There will be a meeting on April 22, 2020 starting at 11:45 am, join us just to say "Hello." After this we will be holding meetings the first and third Wednesdays at 11:45 am, so please check the SPOKE for information you will need once you are on ZOOM.COM. This will continue until we know that we can meet once again at Valentino's every Wednesday.
I often close the meetings with what I think is a relevant quote. Today, I am starting this dispatch with lines from Saxon White Kessinger’s poem, The Indispensable Man. Take a bucket of water, put your hand in it up to your wrist. Pull it out and the hole that is remaining, is a measure of how much you’ll be missed. That poem may be true for people who feel they are the most essential persons, but it is NOT TRUE for the members of the Lincoln East Rotary, no one is dispensable, and without each of you, there is a hole that remains in our club.
We normally meet every Wednesday, and frankly, I miss seeing you at these meetings. So, we are making some adjustments to what we do. The board met last week, and we decided to meet, on Zoom, the first and third Wednesdays of the month at 11:45. Look for the information on these meetings in the Spoke, so that you can join in with us on these days. On other occasions, we may just meet, to say hello and see how everyone is doing. Next Wednesday, the 22nd, will be one of those days. If you would like to join in via Zoom at 11:45, the meeting ID is 462-136-8364 and the password is 056372. It will be great to say hello and catch up on how we are all prevailing through this pandemic.
So what have we been doing? The board authorized, and the Lincoln East Rotary Foundation funded, $1,000 for the Zambia nutrition project and another $500 toward the Seward Rotary Club’s Global Grant purchasing beds for the hospital in the Bahamas. Sue and I have taken the first steps toward the 2020 - 2021 District Grant by attending training. Now we are looking to possibly create a Grant that will provide for needs of the Food Bank. Many of our members are delivering meals through Meals on Wheels, now Chris Klingenberg is providing us opportunities to help the Center for People in Need with disposable diapers. If you are unable to get out to do service, consider donating to the Lincoln East Rotary Foundation, to the Rotary International Foundation, or the Club 14 Foundation for their Covid-19 Response Fund.
The Lincoln East Rotary is approaching the time to commit to our membership and purpose for the 2020 - 2021 year. Never before, has our club seen a larger need for ALL OF US to be a part of the Rotary motto, Service Above Self. We are the Rotary Club that honors our military and our veterans. We will continue to help erect flag poles and raise flags at the Memorial Gardens, we will be a large part of the dedication of the “Cost of Freedom” hands sculpture at the Veterans Hospital in June. Our Club does so much because of the dedication of our members. We need you all to continue your membership for next year, We Need You, We Need Each Other. In the meantime, continue with what service you can do, continue to contact and support each other, continue to think ahead to when we meet again and can reach our goals. Stay Engaged and Stay Safe,
Lincoln YMCAs To Collect Diapers for Low-Income Families
The YMCA of Lincoln is partnering with the Center for People in Need to collect diapers for low-income families during a time when parents need help the most. Four Lincoln YMCA facilities (Cooper YMCA, Copple Family YMCA, Fallbrook YMCA and Northeast YMCA) will serve as drop-off locations for diaper donations throughout the month of April.
To participate, donors can drop their items at any one of four YMCA locations. Each donation point will have bins by their front doors each Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., during the month of April (April 21, 23, 28 and 30). The diapers will be distributed by the Center for People in Need to families most in need of these donations. Please note that there is a more urgent need for larger diaper sizes (4, 5 & 6) but all diaper sizes will be accepted.
A group of us were visiting via Zoom last week and remarking how Bernie Sanders had attracted so many young supporters. Several remarked that when they were young they expected things to change “right now.” This is I think common and I suppose I had the same perspective as a young man. However, it didn’t me long in my career to discover that one needed to carefully plan strategies and gain support from those involved if you wanted accomplish your dreams. Anyone who has applied for a Rotary Grant knows that there are many hoops to jump through to get a grant approved. This may take months and in some cases over a year to have it approved. Rotarians have a lot of experience in promoting and nurturing projects. Look at what we’ve done with Polio Plus. In 1985, Rotarians began the Polio Plus project and it’s taken a long time to eliminate the disease in all but 2 countries. We continue to contribute to this project with our club Happy Dollars.
Our club began the Zambia Project in 2003, with a contribution of $500 and over the past 17 years over $400,000 in grants have been awarded plus many hours of time have been given by Rotarians and non-Rotarians in the District. We have seen a lot of progress during this time.
Thus, Rotarians have shown that it takes persistence and hard work to make an impact in the world. It would be great if idealistic young folks could team up with Rotarians who have the wisdom and capacity to fund projects. I don’t have the solution as to bringing the young and the wise together, but maybe you folks can.
The District has two more Grant Management Seminars that we can attend online. Those dates are:
Tuesday April 28, 2020 at 6:30 PM
Tuesday May 7, 2020 at 6:00 PM
You can go to the District Website and register for either of these dates. We already have two members who attended on Tuesday, April 14th. Grant applications are done online and are due by May 31, 2020.
Using the vast infrastructure developed to identify the poliovirus and deliver vaccination campaigns, the polio eradication program is pitching in to protect the vulnerable from COVID-19, especially in polio-endemic countries. From Pakistan to Nigeria, the program is drawing on years of experience fighting outbreaks to support governments as they respond to the new virus.
Birthdays April 11 through 16, 2020. Wishing each one of our Rotarians a very Happy Birthday and hope your day is filled with lots of happiness and joy!
Greg did hear back from Gene Roth and they had a nice visit. Gene's son is helping with his exercises (he is a physical trainer) and that seems to be helping some with his walking. Gene is using a walker some. It is difficult to go up and down stairs, so needs some help with that. He was in great spirits! Barb is doing good and starts another month of chemo this week, but, her first two treatments have gone well. They have a lot of food, so they are not going hungry. Their kids are there a fair amount of time helping out. He said to tell everyone HI and he will be back to Rotary, once we start back up.
Greg got a return call from Dale Lloyd on Monday (April 13) and they had a nice long visit. Dale is doing about the same as the last time they had spoke, with Doctor appointments and more Doctor appointments, that consume most of this time. Last week he received the results of his MRI on his spine and the cancerous tumor wrapped around his spine has not changed. The doctor has scheduled him for a PET scan today (April 15), but he will not know the results for 7-10 days, at which time Greg will call him again. He continues to be in good spirits and just takes a day at a time. He really misses everyone at Rotary and says to tell everyone "hello."
If you know of any of our members you would like for us to mention who are ill or need a prayer, please let Greg know and we will put it in the SPOKE.
Club Information
Welcome to our Club
Service Above Self
First and Third Wednesdays
Virtual
Zoom.com
Lincoln, NE 68506 United States of America
The YMCA of Lincoln is partnering with the Center for People in Need to collect diapers for low-income families during a time when parents need help the most. Four Lincoln YMCA facilities (Cooper YMCA, Copple Family YMCA, Fallbrook YMCA and Northeast YMCA) will serve as drop-off locations for diaper donations throughout the month of April.
Using the vast infrastructure developed to identify the poliovirus and deliver vaccination campaigns, the polio eradication program is pitching in to protect the vulnerable from COVID-19, especially in polio-endemic countries. From Pakistan to Nigeria, the program is drawing on years of experience fighting outbreaks to support governments as they respond to the new virus.
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ellness Chairman Greg Schnasse has requested information in regard to any illness by club members and/or their family members.
