AUGUST 26, 2020

Meeting Recap

Greetings fellow Rotarians! First and foremost, it is our pleasure to announce that Holly Lemieux has returned to the Club! This now brings our membership up to 55 members. Welcome back, Holly! Today, our Club embarked on an exciting new direction. In response to our last survey, our Club has done away with the old committee format and implemented new task forces to oversee the manner in which we handle our charitable funds. Our first task force has been put together to oversee Operation Warmth. This group will help facilitate the collection and distribution of new winter coats to children in our community who need them. The next group will handle local food security. These Rotarians will work directly with our local food pantries to identify their needs and opportunities for our Club to assist them. We have also put together the “Service Above Self” task force. This group will be assessing the manners in which we can support and recognize essential workers which would include healthcare workers, public safety officials, individuals who work in the food supply chain, and student support workers. Our public relations task force will be responsible for disseminating information about our Club’s activities and charitable endeavors. This work will include publishing press releases and frequently updating our website and social media pages. Last, but not least, is our fundraising group. These Rotarians will be responsible for developing safe and socially distant fundraisers and service projects that will not only keep our members engaged but also get our Club back out in the community. Thank you to all who have agreed to chair these groups and thank you to all of the members who have joined each of these groups. If anyone is interested in joining any of these groups, please contact President Max Seaton at maxseaton@yahoo.com

Amazon Smiles Program

As more of us are utilizing the services of Amazon, Members are encouraged to take part in the AmazonSmile program. Through this program, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to our charities account. To take advantage of this opportunity, please visit https://smile.amazon.com/ch/03-0348126 and sign up!

Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf

The food pantry is looking for volunteers to assist with providing curbside service. People who fall in the vulnerable category, however, are asked to please hold off on volunteering until the health threat subsides. Please contact Associate Pastor Josh Simon at jsimon@fccej.com for more details on how you can help.

Upcoming Meeting Schedule: Wednesday, September 2, 2020 – Our speaker will be Erica Marks, Director of Volunteer Services at AgeWell, Vermont’s leading agency on aging. Weekly meetings may be accessed by clicking https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84976905896 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. For future meetings, you will need log in at www.zoom.us click Join a Meeting, fill in the Meeting ID of 849 7690 5896 and then the Password of 925477. If you wish to attend by phone, you will just need to dial (646) 558-8656 and then enter the ID and Password noted above.

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