Biddeford – Saco Rotary Club
Meeting Notes – May 27, 2020
President Fausto called the meeting to order at 12:00
Heather G. – Four Way Test
Joe B. – Invocation
We had three people join the meeting:
- Dr. Samuel Kakish – Past president twice 20 years a Rotarian
- Ibrahim Kattan – President Elect of Amman Cosmopolitan Rotary Club
- Nasri Rabadi – Committed Rotarian & past president with the Amman Cosmopolitan Club
- Ghada Fanek, President of Amman Cosmopolitan Rotary Club
Sargent Of Arms Heather: There were several HAPPY DOLLARS at this meeting. Thank you to everyone who did take a moment to find something to be grateful for during this trying time. Fines and Happy Dollars are to mailed to Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club – PO Box 298 – Saco, ME 04072.
All thanked Marty for his work to organize the Flags for Veterans event last Friday. Well done Marty!
No announcements today.
Ghada gave a brief overview of their Rotary Club.
25th anniversary of the club. Founded 25th of June 1995.
They have 22 members of their club.
Working on anti-drug workshop.
Planted over 100 olive trees for Arber day.
Results of the COVID-19 Pandemic in their country meant a strict curfew went into effect on March 19th. To date Jordan has:
718 confirmed cases
479 recovered
9 deaths.
Because of the full curfew and quarantine, 45% of the nation’s workforce were unable to work. For most, it was their only source of income.
60% of laborers work in the private sector and work remotely. These are some of the hardest his people who need the very basics to survive.
The Rotary Food Boxes help to support those families. The club raised $3,400 which covered the cost to prepare 102 food parcels.
Tito’s Vodka made a $5,000 donation to this project.
Roland Gagne, Beverly Edwards, & the Biddeford Saco Rotary club donated another $1500.
Samuel thanked the club for the opportunity to speak and to share their story of this project. There were many people who had no income. With the strict curfew imposed in the country, it did keep the deaths down, but it was catastrophic to the economy and to the people of Jordan. They were very insistent on putting the Rotary label on all the boxes and giving credit to this international organization.
Samuel shared some very heartwarming stories about the need of the hardest hit people in Jordan.
Nasri spoke of Al-Awen Jordanian Society for Widows $5350 to supply sewing machines so they could make a living for themselves.
$1400k health and nutrition for children in Bani Kinanah.
$3150 Disaster response Grant for supplies to help hospitals in North Jordan.
Building a hospitality school in Jordan is the next big project. Roland is actively involved in this project. Regrettably, the crisis has limited their ability to move forward for now but they all are excited about the opportunity it will bring to their country.
Roland extended an invite to our esteemed guests to join us as we celebrate our 100th Anniversary scheduled for May 2021.
Joe Moreshead reminded everyone to please vote on a slate of officers. We are looking for 2 board members. Please have your votes in to Joe by Friday, May 29th if possible.
President Fausto reminded everyone the next Board meeting is scheduled for June 3, 2020 at 7:45 am.
Meeting adjourned at 12:55.
Respectfully submitted: Brenda Pollock
Hi everyone,
Here are the notes from today's meeting:
BON APPETIT
- No updates at this time - Marty has been attempting to reach out via email but no response
- They may be too busy to keep up with email so he will go in person if necessary
GRANT APPLICATION
- Time sensitive - application is due June 1st
- First draft is complete and has been sent to various subcommittee members for review and comment
- Brenda will manage changes and hopefully send out revised draft by EOD tomorrow
- Final draft scheduled for completion on Saturday
- Melissa has a lot of experience with grant writing and has offered to look over the application as well
MISCELLANEOUS
- If we decided to purchase a Zoom account, the annual cost would be $149.90
- Brian found a Facebook page called "Maine Needs" which may be a good place to find ways to help
- We would like to invite Jim Labelle to speak at the next Rotary meeting regarding the state of the local economy
- To be discussed next week - letting people come to us for help
RE-OPENING CONCERNS
- Thermometers and PPE are significant expenses for small businesses
- It would be nice if we could donate thermometers (with Rotary logo) to local organizations
- We will need to look into availability, cost, sourcing, etc. to determine feasibility
- Other expenses for re-opening include awnings for outdoor programs, hand washing stations, and individually sized products
- Childcare providers in particular are currently struggling and can be reached via Biddeford Ready - Melissa forwarded contact info to Conrad
Have a great weekend!
Thank you,
Kaitlin
Biddeford – Saco Rotary Club
Meeting Notes – May 20, 2020
President Fausto called the meeting to order at 12:00
Brian – Four Way Test
Joe– Invocation
We had three guests join the meeting:
- Assistant Dist. Governor – Bob Wester
- Jill - Bideford, England
- Jacquie - Bideford, England
President Fausto announced there would be additional funds available for the COVID-19 sub-committee. Rather than purchasing his President’s Chair, he was donating that money to the committee. He was proposing the Past President’s meeting funds that were allocated be redirected to the committee as well. In addition, rather than use money to purchase awards this year, that was also earmarked for the COVID-19 committee work. Fausto did thank everyone who truly was worthy of awards but felt that money, given our current crisis, would be needed to help the committee and the people in need in our communities.
Sargent Of Arms Heather requested we each donate to her budget. Heather was contributing $100 to Sargent of Arms fund and asked all Rotarians to please make a contribution, of any amount, as well.
There were several HAPPY DOLLARS at this meeting. Thank you to everyone who did take a moment to find something to be grateful for during this trying time.
COVID-19 Crisis sub-committee
Conrad updated the group of the work the COVID-19 Crisis sub-committee doing. This week, they were able to purchase food only gift cards from Ray’s Market in Biddeford and donated 10 food cards to the city of Biddeford’s general assistance program. Conrad, Kaitlin and Brenda are currently working on a grant proposal and will be reaching out to Roland and others for assistance with the final document. The committee also made a $500 contribution to the Amman Cosmopolitan Rotary Club in Jordan. Roland elaborated on their efforts:
Roland spoke of an extreme need in Amman Jordan. The country of Jordan has implemented one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, forcing most people to stay indoors, grocery stores to close and many people losing their only source of income. An effort by the Amman Cosmopolitan Rotary Club directed by Dr. Nasri Rabadi, assembled boxes of food for the poorest communities in Jordan. “Each box of food they deliver to these hard-hit areas can feed a family of 4 for an entire month”, said Gagne. “Their organization is doing some impressive work. I personally made a donation to the club in Jordan and shared their story with our club,” said Gagne. “They were very impressed with how quickly the Rotarians in Jordan were able to organize this effort under these conditions and donated $500 to their program”.
FLAGS at St. Joseph’s Cemetery – Biddeford
Marty asked everyone to please report to the cemetery around 7:45 for an 8 am start. He reminded everyone to wear masks to pick up the flags. Everyone will be assigned a section. He asked everyone to be available for a short briefing on proper flag placement.
Essay Contest
Brenda mentioned the Essay Contest deadline to submit the names of the winners is Friday, May 29th. She will be contacting everyone on the committee to discuss a possible ZOOM presentation. Four of the five schools have submitted the names of their winners.
GUEST SPEAKER:
Jeanne Davidson is a highly rated Physical Therapist with Your Hospital in York, Maine. She provided some much-needed information about Ergonomics - the dos and don’ts of working from home.
If you would like to receive hand outs of her presentation, please contact Brian Dallaire.
Respectfully submitted: Brenda Pollock
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Joseph A. Moreshead
Here are the notes from Thursday's meeting:
BON APPETIT
- Marty is trading notes with the board chair
- He has not received any details yet regarding their renovation needs (they are very busy)
- Marty will continue to communicate with Laura and keep us posted
RAY'S MARKET
- Conrad purchased 10 gift certificates worth $50 each, good for food only
- He has set up a meeting with Biddeford City Hall
- Gift certificates will be dropped off tomorrow morning for general assistance
OTHER BUSINESS
- Current balance of available funds is less than $900
- Conrad spoke with Fausto - he has come up with approximately $2,000 in additional funds for the subcommittee
- There is another $1,000 in potential additional funding
- The additional funding is being re-distributed from the Past President's Lunch budget
- Brenda suggested it would be a nice gesture to award Fausto the Presidential Volunteer Service Award (Points of Light) and the subcommittee agrees
- Brian has volunteered to complete the Grants Management Seminar
- Brenda will send public relations copy to Brian for publication in the district newsletter
Thank you,
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Hi everyone,
Here are the notes from yesterday's meeting:
GIFT CARDS
- $500 worth of gift cards have been purchased and mailed to OOB contact
- As of meeting time, most of the gift certificates have been distributed to OOB families
- Landry's appreciated the business
- It was decided that Landry's gift cards may not be very helpful to Biddeford residents
- Brenda contacted Ray's Market in Biddeford and something similar to gift cards for food only has been established
- There was a suggestion of $500 in funding for Biddeford general assistance - unanimous vote in favor
STONE SOUP / BON APPETIT
- Donations would be appreciated by Stone Soup
- They are not currently experiencing any difficulty sourcing food items
- There has been increased usership - they have extended their hours
- Bon Appetit submitted request for funds to be used for carpentry, painting, and updating kitchen
- Marty will ask if donated supplies and volunteer labor would be helpful
- Paulette made a motion to donate $500 to Stone Soup, seconded by Marty
- Unanimous vote in favor - Marty will send contact info to Conrad
AMMAN COSMOPOLITAN ROTARY CLUB
- Roland donated $1,000 to buy boxes of food for the needy in Jordan and requested additional funds from club
- Each box of food that is distributed can feed a family of 4 for a month
- There was some discussion as to whether it might be best to reserve funds for local causes
- We hope to have more funds available in the future, and recognize that we are an international organization
- Unanimous vote in favor of an additional $500 donation from the subcommittee
- Brenda, Conrad, & Kaitlin will work on district grant request for additional funding
Next Meeting May 21 3PM
Thank you,
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I've confirmed that Ralph Goulet will be at St. Joseph's Cemetery (on West Street, entrance across from Marion Avenue) next Friday morning the 22nd at 8AM. He will have flags for us to put out on Veterans graves. If you can dedicate an hour or two that would be great.
We'll work on some kind of social distancing protocol. All the work will be outside. (I can pretty much guarantee it will be raining, because it always does.)
Thank you!
Marty
423-8260
Meetings will be held up to 45 minutes in length.
Our next club meeting on June 13, 2020 will again be held as a virtual video meeting on ZOOM. Meeting will be most likely held this way for a while.
I have previously sent you an email invitation with the ZOOM link. Simply click on the link starting at NOON. This will give you time to check your computer for connection, and to see if your camera and microphone are operating. To avoid stray noises and feedback on the mic, it is recommended that you use an earpiece with mic.
Also at the bottom of the email, there is a link for you to register or decline so that we know to expect you.
If you need any help, feel free to give me a call at 207.289.8375
Thanks
Brian Dallaire
These are certainly crazy and scary times with many businesses closing, folks staying home, mixed messages on the news and the uncertainty of what we can buy for food and supplies. I hope everyone is feeling okay and helping neighbors and older folks as best as they can. Be safe.
Our 25th annual Essay Contest was to be held on April 8th will be postponed and is dependent on the school schedule and whether or not the students go back to school this spring. We haven’t made any definite plans yet.
Our centennial celebration is postponed and will hopefully be scheduled this fall. Fausto is going to talk to Gina at the farm about their available dates and we will keep you posted. All of the Rotarians from the UK have had to cancel their travel plans to attend in May but I hope they can make it in the fall.
Stay healthy and we hope you can enjoy this time with your families.
I think that’s everything but if anyone has questions, please reply to this email and I’ll do what I can to get your answers.
All the best to everyone.
Susan
MINUTES OF THE 100th-ANNIVERSARY of the BIDDEFORD SACO ROTARY CLUB
May 13, 2020
Marty opened the meeting at 12 noon with the Pledge of Allegiance
4-way test – Mark N.
Invocation – Roland – Moment of silence
Sargent of Arms: HAPPY DOLLARS
- Alecia for the weather
- Brian is heading back to Maine on Sunday
- Dr. Joe the dock is going in the river
- Ken is happy to be here for the 100th Anniversary
- Mark N – Due to bad internet connect, we were unable to hear Mark. ☹
- Conrad – is working around the house
- Bill – happy to see everyone and Tyler graduated from UNH
- Marty – Held a webinar with businesses Maine Street Biddeford all supportive and hopeful about the future.
FINES
- Brian for his backgrounds
- Brenda for calling Marty Martin
- Alicia – for being cute
Don Pilon joined the meeting and resumed the duties of President Elect.
Announcements:
- Conrad – COVID 19 committee meets on Thursday afternoons. This week we’ll discuss the international request. We’re at the $4000 with another $2400 in the account.
- Roland Grants – Only the district grants have a deadline of June 1st. We have to submit the application by June 1st and sign a memorandum of understanding. Brian will sit through the volunteer process.
- David Underhill reached out to Roland to remove the DDF grant until July 1st.
- Conrad updated that 10 bags of food to the Saco food pantry and they were appreciative regarding the donation we made.
- Volunteers are needed at Biddeford Food Pantry.
- Bill asked about opportunities to help the food banks.
On the 100th Anniversary of the club, Rotarians stated why they belonged to the club.
- Brian – Joined at the invitation of my boss in San Diego in 2000. When I was young I was impressed with the work our club did with building the bike path down the Ferry Road.
- Brenda – Originally joined in the 90’s. Being a Rotarian gives me a bigger purpose - To do good in the community and hopefully inspire her grandchildren to become Rotarians.
- Dr. Joe – In the 70’s he was introduced and felt it was good for his business but it was the Youth Exchange Program that moved him.
- Marty – Enjoys giving back but especially enjoys working with the youth.
- Alicia – Was always a Girl scout as a child and Rotary allows her to continue what she believes in: giving back.
- Roland a Rotarian for 21 years was struck by an article of a Little girl in Mexico – The club purchased a wheelchair for her and has been hooked on international service since.
- Bill – Felt at home at the club – love the work we do and the club is like an extended family.
- Kaitlin –Didn’t know how to get involved in community giving and is grateful that Rotary gave her the path to get involved and help others.
- CJ – Rotary was what she was looking for to volunteer and allowed her to make our communities better.
- Don – A Rotarian In Connecticut in the 80’s prior to when women were allowed in the club. After his years of public service, he joined the club for fellowship and community service.
- Ken – A Rotarian since 2006 he joined the lunch club to make a difference to help others and quickly recognized he was working with great teams of likeminded people.
- Karen A Rotarian for about 20 years now – inability to say no most grateful value most taught her the true value of giving back and the friendships.
- Conrad – Joined 5 years ago, and thoroughly enjoys everyone’s friendships and all of the good we do around our communities.
- Fausto via Conrad – He’s enjoyed being president in this anniversary year. He thoroughly enjoys the fellowship and enjoys the good will.
- Haley - A 14-year Rotarian, the club was so important because her family moved from town to town a lot due to her husband’s military career. Rotary was a way to connect in every community they lived in both personally and professionally.
Please send Happy Dollars, Fines and donations to the Foundation to:
Biddeford – Saco Rotary Club - PO Box 298 - Saco, Maine 04072
Hi everyone,
Here are the notes from yesterday's meeting:
MISC
- Fausto is delivering donations to the food pantry on Friday, 5/8
- Melissa has been in touch with the city of Biddeford - gift cards would be appreciated
- Marty is waiting to hear back from Cat Anglea (Bon Appetit)
- Marty will contact Stone Soup as well
- It was agreed that there will be no new business until we hear back from Stone Soup/Bon Appetit
- We may want to reserve some funds as this issue may be ongoing for a while
GIFT CARDS
- Shaw's and Market Basket do not sell alcohol/tobacco/lottery restricted gift cards
- Brenda suggested going to the store with allocated funds and putting together $50 baskets of staple foods
- Food delivery could be a problem, as superintendent does not want direct contact with families in need (per state guidance)
- Landry's in OOB can issue gift cards with alcohol/tobacco/lottery restrictions
- Susan is issuing a new check for us to purchase the gift cards from Landry's
Have a great weekend!
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All – this email is part of a series of emails that I routinely send to club presidents. In consideration of these challenging times, this email is being sent to all members of our District.
Our Covid-19 situation precludes us from holding our annual June Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp. Currently, our RYLA Leadership Team is hoping to hold a smaller, condensed version of camp on Labor Day weekend.
The attached letter from Sam Klemarczyk gives an excellent inside look into the thought processes of and a sample of some of the planning taking place by our RYLA Leadership Team.
We are blessed in our District to have such a strong RYLA program, a program that has had such an amazing and positive influence on so many. Our RYLA Leadership Team, Sam, Emily Rumble, and Phil Giordano, and their entire staff, are absolutely superb.
Thank you RYLA leaders and staff!
Andy ;-)
Information about last weeks speaker from the Seacoast Sunday / Seacoastonline.com.
Biddeford-Saco Rotarians, thank you again for letting Larry present his organization’s ACE Master-trainer initiative to your Club this past week. Here’s an article about it in this morning’s Seacoast Sunday / Seacoastonline.com.
As I said Wednesday, we are still about five thousand dollars short of the full funding that Rotary has committed. Nobody knows more than I the many competing pressures of Covid-19 on Club resources. I continue to believe this is relevant and vital to our longer-term community stability, and I hope your board might consider contributing to this in whatever modest way is fair and appropriate.
Thank you for all you’re doing to keep Rotary focused through these challenges,
Dave Underhill
By Hadley Barndollar
Posted May 2, 2020 at 5:34 PM
Posted May 2, 2020 at 5:34 PM
ELIOT, Maine – Across York, Strafford and eastern Rockingham
counties, approximately 13,800 school-aged children are currently
at greater risk for future health challenges, based on their ACE
scores.
Some call an ACE, or adverse childhood experience, score a
“cholesterol score” for childhood trauma. For example, people with
an ACE score of four are twice as likely to be smokers, and seven times more likely to be alcoholic. Scores of four
or more are 12 times more likely to have attempted suicide, and 10 times more likely to have injected street drugs.
For scores of six or higher, there is an almost 20-year shortening of one’s lifespan.
Though delayed because of the ongoing coronavirus emergency, the Eliot-based Pinetree Institute is set to launch
a three-year community engagement initiative on adverse childhood experiences in the fall, focusing on the three
counties covering Seacoast New Hampshire and southern Maine.
The two-state geographic area in question, says Dr. Larry McCullough, founder and executive director of the
Pinetree Institute, has approximately half a million people, with 142 schools and 63,000 students.
This means in classrooms across the region, each one will see students affected by ACEs, and some with very high
ACE scores.
“If I had a goal, it would be that every adult engaged in community work of any kind would hear about this over
the next three years, which I think is pretty realistic,” said McCullough.
The higher a child’s ACE score, the more likely they are to experience serious health issues when they become an
adult – as a result of household dysfunction, neglect or abuse during their childhood.
McCullough said the recognition of ACEs, and their life-altering impacts, changes the community conversation
from “What’s wrong with you?” to “What happened to you?”
“There are reasons to why people do what they do,” he said.
Pinetree’s new “master trainer” initiative will include a kickoff in
September with Dr. Robert Anda and Laura Porter, co-founders of
ACE Interface, a company working to improve overall well-being
and prevent ACEs from occurring. Anda was a lead investigator in
the original ACE research study conducted by Kaiser Permanente
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention starting in
1995, while Porter is a leader of the national ACE movement and
known for her successful implementation of ACE study concepts in
Washington state.
The Pinetree Institute has a mission to “promote a sustainable sense of health, prosperity, happiness and lifesatisfaction
in individuals, families and communities.” It works to do so through educational workshops, retreats,
and strategic facilitation of community-based collaboration throughout the Seacoast New Hampshire and
southern Maine regions.
A worsening opioid and substance use epidemic in the area has become a particular area of focus for Pinetree, the
organization states, and its ACEs initiative builds on its trauma-informed care community efforts already in
motion.
McCullough said the three-year community engagement initiative will seek to “train trainers,” by identifying key
people in a community, “local community champions,” and educate them on ACEs, with the expectation that their
newfound knowledge will be the starting point of a chain reaction in their community.
“The goal is to train roughly 10 people in each county area,
and then they have the mission to go out and disseminate it
as widely as possible,” McCullough said.
He noted education, social services, law enforcement, health care, community leadership, and concerned
individuals as some of the populations they’ll be looking to reach.
The effort is funded by 12 area rotary clubs and a $25,000
Kennebunk Savings Bank Spotlight Fund grant.
McCullough said it took the United States 20 years for knowledge
of the dangers of smoking to begin to have an impact on human
behavior. It generally takes 50 years for the discovery of a medical
finding to see implementation in the whole society, he said.
“We’re at the 20-year point in ACEs,” McCullough noted. “And
opiate death rates have soared, and the suicide rate has continued to
climb.”
Approximately 22% of the student population in eastern
Rockingham, Strafford and York counties has an ACE score of two or higher. These same areas have a total of 40
police departments, 142 schools and more than 820 primary care physicians who can play a part in community
education of childhood traumas, among other sectors.
“There is a temptation to think that this is another new program. And what all of the people working in the field
have emphasized is it’s really a change in mindset, a different way of thinking about things,” McCullough said.
Recognition of ACEs helps communities more deeply understand issues like the opioid crisis, incarceration,
mental health and education achievement, for example.
Many schools have begun to realize trauma can act as an obstacle for students when it comes to academic success,
so they’ve implemented robust social and emotional learning curricula
social and emotional learning curricula
curricula. Others have taken trauma-centered
trauma-centered approaches.
Currently, Pinetree Institute is looking for nominations
nominations of community members who could become “master trainers.” People
are invited to nominate themselves, coworkers, friends and others
individuals they believe to be in unique and important positions to
disseminate the information.
“The first step in addressing any of this is awareness,” McCullough
said. “The whole idea is tell everybody.”
For more information, visit https://pinetreeinstitute.org/masterhttps://
pinetreeinstitute.org/masterhttps://
pinetreeinstitute.org/masterhttps://
Shirley and the team are extremely appreciative. The check is going in the bank today!
Marty
Saco –
spoke with Toni. She said her pantry is getting people from outside of Saco now but they’ve been able to manage so far. Hannaford and Shaw’s no longer allows her to purchase case of food. She said funding is great but what her pantry is in need of most are the following items:
1. Jars of jelly
2. Complete pancake mix
3. Syrup
4. Chicken soup in the can
5. Tuna and chicken in the can
6. Hand sanitizer
7. Clorox wipes
Biddeford –
spoke with Don Bisson He said any funding allows them to purchase a lot of food. If we were to donate food items, here is what his pantry needs most:
1. Hamburger helper
2. Taco meals
3. Canned fruits and vegetables
4. Baked beans
5. White spaghetti only (they return any other pastas)
6. White rice
7. Soup and crackers
8. Canned ham, fish or chicken
9. Mac & cheese
10. Peanut butter
11. Raisins and other dried fruit
12. Cereal
Drop off at Fausto’s home:
3 Libby Drive Biddeford, ME 04005
You can leave the food in the vehicle in the driveway or on the front step.
Delivery will be on THURSDAY MAY 7th in the morning. If donating, please have it there prior to 10am on Thursday. It’s Mother’s Day weekend. It would be nice to have the food we donate available for the weekend.
BIDDEFORD-SACO-OOB COURIER
Posted
Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club continues serving local communities
Members meet through Zoom.
SACO — This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club. As they learn to navigate through this crisis, meeting regularly to discuss ways to continue their spirit of giving, changed. Like many businesses and organizations, since the state shutdown, the club continues to connect weekly using the Zoom meetings platform. Club President Fausto Pifferrer stated, “Meeting every week keeps our Rotarians engaged and informed. It is important for us to continue the foundation our forefathers established and reach out during to our communities in this time of crisis”.
The club reallocated funds and organized a COVID-19 subcommittee with a mission to provide financial help to those organizations who characteristically are first line providers. Conrad Welzel, chair of the COVID-19 committee, announced $500 was allocated to Apex Youth Connection in Biddeford. The group has been distributing free Healthy and Active Care Packages to area families every Friday for the past four weeks. Items such as food, personal care products like soap and toothbrushes/toothpaste, a physical activity to help keep kids moving, and an at-home service project. “All year long, Apex Youth Connection is getting area youth ‘out there,’ connecting with their community, the outdoors, and their futures,” said Melissa Cilley, executive director of Apex. “We are still connecting remotely with our youth, but it became clear very quickly that area families needed more support — especially around weekend food needs and personal care items. We are so grateful to the Biddeford-Saco Rotary, Biddeford Walmart, and other area businesses and organizations who have helped make that support possible.” The packages will continue at least through the month of May every Friday from 3 to 4 p.m. at Apex’s satellite location at 46 Sullivan St. in Biddeford.
“Unquestionably, providing $500 to the Biddeford food pantry and the Saco food pantry was important,” Welzel said. “They already serve our communities and the closure of some of the smaller pantries due to the pandemic, they have both seen increased traffic at their respective facilities.”
They also approved purchasing ten $50 in grocery gift cards to help local families living in Old Orchard Beach.
An additional $1,000 in funding was approved for Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center in Biddeford. “They support everyone who passed through their doors. They know the immediate needs of our citizens and are able to stretch every dollar donated to their organization,” Welzel said.
The club meets every Wednesday from noon to 12:45 p.m. via Zoom. For more information on becoming a Rotarian, visit Biddeford-sacorotary.org.
Hi everyone!
Here are the notes from yesterday's meeting:
ASSORTED UPDATES
- A check has been mailed to Apex Youth Connection
- Apex is hoping to re-open the kids' bike program soon
- Susan has the information for Saco & Biddeford food pantries and will mail a check to each
- The Saco food pantry has received 143 donations YTD, compared to 43 at this time last year
- The senior food program at the community center costs about $500-600 per event and proceeds go to restaurant that prepared the meal
- This week's event is sponsored by the Saco food pantry
- Marty volunteers at Seeds of Hope on Fridays - he will confirm they received their check
- Conrad attempted to purchase gift cards from Hannaford but they do not have tobacco/liquor/lottery restricted cards at this time
- Marty sent updated Stone Soup contact info to Brenda (not sure if she has contacted them yet)
- A thank you note was received from the Volunteers of America
OUR ROLE MOVING FORWARD
- "Flash mobs" might be a good idea when businesses re-open
- We should attempt to support local businesses as much as possible
- Concerns include logistical issues (number of people) as well as how to choose which businesses to support
- Gift card mobs would be an acceptable way around occupancy limits, but not all businesses allow online purchase
- Social media to be used when possible to promote our actions (such as veterans home donation)
- We will add Chamber of Commerce's list of restaurants open for delivery to site/social media for increased visibility
- Haley mentioned the backpack program as a potential grantee - they provide kids with necessities not covered by free breakfast & lunch
- Don thinks it might be a good idea to sit on the last $1,000
- The Board of Directors meeting is next week - we will hold off on any decisions until after the meeting
TASKS
- CJ will call Market Basket regarding tobacco/liquor/lottery restricted gift cards
- Don will call Shaw's regarding tobacco/liquor/lottery restricted gift cards
- Marty to reach out to Cat Anglea of Bon Appetit/Second Congregational Church
- Marty also checking in with Stone Soup
MISC
- Our meeting takes place next week at the usual time, 3 PM
- The Courier ran a piece this week about Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club (and included a quote from Conrad!)
Thank you,
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