We have reached the mid- point of the Rotary year. January is Rotary Awareness Month. You can help spread the word about all the great things Rotary does, by inviting a colleague, friend or neighbor to a regular weekly meeting. Lots of great programs coming up this January.
You should have received a notice about the District 5960 Mid Term event on Saturday January 12 at Hamlin University from 8:30 t0 3:00. Cost to attend is free. There will be presentations on Ethics, Human Trafficking and Public Image. In addition there will be a report from students at Gustavus University who recently completed a survey of new Rotary members and how to engage younger people. Our club participated in this survey.
UPDATE Re: Arden Hills Shoreview Rotary Club Receives Approval for District 5960 Grant to fund
Sewing School in Amaravahti, Andhra Pradesh, India
As you all know, our club submitted a request for a District Grant from Rotary District 5960 to fund the development of a Sewing School in Amaravahti, Andhra Pradesh, India. We received tentative approval from the District some time ago, but the grant was put on hold after it sent to Rotary International (RI) for final review and RI required us to find an Indian partner that had an Indian Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)Certification. As such, the District has set aside funds for the grant as a contingency we were able to find a way to comply with this regulation.
Recently, with the help of Craig Leiser (PDG)of the Stillwater Sunrise Club we were connected to the Vuyyuuru (we u ru) Rotary Club in Andhra Pradesh that has a Rotary Community Service Trust that has the needed FCRA certification and they have agreed to receive our funds for the Amaravahti Sewing Project and distributed them funds as needed to support the project. As such, we have now received final approval from Rotary International (RI) and District 5960 has advised us that we may go forward with the project and begin to raise the necessary funds.
The requested funding is for a new school that would be developed by an Indian NGO called PUSHPA, which is the outgrowth of a Minnesota Non-Profit Corporation, also named PUSHA, organized by Arden Hills residents Gummadi Franklin and his wife Shirley. The Franklins spoke to our club in November, 2017, regarding the activities of PUSHPA’s charitable programs in India that are designed to help marginalized low caste or Muslim peoples help themselves out of impoverished circumstances. The kids that would benefit from such programs are kids like some of those pictured below.
Mr. Franklin recently traveled to Andhra Pradesh and is now there to meet with officials of the Vuyyuuru Rotary Club, search for a suitable facility for the school and interview potential teachers. If you have interest in or suggestions for this long awaited fund raising campaign, please contact Kent Peterson or Bob Freed. Thank you.
Today we welcomed the two MVHS students sponsored by our club to attend Rotary's recent Camp Enterprise. Their teacher, Theresa Anderson, also joined them. Nick and Kara thanked us for providing the funding for their attendance at this event and spoke very highly of the experience. Kara went so far as to call it "life changing" - referring to the fact that she has gone from seeing herself as a shy follower to someone who has the ability and desire to be a leader. We have heard similar reports from previous year attendees; obviously the Edina Rotary Club, which puts on Camp Enterprise, does a great job structuring and facilitating this experience.
We also heard from relatively new member Al Ramos today, as he gave his introductory "classification talk" to the group. Al grew up in Detroit Lakes and Golden Valley, MN, spent the majority of his career with the U.S. Army's Special Forces unit, and is now retired from the military and beginning the "next chapter". Al and his wife have two sons, ages 18 and 20. In his years with the Special Forces Al worked in multiple areas - infantry, personnel, and communication. These roles took him to Germany, Japan, and finally to the Pentagon in Washington DC. During this time he also learned to speak Japanese and earned a Masters Degree in East Asia Studies. We are thrilled that Al has brought his experience and many talents to Rotary and to our club!
Today we officially and enthusiastically welcomed our two newest members - Stephanie Cosgrove and Mike Spellman! Our speaker was Susan Oltman, wife of member Charlie Oltman. Susan gave an interesting presentation covering her experience as an exchange student to Sri Lanka in 1975, and subsequent trips back there in 1985, 2005 and this past summer of 2018. Susan's experience was not through Rotary. As a student at Alexander Ramsey High School in St. Paul, she learned of the opportunity to join a group through AFS. After orientation in New York City, she was off to Sri Lanka as part of a group of 20 students. She grew very close to her wonderful host family, as evidenced by her desire to return there multiple times. When she returned in 2005, it was to help following the devastating tsunami of 12/26/04 which killed 30,000 in this small country. Her most recent trip this summer resulted from a desire to see her host sister who has been battling cancer. It was also an opportunity for husband Charlie to accompany her and see first-hand this country that has become so important to Susan.
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Today we welcomed the two MVHS students sponsored by our club to attend Rotary's recent Camp Enterprise. Their teacher, Theresa Anderson, also joined them. Nick and Kara thanked us for providing the funding for their attendance at this event and spoke very highly of the experience. Kara went so far as to call it "life changing" - referring to the fact that she has gone from seeing herself as a shy follower to someone who has the ability and desire to be a leader. We have heard similar reports from previous year attendees; obviously the Edina Rotary Club, which puts on Camp Enterprise, does a great job structuring and facilitating this experience.