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Tomorrow’s meeting:
Bridgette Nugent, Deputy Director of Tompkins County Youth Services Department Presents: Bullying Prevention Taskforce March 4, 2020
Newsletter Reporter: Gail Lyman | Photos: Mike Brown | Editor: Ted Schiele President Frank Towner rose to the Trifecta Challenge offered in last week’s newsletter, and pulled out a recital Hat Trick — maybe with an asterisk* — with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Four-Way Test, and capping it off with the first-meeting-of-the-month singing of Happy Birthday! Yes! Mic Drop Towner!
Mike Brown had the Thought for The Day, from Terry Pratchett’s character, Captain Samuel Vimes, in Men at Arms: The Play.
The quotation, which is labeled as, “the Captain Samuel Vimes ‘Boots’ theory of socioeconomic unfairness,” begins thus: The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. In an effort to be compact, rather than giving you the full quote here, I will urge you to click this link to read the entirety of the theory at GoodReads.com.
Sponsoring Rotarians introduced their guests. The coupon prize was tickets to the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra’s season finale, coming up March 27. President Frank pulled the winning ticket, which went to Heidi Goldstein!
 Loretta Goss went to Florida. If you remember Happy Dollars a few weeks back, a lot of us (you) have gone to Florida this year. But Loretta not only went to Florida, she went to a Rotary meeting there and brought back a banner, from the Rotary Club of Panama City Beach! Loretta said it was the first time she had visited another Club, and clearly recommended the experience. Don’t forget to take an Ithaca banner with you!
Maricelis Acevedo introduced our club’s handwashing experts & enthusiasts, Joe Cassaniti, Heidi Goldstein, and Melissa Coville, and updated members about a brochure titled, “Have U Washed Your Hands 2 Day?” that was revealed in last week’s newsletter. With news of the novel coronavirus increasingly dominating the media, the brochure was printed by our Club, and made available for members to distribute. Recognizing the vulnerability of older members of our community, the action team drew in Jessica Gosa, Foodnet/ Meals on Wheels, to distribute the brochure to all MOW participants. The team urged all Club members to get involved, and reach out to their micro communities — where you live, work, and play — with the brochures, and educate the community on proper handwashing.
President Frank read a Thank You note from Margaret Ellis, our TC3 Scholarship winner for Fall 2019. Margaret, a single mom studying to be a psychiatric nurse, expressed her sincere thanks to the Club for the scholarship award.
Before two recipients of a Paul Harris Fellow recognition were introduced, Foundation Chair Ivy Stevens-Gupta had an update on our giving status. Here’s the bullet points version:
- As of last week, we were only $3,780 away from reaching our annual foundation goal of $13,050.
- Last month we were at 59% of goal, last week we were at 71% of goal
- Our total raised so far towards the End Polio Now Campaign is $7,300.78. We have an anonymous donor who will match our dollar for dollar up to $4,350 if we reach $8,700.
- With just 4 months to go, we need about $1,400 more to reach our goal and qualify for the matching donor dollars.
- Give online at rotary.org/foundation.
 Our members who were recognized as Paul Harris Fellows were Tim Emerson, a Paul Harris Fellow Plus-1, introduced by Ron Provus, and June Losurdo, introduced by Jeff True. We all thank you for your generosity on behalf of our Club, and Rotary International.
Do you know someone who would host an exchange student? The Youth Exchange Committee is always looking for good host families. Please let Marshall McCormick (marshall@fingerlakeswm.com) or Linda Brisson (ithacarotaryYEO@gmail.com) know if you have any suggestions.
 Heidi Goldstein introduced our speaker, Hilary Boyer, Project Co-Director of Student Services for Open Doors English.
Open Doors English started as an answer to deep financial cuts at TST-BOCES’ English as a Second Language (ESL) program in February 2019. The new BOCES curriculum criteria limited ESL students to those seeking employment, focusing strictly on higher-level workplace vocabulary-focused English. Choosing not to limit their teaching to these narrow ESL areas, some BOCES teachers quit to start a more inclusive program for the BOCES students who no longer met the “employment-oriented” criteria. This new program was described as “breaking out of the BOCES bubble.”
Students at Open Doors English likened life in the Ithaca community as “like living in a house with windows but no doors; you can see people, and people can see you, but you can't reach them.” This is why we do what we do, Hilary said.
Open Doors English is affordable and comprehensive. Students from 35 different countries covering more than 30 languages are enrolled. They are immigrants, refugees, visiting scholars, international family retirees, and short-term visitors. The program’s ESL is for communicating in everyday life, employment settings, educational programs, and health care settings. Students receive coursework in American civics along with cultural norms and expectations.
 Classes are offered in the morning, afternoon, and evening with workshops and events spread throughout the week. Field trips, guest speakers, volunteering, and visiting each other’s homes extends the classroom boundaries and gives students the practice they need to be part of the wider community.
Open Doors English invites community involvement through donating to their $100,000 fundraising goal, or to their scholarship program to cover the $750 per student per year. Volunteering as a tutor, classroom assistant, conversation partner and/or office assistant are also ways to contribute, Hilary said. To learn more about volunteer opportunities visit their website: opendoorsenglish.org.
Ambassadors: None
Visiting Rotarians: None
Students: None
Workers:
• Greeter, Melissa Coville
• Kettle, Maricelis Acevedo
• Thought for the Day, Mike Brown
• Introductions, Rotary hosts introduced their guests
Set-Up: Dale Flinn, Joe Giordano, Steve Johnson, Joe Cassaniti, Jason Sidle, Brad Carruth
Bulletin Reporter: Gail T. Lyman
Photographer: Mike Brown
Bulletin Editor: Ted Schiele
Club Service Facilitators, Beverly Baker & June Losurdo
Sunshine Chair, Kellyann O’Mara
March 11, 2019
Coltivare, S. Cayuga at Clinton St., Downtown Ithaca
Bridgette Nugent, Deputy Director of Tompkins County Youth Services Department Presents: Bullying Prevention Taskforce
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