A really fun time thanks to Reshal Ploeger for setting it up, and hosting the 2nd Annual Chili Cook-Off at the community room in her complex on the Everett waterfront. What a beautiful day.
Our at meeting on Friday, November 7th, Debbie Bodal introduced Jacinta Silakan both members of Lynnwood Rotary to talk about the Maasai Borehole Project in Kenya.
The Maasai culture is very beautiful and with amazing people but they have some underlying cultures like FGM and early marriages. Water is a big challenge in this community and one of the biggest reasons for them to migrate from one place to another in search of water. It's a big reason why there is human wildlife conflict competing for water.
Join the Festival of Trees on Saturday, November 22nd at the 1st Annual event. You won't want to miss it.
Fred our Club Dragon showing off. Lake Stevens Rotary partnering with the Lake Stevens Arts and Parks Foundation.
Wet and rainy weather didn't stop the flow of families from coming out for Friday's Harvest Fest Halloween night at North Cove Park. Notice a new addition to the combination site. Check it out.
Our guest speaker on Friday, October 31st was Club member Anthony Hawley updating members and guest on the Lake Stevens Community Food Bank. Anthony commented that with SNAP program ending tomorrow, there is the unknown. 42 million Americans will loose their food benefits. This week alone, the Food Bank has 93 brand new people coming to the Food Bank. Most SNAP recipients have jobs but do not make enough money for all of the essentials.
The Food Bank started in 1983 at Ebenezer in the church basement. Building campaign took 15 years to complete the new Food Bank.
Annearita Solimine from Italy receives a Lake Stevens Rotary Banner from Rand Southam and Chris Vallo during the Zone Institute Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Institute is basically a training session for new Governor-Elects in Zones 26 & 27.
Annearita is a college student who is studying Media. Likewise, she is a College Exchange student who stayed with Rand and his wife. Before coming to Lake Stevens she had visited Canada and visited our Club on October 17th. She presented our Club with a banner from her home town. Digital Face Media was in Albuquerque working on the Zone 26 & 27 Conference and Annearita was interning and helping with the set up and more. Annearita produced a short video for the conference. She returned to Italy on Tuesday.
One Lake Stevens couple is making a huge different in some very important areas of the world. Keith and Ali Sharp founded “We Heart All.” The Mission of “We Heart All” is to empower vulnerable children for a better tomorrow. They partner with communities around the world. Keith is a fire fighter and Alli was a police officer. One of the communities that they work in is Uganda with Jonah a lawyer in Uganda who has been deeply involved in We Heart Uganda.
Our guest speaker on Friday, October 10th was Joan Penney, Sr. Director of Resource Development, Marketing, and Communications for Housing Hope. There are 654 housing units in Housing Hopes inventory for those in need of shelter. There developmental pipeline was the first housing development on Edmonds School District property. State law recently allowed school districts to use excess property for these type of developments. Joan talked about the McKinney-Vento children and the difference between the description of homelessness issued by HUD and Housing Hope.
Accepting the Presidential Citation, now called the Certificate of Excellence for 2024-2025 from District Governor-Elect Kathleen Olson was Past President Ron Rasmussen on Friday, October 3rd at our regular Friday morning meeting.
Our guest speaker for Friday, September 26th was Cassidy Bastian representing the Death Cafe. The speaker is an end-of-life doula, detailing their role in guiding and educating families, similar to a birth doula. They host monthly “Death Cafes” to provide a safe space for discussion about death and inform about legal end-of-life choices.
There is no regular governing body for end-of-life doulas which can be a challenge. And a significant unresolved issue is the absence of a formal governing body for end-of-life doula professionals. There are no established standards, for practice, certification, or professional conduct which hinders standardization and public trust which are many of the challenges.
Interact is a service club for youth ages 14-18. The name is a combination of the words international and action. We join Clubs in over 120 countries around the world. The global youth network is dedicated to community and international service. Every Interact Club project, great or small, has a lasting impact on society worldwide.
Club Meetings
The Interact Club does not meet during the summer. Find out the latest at our Facebook site.
