Posted by Michael DeVito and Rotary District 6420 on May 11, 2021
Our Rotary Club of Sycamore's very own High School Interact Club and Community Rotaract Club have won the district showcase for accomplishments of leaders and volunteers, receiving a cash prize of $100 from Rotary District 6420 to use as they see fit! The portion of the article highlighting our clubs can be found below:
SHOWCASE 2021: Getting Our "Acts" Together!
Rotary District 6420 can be proud of the accomplishments of our young leaders and volunteers -- with thanks to our sponsor Clubs and Rotarians who encourage & inspire them! We are in turn encouraged and inspired by their energy and commitment to the ideal of Service Above Self! All told, we currently sponsor a total of 5 EarlyAct Clubs, 25 Interact Clubs and 5 Rotaract Clubs throughout our northern/northwestern Illinois Rotary District! SPECIAL THANKS to those fourteen Clubs who responded to showcase their work this year....
The Interact Club of Sycamore High School donated 24 care packages to the Emergency Room department at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital. The packages were filled with small toys and activities for kids who could use a little cheering up. According to a recent news article, “the Club meets every month to plan and put together projects that help make the community a better place. The club’s mission is to demonstrate ‘Service Above Self’ in the community and world....In the future, the Interact Club of SHS plans to continue helping out the community in ways like this, and expanding the club’s ever growing membership.”
Sycamore’s brand new community-based Rotaract Club came out strong with their first project -- installing a Little Free Library in town! The new Rotaract Club also put together a collection of coupons from local shops and businesses called the "Support Local Coupon Book," which has caught much attention throughout the community and has emphasized the importance of shopping locally. Proceeds from the coupon book sales are being used to fund other Rotaract service projects including the Club’s proposal to begin a Sycamore/DeKalb Student Hygiene Drive for homeless students in need. Rotaract Project Chair Gretchen Sprinkle wrote in her proposal that the project would help students in need, while also educating the community as to issues of which they might not be aware -- also offering an opportunity to promote awareness of the new Rotaract Club! Other projects in the works include support of the “Born Learning” Trail that will be coming to Sycamore this summer, and an Interact Scholarship Project that will be available next May for graduating students of SHS. Another accomplishment of the new Rotaract Club of Sycamore is their engaging website: rotaractclubofsycamore.com.
According to Rotaract President Madeline DeVito, “Rotaract strives to bring all people in the community together, especially those who have been isolated due to the pandemic. To achieve this goal we decided to create a pen pal project. This gave people living in assisted living homes the opportunity to create connections with Rotaract members, as well as our EarlyAct group at North Grove Elementary.”
Sycamore’s North Grove Elementary School EarlyAct group has been busy too! They teamed up with their Interact counterparts to organize donations such as puzzles, word games, and coloring books “in order to brighten someone else’s day.” The Club also once again organized their annual Earth Day Clean Up event at the school. The club members work with their advisors to map out designated areas for each grade level (K-5) to clean up school building and the surrounding neighborhood – “always a fun project,” she adds.
The Barn on Baseline Road, an animal shelter and adoption center near Genoa, had a busy 2020 despite the Covid pandemic according to volunteer Julie Curry who spoke at this week’s Rotary meeting. They had 357 adoptions in 2019 but that zoomed up to 510 in 2020 as people sought cats and dogs for companionship. The number of animals being cared for has been increasing as well, including the recent birth of 50 kittens who will be ready for adoption in about two weeks. Curry said that as Covid restrictions in the workplace are loosening, some pets are coming back to the center as owners find the animals cannot cope with their long absence from home. Another challenge faced by the shelter during Covid was access to affordable veterinary care with volunteers needing to drive several hours sometimes to find the services needed at a reasonable cost.
The Barn opened in 1975 and, as its name implies, it is still operated out of a barn, although the original structure has undergone renovations and expansions. There is an adjoining pet services facility that provides training, boarding, grooming and day care. Volunteers are needed daily between 9:30 AM and 2:30 PM for dog-walking and kitten socializing according to Curry.
Curry said fundraising is always an ongoing need. They hold regular raffles through their Facebook page and gladly accept items or services to be raffled. Profits from the raffles can sometimes be in the $200 to $300 range. They also collect aluminum cans and other like products for scrap recycling sales. Sycamore Rotary collected $370 as a donation from the Wednesday meeting.
For more information on The Barn on Baseline Road, visit their web site at www.thebarnonbaseline.org, call the shelter at (815) 784-5924, or find out about pet services by calling (815) 784-5923.
Posted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on May 13, 2021
If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic. [Emphasis added by Spoke Editor.]
Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated. They are not intended for healthcare settings.
Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?
In general, people are considered fully vaccinated: ±
2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
If you don’t meet these requirements, regardless of your age, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated.
Please email michaelfdevito@myinsuranceguy.com by May 19th with the name of the person you believe should receive the title of Rotarian Of The Year for our 2020-2021 Rotary Year.
May 14, 1796 – The smallpox vaccine was developed by Dr. Edward Jenner, a rural English physician.
May 10, 1869 – The transcontinental railroad in the U.S. became a reality with the driving of the ceremonial golden spike at Promontory Point, Utah joining the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.
May 12, 1949 – Soviet Russia lifts its blockade of Berlin that began June 24, 1948. American and British flyers had successfully executed an airlift that delivered 2.3 million tons of food and supplies during 278,000 flights to the isolated West Berlin citizens.
May 13, 1981 – Pope John Paul II was shot at close range by an escaped prisoner while riding in his open car at St. Peter’s Square. The Pope recovered from his wounds, met with his would-be assassin, and then publicly forgave him.
