It was a sunny though brisk 45 degrees outside my window when we all met on our various electronic devices. It was great to see Susan Hanson joining us on Zoom today. We also had our speaker, John Luyime join us from Uganda. With these virtual meetings the number of potential speakers is significantly increased! After the usual go around getting everyone muted\unmuted\connected, President Bob began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. There was no invocation and we skipped the Welcome song as well since neither George Schoen nor Art Bradbury were there to lead us.
Announcements
· The Rotary Scholarship deadline has been extended to May 20th
· Rotary in Motion returned the $500 we gave them for seed money last year. Apparently they raised enough that they were able to cover all of the costs. Along with the check, though, we also received a request for $500, for seed money for this year’s event.
· Goodwin University sent the club a Thank You for the $1000 scholarship that we provided
· The District Installation dinner will now be a virtual event taking place on June 17th. You can sign up on the District Web site. The link is in the Upcoming Events section on the right. https://www.rotarydistrict7890.org/
· President Bob’s challenge for COVID-19 related donations has raised $225 so far
· Laura Floyd announced that she is working with the Hartford Foundation to get grant money to help feed people in need in East Hartford. If she receives the funding then she will be looking for volunteers to help shop, package up food, etc.
· Next week’s Virtual Happy Hour will feature a BINGO game. If you would like to play, email Marc Glass at Marc Glass dgglass2021.gmail.com@clubrunner.email and he will send you a card.
Caring Moments
· Dan Larson announced the birth of his 9th grandchild Brinley Stella Larson. Congratulations!
· Bill Saunders reported that Dick McCarthy is back home and doing well making progress on his recovery
· Deb Wood is back home and looking well
Our speaker today was Rotarian John Luyime, who Zoomed in from Uganda, where he is the Executive Director (and also a Founder) of the Shield of Faith Community Empowerment Organization. SOFCEO was founded in 2015 to help care for newly orphaned children, as well as children with HIV, in the village of Naminya, Uganda. For the past 5 years the organization has been providing for the daily needs of up to 40 orphaned children in the village. These include meals 3 times a day, proper medical care, a place to sleep, and covering education expenses. SOFCEO became a registered community charity in 2015 and then became an NGO in 2019.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SOFCEO has been unable to provide the same level of care for the children, as they are running out of financing. They are looking for any help possible. If you would like to know more about SOFCEO, their website is http://www.shieldoffaith-uganda.org/ . If you would like to help, you can donate money at their GoFundMe page : https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-the-children-of-sofceo-uganda .
Upcoming Virtual Meetings
Virtual Happy Hour / BINGO
Monday April 27th, 7:00 PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84058815918?pwd=M3BiUkpRUFMwcnJHYlE1ZEs1Z093dz09
Meeting ID: 840 5881 5918
Password: 020493
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,84058815918# US (Chicago)
+16465588656,,84058815918# US (New York)
Next Weekly Meeting
Wednesday April 29, 12:00: PM
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83138229208?pwd=RWR2MTJzbzB3d1E3Q25UdW5jQVQrZz09
Meeting ID: 831 3822 9208
Password: 032552
One tap mobile
+13126266799,,83138229208# US (Chicago)
+16465588656,,83138229208# US (New York)
Until next week, stay safe. - Wes