Believe it or not, even though Coronavirus cases are soaring, and that is driving record hospitalizations and deaths, news sources I follow say that unless another, more dangerous, variant emerges, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. That is precisely because, between the fact that millions been vaccinated and boosted, and so many others have been infected, we may in fact be approaching something approximating “herd immunity.” So, the predictions are now that infections may begin to decline sometime in February, and the pandemic may become something we learn to live with, much like the flu, later this spring.
What that means to us is that we should continue to meet on Zoom for now, and perhaps think about returning to in-person meetings in the April or May timeframe. I know Zoom doesn’t have the same feel as coming together in person, but health and safety come first. And after two years of virtual meetings, what’s another few months? So, I do not anticipate returning to Trellis until the experts suggest that the risk has diminished to near normal.
Foundation Awards Happy Hour
I hope that many of you will join club leaders at the D5960 Rotary Foundation Virtual Happy Hour on Wednesday, Feb. 2nd, at 4:30. Our club will be highlighted for our outstanding giving during the 2020-21 Rotary year. There was a signup email sent from Zoom on January 25th, so be sure to RSVP and get the Zoom link to the celebration.
How do Clubs Connect with a Global Grant?
Thank you all for listening to my frantic five-minute introduction to the Nigerian WASH in Schools global grant that our club took responsibility for in 2019 and is now nearing completion. Questions I hear about global grants are, “Where do you find them? How do they get started?”
There is no one simple answer to that. Sometimes Rotarians just have contacts in other countries and learn about needs that we could satisfy that way.
Another great way to learn about potential projects is at “House of Friendship” displays. Almost every significant District, Zone, or Rotary International event has a House of Friendship. That’s a large space in which Rotarians have set up displays in an effort to attract attention to and support for Global Grant projects. Sometimes a U.S. club is looking for funding partners for grants for which they are already the U.S. partner. Sometimes a “Host” Rotary Club will be there looking for a U.S. partner. If the project interests you, you (or we) might become that partner.
Rotary.org has a “Rotary Showcase” page, which lists hundreds of projects looking for U.S. sponsors. Find Rotary Showcase and scan the many projects listed. Go to Rotary.org / My.Rotary (you must sign in to My.Rotary) / TAKE ACTION / Develop Projects / Rotary Showcase. Go ahead. Explore. It’s a great way to get a sense of the needs Rotarians all over the world are trying to meet.
Have a great February. And remember, “It’s practically spring.”
Through the effective reuse of donated items Bridging improves lives by providing quality furniture and household goods to those transitioning out of homelessness and poverty. They serve over 240 people each week who are given a sense of dignity as they rebuild their lives.
n 2015, Bridging provided 4,831 dressers to our clients. 1,693 of those were sponsored and assembled by community partners like Rotary. Bridging would like to provide one dresser per bedroom but they are short over 3,000 dressers each year so our sponsoring a dresser build helped to achieve this goal.
Ten Rotarians and two spouses helped meet our goal of building ten dressers.
February 2022 Update on the Amaravati Sewing School Project
Although the COVID-19 Pandemic continues to change the way people strive to stay safe from viral infection and hospitalization in India, just as people do here in North America, we are encourage that we can report that the Amaravati Sewing School has once again reopened to a new class of students and that the Lead Teacher has been retained to teach the new cohort.
The new class has ten students and Dr. Franklin reports that, in consultation with community leaders and Pushpa, the Lead Teacher has directed that one of the six sewing machines in the school is to be designated for production of products to be sold by the school in an effort to introduce elements of entrepreneurialism into the curriculum and to develop a means for raising funds to keep the school open when the funds from the initial Rotary grant from Rotary District 5960 are depleted. We believe this is, at least in part, a response to encouragement that was provided when the grant was given.
As we understand it, COVID-19 has continued to disrupt everything in India with the exception of the terrible poverty that is so pervasive in the cities and of the rural areas of Andhra Pradesh and much of India. Amaravati is a small village in a rural area of Andhra Pradesh which has not been spared of the ravages of COVID-19.
In a conversations with Dr. Franklin, Pushpa’s founder and chair, and his wife, Shirley, who live in Arden Hills, they have been encouraged by the response of the community elders to the development of the school and the role it appears to be having in Amaravati. The school has been in existence now for nearly three years and, although the school has been close for two different periods of time during the Pandemic, the promise that the school brings to the community has been an encouragement to the community leaders and the community as a whole.
As readers of our prior reports will recall, the school came together very well initially. With the onset of the Pandemic, however, everything was disrupted. The elders in the community had wanted the school to remain open as much as was practical, but the leaders at Pushpa and the teachers have taken a somewhat more conservative approach as has been needed.
As previously reported, the 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 Lead Teacher (Suzanne) and a teaching assistant.
Pushpa's mission is to help marginalized community members of rural Guntur District villages transition from migrant, 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 has gone into establishing the school and there are many people to thank for their hard work and significant contributions. Pushpa is working hard to keep the Sewing School open out of respect for the hard work that went into opening the school and out of respect for the critical funds needed to do so that were received from Rotary District 5960.
The leaders of PUSHPA, both here in Arden Hills and in Andhra Pradesh are especially grateful for the support for the new sewing school from the Arden Hills Shoreview Rotary Club and Rotary District 5960 and have continually expressed their gratitude for our assistance to the school.
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 Tammy Moberg, Executive Director of Quincy House, which she helped found in 2015. The house is in a residential neighborhood in Mounds View and exists to provide a place for at-risk teens in our school district to go for after-school activities, socializing, meals, and emotional support. Our club toured the house during one of our regular meetings several years ago and we have maintained an ongoing connection with Tammy and her work. Her comments today focused primarily on what has been happening during the pandemic. Not surprisingly, it's been a difficult time. They have lost a lot of volunteers because of Covid concerns so it has been hard to continue providing services that the kids had come to count on. Recently they have decided to allow several older teens to live at the house to prevent them from becoming homeless and they have also recently been able to allow high school kids to return to the house for meals and activities after school. They have also been granted permission to use gym space at the Mounds View Community Center for a group of middle-schoolers. That group has continued to grow and there are now 50 kids meeting there regularly. Tammy spoke very highly of the nearby residents on Red Oak Drive in Mounds View who have been very supportive of having Quincy House in their neighborhood, which says a lot about the quality of work that Tammy and her team of counselors and volunteers have been able to maintain.
Representatives from Old National Bank were today's presenters. Joannette Cintron, Community Development Officer and loan officer Rhonda Mann provided an overview of Old National's unique focus on supporting the local community. Based in Indiana,, they are located in 5 states, including 31 locations in Minnesota. Old National represents a merger of former Anchor and Klein banks and has a "deep history of service, strength and stability". While engaging in lending of all sorts, they have a special focus on helping support first time home buyers. While most of us think of needing a minimum of 20% down when obtaining a home mortgage, Old National helps buyers get into a first home with as little as 3% down. They access funds through FHA, VA, Fannie Mae, and an in-house product they have created for those with low credit scores. Those with incomes of up to $82K per year can qualify for these products. Joannette also spoke of a new program they are embarking upon which will provide mentorship opportunities for people with disabilities, aimed at helping them enter the workforce and asked that any of us who might be interested in assisting tlet them know.
Today's speaker was Shoreview resident Tom Esch, who spoke on the subject of personal accountability and power. Tom is the Principal Consultant at Esch Consulting. His educational background includes a master’s degree in “Conflict Facilitation and Organizational Change” from the Process Work Institute in Portland and a master’s degree in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. A former Catholic priest, Tom specializes in speaking, coaching, and training people and organizations that are in the midst of significant changes or challenges. He has coached and trained construction workers, attorneys, business owners, managers, therapists and non-profit leaders to grow their awareness and emotional intelligence. He focuses on how to have courageous and difficult conversations, especially ones in which we take ownership of mistakes. He helps others understand how to use their power in a positive way. In addition to his busy day job, Tom also occasionally performs stand-up comedy as "Father Vito Incognito"!
Our guest speaker today had to reschedule to another date, but we used the time to conduct club business as well as hear from our newest member, Jenna Martindale. Jenna did a great job talking with us about her background and what led her to move to Shoreview last year. She grew up near Rochester, MN and graduated from Winona State University with a degree in business and marketing. Her first job out of college was working in finance at Morgan Stanley. From there Jenna moved to a marketing position with a home builder in Rochester where most of her work involved new home construction. This ultimately led to her obtaining her real estate license. After relocating to the Twin Cities she began working with Edina Realty in the SW suburbs. She and her partner Brian stumbled across Shoreview at some point where they now happily reside with their two dogs. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys physical activity, especially Cross-Fit, as well as photography, travel and volunteering. Welcome, Jenna - we are so happy you've joined Rotary!
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