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Rob hosted today's meeting at Cafe Spiga and was joined by 9 other members and a guest, Sally Sabo. Our guest speaker, Joe Berninger, a Rotarian from Cincinnati, made a presentation virtually about the Guatemala Literacy Project. More on this later. Dennis shared an invitation for us to take part in the Annual Greenport/Southold Rotary Golf Tournament on September 1st. The cost will be $225 p/p. Contact Dennis for more info. Next, Sharon shared a touching Thank You note for her donation to Jane's Home for senior-age developmentally-disabled adults in Connecticut. Sharon made the donation per the suggestion of Stefan Ryback, author of "The Shadow on my Heart", who spoke to us recently and gave out free copies of his book. Mike S. invites all to attend the Club Golf Outing Meeting tomorrow, which can be accessed via Zoom at 8 AM. He reminds us that this important fundraising event will take place on September 12th- just 60 days away. Mike will send out the meeting invitation and link to all members today. He reports that plans are coming along, and he looks forward to your input and support. In addition, the Golf Committee is contemplating planning for a 2nd Golf Outing - in the winter, as originally conceived- perhaps on February 5th. More TBA... Debbie noted that the Hope Children's Fund Gala on July 24th at East Wind will include a full club table (and a number of Engelhardts) and 100 attendees, so far. Tickets are still available. Find the purchase info. below or on the hopechildrensfund.org website. Can't attend? 50/50 No Give Back Raffle tickets are also still available ($5 each or 5 for $20) from Deb or Yvette. Sharon, with Debbie's help, is planning our Annual Past Presidents Dinner that will take place on September 27th at Savino's Hideaway. Please save the date. Judi invites you to her home on July 21st at 6 PM to meet and greet a former Rotary Exchange Student, Elizabeth Rodriguez, who was hosted by both Judi and Dale Kuhn a few decades ago. Judi and Dale (and his family) will be celebrating the reunion together. (Ed DiNunzio, who will be visiting in PJ, expects to get together with Elizabeth also, but the next morning.) We received Thank You messages from Welcome Friends and Infant Jesus for donations made by the club. Sharon passed around the 2021 H.S. Graduates special Times Beacon Record Media newspaper insert and pointed out our ad that congratulated this year's $1,000 scholarship winners: Comsewogue H.S. graduating Sr. Dominick Azzara, Mt. Sinai H.S. graduate Gabeiella Acquafredda, and Port Jeff H.S. graduates Mattea Rabeno and Michela Rabeno. Our RAFFLE DRAWING will take place on August 3rd - still a bit more time to sell your tickets (and then, turn in your stubs and money collected to Jen.) Remember: Tomorrow is the 1st of the Wednesday summer concerts that will take place from 6-8 PM in the Port Jeff Sta./Terryville Chamber of Commerce Train Car Park. The theme tomorrow is Hawaiian, there'll be a Frontline Worker Tribute, and 1 Step Ahead will provide the music. On July 21st, it'll be Ice Cream Night, with a BMX Stunt Show, and music provided by School of Rock, Port Jefferson. On July 28th, it's Veterans' Night, with music performed by Just Sixties- the longest running Sixties tribute in the U.S. These are free events. Please bring your own chair. Social Distancing Rules will apply. Judi invites you to attend the Benjamin Tallmadge District, Suffolk County Council BSA fundraiser: A BEEFSTEAK DINNER! on Thursday, July 15th, 7-11 PM, at The Old Field Club. The cost is $110 p/p in advance ($130 at the door): "In January 2008, The New York Times did a feature article about a richly historic New York event that started over a century ago. Back in the mid-1800's, special "Beefsteak" dinners were held as political fundraisers. The events were held primarily for men, and photos survive showing the attendees dressed in their best tuxedos, complete with white aprons and chef hats. The aprons were necessary since the meal was served without silverware. Course after course was served and gluttony was encouraged. After 1920, When Women's Suffrage was passed and the Tammany political machine started losing its influence, the tradition waned in New York, but it moved across the river to New Jersey, where more than 1,000 such events are still held each year. Primarily a community event, the Beafsteak is similar to Foreign Legion Fish Fries, Pancake Breakfasts, Fish Boils, and Pig Roasts. Our local district for the Suffolk County Boy Scouts Council decided a few years ago that its members and benefactors might enjoy this type of event, and they did. We'll have plenty of steak, sliders, crab, cheese, lamb chops, and more...and yes, they're designed to be eaten by hand (and yes, we have aprons for you!)" MENU: Cheese-shrimp-crabmeat, lamb chops- aged angus beef, local micro brews- Maker's Mark Bourbon- cigars. Attendance is limited to the 1st 100 people. Please make your reservation early. Mail your check to SCCBSA: 7 Scouting Blvd., Medford, NY 11763, Att'n: Bobby Rabbitt. Include your name, # of people attending, email address, and phone number. (Payments are tax deductible as provided by the Internal Revenue Code.) Following the above announcements, Rob set up a laptop presentation about the Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP) narrated by Joe Berninger. The speaker explained that the GLP is the largest grassroots multi-club project, involving 600 Rotary Clubs, including 9 Guatemalan clubs, with most support coming from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, and some neighboring Caribbean islands (Cayman, St. Kitts, & Nevis). GLP works with the nonprofit "Cooperative for Education" (CoEd) with the shared purpose of improving education for the underserved, impoverished students in Guatemala. This project has been active for 25 years. Joe asked "Can we as Rotarians change the world?" The answer, a resounding "yes" (Think of Rotary's Polio Plus success). He spoke of the 225,000 students, indigenous Mayan youngsters, who have already benefited from the GLP's reading programs, computer centers, and scholarships allowing them to continue their studies through grade 12 and beyond. Twenty-five years ago, when this project began, 2 out of 3 adults were illiterate. Today, the rate is 1 in 3 illiterate adults (with the rate reduced by 50%). He next spoke of the Rise Scholarship Program, explaining that Guatemala is an island of illiteracy- with a higher rate than all neighboring regions. 70% of the island's children are pulled out of school because their parents can't afford the school tuition and fees required to keep them attending. Guatemalans have to migrate to survive. Many kids now finish their education with the 6th grade. The purpose of the Rise Program is to get them through the 12th grade-which can get them out of poverty. This isn't just a scholarship program. It promotes youth development, offering job skills and life skills. 80% of these kids say they want to be teachers. Why? These are perhaps the only professionals they get to see in their rural communities. Visiting Rotarians provide career panels and introduce them to different job possibilities. Scholarship winners participate in leadership workshops and also learn to give back. They are expected to create community service projects (ie., the creation of organic gardens). Joe pointed out that educating one child can change a family, then a community, then a country, and then the world. The more youth are educated, the closer one comes to creating a middle class. The Rise scholarships, at the least, give kids a hand up. The coming of Covid-19 created quite a setback- it wrecked Guatemala's economy. Rotary wants to help by bringing 750 more scholarships to deserving Guatemalan youth- and eventually hopes to double this number. Our club and individual members are invited to join in this project. Joe spoke next of the Astrid Fund. Money donated will be matched by individual Rotarians. To learn more or make a donation, contact: info@guatemalaliteracy.org or:the Guatemala Literacy Fund, 2300 Montana Ave., Suite 401, Cincinnati, OH 45211. |
