Greetings fellow Rotarians! Our speaker today was Kitty Daley who spoke to us about Aunt Dot’s Place, which is a new food shelf being opened in Essex. Located at 51 Center Road in Essex, Aunt Dot’s Place is a privately operated food shelf that is open to the communities of Essex, Essex Junction, Westford, Jericho and Underhill. Aunt Dot’s Place is located in a permanent spot that is solely dedicated to the purpose of being a food shelf.  This cuts back significantly on the number of volunteers required to run the food shelf as less set up and break down is required before and after its hours of operation.  Presently, the food shelf operates three days a week (Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:30pm; Thursdays from 9:00 to 11:00am; and Saturdays from 9:00 to 11:00am). Kitty explained that her organization also puts a heavy emphasis on promoting nutrition and healthy food choices for its patrons.  Kitty’s hope is that this organization will expand beyond simply serving as a food shelf and will one day provide clothing, temporary shelter and employment assistance services to the community.  For more information about this organization, please visit http://www.auntdotsplace.com/

 

 

            As mentioned above, our Rotary Exchange Student, Pablo has arrived and will be attending school at Mount Mansfield Union High School for the school year.  Edith Klimoski and her family will be hosting a dinner on Sunday, September 24^th as a way for Rotarians to welcome Pablo to our community and to get to know him a bit better.  The event will be catered by Mimmo’s, so please RSVP to Edith as soon as possible if you and your family are able to make it. Edith can be reached at klimoski@comcast.net

 

 

            Rotarian Bob McEwing has offered members the opportunity to join him and Rotarians from other Clubs on a bus trip to and from Montreal.  While there, Rotarians will be given a tour of the city and spend some time in le Vieux-Port (the Old Port).  For more information about this trip, please contact Bob at macpiper@aol.com

 

 

            Our Club is once again participating in the Essex Eats Out program.  Each month, a local church hosts a free dinner for the community at large.  Our Club has agreed to provide the food and staffing for the next event which is scheduled for Friday, October 6^th.   A sign-up sheet is being circulated for both volunteers and for people to donate money or food to this event.  Please contact Sharon Dettenrieder at Sharon.dettenrieder@gmail.com for more details about this service project.

 

 

 

            The next opportunities to volunteer at the food shelf will be on September 28^th and October 26^th. Please let Sharon Dettenrieder know if you are able to volunteer for any of these shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  September 27, 2017 – We will be holding our monthly committee meetings.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and information about the Club, please go to our website at www.essexrotary.org   Be sure to also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EssexVermontRotary , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/essexvermontrotary/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/essex_rotary

 

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet