This past Saturday the Sycamore Middle School Interact Club, led by advisor Julie Sgarlata, made a difference preparing meals for the "Feed My Starving Children" event at the Suter Company. Rotarian and Suter Company employee Heidi Wright reported 540,000 meals were packed over the weekend and $500,000 in donations received to help address world hunger.
Sycamore Rotary was well-represented during the "Feed My Starving Children" event this weekend, with 50 volunteers serving during the "Rotary shift"!
Pumpkinfest Pancake Breakfast coordinator Brandon Diviak announced final totals from the October 30th event. A total of 531 meals were served resulting in a net profit of $5,100 to go towards the club’s scholarship fund. Brandon is now overseeing the club’s Holiday Green Raffle. See Brandon to purchase your tickets for a chance to win one of three prizes of $1,000 as well as taking some tickets to sell to friends and relatives.
Congratulations to Dave Hamilton who was the lucky winner of the coveted pot from the weekly raffle to support the scholarship fund. Dave drew the Ace of Spades from the raffle playing card deck to get half of the $5,000 that accumulated over the past several months. By pre-agreement, he will be splitting the winnings with his fellow tablemates. The pot will start fresh, including a whole new deck of cards, with the meeting Dec. 1.
This week’s Rotary Speaker, Zachary Hansen, Regional Manager of the National Youth Advocate Program, just recently came to Sycamore but the organization is quickly making an impact to help youth and young adults facing various barriers to success.
A national non-profit created to help youth and young adults facing a disrupted family life recently added services in DeKalb County and is growing rapidly according to regional manager Zachary Hansen who spoke at Rotary this week. Hansen explained the various services offered by the National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP) and how they approach assistance by helping clients with the basics of a stable home setting (such as foster care). Clients are generally referred to NYAP from schools or the courts. The agency uses grants and contracts from state and federal sources to fund its programs. Hansen is an Illinois native with social service degrees. He said he was excited to join the NYAP staff locally in January and has seen their outreach grow from six clients to more than 300.
Among the programs explained by Hansen were:
Juvenile Justice Program: A program focusing on combating truancy. It looks at housing placement as a key to success with a goal of making it adequate, safe, and maintainable.
CARNEI (Constant and Never-Ending Improvement): This program helps youth develop smart goals for success in their development growth.
EFSP (Extended Family Service Program): A service for youth not living with their biological parents but under the guardianship care of a family member.
Youth Elements: A community college level program funded through the local Workforce Investment Board (LWIA-5) that works with students who may have mental health or substance abuse issues and help them with vocational training at Kishwaukee College.
Teen Reach: Their newest program designed as an after-school program to help youth overcome behavioral or mental health issues while focusing their interest in STEM learning (science, technology, engineering, and math).
Hansen said volunteers are always needed for their programs. Further information is available on their website at www.NYAP.org/Illinois.
Donations are currently being requested for the Sycamore Food Pantry. Bring a bottle of laundry detergent...or $10 for Julie Sgarlata to purchase one. Money is easier to handle.
Personal hygiene items (bar soap, shampoo, etc.) are also being sought.
November 14, 1815 – American inventor and engineer Robert Fulton, who developed the first commercial steamboat, is born in Little Britain, Pennsylvania.
November 17,1887 – British Field Marshall Bernard “Monty” Montgomery is born in London. A veteran of World War I, he led the British army to a major victory over the Germans in North Africa in 1943 and commanded all ground forces during D-Day.
November 19, 1831 – James Garfield, the 20th U. S. President, is born in Orange, Ohio. He was shot by a disgruntled office holder and died after being in office just a little over six months.
November 20, 1889 – American astronomer Edwin Hubble is born on Marshfield, Missouri. He pioneered the concept of an expanding universe and the Hubble Space Telescope was named in his honor.
November 15, 1881 – The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada is formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Five years later it is renamed the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
November 17, 1558 – Queen Elizabeth I ascended the throne of England at the age of 25 (reigning until her death at age 69).
November 17, 1869 – The Suez Canal was formally opened after more than ten years of construction.
November 19, 1863 – President Abraham Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address dedicating 17 acres of the Gettysburg battlefield as a National Cemetery.
