Recap for Brown Bag Meetings - March 24, 2014
Brown Bag Meeting - Community Link Capital Region
Rotarians who attended the Brown Bag session at Community Link Capital Region received a briefing on the 2-1-1 information and referral service from Rotarian Steve Heath and his staff. 2-1-1 is a free 24/7 telephone and online service that connects people seeking help with human services needs with resources that can provide the needed help. In addition to the briefing, attendees got a chance to tour the 2-1-1 call center and observe first-hand how service is provided.
In 2013, 2-1-1 Sacramento received more than 130,000 such phone calls from Sacramento County residents and another 10,000 calls from Shasta, Butte, Nevada and Yolo counties. 2-1-1 is able to track the kinds of help people request and whether or not their needs were able to be met—so it has real-time data about gaps in human services. According to Heath and his staff, about 43% of the calls received are about housing and homelessness issues—everything from people whose utilities are about to be cut off to people trying to find affordable housing to women looking for a place to safely spend the night with their children. The 2-1-1 database also track things like age of the caller, gender, ethnicity, income level and the zip code from which the call originated. All this data provides a rich source of information that can help nonprofits and government agencies better plan how to use scarce resources.
Brown Bag Meeting - Classic Auto Collection
"The lucky Rotarians who gained entrance into the Brown Bag at The Ramshead Museum, were surely not disappointed, as we were treated to a tour around the uniquely impressive, private car collection of our gracious host, John White. John’s collection of cars from the ‘40’s, ‘50’s and ‘60s is art on wheels, with an interesting story accompanying each one. From car buffs to those just drawn to shiny objects, Chris Ann Bachtel’s Brown Bag had something for everyone.”
Brown Bag Meeting - Habitat for Humanity
Bob Metcalf and Dina Chienjo engaged 15 members of the Sacramento Rotary with a presentation on how they’re helping save lives in Lower Nyakon, Kenya by educating members of the local community on how to test and purify their water using simple inexpensive tools, such as a “WAPI” and solar cookers. Guest speaker, Dina, a spokesperson for the organization “FOTO” (Friends of the Old), an organization which targets helping grandparents in Lower Nyakon, Kenya who are raising their grandchildren, spoke highly of the benefits of using Professor Metcalf’s water testing techniques via the “safe water packages” they’ve been delivering to members of the community. Both Professor Metcalf and Dina have high hopes to eventually reach their goal of “zero”, their strategy to eventually completely eliminate water-borne disease in Lower Nyakach, Kenya. To read more on their studies, visit http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131106202044/solarcooking/images/7/70/Eliminating_Water-bourne_Disease_Lower_Nyakach_Kenya_2013.pdf
Brown Bag Meeting - DA Crime Lab
Mead Kibbey reported that all who attended the tour at the DA Crime Lab were in for a real treat. Host, Jill Spriggs is very knowledgeable about all aspects of the crime lab and gave members an insiders look at just what they do there. The day was quite informative and enjoyable for everyone.
Brown Bag Meeting - Davis Waste & Recycling
Ken Sheppard reported that those who attended this brown bag meeting were given a tour of the facility. The group had a great time learning all about the processes and importance of recycling.
Brown Bag Meeting - World Community Services
World travel was offered at below market prices to Ethiopia and Nepal.
NAPAL: David De Roos is leading a trip to Nepal in September with a focus on education and a computer lab paid for with funds from our club.
ETHIOPIA: Seifu Ibssa is leading a second trip to his birth village near the capitol city of Addis Ababa. We will be assisting him with a water project and a school project.
Both of these trips will allow you to go behind the tours and meet wonderful local people who are eager to have us in their villages. As native English speakers we will be speaking to a variety of age groups from 5-20 . Either trip will change your life in amazing ways.
