Today, the first Monday of October, brought us another warm and wonderful, sunny day! It's been an amazing fall so far. Fifteen Rotarians were joined by our exchange students, Romane from Belgium and Hikaru from Japan and our speaker Chris Abraham.

 

President Jack began the meeting with the Pledge and America the Beautiful. The inspiration was: Think bright thoughts, speak kind words, follow bold dreams, and trust the journey.

 

Jack spoke about a Naples student who uses a wheelchair but lacks a ramp to enter his home. Laurie has been working on a solution with Steve Richards. We passed the hat today (and will again next week) to help with the cost of materials. Naples Angels will also contribute.

 

Announcements: volunteers are needed for the Open Cupboard Pop-up this afternoon. * All are invited to the first Light Up Naples committee meeting this Wednesday, 10/8 at 6:30pm. We will meet at the Memorial Building (former Little Bunch) between the two churches on Main Street. We have just two months until LUN day on December 13th! Come and join the fun! * The Camp O raffle and dinner take place at Club 86 in Geneva on October 24th. Frank has tickets and info for both. Reservations are due 10/17. Camp O clean-up is on Saturday 10/25. * October birthdays and anniversaries will be celebrated next week.

 

Chris Abraham has been involved with the Naples Youth Corporation for over 20 years. He returned today to give us an update on the excitement that's been happening recently. Naples Youth Corporation (NYC) has been in existence since 1945. It's a non-profit whose purpose is "creating a safe, inclusive environment while establishing connections throughout the community. It facilitates opportunities for area youth to improve physical/mental health and lead confident lives filled with purpose and hope." In the past, there were 3 facilities at 9 Academy St. that served youth of all ages. In 2021, a survey found that the 3 top needs of youth in the Naples area were: 

1) access to free or affordable mental health services,

2) access to safe internships/mentoring opportunities,

3) a safe performing arts facility.

Currently, mental health services are on hold until staff can be identified. Mentoring of young entrepreneurs took place at the property during Grape Fest where youth created and sold products. In October 2023, the NYC was awarded a grant from the Ontario Co. American Rescue Plan. They have used those funds to build a pavilion for musical performances. They hosted an open mic there during this year's Grape Fest!  NYC also hosts an annual 5k/10k run, which will be on May 2, 2026. This year there were 202 runners, 43% were under 18 years old! 

Chris will be exiting the board in 2026 but leaving it in the hands of a new enthusiastic board who plan to continue the great progress made to date. Plans for the future include a closed building that could house counseling, bathrooms and concessions. He thanked the Naples Rotary for our support in the past and looks forward to continuing our partnership. The website for NYC is www.naplesyouthcorp.org.

 

The Ace of Hearts was postponed until next week. Many Happy Bills were given for the informative program from Chris and much appreciation for his dedication to the NYC mission. John enjoyed wearing his "bowling shirt" since Sherry wasn't here today. Jo Anne thanked Chris for his great work creating our Grape Fest shirts! There are only about 24 crew sweatshirts left! They will be available at the Morgan Hose building on Thursdays from 1-3pm and would make great holiday gifts!

 

We recited the Four Way Test and adjourned at 12:51 pm.