Be sure and join us this coming Tuesday afternoon about 5:30 pm at the Smiling Toad Brewery -- 1757 S. 8th St, C/S. Biff has a special brew for us plus $1 of each beer sale will go to Flight. A great opportunity to socialize with fellow Rotarians.
I've been in contact with our Global Grant Scholar, Jourdan McGinn. She'll arrive in London this Saturday with classes starting at the end of the month. She has visa in hand, tuition is paid, and she's got a flat in the Finsbury Park area of London. In two weeks, she'll be joining other Global Grant Scholars and Peace Fellows who are studying in the UK & Ireland this year for a special weekend. http://rotarylinkgbi.org.uk/component/eventbooking/rotary/2-linkweekend2016?Itemid=101
Save the date for a gathering in the late afternoon at the Smiling Toad Brewery http://www.smilingtoadbrewery.com on Tuesday, Sept 13th (Time TBD) The brewery is owned by Rotarian Biff Morehead. $1 from every beer sale will go to Flight. The "Bite Me" food truck will be there, too, serving traditional brats, Reubens, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Having been part of the Rotarian Family for just over a year has been inspiring and compelling. To be surrounded on a weekly basis with a group of people whose mission it is to impact humanity locally and internationally is profound. That being said, it is an honor to be involved on this year's Flight Committee where our local chapter of Rotary will strive to make a difference in School District 11. With the commitment from fellow Rotarians, local leaders and the community, last year The Rotary Club of Colorado Springs, through the Flight Gala, was able to raise over $100k and provide grants to District 11 and our Club Service Fund, including funding a purchase for green screen technology for Palmer High School.
This year at the Gala, in addition to the Butterfly Auction and Silent Auction, we will be offering a Wine Pull. This is a fun opportunity to help us raise additional funds. If you are not familiar with a wine pull, the idea is to donate $20 and draw from a barrel of wine corks to win a fabulous bottle of wine. To make this fundraiser possible, we need your help! The Committee is asking that if possible, each Rotarian contribute a bottle of wine for the Pull; with a value of $20 or more. Any donations are welcomed and greatly appreciated. Please bring all contributions to the Friday club lunch.
In advance, we as a committee want to thank you for making this year's Flight a huge success!
We will not have a regular meeting at The Antlers on Friday, Sept 23rd. We'll be at The Hotel Elegante, I-25 & Circle. We will have a plated meal -- no buffet.
Let’s Celebrate Basic Education and Literacy Month in Our Club
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month in Rotary, and we want to celebrate the importance of both areas of focus in our Rotary year. Rotary International’s goal is "to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.”
September 8 is International Literacy Day — find a way to celebrate this day in your club!
We have taken important information from the Basic Education and Literacy part of the RI website as a guide for the work in our district.
"Basic education and literacy is one of Rotary’s six areas of focus. We know that basic education and literacy are essential for reducing poverty, improving health, encouraging community and economic development, and promoting peace.
Consider these facts:
•A child born to a mother who can read is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five.
• If all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty, which
would be equivalent to a 12% cut in world poverty.
Let’s Continue to Plan and Support Basic Education and Literacy Efforts in Our District: Our District’s Literacy Award
We would like to encourage clubs throughout District 5470 to apply for the District Literacy Award in Spring, 2017. Two clubs received the District Literacy Award at the District Conference this year. The clubs were the Rampart Range Club in Colorado Springs and the Colorado Springs Rotary Club. They showed evidence that they had supported five or more literacy projects.
Examples of the literacy projects are: SOUNS (www.souns.org); Dictionary Project; Trampled Rose (www.trampledrose.org); Donation of Books; Rotary Readers at an Elementary School (once a week); Book Drives; Supporting Literacy Development in Mexico); Imagination Library (Dolly Parton’s Reading Program) www.imaginationlibrary.com
Please contact us if you have questions or if you would like ideas for addressing the criteria for the District Literacy Award in spring, 2017.
Have you ever wondered about becoming a Rotary Reader for Queen Palmer Elementary School? This is a key way that our Rotary club makes a difference in the local community.
The Local Service Projects Committee is again making literacy a priority in the new program year. We hope to get some new readers on board by mid-September. Previous readers who will also be Rotary Readers in the new school year are Dennis and Liz Shoemaker.
Anna Lockwood, the school’s community liaison, explains how the program works.
Each reader is assigned to a second- or third-grade classroom, at a regular weekly reading time set by the classroom teacher (that is, the same day and time each week). This is a period of about 45 minutes each week. The teacher determines the classroom reading assignment for the week, as well as whether the Rotary Reader is (a) circulating in the classroom to help various students, or (b) working alongside a designated student for the entire school term.
Principal Julie Fahey believes that consistency is the touchstone for Rotary Readers. This means having readers who are committed to being in the classroom each week for the approximately
36 weeks of the school year. Granted, this is no small commitment.
However, this year, she is open to having Rotary Readers who are open to reading every other week on a set schedule. These readers would help in the same classroom as a 36-week Rotary Reader (in other words, not as a substitute for the regular reader).
Your spouse or friend may also participate as a Rotary Reader, under the same conditions. Before the first reading session, each reader registers at a kiosk in the Queen Palmer office. This process takes only five or ten minutes, but you must bring a valid ID when you register. A background check will be performed on each new reader; while this takes about three weeks, you may begin working as a Rotary Reader right away. Each registered reader will receive a badge that is kept in the front office. When you arrive to read each week, you will scan that badge, and you’ll do the same when you leave the school.
If you’re not sure that Rotary Readers is a good fit for you, you may “shadow” a Rotary Reader in a classroom once. Please consider doing that sooner rather than later.
Please consider whether you are willing to step up as a Rotary Reader. Contact Judy Casey at (719) 471-3553 or at jdcasey1@centurylink.net.
Are you too big to dig in the dirt or talk to the animals? We hope not, because we’d like your help with a Rotary effort on Tuesday, Oct. 11. The time commitment is four hours, from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
Sad but true, the hail in July doomed the pumpkins that Venetucci Farm would otherwise be giving out at its annual Pumpkins for Kids event. (Maybe you were one of those lucky kids who got to see the farm and take a free pumpkin home.) However, this year the farm celebration goes on. Docents are needed to introduce the kids to activities such as digging for worms in the worm bin, making compost, or visiting animals like draft horses, sheep and goats. Other volunteers help with logistics, such as coordinating parking.
For the past 8 years, various schools have been bringing preschoolers, kindergartners and first-graders to Venetucci, which now is owned and operated by the Pikes Peak Community Foundation. David Rudin, PPEF’s education director for Venetucci Farm and Pinello Ranch, says, “Docents aren’t reciting speeches but rather interacting with kids, having fun, and keeping things safe.” Kids are always accompanied by teachers or parents. You don’t need to attend any meetings ahead of time, because David will have concise info sheets at each station to give volunteers some tips and background on the area they’re helping in.
We need at least four volunteers to make this a club effort. If you can give an hour that morning, please contact Katherine George (director of local service projects) no later than Monday, Sept. 12, at 635-8947 or kgeorge2131@gmail.com.
Were you a Girl Scout -- or did you raise one? Or are you just a fan of Thin Mints and Samosas?
If so, can you give an hour and a half on Saturday morning, Sept. 17, to help with parking for an event of the Girl Scouts of Colorado/Colorado Springs office?
This is the Girl Scout Women of Distinction brunch that begins at 11 a.m. at the Norris-Penrose Event Center. Your services would be needed by 9:30 a.m.
Debbie Swanson of the organization (and a former member of our club), says, "We typically use Girl Scouts for our volunteers, but it was pointed out to me that we really should have adults doing this one task." She adds that the event center has confirmed that it carries liability insurance covering volunteers on the premises.
We need four volunteers to make this a club effort. If you can give an hour that morning, please contact Katherine George (director of local service projects) no later than Monday, Sept. 12, at 635-8947 or kgeorge2131@gmail.com. This can be that Saturday’s "Do a good deed daily" for you!
