Our January 26, 2023 lunch was at Seascape. Remember, our February 2 lunch is at the Fairfield Inn on 41st Ave. in Capitola. Do not go to Seascape at noon unless you want to avoid all of us AND get a $20 fine.
We had 18 attendees in person and 4 on zoom.
Kendra ran the meeting with her usual charisma and organization- impeded only by a new microphone system that randomly disconnected and announced the disconnection in a Lauren Bacall-esque sultry near-whisper that seems more appropriate for pay for view R rated movies than the wholesomeness of our meetings.
Kendra's announcement: PLEASE respond to her emailed RSVPs
Dr Art's thought for the day: Don’t argue with a fool in public because people might confuse the two of you. (Has he been to court lately?)
Dr Art announced that the Watsonville strawberry pickers need work help and food. He is seeking volunteers to help at Loaves and Fishes- shifts start shortly before noon. Dr. Art's usual shift is every Tuesday, but they serve each day so they need volunteers each day!
Paul announced that there had been driftwood pickup on Capitola beach- he and his companions (Laura, Julie, Dr. Art and Art's grandson Noah) spent hours of time and it didn’t seem to make a dent. Residents are encouraged to pick up driftwood.
There may be another beach cleanup, probably in about two weeks. Keep an eye out for an update.
Lowry- announced that the Soquel High interact club wants to do service projects.
There were photos of our work on Facebook and instagram and from District 5170 website. Kendra encouraged us to go on those sites and give us 5 star reviews so the algorithm gives us more publicity.
Mardi-who appeared on zoom and is hopefully recovering- is doing great with updates and posts on our web page- ongoing shout outs to her.
Sam did the welcome song and way test song mid= way through our program but the classics sound great any time.
We had an esteemed guest- Lisa Berkowitz from Meals on Wheels-who was here to accept our grant and give a boost to fundraising efforts. She gave shoutouts to Michele Bassi and Pam Arnsburger, who are both fundamental to that organization's efforts. Meals on Wheels has now served over 11 million meals. She also showed a video about their program that was done just before covid-starring Michele--and we are wondering when the Hollywood offers will be coming in!
Lisa said their program needs a new space-they are in the process of being evicted, same as RotaCare being that they shared a building. The eviction is not due to bad tenancy, it's due to Live Oak needing their current building to build Subsidized Teacher Housing. They need about 4,500-5,000 square feet which can have a large kitchen. Anyone with connections in commercial real estate? They are having a fundraiser Food From the Heart Luncheon on March 17- let's have a good turnout then and there.
Our guest speaker on zoom was Jessica Hansen, the Director of Alliance for Smiles, which was founded by Rotarians. The volunteer members of her organization, including our own Dr. Art Dover, travel overseas and perform cleft palate and/or cleft lip surgical repair for kids in under-served areas. Dr. Art is a volunteer surgeon with the group. He explained that there are very few surgeons who can perform the surgery in the countries where Alliance for Smiles does its work. Jessica also expressed her gratitude to Anissa for her contributions.
This is one of Jessica's many charitable works and projects. She truly exemplifies service above self.
About 1 in 700 kids are born with cleft palate and/or cleft lip. The rate is double that in China. In some areas infants with those conditions are killed, in other societies they are ostracized, abandoned or given away. They have trouble breast feeding, eating, socializing and finding life partners. Jessica showed before and after photos of some of the young patients and shared some of their stories. The physical transformation is dramatic and the impact on their lives cannot be over-stated. Having the reconstructive surgery puts them back in the mainstream and is a tremendous boon to themselves and their families.
Alliance for Smiles also provides long term support for the kids and strives to see that the local health care have the resources to provide services. They provided remote training to the local teams during the covid crisis and have recently returned to providing in-person surgeries. Truly a worthy service that epitomizes the goals of Rotary and deserves our support.
See you tomorrow at Fairfield Inn, 1255 41st Ave, Capitola, CA 95010
Park in the underground parking garage that is underneath the hotel, the gate will be open. Then take the elevator from the parking garage up to the main level of the hotel, and signs will direct you to the Meeting Room where we will be!
