Last week's meeting was awesome, inspiring, educational and impressive. I'm so very proud of Alicia Ruiz-Orbin and her Committee for taking part in such a great endeavor of what we do at Rotary. Congratulations to Jill Long and Corinne Goodwin on being the honorees and award recipients at our International Women's Day Celebration. Both Jill and Corinne had great things to say to us. Thank you again for such a great presentation. And thanks to everyone who participated and came to last week's meeting.
March is Rotary's Water and Sanitation Month. What does that mean? Well, I asked the same question. Being a 15 year Emmaus Rotarian this May 2020, I am amazed on how I keep picking up on more and more as my own personal Rotary journey continues. And as President, Google is my best friend because when I don't know something, Google is there.
Here is Rotary District 3000's Water and Sanitation Focus according to Google:
Create awareness on water Conservation by Street play / Banners / Literature Distributions / Seminars at club level and for local community, Rain water harvesting awareness
Clean Drinking Water at Railway Stations, Bus Stations, Schools or Public Places, Re-user of waste water
Create Public Toilets Facilities, Create Awareness on Sanitation at Schools - Colleges - Economically Backward Areas
Providing Carriers (Transportation Systems) to carry water pots
Another wonderful focus Rotary takes part in! Rotary never gets boring. We pour our heart and souls into so many different areas of Service Above Self! Who do you know that fits that definition? Everyone knows someone! Give them a call and bring them to our Rotary meeting this Thursday(HINT, HINT!! I'm back on my Membership Growth kick!). You may be surprised how thankful they are you asked them to a free breakfast at Brookside Country Club!!!
International Women's Day is celebrated around the world by many countries and many Rotary Clubs. This is the third year our Emmaus Rotary Club joined the celebration by honoring two women whose volunteer humanitarian work exemplifies the ideals of Rotary International of working together for a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves. Thank you to all who joined us in this celebration and to all Rotarians who wore something purple, the color of International Women's Day worldwide, to show your support of the celebration.
Alicia Ruiz-Orbin and The International Women's Day Committee delivered a passionate and impactful awards celebration honoring the work of Bethlehem Rotarian Jill Long and Community Leader Corinne Goodwin. Both Honorees shared their accomplishments and the challenges they have faced along the way in their efforts to make the Lehigh Valley and the World a better place for us all.
Jill Long has had the "Service Above Self" attitude since Kindergarten when she would be the first to enthusiastically raise her hand and volunteer to help. (Often times meaning volunteering her parents) Since then, she has touched many lives through her service. One of Jill's biggest passions has been sharing her home and love through Foster Care. She has been a Foster Mother to eight, pregnant teen girls and a young boy through Valley Youth House. Jill has also helped to start a local volunteer Ambulance Corps., created a program with women to teach women the skill of sewing, and started a new independent living program with Valley Youth House JUST to name a few things outside of Rotary! Jill has been a Bethlehem Rotarian since 2014 where she serves as the Community Service Committee Chair in addition to her participation on 5 other committees as well as the Rotary Action Group against Human Trafficking, Phillies Strike-Out Hunger and Rotaplast. Jill finds a lot of inspiration in Rotary but as she stated "It's not about what inspires you in Rotary it's who" which are great words to reflect on during Women's History Month.
Corinne Goodwin was recognized for her outstanding work to improve the lives of transgender individuals and their families. Corrine leads the charge through her non-profit organization, Lehigh Valley Transgender Renaissance. Through LV Ren she has created volunteer run programs that provide peer-led support groups, education and outreach programs about issues such as medical care and safety, as well as education to the general public about issues affecting transgender people. Corinne shared that 41% of transgender people attempt to commit suicide and that it is legal for a trans person to be discriminated against. She helped us to understand the difficulties transgender people face to find housing, employment and medical care and just how important it is to be recognized by the name you want to be called along with a legal ID to match. Corinne is assisting transgender people navigate the expensive and difficult name change process through online form generators and financial grants. Corinne is also serving the community by volunteering through the YWCA Bethlehem, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, and the GLVCC LGBT Business Council. Corinne will certainly continue to be an unstoppable force for change and equality.
March may be Women's History Month but every day is chance to appreciate the ladies who make our world a better place!
Can Tabs For The Miracle League LV / Submitted By Bob Halsey
In 2018 We started collecting the Tabs from all types of cans Soda, Beer, Seltzer, Tuna Fish, Sardines, Soup Cans, Etc. In 2018 we were able to deliver Five Full One Gallon Jugs of Tabs…Last year, 2019 we were able to deliver Three Full One Gallon Jugs of Tabs. So far this year 2020 we now have One Full One Gallon Jugs. I would hope we can again this year, 2020, can fill at least another Five Full One Gallon Jug OR MORE. I turn these into the Miracle League in the Middle of October, right before Halloween. They turn them into the Dupont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington Delaware. Other organizations also collect these Tabs, in total the Hospital has been able sell these for enough Money to pay 75% of the Utilities Cost in their Ronald House, where Families to stay at a very Nominal Cost when their Handicapped Children need to go for Treatment. You can bring Tabs every Thursday to our regular Breakfast Meetings.
The Feed East Penn Students Food Packing Program needs your help!
It has become more difficult for Second Harvest to supply us with protein sources for the 200 children we feed each week. We are reaching out to our membership for help in collecting cans of tuna fish. We will be collecting weekly until we have met the need.
Bring your cans of tuna fish donations this week:
Thursday, May 21, 2020 8:45pm - 9:15pm
In front of Bethany Bible Fellowship church (418 Elm Street Emmaus, Office entrance)
Don Blose will be masked and gloved with a box for you to place your tuna fish in.
If you can help please take a ride and drop off your tuna fish. We feed 200 people each and every week and with the continued protein (peanut butter, tuna, chicken, cereal, and milk) shortages at all food banks we know our Rotarians will step up and help. We order food from Second Harvest each month for the children. We have had a substantial contribution of monies from a lot of different sources and I thank each and every one of you for helping. To keep our monies available and still help all of these children throughout the summer we are going to need your help. We will continue to ask each and every week until either we have too much or Second Harvest has the supplies on hand we need.
Thank you for your continued generosity in advance
Yours in Service Rick Zayaitz
The Community Service Committee is currently collecting the following items:
Journals and Pens for Turning Point. (A way for their clients to write down their journey as they start a new life)
Umbrellas and Ponchos for Turning Point.
See Nicole with your contributions at our next meeting.
The Community Service Committee has a new volunteer opportunity for the Emmaus Rotary Club!
Get outdoors and help with a local Earth Day Clean Up meeting at Emmaus Community Park on April 18th from 8:30am to 12:00pm. This is the 14th year for the Emmaus/ Upper Milford joint EAC Earth Day and The Emmaus Rotary Club Community Service Committee is eager to help the cause. Additionally there will be Electronics/battery/bulb recycling along with on site paper shredding starting at 9am until the Trucks are full or noon. Contact Karen and Nicole to sign up with your family or group of friends. ercommunityservice@gmail.com
Weekly Door Prize Donations Needed! Be our next meeting's prize sponsor!
It seems like we all like the idea of winning a festive prize at our meetings (in person or online). We have had some very generous and fun donations over the past few months since incorporating this new aspect to our meetings. Many thanks to all who have donated a prize! It is a nice way to give back to each other while doing some low-key networking for your business. In the wake of the Carona Virus now more than ever it's important to show the local businesses in our community we care and support them. They have shown us support with raffle donations and sponsorships throughout the years. Consider purchasing a $20.00 gift card from one of the many small businesses in the East Penn Area. As we know every little bit helps. It's also a great way to start a conversation about Rotary and invite business owners and managers to a club meeting. Please contact Meghan Reed for more information about our weekly door prizes and how you can be help!
Upcoming Committee Meetings: Consider holding a virtual meeting to stay in touch and on task with your committee!
(Does your committee have an upcoming meeting? Let Meghan know and we will list it here)
Rotary and Beyond:
If you are participating in a fundraiser outside of Rotary and would like help spreading the word to our club members please contact Meghan Reed. It may be eligible to run in our new section in the Trumpet called "Rotary and Beyond". It will cost $2.00 (Happy Dollars) each time you'd like to run the information in the Trumpet. To have the information posted in the Trumpet you must be an active committee member or board member of the non-profit organization facilitating the activity outside of Rotary participation. The $2.00 entry may be given to Meghan at a club meeting. Contact Meghan with any questions.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ROTARY / BE MOTIVATED /DEVELOP LEADERSHIP SKILLS
DO IT ALL IN ONE RLIDAY!
District 7430 Rotarians are invited to become better educated about world-wide Rotary. Maximize your Rotary club membership and attend the March 28, 2020Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) training at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA. DEADLINE TO REGISTER is Friday, March 20th. For additional information and to register visit: www.rlinea.org.
For other information or registration help contact Len Gieseler, District Chair, at 610-323-2201 or lengieseler2023@gmail.com.
Emmaus Rotarians truly do live a lifestyle of Service Above Self! Check out some of the great work our fellow members are doing in our community outside of Rotary and learn how you can support their efforts.
Ashley Lorah is EMMAUS PROUD to help the EHS Angel Network! See how you can too!
The Emmaus Main Street Partners and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber are producing a limited number of EMMAUS PROUD t-shirts to help support our community at this time. EMMAUS PROUD #SupportLocal T-Shirts are $18 each, including shipping, with a portion of the proceeds supporting EHS Angel Network.
Shirts must be ordered by Friday May 22, 2020 and will be shipped out by Monday May 25, 2020.
The proceeds for the Angel Network will be used to support families receiving free & reduced lunches in the district through food baskets, purchasing gift cards to local grocery stores, and more. If you're interested in making a donation, you can select the 'other' option and write in the dollar amount you'd like to donate OR you can mail a check written out to 'GLVCC'' to Emmaus Main Street Partners 191 Main St Ste 205 Emmaus, PA 18049.
