On this unseasonably warm day, I really wanted to let Doug Willett know that even CT can have nice weather in February. No such luck. He must have gotten the sense it is best not to be on the zoom screen today. Our usual social chatter before the bell revealed that Marc is zoomed out with sometimes as many as 7 meetings a day; Neil’s town will be getting a new train station, and Tiger Woods came close to having his leg amputated during surgery after his accident.
After the bell, we remained silent while President Bob recited the Pledge. This method works really well with zoom. Perhaps we can try the same with the reading of the 4-Way Test although I prefer listening to invocation. Considering Bob Wood’s situation, perhaps we need to think about someone taking the responsibility for assigning invocation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Goodwin College will give out one scholarship named after Rotary each year.
- Board meeting will be held on Tuesday March 6, 2021. Wes will send out a link.
- The Raffle has raised $4,925 so far. We have almost two more months to go. President Bob and Wes made a strong pitch for all of us to do our best. Wes is so far No. 1 in ticket sales.
- Our club got $500 from George Agnelli’s Real Estate Matching Fund initiative. Guy is also one of the agents of George’s company.
- Connor, who is our new chair of the Scholarship Committee, has reached out to Larry Hangland and received required information. He has set up a committee meeting on March 4 at 6:30 pm. Laura has sent out a zoom invite.
GUEST SPEAKER:
Jack Young, our speaker from Ohio, spoke about the Children of the Dump, in Chinnendega, Nicaragua. He made his first trip in 1994 and observed these children, mostly of single mothers, scour the dump to find food and any scrap they can sell. Through local help, support from the wife of the President of Nicaragua and in association with the Hope and Relief Foundation in Texas and assistance from his own club, Jack was able to put in place projects to help these kids. By establishing a school and providing incentives like the Shoebox Project, they have encouraged kids to stay in class. After 11 more trips and additional support from various local and US sources, he was happy to report that:
- So far 8,000 Shoeboxes have been provided to the students.
- A six-year-old girl in the school, made it through high school and college to earn a Master’s degree in Business Administration. She is now helping others who are in the same position as she was many years ago.
- There are 26 other students like her who are attending college.
- Many more are in high school.
- Another project, “House of Unwed Mothers” has provided shelter, medical care, pre and postnatal support. The project also helps them to cope with the social stigma of being an unwed mother and to finally get settled in their new lives. This program has benefitted 800 young mothers.
- His organization shipped a 500-gallon fire truck to Nicaragua which, soon after its arrival, saved the lives of three children.
- The arrival of 50 used pace makers is saving lives.
All in all, through collaborative efforts and dedication of a few people, many lives have changed in Nicaragua. Congratulations, Jack, and to your team.
Signing off and passing the baton to the High Gear Writer for March, your scribe, Anwar Hossain.
Stay safe and stay well.