The Summer Youth Experience is one of our Club’s most important and widely supported service initiatives. Of their 12 participating charities that received grants funded by our 2022 Wheels & Wings effort, Aaron’s Acres Summer Camp was one of the newest.
Aaron's Acres was founded in 1998 by Risa C. Paskoff and a group of parents who wanted to organize a summer camp experience for their young children who had disabilities. In its first year, 11 children participated in one week of camp in Lancaster. The organization's namesake, Aaron, was among the first campers.
Aaron's Acres is a non-profit dedicated to providing year-round, therapeutically based, age-appropriate recreation programs for children and young adults ages 5-21 with developmental disabilities. Aaron's Acres is led by professionals and university students in the fields of behavioral health, occupational therapy, special education, social work and other related fields. Aaron's Acres' 1:1 and 1:2 staff to participant ratio ensures that each participant's unique needs are met day-to-day. Programs place an emphasis on communication and socialization skills to provide a safe environment where children are encouraged to grow, "Embracing Possibilities Beyond Disabilities."
Risa Paskoff is now the Executive Director of Aaron’s Acres and has been with the organization since it first began in 1998. Creating programs for all, regardless of ability has been a constant in her work. She attended Cornell University where she studied psychology as an undergraduate student and then went to Columbia University and received her Masters’ Degree in Social Work. Soon after moving to Lancaster, 1993, Risa was one of the co-founders of Jewish Family Services in Lancaster, providing social services to those in need. After leaving JFS, she had a private practice affiliated with Roseville Pediatrics, working with children and adolescents as a psychotherapist. Risa has been married to Jack for almost 37 years and has 2 grown sons who both live in New York City.
Vicky Martin is a Lancaster County resident with a strong personal connection to Aaron’s Acres. She is the wife of David and mom to two sweet boys, Isaiah and Jacob. Isaiah, Vicky's oldest at 9 years old, has a severe form of Osteogenesis Imperfecta (or OI for short). OI is a rare collagen disorder that is mostly known for causing fractures easily. Isaiah has suffered fractures many times over the years, sometimes from things as simple as the hiccups, but he is still a little boy who wants to have fun and live life. Vicky will share with us how Aaron's Acres has “immensely” benefitted Isaiah..
Presidential Grants, report from President-Elect, and important Committee work
We had a nice-sized group present to recognize the Presidential Grant recipients and hear an interesting report from President-Elect Beth Trout on the RI focus for 2023-24 before the group split up and turned back to some of our critically important committee work..
Three of Immediate Past President Rob Gallagher's Presidential Grant recipients were present to accept their awards.
Presidential Grant recipient Case Baccio founded Clear Water For Heroes and organized the charity's Fishing Tournament, which raises money for veterans' charities. He was sponsored by Gil Lyons. Case started this in 2020 when he was 9-years old.
The Presidential Grant recipient on the left next to Immediate Past President Rob is Kristy Gismot, Director of Funding and Sustainability for Milagro House which provides educational assistance and housing for women and children who would otherwise be homeless.
The Presidential Grant recipient next to President Russ is Deanna Meyler, Director of Development at Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic. It provides care for children with craniofacial abnormalities.
After the Presidential Grant ceremony, President-Elect Beth Trout (right) presented highlights from her attendance at the President-Elect Training Session (PETS) conference. A special highlight was that incoming RI President, Gordon R. McInally from Scotland, was present and spoke to the group. He emphasized that Membership is the lifeblood of Rotary International and pointed out that recruiting and retention are prime objectives of Rotary. He referred to survey conclusions identifying the attributes of growing clubs:
Effective governance
Strong public image
Active, intentional member engagement
Dynamic, meaningful service
Diversity, equity and inclusion as an intentional focus, creating a welcoming environment for everyone.
He encouraged the use of the flexibility available after COVID to establish new-style clubs that would appeal to a different demographic, concluding that only with adequate membership are we able to adequately carry out our goal of service. His theme for the 2023-24 Rotary year is “Create Hope in the World”. He explained that the goal is to restore hope to help the world heal from destructive conflicts and to help achieve lasting change. His memorable quote was that "Peace is the soil where Hope takes roots."
The PETS conference emphasized the importance of mental health treatment and diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI).
During the committee meetings, at least three of our key working committees convened:
Meeting Planning Committee
Communications Committee
Fundraising Committee
Both the Communications and Fundraising Committees zeroed in on our Wheels & Wings and 5K Festival, with a special focus on generating greater awareness about the event and its support of Lancaster-area youth, as well as urging all RCL members to try to volunteer.
Immediate Past president Rob Gallagher announced that the nominees for the three openings in the Board of Directors are:
Jason Absell
Amy Lewis
Malcolm MacDougall
Gregg Melhorn
Brett Peters
The election will be March 22. An email with the bios of the nominees will be sent out before the election. Details of the club's elections are available in the club's Bylaws:
[https://lancasterrotary.org/transmitter/Bylaws.pdf].
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Are You Coming to the Wed., March 29, Meeting to Pack Meals?
57 People Have Volunteered to Pack Meals
The club members will come together to pack 10,000 meals at the Farm & Home Center for Food Hub/Outreach on Wednesday, March 29, at the time we normally have a meeting.
If you signed up, we’re counting on you!
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Rotary Rendezvous meets again March 22!
Rotary Rendezvous has become a highlight of RCL business and social gatherings, and a fun event for current and potential new members. Anyone who is interested in joining our committee, looking for fellowship, or simply a night out, please join us for Rotary Rendezvous on Wednesday, March 22, at Southern Market in Lancaster. Parking is available at the Steinman garage or folks can find side street parking.
Rotary Rendezvous meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month.
Arrive anytime between 5-5:30pm for drinks and fellowship.
Details:
Location: Southern Market
Parking: Steinman Garage or on street
Arrive: 5-5:30pm for drinks and fellowship
Trivia: Begins at 7:00 PM
Thanks, we hope to see you there!
- Tom Baum and Rendezvous Committee
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Have you updated your contact information?
RCL is updating our Directory!
In preparation for a new Member Directory, Secretary Eric Elliot previously announced that the Club is checking with all members to make sure their contact information on file with the club is correct. This includes telephone numbers and email addresses. Crystal passed around the current member information at the January 18th meeting. If you didn't verify or update your information at that meeting, you can contact Crystal with your current information or wait until she contacts you. She can be reached at: RCOL7390@lancasterrotary.org.
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Give Prepaid Lunch Tickets to Prospective New Members
This is a great way to invite new members! Crystal has "prepaid" lunch tickets that you can purchase and give to prospective new members when you invite them to a meeting. This way you don't have to worry about paying for their meal when they come or, for that matter, even being present when they come.
Like Fun & Car Shows? You can help spread the word about WW5K!
Our 2023 Wheels & Wings Festival &
5K Run (WW5K) will be Saturday, June 24, and there will be numerous opportunities for all RCL members to volunteer – including before the event. According to Steve Stockwell, who heads up the car show registrations, the subcommittee would like to distribute registration flyers to participants at selected car shows throughout Lancaster County and beyond in April, May, and early June. If you like going to car shows, or simply have some time to take a Saturday afternoon ride this spring, please consider volunteering to help spread the word about our own WW5K.
We will soon have a schedule of all the car shows in the area. Contact Steve or subcommittee co-chairs Amy Lewis or Jamie Dalton to join the effort. Future issues of the Transmitter will share the many other ways members can volunteer to support our big fundraiser.
It’s not too early to reserve Saturday, June 24 for a day of Rotary volunteer service – and fun!
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IU13 Needs Volunteer Mentors for Literacy & Equivalency Programs
Josh McManness reports that IU13 is looking for 5 volunteers to help adult learners with the Literacy program or to prepare for the High School Equivalency test. Please contact Josh if you are interested at joshua_mcmanness@iu13.org.
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REMINDER: Share Your Program Ideas! We welcome interesting speakers, and engaging programs.
Our Club is always looking for ideas to add to the list of potential programs. If you have any ideas for programs, please contact Christine Sable or another member of the Meeting Planning Committee or any Board member, who will pass them along. Both live and virtual (Zoom) speakers are welcome.
The programs the Lancaster Rotary Club offers are important for our club and, with your help and participation, have often been truly phenomenal.
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Have Something to Share? To Add, Edit or Discontinue an Announcement or Photo:
Transmitter Editor, Steve Henning, will gladly add a new announcement, edit an existing announcement, or discontinue an announcement that is no longer relevant. Please contact Steve at: rotarians@earthlink.net. Photos of Rotarians in action are always welcome. Send photos to Steve at: rotarians@earthlink.net.
It is important and easy! Help Keep the Club Calendar Updated
All Rotarians – especially committee chairs – are encouraged to help keep our new Club Calendar full and updated with the great things that our Club is doing in the community. Please submit any items you would like added to RCOL7390@lancasterrotary.org. Examples include the schedule of McCaskey Mentoring Sessions, Committee Meetings, Power Packs or Salvation Army Bell Ringing. If it’s happening, let’s get it on the Calendar for all to see! Your help will keep us all updated with what’s going on within the Club AND will showcase our very active Club to the Lancaster Community and to prospective members. The Club Calendar is available atwww.LancasterRotary.org
The Summer Youth Experience is one of our Club’s most important and widely supported service initiatives. Of their 12 participating charities that received grants funded by our 2022 Wheels & Wings effort, Aaron’s Acres Summer Camp was one of the newest.
Wings Festival &
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