Attendance. Our February 10 meeting was well attended for Zoom – 21 Rotarians plus our speaker.
Warming Kits. Becky announced that she is assembling “warming kits” for unhoused people in Santa Cruz. She is doing this in cooperation with Downtown Streets, the nonprofit that was the subject of our October 21 presentation by Jocelyn Curran. Around 18 members have contributed to the effort. The kits were distributed on Wednesday.
Our Little Rituals. Dr. Art again combined his thought for the day and joke: "A pretty face is not a passport, it is a visa that runs out fast." Kate was the detective. She questioned the members’ knowledge of dates and events in February. Her repertoire was limited a bit by last week’s Valentine’s Day questions, but she did a great job of educating us and raising money through fines.
Guest Speaker Robin Nardello. Our speaker was Robin Nardello, Community Relations Manager for New Leaf Markets and New Seasons Markets.
Robin spoke and showed photos and graphics of the extensive community assistance programs that New Leaf and New Seasons support. The list is too long to repeat, but it includes Food Pantry Support, Grazing on the Greens, Lend a Hand Volunteers, Teen Kitchen Project, and Envirotokens—programs that they manage directly in addition to their support for dozens of local organizations. New Leaf and New Seasons have 3 Tents of Giving: addressing hunger, helping the environment, and K-12 education. Among other accomplishments, they have saved the environment from more than 11 million bags and raised over $1 million for the programs they support. One way they raise funds is by donating proceeds from sales. For example, 1% of their sales from their Anniversary Beer is donated to Ocean Ecoles, and 1% of the sales from their Bloom line products goes to Teen Kitchen Project.
Anissa noted that New Leaf/New Seasons has contributed $32,000 to Walnut Avenue Shelter. Matt Wettstein thanked Robin for her businesses’ support and partnership in addressing food insecurity, which remains prevalent in the student community.
Nisene Marks Events. President Ken is going to lead 2 social event tours of The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park on the less-travelled trails that are accessible from his Vienna Woods neighborhood. 1 tour will be about an hour, 1-2 miles, with some slopes. The date for that is tentatively February, Saturday 26, 10 a.m. start.
The second hike would be more challenging—about 4 miles, a few steep areas, and roots; plan on 2 hours. That date is March 6, also 10 a.m.-ish.
Rainout dates are March 12 and 13.
There is free parking in the neighborhood.
These are social events, not fundraisers, because the Parks Department requires a $300 permit plus admin fees of up to $100 if we charge. There will be re-hydration at Ken’s house afterwards. Donations to Rotary are encouraged there.
Signups are limited to ten people- please respond to Ken asap.
In Person Meetings? We are monitoring the County mask guidelines to assess when we can safely return to in person lunches. The District Governor has convened a meeting re covid protocols on Wednesday, February 23 for discussion.