Seven months of the 2020-21 Rotary year is behind us. We have accomplished many positive things in spite of, or at times because of, COVID-19. You will see that the next 5 months will provide you with many opportunities for service. The Community Service Team is as busy as ever with a new project just starting and several in the works. One of these is the adoption of McCullough Park in Shoreview. One of many activities at the park is the establishment of a pollinator garden, aligning with Rotary’s new focus on the environment. The Human Trafficking Team is busily finalizing plans for our virtual Human Trafficking Community Forum on April 15. This spring, the Youth Service Team has us building, installing and stocking 5 Little Free Libraries in Shoreview. Become an engaged member and participate in these upcoming projects.
The Nut and Chocolate Sale has a push on for Valentine’s Day. When you are looking for gift ideas for your loved ones, consider supporting your club fundraiser. See Ken Hola for details.
In the Rotary calendar, February is ‘Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution Month’. This sounds like a concept that Rotary needs to share with the rest of humanity.
There is a reason Rotary celebrates peace. International understanding has been a high priority for Rotary since its very beginning . Peace projects, however, seem a difficult and too broad an issue to tackle. Rotary clubs have members from different backgrounds, religions, and ethnicities. Some members may want to take stands against social injustice in their local community and abroad and others may consider these issues political or controversial and don’t want to take action. I think our club having chosen sex trafficking education as a focus area shows we are committed to community awareness of a serious issue. To be a viable presence in the community we must always look for ways to bring such issues to our area.
Be sure to spread the word about our trafficking workshop on April 15, 2021
The Suburban Ramsey Emergency Coalition started as an idea at the March 24, 2020 Board meeting of Arden Hills/Shoreview Rotary when, after donating what we had in available money to Ralph Reeder Food Shelf and The Sheridan Story (now Every Meal), we wondered: “what else can we do when we will not have normal fundraisers and there will be huge needs in the community?”
Twelve other service clubs and two community foundations in Northern Ramsey County were receptive to joining together in a Coalition to “assist vulnerable neighbors within our communities who are suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by aiding non-profit service organizations providing direct relief to those most in need.” Hundreds of organizations and individuals have donated directly to the Coalition and, if you add funds raised by the Virtual Run/Walk and Mustang Raffle, over a thousand have donated. The Coalition has raised nearly $170,000 so far, awarded 23 grants and organized about 70 volunteers to sew of 200 isolation gowns for Ramsey County Care Center. St. Paul and Minnesota (SPMF) has served as fiscal agent for the Coalition through the affiliation agreement of Shoreview Community Foundation. Due to the emergency situation during 2020, SPMF provided financial management at ZERO fee and all administrative expenses were donated by volunteers within the Coalition.
The Coalition has prided itself to be “nimble and quick” in provision of funds where most needed during these fast changing pandemic circumstances. Here are just 3 examples of quick turn-around in providing funds when needed:
In early June, when school was out and Mounds View schools stopped providing food to the students, including those on free and reduced lunch programs, within 1 week, we provided a $10,000 grant to Ralph Reeder Food Shelf to provide food boxes to the most vulnerable children and their families in New Brighton, Mounds View and Arden Hills. Another grant of $5,000 was awarded to Community Partners with Youth to delivery of these approximately 4000 meals during the 10 months of summer.
In November, a $10,000 grant was awarded to Northeast Youth and Family Services promptly to help re-open the NETS day treatment program for youth needing intensive mental health services. Funds were used for technology and safety equipment needed for a safe group therapy room and related training.
Most recently, on January 27, 2021, Second Harvest Heartland submitted a $10,000 grant proposal to re-open the Roseville site for Minnesota Central Kitchen which had closed at the end of 2020 when federal CARES pandemic relief funds terminated. The grant was approved by our Coalition Steering Committee in a special meeting the next day and meals will resume being available on Friday, February 5. Minnesota Central Kitchen employs about 180 out-of-work restaurant employees at 10 locations to provide about 18,000 prepared meals per month to the most needy families. The Roseville site will provide 400 meals per week for 6 weeks to 175 targeted families in two Roseville elementary schools where over 75% of the students are enrolled in free and reduced lunch programs. Food for home preparation is also made available from the same site.
Other grants have gone to nonprofit organizations that are traditional partners of our Rotary Club including Every Meal (formerly Sheridan Story), Quincy House, YMCA and Solid Ground. If you know of other nonprofit organizations serving residents of our North Suburban area, please let me know or refer them to our website for information on how to submit a proposal.
The Suburban Ramsey Emergency Coalition is committed to continue helping our communities as long as people need assistance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for all those who have donated to the Coalition. See www.suburbanramseycoalition.org for more information.
February 2021 Update on 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. In spite of the ongoing Pandemic, there is also a great political upheaval that has created a greater divide in India than arguably exists here in the United States with rural subsistence farmers demanding the repeal of new laws rescinding established laws regulating the sale or barter of agricultural produce. Amaravati has not been spared from the turmoil associated with either.
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 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 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, 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 and that of the current students.
The leaders of PUSHPA, both here in Arden Hills and in Andhra Pradesh, 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.
Today's meeting included a "Classification Talk" by one of our newer members, Todd Blomstrom. Todd is the Director of Public Works for the City of Arden Hills. Prior to moving to Maple Grove, MN and joining the City's staff in 2019, Todd and his family spent four years living and working in Colorado. They have been happy to return to MN where their roots are, including Todd's earning bachelors and masters degrees in engineering from the University of MN. Welcome to our club, Todd - we're very happy you're here!
We were also joined by outside speaker Gabrielle Clowdus. Gabrielle is a PhD candidate and research fellow at the University of MN, working on the issue of homelessness. Gabrielle's research says that, in working to solve the problem of homelessness in our cities, we have been operating on the wrong assumption: That people are homeless simply don't currently have a place to live. Studies show that most are homeless because they have no social connectedness, usually as a result of early life trauma. They long for community more than housing. So setting them up in independent housing frequently fails. Gabrielle has been involved in starting an organization called "Settled". This group builds tiny homes on wheels that are set up in small communities on the grounds of churches willing to have them. Residents are allowed to use church facilities for showers and communal cooking. Each location also includes "missional neighbors". These are people who choose to join the tiny home community and have the required training to help assist community members in various ways. Woodland Hills Church in Maplewood is currently hosting a tiny home development on their grounds. Churches in St. Paul and Forest Lake are working on setting up communities on their grounds as well.
Today's speaker was Chad Goehring of Amborella House, a residential facility that provides shelter and recovery for adult female victims of sex trafficking. This facility opened in October 2020 and has received past financial support from our club during its development phase. While law enforcement organizations are usually responsible for recovering victims by helping them escape the life they are trapped in, there is a huge need for organizations like Amborella House that can provide the next steps of rescue -- a place to live and help with trauma-based therapy, and teaching of life skills. This is a long, painstaking process. Rotary International is currently placing high priority on and working to stop sex trafficking worldwide, therefore most of us have heard the shocking, sad statistics: The average age of entry into "the life" is 15 years and the average lifespan after entering this life is a mere 7 years. Victims can be sold nightly 10-20 times for an average of $90/time. Profits for traffickers can be immense, which is why this problem is growing faster than the illegal drug trade. No part of our country is exempt. In MN, it is growing even faster "outstate" than in the Twin Cities. Women enter Amborella House voluntarily. It currently can accommodate five people. It's exact location in Northern Chisago County is not disclosed for security reasons. For this reason, hands-on volunteering will not likely be an option for our members, but financial support would be very helpful.
Today's speakers were Linda Pope and Tim O'Brien from The Apprenticeship and Manufacturing Ready (AMR) program. This program is offered through the Roseville Adult Learning Center. AMR is a free career training for those who are interested in getting a job in construction, welding, and manufacturing. In the program, participants will be introduced to these jobs through both classroom and hands-on learning. The goal is to provide both employment and post-secondary readiness for individuals who may otherwise not have the opportunity. Many come from local immigrant populations. It requires a highly motivated individual who wants to work in the construction trades but may lack a high school diploma. During the training, students will gain confidence, literacy and skills to enter these career fields. They will learn how to use many tools and machines, trade math, blueprint reading, solar energy and more. On their visits to different apprenticeship training centers, students will get to see what it would be like to work in that specific trade.
At the end, AMR participants will have the chance to be placed in an apprenticeship program in one of the building trades and a job with a contractor that starts off paying an average of $16 – $26 per hour. Students without a U.S. high school diploma or GED will also get the chance to receive a high school diploma from Roseville Area Schools upon completion of the program! Each participant also receives career counseling and social service navigation support throughout the 7 months.
Linda and Tim came to us by way of Ken Hola, who is a volunteer instruction in the AMR program.
We re-started the process of having a "Member Minute" at the start of each meeting - the purpose being a way for all of us to get to know more about each other - especially helpful while our meetings continue to be virtual. Mike Spellman kicked this off today, by speaking briefly about the lessons he learned early in his career while working at Control Data. As he noted, these lessons were more about what not to do versus a recipe for success. The company famously downplayed the advent of the personal computer and we all know how that ended!
Our speaker today was Nathan Stuhlmacher, who joined us thanks to Ken Hola. Nathan and Ken's son are good friends, having met at an elite training camp for triathletes. Nathan was and still is a U.S. Navy Seal. He is now in an upper management staff role, having come through their famed, extremely difficult training regimen and having been deployed to challenging situations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and Europe multiple times. One has to be made of unusual stuff to survive Seal training, which includes "Hell Week", "Hydro Hell Week", Dive Phase, and Land Warfare Training. As Nathan noted: "Seal training means you are ALWAYS wet, sandy, cold and sleep deprived. Following this first year of training, he then spent another 6 months of Seal Qualification Training in Alaska. The current focus of deployments are on anti-terrorism activities. Nathan's father had been in the Air Force and encouraged him to become a pilot. But in high school, Nathan excelled in X-Country running, track and swimming and was more drawn to the Navy and the idea of becoming a Seal. He enrolled in a Naval Academy summer session following graduation and did well enough there to be accepted to join the Academy. He noted that he is still in close contract with his Naval Academy roommates and spoke of the special bond they formed.
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