Since last Tuesday was a Snow Day, today was a make-up OPEN CUPBOARD COLLECTION DAY. Thank you, generous donors, and especially Dennis and Jim, who took the responsibility of collecting and delivering the goods to their destination!
Our guest speakers today were Julie Watterson, Executive Director (and Rotarian!), and Dan O'Brien, Director of Programs, of Boys & Girls Club of Suffolk- soon to be known as Kids Clubhouse. Julie provided us with a brief history of her organization: The Three Village Community Youth Services was founded in 1980, but a cut in funding by Brookhaven Town in 1986 led to a rebirth and chartering of the organization as Boys & Girls Clubs of Suffolk in 2002, serving primarily the Comsewogue and 3 Village communities. The name-change to Kids Clubhouse of Suffolk, which becomes official in April, was necessitated by a number of factors, including small size, increased cost, and difficulty in maintaining the parent organization's rules. This agency remains a 501c3 non-profit, is located at 324 Jayne Blvd. in Port Jeff Station, and serves over 500 local children a year (50 to 60 attend on a daily basis). The mission is "to inspire and enable young people (grades K-8), especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring and responsible human beings." The Club is open 5 days a week, after school (2-7 PM) and on holidays, and is not just a babysitting service. It provides a full program that includes participation and training in a variety of sports (ie., basketball, tennis, kickball, street hockey), anti-bullying discipline, yoga, and the like, as well as a Power Hour- for help with school home work. It also offers an 8 week summer camp (with scholarships available). The Club gives the kids, among other things, a safe place to learn, grow, and develop character, an opportunity to interact with caring adult professionals, and a center of hope. Currently Comsewogue District school buses deliver the children for free to the Club's location. The Club is looking forward to re-locating a larger, more permanent structure with its own open gym facilities. It is also looking to grow the Board, increase membership, and expand its reach to additional school districts. Julie and Dan ask us to help bring awareness of the Club to our friends and neighbors. They are also recruiting volunteers. Are you interested? They invited us to attend several events and fundraisers: a May 4th Gala honoring 2 police officers who help out and work with the kids, 6:30 PM, at The Three Village Inn; and the 24th Annual Golf Outing on Oct. 2nd at Port Jeff Country Club. And they'll happily accept donations to help run and grow their programs. For more info, contact Julie at 631-517-3242 or at J.Watterson.BGCSuffolk@gmail.com.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/REMINDERS:There's now $524 in the pot waiting to be won- and still the Ace of Spades is waiting to be picked out (but both Jokers remain, as well). It could be YOU who wins the pot. Next opportunity: our 4/2 luncheon at Cafe Spiga, when we will welcome a new Most Motivated Student of the Month. ***Please Note:Beginning in March, we changed our monthly evening meeting to the LAST Tuesday- to be held at different locations each month. OUR NEXT EVENING MEETING, THEREFORE, WILL BE NEXT TUESDAY, 3/28, hosted by Michael at his office at Edward Jones, on Main Street in the Village- just north of Infant Jesus RC Church. Wine & cheese will be served. (No noon meeting at Cafe Spiga next week!)P.E.T.S. is fast approaching- Michael will attend in Whippany, NJ, on March 24th-27th and looks forward to learning a lot there. The District is holding its next TGIAF on Wednesday, 3/29, from 5:30-7:30 PM at Mim's of Roslyn. If you haven't yet sent Sharon your personal info to be used in our Membership Directory, please do so a.s.a.p. so that she and Nancy can complete and distribute this useful document.Guess What's Coming Soon!!!- It's time to start thinking about and planning for our Annual Raffle Ticket Sales Event- hopefully to begin in April. The Exec.Board, which is working on the date and place for our Past President's Dinner & Raffle Drawing, has also created special deals to help sales. Each individual ticket will still cost $40, but we can also sell 3 for $100, 7 for $200, and 15 for $400. WOW! Northport Rotary is collecting shoes during its "Soles4Souls" campaign thru March 31st at 40 drop off locations. Check this website for a site near you: www.northportrotary.com .Kings Park is sponsoring an "End Hunger in Kings Park" event on April 19th at Kings Park HS from 2:30-4:30 PM. The cost of participation is $40 per volunteer. This feel-good activity involves creating food packages for people in need. Thousands of these food packages can be put together in a very short period of time due to positive team work. You are invited to attend The Gift of Life Dinner Dance on May 10th, 6:30-10:30 PM. This Black-Tie-Preferred (or business suit) event, to be held at The Timber Pointe Mansion (398 Great River Rd.) in Great River, will cost $100 per person in advance, or $110 at the door. The guest speaker will be Robert Raylman. Our club plans to buy a table at a cost to members of $50 each. Ed reminds us that our G of L started in 1975, that most open heart surgeries funded by G.of L. are now performed as part of medical missions in country, and that Gift of Life is currently devoted to creating self-sustaining efforts in places like Uganda, El Salvador, & Haiti. Our program will assist over 300 children this year. On May 17th, the District will hold its Centennial Celebration at Whitby Castle in Rye, NY. [Did you know that collectively Rotary has spent $1 Billion on humanitarian causes worldwide?!] More soon...Let's not forget that we will have our Annual Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck Spring Clean Up on May 21st, and will be joined by neighboring Rotary and Interact Clubs as well as, perhaps, by a contingent of youth from Comsewogue HS. Our chores will include painting and preparing picnic tables and mattresses for summer use.
***As Women's Month draws to a close, let us remember that it's been 28 years since Rotary began welcoming female members, and that today there are over 240,000 Rotarian women worldwide.
***Please check out our page on Face Book- and Like Us.
If you missed today's meeting, kindly inform Yvette about make-ups in a timely fashion.
***The following is a list of donation "assignments" for members' once-a-month donations via the Club to the Open Cupboard:
Betts, Judi: Toilet Paper
Bossert, Ken: Shampoo/Conditioner
Brennan, Dennis: Canned Fruit
Brennan, Sharon: Spaghetti Sauce
Berner, Cynthia: Rice
Curry, Bill: Apple Juice
Dinunzio, Ed: Diapers
Engelhardt, Debbie: Juice Boxes
Gautam, Archana: Baby Wipes
Hanson, Susan: Baby Formula
Hohler, Yvette: Beans
Jaeger, Bill: Canned Vegetables
Janhsen, Karl: Milk (Dry or Boxed)
Jurasits, Erika: Cereal (Hot or Cold)
Kopcienski, Al Cereal (Hot or Cold)
Lund, Amy: Canned Chicken
Murray, Kevin: Tuna
Rhatigan, Jim: Diapers
Sabo, Pat: Beans
Sceiford, Michael: Grape Juice Boxes
Vigliante, Paul: Milk (Dry or Boxed)
***Check the list for your name and assigned item. (If you are not listed, you may donate any listed item. Corporate members are encouraged to donate individually. If you would like to be listed with a specific item, contact Debbie and specify your item of choice.)
***Bring contributions to the Heritage Diner on the 2nd Tuesday of the month or give to another Club member who will be attending.
*** If you would like to be reimbursed, bring receipt(s) to the meeting.
...PAUL VIGLIANTE, whose birthday was March 5th; DALE KUHN, who had a birthday on March 10th; TOM DONLON, who celebrated his birthday on March 13th; PAT SABO, whose birthday was celebrated on March 15th; and DENNIS BRENNAN, who will observe his birthday on March 29th!
Also: Congrats to the PJHS girls' basketball team, which for the 1st time since 1927 has won the Suffolk Class "C" Championship (Many of this team's players were also members of the NY State championship girls' soccer team) and to the PJ Documentary Film Series, which won the LI Best Film Festival Award.
