Rather than a speaker at our August 2nd meeting, the club had breakout sessions, with members choosing to meet with their preferred Avenue of Service. We asked for reports from each Avenue and received them from the International and Community Avenues.
International: Dick Murray chaired the group, and projects discussed or mentioned included the Orphan Train Project, Oliveros Scholarship Fund, Global Grant for Midwifery, Approved District Grant for Thiottle Haiti (school for poorest of poor children), Rotary Youth Exchange, Feed My Lambs in Haiti, Medical Mission to Guatemala and Shelter Box. Dick indicated some project requests might have to be scaled back, though he seemed to think all might be funded. Connie told us our latest Rotary Exchange Student had arrived from Italy. The group discussed possibilities for distributing some of these funds over the course of the year, rather than all at once. The delayed distribution for some of the projects seemed possible in certain cases. It was mentioned that our support of various international projects attracts and encourages outsiders to donate to them, through our club foundation. A visitor interested in Rotary, i.e. Attorney Noelle H. Long, sat in on the discussion.
Community: Barry Pace chaired the discussion and reported as follows:
Projects currently planned for funding
- Buffet Scholars/Lussier
- Food Pantries (Lussier, MOM, River, Grace Episcopal)
- Habitat for Humanity
- Summer School Scholarships at Lussier
Group comments mentioned the need to identify more projects, for funding and volunteering. Barry and Patrick will contact other organizations for purposes of identifying community needs in our area. These will include PorchLight, MOM, Lussier, Jefferson, Pope Farms and United Way. Other possibilities mentioned include the Kohl Fund, Evjue, MCF, Rotaract and the After Hours Club.
Total Community Services Funding Projection - $12,000