Reminder - Due to the present public health concerns and Governor Walz Executive Orders regarding social distancing, our in person Wednesday morning weekly meetings until further notice. Ed.
Next Meeting August 5, 2020 - President Chris Carr called the next weekly meeting by Zoom video conference for August 5, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. Ed.
Please see Chris Carr's upcoming email with the dial in / login instructions and links. Ed.
Member Submissions - See Nancy D.'s two members submissions below. First, a service project New Mom and Baby Kits and, second, an update from a previous foundation awardee, Rain Harvestation Initiative at the Orphan School - YAGNA (Youth Awakening for a Glorious Nation).
Pictures - Thank you to several of you sending in pictures of local landmarks and, of course, your kids. If something finds its way onto your phone you think would interest the rest of us, please end it to michaelcglover@comcast.net. Ed.
From the Archives
IMPORTANT UPDATE to Upcoming Events Below
Important - Check with meeting leaders to confirm date, time and location information for all events below.
Mac H. for Scott J. - With the club meeting virtually since 3/18/20 on Zoom due to the pandemic, members have had the opportunity to see everything and everyone. This is a gift.
Pledge
Terry S.
4-Way Test
Glen J.
Announcements
Jennifer S. - Donations will be accepted on Wednesday, August 5 between 10:00AM – 2:00PM at Eisenhower Community Center. Please call Jennifer at 952-988-4091 and she will meet you at the main entrance to Eisenhower Community Center to receive your donations.
Glen J. - FreeBikes4Kids is planning on hosting their Fall service project as usual. Glen will be sending out information as we get closer to October.
Nancy D. - Rotary Club of North Minneapolis has invited all local clubs to join them as they create kits for new moms and their babies as part of the Infant Mortality Project. Club members will meet Saturday, August 15 from 10:00-2:00 PM at the North Minneapolis Peace Garden. See the website for additional information.
Chris C. - Requested members to login to Club Runner and confirm your contact information is correct.
Upcoming series on Racial Inequity will be available on three different dates and times. Consult the website for information.
Rotary Minute
Cathy C. - addressed Rotary policies during an election year:
Rotary is a politically neutral organization. Members should refrain from expressing political opinions, campaigning while attending meetings or soliciting political. support. Rotary member do not takes sides or support political platforms. Rotary meetings should not be biased toward any one candidate. Our meetings should serve as neutral forums.
From Cathy C.- Election Year Policies –
It is the policy of a Rotary Club to refrain from programs of a political nature. We could serve as a neutral form for occasional debates of political issues, but not during an election year. And then, we are very careful. Why?
The Rotary constitution provides that Rotary Clubs shall not express opinions of any public measure. Rotary Clubs do not take sides, and we do not support any particular political point of view. As a caution, this rule becomes difficult to follow when school bond issues and other local tax matters come up for vote and the Club is pressured through its own members to make announcements urging members to vote for or against a particular issue. We might announce the date of a particular election and urge members to vote, while refraining from urging particular point of view in the election.
Rotary is a politically neutral organization. No candidate for public office shall be, knowingly, invited as a guest speaker within one year prior to his or her election date. One allowable exception would be for an incumbent to present a non-political program on the current state of their office. All members seeking political office should refrain from campaigning for office while attending a Rotary meeting. Guests of Rotary members, desiring to hold public office, should be cautioned against campaigning while attending a Rotary meeting.
Also, in general, speakers, whatever their products or services, are not allowed to make direct solicitations for funds from members. Of course, this would apply to Rotary members approaching Rotary members also. Standard Rotary Club Constitution, Art. 16, Sec. 1&2
Happy Bucks
Mike G. - is looking forward to seeing his three children this weekend in Chicago and playing some golf.
Bill S. - welcomed our new Rotary Club member Alyssa Silva Olsen.
Terry S. - has a 2 page “To Do List” that has been actively added to over the past 10 years. He is finally making some headway and checking items off.
Cathy C. - family gathered to say goodbye to grandson, Luke, who is headed to John Hopkins for the final month of his internship before starting his PhD program this Fall.
Frank B. - shared that the Star Tribune had an article on Henry Bromelkamp, Club 9 philanthropist, in this past Sunday’s Star Tribune. Frank paid his respects to Congressman John Lewis
Mary T. - shared that this week was a big week of family birthdays and she plans to eat a large amount of cake.
Bob H. - honored his Dad by sharing…. If and when the Twins return with fans, beer will be served because the Twins did not lose their opener this year.
Patti S. - pleased to accept a generous grant from Rotary Dist. Governor Tom Gump on behalf of the ICA. She is excited to head to Canterbury Park tonight. Her twins took their driver’s permit test but only one passed. Soon she will have three teen drivers. Good news for Jerald.
Chris C. - shared that his brother-in-law owns Top Golf but Chris still managed to beat him in golf this past weekend.
Program
Mark F welcomed Alyssa to the Minnetonka Rotary Club as a fellow member.
Alyssa is excited to be part of the Club. She shared that she was slightly nervous to present and was happy that it was a virtual presentation versus from the podium. (BTW, she did an amazing job J).
A couple fun facts about Alyssa:
Alyssa was born and raised in MN. She spent some time in CO but returned in 2019 to be closer to family.
Alyssa met her husband Mikey when she signed up for skydiving lessons and he was her instructor. The rest is history. They have two dogs, Bert and Beulah.
In their free time, Mikey and Alyssa compete in skydiving tournaments. They perform as a duo and have met some wonderful people during these tournaments.
The highest jump Alyssa made was at 22,000 feet and estimates that she has made 2500 jumps.
In addition to skydiving, they enjoy spending time with their families and at the cabin.
Alyssa is a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker. She loves the challenge and that each day is different. Prior to CB, she worked for RE/MAX and had also considered a career in nursing.
Alyssa looks forward to meeting all of the club members live and being a part of this club that enjoys service while also having fun.
Fundraising for FY 2020-21 Update
Mark M and Scott J along with committee chairs reported on fundraising. There will be multiple events this year with the goal of having fun and maximizing donations to the Club. A brief summary of the potential events with more details to come:
Ron and Betsy are working on a virtual cooking class and are in the process of soliciting several local chefs. They are also considering adding a comedy component. Stay tuned.
Chris R shared that the club will host a small golf event on Thursday, September 9 at Glen Lake Golf Course as the course is not available for large groups due to pandemic. A max of 40 golfers will participate with the hopes of raising $4,000-$5,000. A social gathering will take place following the golf at a yet to be determined location. Additional information including registration will be available soon.
Start thinking about who you would like to invite. Space as mentioned will be limited.
Our Annual Club Golf Tournament, traditionally held in September, will move to May 2021.
Patti S reported that she is considering options for virtual bingo in February. She has many great ideas and will bring her committee together soon to discuss the details.
Mike G is working on details for a raffle where tickets will be sold starting in April with the final drawing to be held at Minnetonka Summerfest in June. There will be a mix of prizes and cash with the intention of raising as much money as the Club raised last year.
Next Meeting
August 5, 2020 at 7:30 by Zoom.
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned by Chris C. at 8:33 a.m.
Member Submissions
From Nancy D. - Rotary Hands-On Opportunity to Help with New Mom and Baby Kits
With help from our Rotary friends, we have raised $37,000 to fund two initiatives supporting African American moms-to-be:
First, we partnered with the March of Dimes and Hennepin Healthcare (HHS) to create training for Group Prenatal Care (GPC) for African American women in Minneapolis. GPC is an evidence-based approach to healthcare visits that has been proven to reduce premature birth and improve outcomes for both new moms and babies of color.
Then, we funded an innovative pilot program at HHS to pair pregnant African American women in North Minneapolis with doulas virtually through smart phones.
As a part of our commitment, we are also creating New Mom and Baby Kits to provide supplies to help the new mothers and their babies as they start their life together. We are inviting our fellow Rotarians, as well as our neighbors in North Minneapolis, to help us put together these kits.
We'll also provide a lunch of burgers and hot dogs (as well as vegetarian options) for volunteers and the neighborhood.
Thank you for your help - it is greatly appreciated!
Details of the event:
Where: North Minneapolis Peace Garden, 1110 N 18th Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55411 (outdoors, socially distancing)
When: Saturday, August 15, 11:00-2:00
(Rain date: Sunday, August 16, 11:00-2:00)
While it’s not required, we invite clubs to bring materials to help with the kits. We have enough materials for 40 kits, but more is always better, as they will provide critical assistance to these new families. Please email jim@tinchers.net with questions. Items include:
Items for baby:
1-2 packages of Pampers size one
1 box of wipes
2 Onesies
2 Burp cloths
1 Front carrier
Items for mom:
Bottle of lavender oil or lotion
Stress ball
Eye pillow (could be scented with lavender)
Herbal teas
Slippers (one size fits all)
Journal
Coloring books for adults for stress relief (with colored pencils)
From Nancy D. - Rain Harvestation Initiative at the Orphan School - YAGNA (Youth Awakening for a Glorious Nation)
From: Hasini Siri Date: July 25, 2020 at 10:17:57 PM CDT To: Nancy Davis, Ron Usem , LaWayne Yaeger , Stacey Quinn Subject:Update and Pictures
Hello Ms. Davis, Ms. Yaeger, Ms. Quinn, and Mr. Usem,
I hope all is well. Thanks so much for your support. I just wanted to send an update.
The school campus is being very safe; they are not letting anyone enter the building. They are still maintaining as normal as possible schedule with the farm and school. The construction has started; however, it is slow due to lockdown.
I attached some pictures from the farm below.
Thank you once again,
Hasini
Further detail from Nancy D.:
The name of the project is Rain Harvestation Initiative at the Orphan School - YAGNA (Youth Awakening for a Glorious Nation). It is located in Dhannaram Village, Vikarabad Dist., Telangana.
Hasini is the young teenaged daughter of a former president of the Plymouth Rotary Club and she spearheaded the project. She and her family have traveled back to India multiple times. Plymouth RC partnered with the Rotary Club of Gachibowli, Hyderabad India to put together this project. Our club contributed $1750 in April 2020 and Plymouth Rotary contributed $2000. They have other sources of funding in India. The school collects rainwater from the roofs of the school building, collects it in a tank, and links it to the existing irrigation system. The students learn how to grow their own food which as part of the schools' curriculum.
Club Information
Minnetonka Rotary Club
The Club for Building Responsible Youth
We meet Wednesdays at 7:15 AM
Eisenhower Community Center
1001 Highway 7 in Room 233
( above portico entrance )
Hopkins,
MN 55305 United States of America
