As of today 16 members have sold $1,769.00 of maple syrup. This is 35% of our $5,000.00 goal. That leaves 38 members to buy or sell a few bottles of syrup. If my math is correct all we need is 32 members to sell $3540.00 and we will make our goal. We can do this!
If you don't know anybody just buy some bottles for yourself and/or give them as gifts this Christmas. Buy a case and donate it to a local food pantry, Seeds of Hope, Bon Appetit Meal Program at the UU Church on Crescent Street in Biddeford(the kitchen we painted) the Veterans Home on West Street in Biddeford or your favorite charity. Let's get this wrapped up before Maine Maple Syrup Weekend. March 27-28 2021.
Thank you for your continued support of our club and its mission.
Don opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance
The invocation was done by Joe Bassett
The 4-Way Test was led perfectly by Mark Nahorney.
Marty Grohman introduced the guests;
Randy Seaver
Marty Helman
President Pilon announced:
There will be a new member induction at next week's meeting.
Don then reported that Mike Burman and he had met with the UNE Rotaract Club. They were pleased with their interaction. The UNE club begins their meeting with Happy Thoughts. Among the involvement and activities they wish to engage in are - volunteering at Rotary APEX, making cards to send to vets at the Scarborough Vet Center and have connections with the international clubs we do - Biddeford and Jordan.
Don then asked Marty to report on the Blood Drive. It was announced that we have a good amount of volunteers but need more power red donors.
Roland then reported on the Maple Syrup Fundraiser. Order form will be shared in the next Tack. There will be a Rotary information tag on each bottle. Our website has all the information on the sale.
Conrad mentioned that the Covid Committee will meet after this meeting.
He also reported on the garden project - a garden to table initiative with families. To provide nutritious home grown food and education on nutrition.
Conrad also reported that we will donate $500 to Saco Parks and Rec to support their meal delivery program.
Sergeant of Arms:
Joe magnanimously pronounced a Fine Free Meeting...but all must pay last week's fines.
Happy Dollars;
Conrad - $10 - for his granddaughter visiting Randy Seaver at the meeting and that there are 2 Conrads at the meetings.
Dr Jpe - $5 - granddaughter still visiting
Bill - $5 - for the tv story on West Brook Skating rink story - shout out to Marty. The Sergeant of Arms asked when the Buxton roof would be replaced?
Mellisa $10 - for her work with children and $5 for the guests
Don - $5 - granddaughter visit & $5 for the guests...mentioned that this might be the largest attendance at a Zoom meeting - 57.
The 2021 Virtual Friendship Exchange to Kajjansi District 9214
PowerPoint presentation on Uganda with video, maps and data.
The clubs' will keep in touch and hopefully in the future visit each other.
Questions reaped information on the origination of the club in 2003 and their managing the pandemic. Their pandemic response was to quickly shut down and keep the death toll low.
Our guests then shared - Tubalamusizza=Greetings....Mwebala Nnyo=Thank You
Would you or someone you know like a small garden to grow vegetables? The Rotary Club of Biddeford-Saco has partnered with APEX Youth Connection and Biddeford Community Gardens to offer 10 residents of the Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach areas an opportunity to win a free raised garden bed. We will provide all of the materials including a raised garden bed (choose between a 3'x4' or 3'x8' bed), soil, nutrients, seeds and/or starter plants and the training to grow the best garden with healthy and fresh vegetables. All you need to provide is a space for the garden (approximately 10'x10' with plenty of sun), a commitment to help install the raised bed (volunteers will help you install) and approximately 15-20 minutes per day to water, weed and harvest your garden.
Do you rent your home? No worries, get written permission from the property owner and we will be happy to consider your request. Applications will close on February 28th - click on the link on the Club's Home page or on the link below for an application and submit to the email addresses or mailing addresses on the form.
BIDDEFORD — Donald Pilon, president of the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club, officially signed a twinning agreement with the Cosmopolitan Rotary Club in Amman Jordan.
The two Rotary groups met via Zoom to officially join as sister clubs.
This is the second twinning outreach of this sort for the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club. The other sister club is the Rotary Club of Bideford, England.
“It’s an honor for us to connect with such a talented group in Amman,” Pilon said. “We have a great deal we can learn from one another.”
Rotary clubs around the world have a unique opportunity to learn about other cultures and foster goodwill through the global family. Establishing a twinning partnership can involve forming relationships, arranging international exchange visits and programs, and cooperatively undertake international and community service projects.
Roland Gagne represented the BSRC on a previous Rotary International Outreach mission and travelled to Amman, Jordan. “I am thrilled to witness the formation of a Sister Club relationship with the Amman Cosmopolitan Club in the middle eastern country of Jordan. This will allow us to form a long-term relationship in the promotion of international understanding, goodwill, fellowship and likely result in continued service projects between our two countries.”
Donald Pilon introduced the president of the Amman Rotary Club, Ibrahim Kattan, and the District 2452 Governor Shawkat Tadros. Maine Rotary’s 7780 District Governor Peggy Belanger was also on the Zoom call to welcome the group and commend both clubs for joining together.
“District 7780 is comprised of 41 clubs and 1,500 members throughout southern Maine and New Hampshire,” Belanger said. “Our Rotary District remained very active throughout the pandemic and I couldn’t be more proud of the way Rotarians stepped up to serve their communities through this crisis.”
Lawrence Furbish, District 7780 Foundation chair, was also present on the call celebrating this new relationship. “I am looking forward to seeing what future projects your clubs will work on and thank everyone for supporting The Rotary Foundation.”
As the 100-year-old club continues to expand their reach globally, additionally, they continue to be major contributors in their communities. Club President Donald Pilon, along with the chair of the COVID sub-committee, Conrad Welzel, recently delivered 1,000 masks to Hailee Flaherty, communications director for SMHC. These masks were donated from the Rossi Foundation of East Hampton, Connecticut, as part of round II of the Million Mask Challenge. More than 100,000 face masks were delivered to local Rotary clubs and for the first-time, children’s face coverings were also provided.
“It’s a commendable contribution and important for our communities,” said Pilon. “Local Rotary clubs contribute so much in goods, and services. This pandemic hasn’t slowed our club down at all. It added to our motivation inspiring us to expand on the services we already provide to our communities.”
“Volunteer service hours have risen by 452 hours in January alone,” said Julie Villemaire, secretary of the club. “The total service hours recorded since July 1, 2020 through January 31st, 2021 is at 2,415 hours. That truly is commendable and demonstrates Rotarians are available to help whenever and wherever possible.”
For more information on the Biddeford and Saco Rotary Club, visit their website: http://www.biddeford-sacorotary.org/ or visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BiddefordSacoRotaryClub
Thank you for supporting the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club's Annual Maine Maple Syrup Fundraiser. The proceeds from this fundraiser will allow us to continue supporting the many needs and causes within the Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach communities.
The fundraiser runs through the month of March each year ending on Maine Maple Syrup weekend (March 27-28). The items you purchase will be filled with Maine Maple Syrup freshly harvested this season by Dole Pond Maple Products (organic certified), located deep in the woods of Jackman, ME; where they maintain 37,000 taps on 600 acres of land producing around 13,000 gallons of syrup each year.
Your items will be available for pick up on Saturday, June 5th. We will notify you of the location once the items are available.
TO SUPPORT US and MAKE A PURCHASE click the link below:
This year's event will be held VIRTUALLY on Sunday, March 21. In the interest of everyone's safety, and with no way to be certain what March of 2021 will bring, the Mary's Walk Committee made the decision to transition to a virtual run and walk again for year 23. We hope you will join us as recognize that cancer has not stopped in the midst of the pandemic and the people of Maine need our help more than ever. Register to walk or run on or before January 31 and you'll receive a free long sleeve t-shirt.
Here is the link to our Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club Mary's Walk team:
Thank you so much for registering for Mary's Walk/Kerrymen 5K and starting a team! We hope you will invite more teammates to join you in supporting the cause! Be sure to update your fundraising page and share why you are walking or running.
Additionally, we'd love to hear from you! We hope to share stories virtually to highlight our teams and what inspires you to participate. We can't be together in person this year but we will be together in spirit and we'd love to share your story! Submissions can be sent to maryswalk@mainecancer.org.
As you may have noticed, the Program Committee has developed a calendar for 2020-21 that has a different theme for each month -- February's theme is International! With the magic of Zoom, we all have a unique opportunity to learn from people across the globe who would not otherwise be able to present in person. This email will hopefully serve as a tease to get as many members as possible to sign on for meetings, and will provide you with some additional information.
We have more Meals on Wheels openings available! Please see the information below and feel free to contact us if you are interested:
Drivers needed at Biddeford
Biddeford Meals on Wheels is in need of delivery drivers on Tuesday mornings from 10:00AM-12:00PM. These delivery routes would be primarily in the Biddeford/Saco area. The site is located at 189 Alfred Street in Biddeford.
Packagers needed at Portland/Westbrook (Temporary)
Portland/Westbrook Meals on Wheels is looking for two volunteers to assist with packaging food on Thursday mornings from 9:00AM-12:00PM. Please note that this is a temporary volunteer role from 12/17/20 – 1/28/21. This role does require volunteers to work in close proximity with each other in the kitchen – so for safety purposes we encourage members of the same household to contact us with their interest. The site is located at 426 Bridge Street in Westbrook.
Also please ask if they could choose to help out to include myself or Julie on the communication so that they can be recognized for their service hours. Thanks Conrad
In March of 2020, the Rotary Club of Biddeford Saco launched a COVID-19 Crisis Subcommittee to address the immediate needs the pandemic caused in the communities of Biddeford, Saco and Old Orchard Beach. In phase one of their response program, the committee addressed the immediate need for food and PPE supplies for the elderly, at-risk youth and for our veterans.
In the second phase of their crisis project, the committee will continue their focus on ensuring food and PPE supplies are available to our seniors, at-risk youth, and veterans. In addition, the project will support organizations and small day cares that will be overwhelmed by an increased demand for basic needs: PPE supplies, food and other requirements or changes to their facilities as a result of executive orders. They will also add an education initiative for children and at-risk families, that will address food insecurities by teaching small scale agriculture in the production of crops and livestock.
To volunteer, donate to the Rotary Club or for more information on the Biddeford Saco Rotary Club, please email us.
To apply for crisis assistance and consideration for help with food, PPE supplies or for more information regarding the agriculture education initiative, download the COVID CRISIS Subcommittee Request Form.
The Biddeford Saco Rotary Club now accepts Venmo! You can pay your dues, the golf fundraiser, fines & happy dollars, foundation giving or anything else you’d like to pay directly to our bank account.
If you don’t have Venmo, please download the app and set up an account. It’s very easy. And it’s especially helpful that you can pay with your phone while we don’t meet in person.
Please send payments to @Treasurer-BSRC and put a note with your name (if it’s not identifiable) and what you’re sending money for. I can also try to answer questions if you respond to this email.
CLYNK bags are available at Whimsical Me on Main Street Saco. Stop into Heather’s store to pick-up several bags. Drop your bags off at the CLYNK DEPOSITORY In the Hannaford Shopping Center. Scan the bag tag on the outside of the door and place the bag inside Help us support Roland Gagne’s school in Kenya. A few cans and bottles goes a long way to improve the lives of these children. Let’s fulfill our commitment. .
Thank you
Roland & Don
UPDATE: Clynk requests that you hold you bags for 3 days before dropping them off and tie a string or ribbon to show compliance.
Our Club is in first place of 10 Rotary Clubs who participate in this program! But Saco Bay is gaining on us.
Total Raised
$2,788.10
Containers CLYNKed
49,905
Saved enough energy to light 69.1 lightbulbs—24 hours a day—for a year.
Saved the emissions equivalent of driving a car 13,070 miles.
Diverted enough containers to fill 508 lobster traps.
Fill up those green bags. If you need more bags and/or labels, just let Julie Villemaire know and she can hook you up…no charge!
Simple fill with returnables and drop off at any Hannaford.
Alternately, if you already have a CLYNK account of your own, you can designate you funds as a donation. Hit the Donate button and search for Rotary and you'll find our account.
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