Greetings fellow Rotarians! Our speaker today was Eliza Kuchuk, Director of Youth Engagement at CHIPs (which is an acronym for Community Health Initiatives and Programs for Students).  CHIPs is an organization that serves families from Essex, Essex Junction and Westford. One of the more important programs that CHIPs offers is the Friendship Youth Mentoring program. This is a school-based mentoring program that matches adult mentors from the community with students between the grades of 3 through 8.  Mentors are asked to spend one hour each week with their students. During this time, the mentors and their students will do activities together and converse with one another.  Eliza explained that the local schools suggest students who would be good candidates for the program and that CHIPs works to pair those students with the right mentors.  Joining Eliza was Kim Gleason, a community member who has served as a CHIPs mentor for the past several years.  Kim explained how rewarding it has been for her to forge a one-on-one relationship with a young member of the community.  She strongly encourages others to serve as mentors if they can.  For more information about how you can become a mentor through CHIPs, please visit https://www.essexchips.org/friendchips

 

 

            Our per person meal prices with The Essex have recently increased.  Accordingly, our meal prices will increase to $17.50 per person each week.  We are pleased to report, however, that there is a dessert and coffee only option priced at $6.50 per person.  We are also pleased to report that we will be holding two breakfast meetings at The Essex this fall.  These two meetings will be held at 7:30am on Wednesday, September 25^th and Wednesday, October 30^th.  Each of these meetings will be held in lieu of our luncheon meetings on those weeks.  Please stay tuned for more details.

 

            There are still several Corn Booth slots left to fill with less than two weeks away until the Fair starts. We really need as many members as possible to sign up for slots.  Members can sign up through the following link: https://admin.clubrunner.ca/1437/Volunteer/ManageVolunteerContacts?VolunteerSignUpId=880f35fa-d573-44a0-8f63-e6fec2b478bf  We especially encourage some of our newer members to sign up, particularly those who are unable to attend our weekly meetings on a regular basis. Not only is this a great way to contribute to the Club, but it is a nice opportunity to get to know some of your fellow Rotarians. Please remember that friends, co-workers and family members are not only welcome, but encouraged to help fill slots. 

            We are looking for volunteers to help staff the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf on the following dates; Thursday, August 22^nd (3:30pm.); Monday, September 9th (5:15pm); and Thursday, September, 26^th (3:30pm).  Please contact Sharon Dettenrieder at sharon.dettenrieder@gmail.com if you are able to fill any of these shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, August 21, 2019 – Program to be determined.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and information about the Club, please go to our website at rotaryclubofessex.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