Barbara McChesney enjoyed a 35 year long career as a special educator and was always passionate about being a good steward of the land. Retirement provides incredible travel and camping experiences, primarily exploring the great outdoors. This has reinforced Barbara’s desire to learn about and work to protect our beautiful planet. Since joining the Rotary club of Windsor 3 years ago, Barbara has become actively engaged as the chair of her club environmental committee, and the chair of the Environment Committee for District 5130. The Rotary Club of Windsor is an Ambassador Club for End Plastic Soup: a global environmental project for Rotary and Barbara serves as the liaison.
Barbara, along with her sisters Beverly and Frances are co-authors of McSisters Tackle Plastic (www.mcsisters.org), a blog designed to share information about the plastic crisis and inspire readers to make a difference.
The Children's Museum of Sonoma Count by Collette Michaud, Founder and CEO
Our speaker for July 27th was Collette Michaud of the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County. Collette also brought Jose Villagomez, the Museum’s Outreach Director, and Noel to further explain the Museum’s approach. Collette reminded us that she received a Paul Harris Fellow Award from Past President Mike Kelly! Collette is the founder and CEO of the Museum. Prior to founding the Museum, Collette worked for over 15 years designing children’s software. Collette left the software business in 2001 to raise her two children and became acutely aware of children’s play issues.
In 2005, Collette founded the Children’s Museum. As a child she lived near a Children’s museum and loved it. She even remembers how much she loved to see the Primitive Art of Skull Surgery exhibit! While raising her young sons, however, she noted the lack of similar resources in Sonoma County and decided to start a museum here. She was a stay-at-home mom during the day and built exhibits and planned events and activities at night. She took her exhibits to schools and other venues in her own minivan. As the number of exhibits she attended increased to about 64 per year, she expanded by purchasing a trailer. She also started working on finding a permanent home for the museum. They found their current location next to the Ice Arena on W. Steele Lane and opened in 2014. The outdoor play areas were built out but opening the interior was a more difficult job, in part because they expanded the space to include a second floor.
The Museum now has 184,000 visitors per year with an average of 650 per day in the summer. They serve 32,000 low income kids and their loved ones each year, underwritten by the Museum for about $380,000. They also have school field trips on Thursday and Friday, also largely underwritten by the Museum. The Museum has an annual budget of $2.4 million, 60% of which comes from admission fees and retail sales. The balance comes from donors and grants.
Why does this children’s play matter? Children spending time interacting with their loved ones directly forms the architecture of children’s brains. By age 5, 90% of a child’s brain is formed. It is extremely important to get children out and learning things through play activities, since they learn more quickly that way. Research indicates that only 1 in 4 children is actually ready for kindergarten. The Children’s Museum has a wealth of play activities that will directly impact a child’s learning. Mary’s Garden, an outdoor space, allows children to explore and discover on their own. In the Museum, kids can visit and play in many wonderful activities, including a medical lab, toddler time, sewing lab, story time, Big Thinker Steam, Space Odyssey for Galactic Explorers, Mechanical Waterways next to the Little Russian River, and much more.
Jose told us about the many important Children’s Museum partners and about his interaction with a mother who he helped sign up for reduced fee admissions. She told him, “You changed my life.” Noel thanked Sunrise for our donation, which helped fund a recent program for the Great Train Days.
Collette also mentioned that the Children’s Museum needs volunteers, so anyone interested should call her! Many thanks to Collette, Jose, and Noel for the wonderful and helpful presentation. We are so happy to be involved with the Children’s Museum again!
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
The President Adjourns Our Meeting with this Message:
THERE IS A FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: IT IS YOUR MIND, YOUR TALENTS, THE CREATIVITY YOU BRING TO YOUR LIFE AND THE LIVES OF PEOPLE YOU LOVE. WHEN YOU LEARN TO TAP THIS SOURCE, YOU WILL TRULY HAVE DEFEATED AGE” SOPHIA LOREN
Sunrise Rotarians Del, Paul, Penny and Krisitne attended the July gathering of the Sonoma County Association of Rotary Clubs (SCARC) at Balleto Vineyard on Thursday, July 27th.
The host club, Sebastopol Sunrise, put on a Mexican themed evening with great food and colorful ambiance. Del was honored with his 97th birthday and 62 years of perfect attendance.
Lined up on their mark, begged, borrowed not stolen wheel barrows cued up early Saturday, July 29th, at Lewis Learning Center to put in place several yards of granite and rich planting mix to become home to six raised beds home for new vegetables.
Peter Hoberg, Environmental Focus Co-chair looks happy to see Peter Banks and Rich Randolph busy leveling the planter area.
Many hands and shovels make the time fly. Once leveled, the area requires a layer of rock for drainage. This project was masterfully organized by Curtis Short, founder of CHArt and Sunrise Climate Action Group, the project restores land soil while engaging citizens in actions aimed toward climate health. It takes muscle, materials and vision.
President Debra Robertson came with chocolate pick-me-ups!
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Climate Action Co-chair, Paul O'Rear, consults with Curtis and Lewis Principal, Janel Plack, on final preparations. Soon the seeds of learning will be sprouting up in the soil. This Garden has certainly germinated growth in other yards.
Curtis says "Bring in the seedlings!!"
For an amazing time-elapse view of the project, click HERE. See magic happen (and a lot of hard work)!
Well known to many Sunrise Rotarians are the garden and animals of Forget Me Not Farm. Last Saturday the animals met Kristine Burns and her daughter, Emilie. They were joined by Callan Brumbaugh, Rich & Betsy Randolph's grandson. Maverick and Luigi, goat buddies, nibbled snacks out of their hands and the chickens welcomed a lift and feather stroking. Callan was guided to two fresh warm eggs for Sunday breakfast. Percy, the well nourished senior pig, behaved well while neighboring Fern, the blind porker, kept safe distance from Van Gogh, the third of the trio.
With prior arrangements with the Farm Director Carole Rathmann, a visit may be scheduled. The Farm is a sanctuary, animals are adopted for life, and they bring vitality in diversity, insight and caring skills. As a year-round farm, the soil is nurtured, yielding produce for youthful gardeners and family as well as farm livestock.
Sunrise supports the Farm with volunteers and financial resources. For additional Forget Me Not Farm background, see their website Click Here http://www.forgetmenotfarm.org
Ken Petro - is the proud owner of a brand new Ford Mustang (definitely not electric)!
Debra Robertson - Gave a High 5 for her grandson who plays for the Windsor under 12 all-star team. They will be heading to Branson Missouri August 1st to play in little league World Series representing California. First game against mid Atlantic team, southern and eastern team.
Her grandson (bottom left) will be one of the starting pitchers first game. He is also short stop and catcher. This team is incredible!
The personnel director was interviewing a job applicant. "Given that you have no experience whatsoever in this field, you're asking for an awfully high salary," she pointed out.
"I suppose so," replied the applicant, "but think how much harder the work's going to be if I don't know anything about it."
Called by a cause: Rotary Club of Mental Health & Wellness
By Dinah Eng
Over the years, whenever Maribel Khoury-Shaar’s Rotarian husband suggested she join Rotary, the busy doctor declined. But when she learned that a Rotary club dedicated to mental health and wellness was forming, she jumped on board.
It came at just the right time for the primary care physician. After the pandemic started, most of her patients were anxious and depressed, and she was getting burnt out as a health care provider. “This club reinvigorated my life because I was around like-minded people who wanted to do the right thing,” says Khoury-Shaar, president of the Rotary Club of Mental Health & Wellness in District 5280, which covers parts of Los Angeles County in California. The club meets online and welcomes members to join from anywhere in the world. Its current members include professionals in the mental health field and others who hold the issue close to their hearts.
The club, chartered last May during Mental Health Awareness Month in the U.S., is one of the first cause-based Rotary clubs to focus on mental health and wellness and was the idea of Guity Javid, the 2021-22 governor of District 5280. It’s one of a growing number of cause-based clubs around the world.
The Rotary Club of Mental Health & Wellness is one of a growing number of cause-based clubs around the world. Its members include (top row, from left): Judith Verduzco and Maribel Khoury-Shaar; and (bottom row, from left): Guity Javid and Marisol Chianello.
Frank Ishman
The year before Javid's term, the district had already chartered one cause-based club, District 5280 Rotarians Fighting Human Trafficking. Javid identified three other causes that were personal priorities and helped launch these clubs: Mental Health & Wellness, Rotarians for Environmental Action, and Rotarians in Service for Equality (R.I.S.E.), which focuses on LGBTQ+ concerns.
"I was pleasantly surprised at the number of Rotary spouses who might never have joined Rotary, but for these causes," Javid says. "We also attracted younger members. Mental health has been a huge crisis during the pandemic. People were isolated, and many turned to alcohol and drugs to cope." Eliminating the stigma associated with mental health is a priority, she adds.
While the Mental Health & Wellness club is relatively new, members have launched notable initiatives, including an effort to award $5,000 in scholarships annually to students pursuing graduate-level work on mental health. Members assembled and distributed coping kits containing stuffed animals, supportive cards, and other items to children with burn injuries. And they promoted mental health and wellness among school-age children through the Inspiring Kindness initiative, a collaboration with other clubs, schools, and the Alex Montoya Foundation.
Another priority is serving military veterans, including by helping refurbish an American Legion post in Glendale, California.
Club member Marisol Chianello, an attorney in Glendale, became the point person for that project. She joined the club because she's dealt with mental health issues herself and wanted to create resources for others, she says. Her husband is a Gulf War veteran, and when one of his friends told her about the American Legion post's challenges, she immediately wanted to help.
"Half of the space had to be rented out for income to survive," Chianello says. "The other half was used for storage and was filled with uniforms, medals, and military memorabilia. With support from other district clubs, we cleaned it up and reopened the space." The location now has a space where veterans can seek calm and, eventually, referrals to resources to improve their mental health. Chianello says the American Legion is working with the club to determine how Rotary can help maintain the site.
Club President-elect Judith Verduzco, a therapist in Glendale, was also drawn to join because of the club's focus. Like Khoury-Shaar, Verduzco has a Rotarian husband who encouraged her to become a member.
In addition to building on projects underway, Verduzco says her focus will be on suicide prevention and partnering with organizations that provide mental health services and promote awareness of the issue. "As a clinician, I encourage my clients to call 988 in the event of a crisis," she says, referring to the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline modeled on the 911 system and launched last year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of suicides in the United States increased 4 percent from 2020 to 2021, after declines in 2019 and 2020. "My vision is to call attention to the magnitude of the problem," Verduzco says.
She is interested in research on community gardening's mental health benefits. She plans to collaborate with other cause-based clubs and cities in Los Angeles County to create what are known as tranquility gardens, to try to provide peace and hope to underserved communities.
"We've done a lot in a short period of time," Verduzco says. "We meet virtually twice a month, but outside of that, I want to create opportunities for fellowship and service. Mental health affects everyone, and this club is a great way to get friends involved so that we can stay connected while doing good."
This story originally appeared in the April 2023 issue of Rotary magazine.
Members of the Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives strive to improve the mental health of our communities and build friendships.
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