Cogitator Sept 18, 2013

Posted by George Cooper 
on Sep 18, 2013
 

 

 

 

 

*President-Elect Ron Winde took the helm today, and will keep it for several weeks, while President Jodi Gladstone recovers from recent surgery.  The club’s heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery go out to our fearless leader, and we hope Jodi will be back with us soon!   

 

VISITING ROTARIANS/GUESTS 

None.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES 

Happy birthday greetings this week from the club to two East Greenwich Rotarians, Past President Andy Erickson and Corey Guglietti.  Andy and Corey share the same birthday--September 23rd.

MUMS UPDATE 

Ron Winde gave a report on behalf of Sue Dorne about our recent ‘Mums-the-Word’ ‘quick hit’ charity fundraiser.  With great participation, and with the help of a great group of volunteers who drove truckloads of mums for one sales site to another, the club will net over $1,600.  Wow…nice work, Sue! 

PHONEBOOK CAMPAIGN 

Ron also pinch-hit for Phonebook Chair Matt D’Agenais who couldn’t make today’s meeting.  Ron called for all hands on deck as we wrap up the Phonebook campaign over the next two weeks.  Please, folks, it’s our biggest annual Charity Funds campaign, and we have a ways to go this year to meet our goal.  Contact your captains, get those final calls made, and let’s finish strongly with both renewal ads and new orders. 

DATE REMINDERS 

Thursday October 17th will be the date for the Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund ‘Imagine Dance.’  The event will be held at the Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown, and proceeds will go toward combating youth dating/domestic violence.  Also, the board authorized $500 toward the purchase of a table (10 people) for the event.  Please see Ron if you’d like to attend…

Also, the Providence Bruins’ Rotary Night at the Dunk will be on Friday, October 18th.  Tickets are only $12, with $5 going toward the district’s Polio Eradication efforts.

COMING ATTRACTIONS 

Ron mentioned two excellent speakers who will be joining us in the weeks ahead.  Next Wednesday, September 25th, Paul Caranci will be our guest speaker.  Paul is the author of a terrific book about John Gordon, the last Rhode Islander to receive the death penalty.  Also, on October 9th RI General Treasurer Gina Raimondo will be with us.

HAPPY BUCKS 

-Ken Colaluca commended Ron Winde for smoothly running the show today. 

-Pat Lenihan told us a great humanitarian and ‘there’s still hope in this world’ story.  A homeless man recently turned in thousands of dollars of lost money.  Given all of the attention for his good deed, this man is now the beneficiary of a newly organized fund set up to just for him!

-Bill TenEyck gave a ‘go-Toll-Gate’ buck for the girls’ tennis team, including his daughter, which this week was taking on the talented squad from Westerly High School. 

-Ron Winde wished Jodi a very speedy recovery.  (Amen!)

-Andy Erickson survived his trip to Kodiak, Alaska which included encounters with grizzly bears!

-Bob Sloan enjoyed Rotary Night at Fenway Park, with the Red Sox taking on Bob Petrucelli’s favorite nine, the Baltimore Orioles.  Both Bobs traveled together to Boston with their wives for the game, and Cathi Sloan ended up negotiating with a Fenway staffer, securing better seats than those with their original obstructed views. 

-Judy Pratt thanked the board of directors for its contribution toward the Toll Gate Lady Titans’ hockey team’s October 10th fundraiser at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet.  Make sure to see Judy for tickets, which are only $35.  It should be a great night with a delicious dinner, music, and silent/live auctions!

-Jonathan Soule thanked the board of directors for supporting Project Outreach’s recent golf tournament. 

 

PROGRAM/SPEAKER 

Cindy Elder, Director of Communications, Rhode Island Community Food Bank

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank works to end hunger in our state by providing food to people in need. We envision a day when all Rhode Islanders have access to nutritious food and a healthy lifestyle. -http://rifoodbank.org/ 

Cindy Elder told us of her recent time with an ‘average customer’ of the RI Community Food Bank, a man named Ray.  Ray’s family has been through rough times during the recession years, trying to survive on his wife’s part-time salary after Ray lost his job.  Yet, despite being down economically, Ray and his family carry with them an inspirational sense of optimism that ‘things will get better soon.’  Ray also has a strong sense of giving back to his community, demonstrated by his frequently volunteering as a blood donor. 

Cindy noted that the RI Community Food Bank helps scores of people who are down, and many who may not be so hopeful.  The Food Bank, a huge food warehouse with ‘massive refrigerators,’ distributes ten million pounds of food each year to local food pantries throughout the state.  They host major food drives each year and some pretty interesting programs, including ‘Kids’ Café,’ and ‘Community Farms.’

Their food drives, in which RI’s Boy Scouts have wonderfully assisted, are according to Cindy ‘super important, with great involvement especially from kids in the community.’

‘Kids’ Café,’ a partnership with local Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, provides food to children in need.  These kids get help with meals at public schools, but many have little to eat come dinner time.  Kids’ Café food comes from the Food Bank’s ‘Community Kitchen,’ a 14-week culinary education program for low income kids and adults.  Cindy really loves this program, since ‘so much good comes out of it including cooking skills, confidence, and responsibility.’ 

‘Community Farms’ provides some 80,000 pounds of fresh produce for the needy each year at various Rhode Island farm sites.  Each site is supervised by a volunteer Food Bank coordinator.

The Food Bank also takes in annually some two million pounds of ‘salvage food,’ meaning food nearing expiration dates, oversupplies from various food stores, and mislabeled food packages (for example, cereal boxes with the wrong sports team on the front).

Cindy’s Food Bank is vital to so many Rhode Islanders.  She concluded with, ‘We’re a lean operation, and we depend on dedicated community volunteers and donations from clubs like yours.’

(Karen Fuller, Director of Philanthropy for the RI Food Bank, also joined Cindy for our meeting.)

 

Cindy Elder, with Ron Winde

 

*To send a note to President Jodi, her address is:  190 Kenyon Avenue, East Greenwich, RI 02818.