendota Heights; and White Bear Lake.
Our speaker today was Jesse Faue, an RN with a background in Public Health, and military veteran who currently works for the Veterans Administration in the area of suicide prevention. The VA has adopted the CDC's model for working on suicide prevention. It starts with terminology -- most importantly that one "dies by suicide" rather than saying one "commits suicide". Since the word "commits" frequently is followed by the words "a crime", these experts feel it is important to view suicide not as a crime but as a tragic situation in which one feels that the pain of taking one's own life is less painful than continuing to live. Jesse spoke of a burning building analogy in which one chooses to jump out the window of a burning building rather than the more painful choice of remaining inside. Many times this decision is made very impulsively, especially when someone has access to a firearm, so their model says limiting this access is critical. Veterans, unfortunately, are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide than non-veterans. In part this is because the military culture, puts a high premium on personal responsibility and strength. Military members are taught to feel "I can do this by myself" when they in fact really need help to deal with problems. She stressed that if we know of someone who might be feeling vulnerable in this way, that we show up for them - checking on them, asking to go on a walk or communicate in another way, and learn the signs that might indicate someone is thinking of taking their own life.
We were joined today by Erin Glaccum and Desiree Lakey from the Love 146 organization and calling in from Georgia and Texas respectively. This group has been around for 20 years and is working to prevent child trafficking & exploitation as well as providing care for survivors. CEO and Co-founder, Rob Morris provided the unusual name for the group after witnessing child trafficking in SE Asia in 2002. One of the young girls in the brothel he'd gone to investigate had a particularly piercing stare and he wondered how she was managing in the terrible circumstances she had fallen into. The children had numbers and hers was 146. Love 146 has created a school curriculum for youth ages 12-18 that is being used across the U.S. This five hour curriculum is called "Not a Number". It presents a holistic view that discusses societal pressures and family issues that lead kids into the trafficking trap. It is trauma informed and provides skills to help kids make good decisions. It has been presented to 1300+ students in MN although none in the Twin Cities. Stephanie Cosgrove from our club has been leading our effort to combat child sex trafficking and is hoping to get this curriculum into our local schools. Today's presentation also noted several signs to look for if we suspect that someone might be becoming a victim of trafficking: If a young person suddenly has new, expensive possessions, if they have become more secretive or isolated, or if they have lost interest in normal age appropriate activities. These signs should set off alarm bells that adults should investigate.
Today's presenter was ........ me! November is RI Foundation Month and we traditionally bring in a speaker to talk to members about the great work of the Foundation. District Chair and former District Governor Kyle Haugen had been scheduled. But there were other claims on his time during this busy month, so, as our Club's Foundation Chair, I filled the spot. I hope I was able to adequately convey my own strong belief in the Foundation by relating how it came to be my "Charity of Choice". There are so many great examples of clubs in our district doing great things both locally and around the world, thanks to grant money received directly from the Foundation (global grants), or indirectly from the Foundation through our local district grants. As Rotarians, we should all feel very proud of the 30+ years of funding and work that the Foundation has done to eradicate Polio from all but 2 countries in the world. Our club has one of the strongest records in our district in terms of average per capita giving to the Foundation. But the needs keep growing. Thank you for all you've done and please consider what more we can all do to help bring about "Positive Peace" in the world!
Today's meeting was focused on internal matters, as there is a lot going on with several club fund raisers as well as community service events. We also heard from Paul Bartyzal, who provided a guided walk-through of some of the features of Club Runner. Most leadership team members use Club Runner to some extent but many members do not. And even those of us who are familiar with using certain aspects, probably did not realize all the features it offers. I know I learned a few things! We were reminded to at least keep our contact information up to date as that is critical to club communications flowing accurately. President Glenn had planned to also do a guided walk-through of "My Rotary" - an important feature of the Rotary International web site. Time ran short, however, so this will be covered at a later date.
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