Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Genesis Donation



YWCA Genesis Director Becky Studebaker spoke to the club on the operation of her agency's assisting individuals who have been victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and Genesis acting as a homeless shelter.

She stressed that money is always in short supply but that, in addition to donations, contributions of materials in-kind are always needed. She is constantly seeking out grant money, as state grants are currently at an all-time low. Drastic cuts in personnel have been necessary during recent months.

She noted that spousal abuse is behavioral in nature, brought on by generational and historical conditions.

The shelter, which serves women, children and men, is open 365 days a year. She added that on average, a woman leaves a man seven to nine times before leaving him "for good." Rotarians were invited to visit the facility and Becky thanked the club for its check contribution from the Quiz Bowl fundraiser.

A group photo taken on May 25th for Executive Shelley Rhoades' last day. WE WILL MISS YOU SHELLEY!!!!

IU East Athletics



Mark Hester, Athletic Director and Men's Basketball Coach at IU East and Kyle Wright, Sports Information Director, spoke about IU East Athletic programs and how they were doing.

In the NAI Division 2, IU East has one of the top 25 basketball teams in the state. They are the Red Wolves and are really beginning to make a name for themselves.

IU has Scholarship Athletic team programs and is looking forward to making their successful programs something for the community to be proud of. They also hope to attract fans from surrounding areas to come and spend time and money in our community.

The club signed up for a bus trip to one of the basketball games this season and we are looking forward to some great IU basketball!

Sierra Leone Trip







Jim Roselle, Melissa Owens and Beth Ann Stein spoke about their recent humanitarian trip to Sierra Leone. They were part of a group called World Hope.



The journey was partly a medical mission trip, as malaria, worms and upper respiratory infections in the country account for many deaths and are the most common maladies. Sierra Leone is a study in contrasts, consisting of great poverty and vast beauty. The roads are in need of constant repair.



One of the problems there is polygamy; another is the primitive lifestyle the inhabitants are forced to live.



A group from Eaton, Ohio has pledged to help five villages over the next five years, and this includes building bathrooms, purifying water, drilling wells, giving eye examinations, along with additional plantings, medicine and giving hearing tests.






New member SUSANNA NAVE was officially inducted into the club on April 6, 2010. Welcome Rotarian Susanna!!!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Ken Bailey's American Flags


Fellow Rotarian Ken Bailey displayed and discussed his collection of American Flags on Tuesday. He noted that in the early days of our country, each region had it's own flag.
Many of the early flags incorporated the likeness of a snake into them. However, eventually the banners became somewhat standardized.
Those he discussed and showed the club members included the Grand Union Flag, Bennington Flag, Betsy Ross Flag, Star Spangled Banner Flag, Great Star Flag, Texas Flag, 26 Star Flag, 31 Star Flag, Grand Medallion Flag, and the Stars and Bars (Confederate Flag.)
Also there were flags bearing the following number of stars: 35, 36, 37, 38, 45, 46, 48, 49 and 50. Ken owns additional flags which are displayed at his residence. A great program!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Josh Brown's new book about Allen Jay

JOSH BROWN SPOKE ABOUT THE STRUGGLES AN EARLY MIDWESTERN QUAKER UNDERTOOK FOR THE BETTERMENT OF HIS LARGER COMMUNITY. BORN IN NORTH CAROLINA, HIS FAMILY MOVED TO MIAMI COUNTY, OHIO WHERE SLAVERY WAS UNLAWFUL. EDUCATED UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES, HE ENDURED THE TORMENT QUAKERS SUFFERED AT THE HANDS OF HIS NEIGHBORS WHO AT TIMES PUT THE LAW OF THE LAND ABOVE THE LAWS OF GOD.
THE REV. BROWN RELATED A POIGNANT STORY ABOUT A RUNAWAY SLAVE WHO WAS AIDED BY THE FAMILY OF ALLEN JAY. THE SLAVE, TREATED WITH UNDERSTANDING AND COMPASSION, WAS ON HIS WAY NORTH AND COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT HE WOULD BE ASSISTED WITH KINDNESS OF WHITE STRANGERS.
BY TODAY'S MEASUREMENTS, JAY WAS RELATIVELY WELL EDUCATED, HAVING OBTAINED A SEMESTER OF COLLEGE AT EARLHAM AND A YEAR AT ANTIOCH. HE LATER MARRIED AND SETTLED IN LAFAYETTE, INDIANA. HE WAS DRAFTED INTO THE SERVICE DURING THE CIVIL WAR, BUT PRESIDENT LINCOLN, AT THE REQUEST OF GOVERNOR MORTON, EXCUSED QUAKERS FROM THE DRAFT.
AFTER THE WAR, JAY TRAVELED TO THE SOUTH TO AID SOUTHERN QUAKERS RE-ESTABLISH THEIR LIVES DURING RECONSTRUCTION, AIDING IN THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 60 SCHOOLS AS WELL AS BUSINESSES AND AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS. HE THEN RETURNED TO EARLHAM, ASSUMING A TITLE THAT WAS A COMBINATION OF TREASURER AND DEAN. WHILE THERE, HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN EXPANDING THE COLLEGE FROM ONE WITH ONLY ONE BUILDING TO AN INSTITUTION WITH SIX, WHILE ALSO IMPROVING ACADEMICS AND WIPING OUT PREVIOUS DEBT. HE DIED IN 1910.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

CENTER CITY DEVELOPMENT



Renee Oldham, Director of Center City Development, spoke on the subject of the Innovation Center and the multitude of services it renders to the entrepreneurs in the area. Not only is it a place designed to stimulate business development and provide support for business ideas and plants, it also encourages entrepreneurial activity and greater awareness of resources available to grow new businesses in Richmond and Wayne County.
Nearly 25,000 individuals have utilized the services of the center, and the staff has worked with nearly 1,300 entrepreneurs. She stressed the need for users to understand hard work.
Various organizations utilize the center, including Indiana Wesleyan University, Indiana University and Purdue University.
Staff members work one on one with clients as long as three years until is is felt that the client is capable of independent pursuit. She differentiated between entrepreneurship and interpreneurship, which is represented by a person who has an idea but doesn't want to leave his or her home community.
She concluded by noting that the concept of Main Street is still in tact.


Marcy Crull was inducted into the Richmond Rotary Club on March 16th. She is the Executive Director for Junior Achievement of Eastern Indiana.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB, MARCY!!!!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

CIS- COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS


Communities in Schools Executive Director Vivian Ashmawi spoke to the club on March 9th and gave an update of the programs currently in place with the organization. She noted that every nine seconds, a student drops out of school in the United States; thus, CIS has as it's mission making it's resources available to potential dropouts.
One means of reaching such students is by pairing one adult with one student in the hopes of improving ISTEP and reading scores.
CIS utilizes numerous coordinators and assists Peers Helping Peers, The Discovery School, aids with a Reality Store, helps sponsor the Test Expo and sponsors Eagle Buddies at Western Wayne Elementary School.
Rather than duplicating services or competing with other youth-serving organizations and agencies, CIS identifies and mobilizes community resources and fosters cooperative partnerships. CIS also tracks outcomes, and tracks better grades as well as the reduction of discipline problems.
Also last week, Third Graders at Crestdale Elementary received their Rotary Dictionaries. Our goal to provide Dictionaries to all 3rd Graders in Richmond and Centerville is nearly finished. This is one of the ways our club contributes to the efforts of improving literacy in Wayne County.