Sojourner Truth (abolitionist and women’s rights activist), Susan B. Anthony (women’s rights activist and pioneer of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement), Eleanor Roosevelt (diplomat, humanitarian, and activist), Amelia Earhart (aviation pioneer and author), Frida Kahlo (painter), Maya Angelou (poet, author, and civil rights activist), and Sally Ride (physicist and astronaut).
Executive Director Tara Russo explaining the nonprofit mission of Elder Care Services of DeKalb County to Rotarians during this week's meeting.
Tara Russo became Executive Director of Elder Care Services of DeKalb County in 2012 and has overseen significant growth in client services during her tenure as she explained at this week’s Rotary meeting. The Sycamore native says staff size more than doubled and they moved their senior center to 1701 E. Lincoln Highway in DeKalb giving them more space and program flexibility. Staff grew from nine to 21 and they went from renting to owning their building this past fall. Despite prior limitations due to Covid-19, Russo announced plans to open adult day care services targeting the April timeframe.
Russo explained that the mission of Elder Care Services is to help seniors continue to stay at home, which includes help for their caregivers as well. She said this is done through multiple connections with government and non-profit agencies. Care coordination of services involves the resources of the Illinois Department on Aging. This includes services like initial assessment of needs, pharmaceutical help, financial and legal assistance, and emergency home response communication. They also help with seniors transitioning from a hospital stay or nursing home rehab back to independent living.
Russo said the starting age for a “senior” in their system is 60 years old. Last year, they logged 20,000 hours of service. She said they were able to quickly adapt to remote contacts under Covid-19 restrictions because they already used computer technology for service delivery. One area with increased needs was for food with $30,000 spent at Voluntary Action Center and DeKalb County Community Gardens to help feed seniors.
Russo said Elder Care Services is looking forward to returning to its traditional model of in-person service delivery. She noted their facility is dog friendly as well. Details are available on their website at www.ecsdekalb.org or by calling (815) 758-6550.
The March Student of the Month from Sycamore High School is Andrew Donahoe. Andrew is active in a variety of clubs and organizations including band, Spanish Club and Key Club. He chairs the DeKalb County Community Foundation’s “Youth Engaged in Philanthropy” committee and he served as a legislative intern. His other activities include mission trips, peer mentoring, and being a camp counselor. Andrew selected the Hope Haven homeless shelter as recipient of his $100 Rotary gift check.
Can you guess which of the following are true and which are false? Enjoy and good luck!
1. Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning. 2. Alfred Hitchcock did not have a belly button. 3. A pack-a-day smoker will lose approximately 2 teeth every 10 years. 4. People do not get sick from cold weather; it's from being indoors a lot more. 5. When you sneeze, all bodily functions stop, even your heart! 6. Only 7% of the population are lefties. 7. 40-people are sent to the hospital for dog bites every minute . 8. Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until they are 2-6 years old. 9. The average person over 50 will have spent 5 years standing in line. 10. The toothbrush was invented in 1498. 11. The average housefly lives for one month. 12. 40,000 Americans are injured by toilets each year. 13. A coat hanger is 44 inches long when straightened. 14. The average computer user blinks 7-times a minute. 15. Your feet are bigger in the afternoon than any other time of day. 16. Most of us have eaten a spider in our sleep. 17. The REAL reason ostriches stick their head in the sand is to search for water. 18. The only two animals that can see behind themselves without turning their heads are the rabbit and the parrot. 19. John Travolta turned down the starring roles in 'An Officer and a Gentleman' and 'Tootsie.' 20. Michael Jackson owned the rights to the South Carolina State Anthem. 21. In most television commercials advertising milk, a mixture of white paint and a little thinner is used in place of the milk. 22. Prince Charles and Prince William never travel on the same airplane - just in case there is a crash. 23. The first Harley Davidson motorcycle built in 1903 used a tomato can for a carburetor. 24. Most hospitals make money by selling the umbilical cords cut from women who give birth. They are used in vein transplant surgery. 25. Humphrey Bogart was related to Princess Diana. They were 7th cousins. 26. If coloring weren't added to Coca-Cola, it would be green.
Looking for the answers? See the item below after "This Week in History".
March 3, 1847 – Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell is born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell’s invention borrowed techniques from his vocation of teaching deaf persons to speak.
March 4, 1888 – American football legend Knute Rockne is born in Voss, Norway. He coached Notre Dame football for 13 seasons amassing a record of 105 wins, 12 losses, and five ties.
March 2, 1893 – American soldier and politician Sam Houston is born in Rockbridge County, Virginia. In his teen years he is raised by Cherokee Indians. He serves as a Congressman and Governor of Tennessee and later leads the Texas Army in the War for Texas Independence from Mexico. He then serves as Senator and Governor of the new state of Texas.
March 1, 1904 – American band leader Glenn Miller is born in Clarinda, Iowa. He gained enormous popularity during the 1930’s and 1940’s. He went missing in 1944 while crossing the English Channel in a plane en route to a performance in Paris.
March 4, 1789 – The first meeting of the new Congress under the U. S. Constitution took place in New York City.
March 6, 1836 – The Alamo Mission fell to Mexican troops led by General Santa Anna after a 13-day siege. Texans would rally to win their war for independence with the slogan “Remember the Alamo” and in honor of frontier legends Davy Crockett, James Bowie, and William Travis who died with all the other Mission’s defenders.
March 1, 1932 – The 20-month-old son of aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped from his home Hopewell, New Jersey. Although the Lindbergh’s paid a $50,000 ransom, the child’s body was found several months later in a wooded area a few miles from the home.
March 1, 1961 – President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps which sends young American volunteers to developing countries to assist with health care, education, and other basic human needs.
