eSpoke - February 5, 2021 (Feb 05, 2021)

In Person Meetings

Posted by John Ficorilli

The Lima Rotary Club will resume in-person meetings on February 22.

It would appear that we have made it through the dreaded post-holiday spike in COVID cases. We are hearing that vaccines are available for some of us; I even know a couple of people who have received them! We are still wearing our masks and we are still working and going to the grocery and maybe even doing a little bit of travel. 2021 has arrived, along with a new President (not Rotary – I am here until July 😊) and congress. And yet, life goes on. Time to get back to it, for those who are able. We will begin hybrid meetings again on February 22, 2021. The VMCCC will set up for three per table, Frank will cater lunch, and we will wear our masks upon entering and exiting and we will maintain social distance. Zoom will be an option for all who cannot or will not attend in person. We will work on getting Zoom attendees more engaged as well. Time for a NEW Rotary experience. If you are reading this, YOU are part of that NEW experience. Bring your bodies and minds and heart, either live or virtually, and help us move our club forward. I look forward to seeing you all again. We have a lot of work to do.

Thank you,

John

Social

Posted by Demi Burden

The next Lima Rotary Club social is February 21st at Old City Prime from 11:00 - 2:00. Drop in any time and enjoy drinks, munchies and great fellowship! Please let Demi know if you will be attending so she can plan appropriate distancing measures.

The Scoop - February 1, 2021

Posted by Anne Decker

Big Brothers Big Sisters is the nation’s largest donor-and volunteer-supported mentoring network.

Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 17 to help children reach their full potential. Community Outreach Coordinator Chris Jackson told us that the adults and children meet 2-4 times a month for a minimum of an hour to enjoy activities together such as sports, gardening, bowling, bike riding and more. Bigs can also visit Littles at specific locations like their schools. BBBS also has a Bigs In Blue program that teams up children with law enforcement officers. The goal of these partnerships is to promote higher aspirations, greater confidence, better relationships, avoidance of risky behaviors and educational success among the children. Chris says that 144 children involved in the local program were recently surveyed and "71% of those students improved their self confidence, class participation went up 63%, academic performance went up 51%, relationship with peers went up 63%, sense of belonging at school went up 64%."

14 children are currently involved in the local Big Brothers Big Sisters with 5 on the waiting list. The local BBBS is supported by grants as well as fundraisers like Bowl For Kids Sake and Golf For Kids Sake. Children are referred to the program by their parent, caregiver, church or youth services agency. Any adult who wants to make a difference in a child's life can volunteer to be a Big. Call 419-222-8500 to get involved.

Also at Monday's meeting, Derek Stemen encouraged us to nominate people for the Jefferson Awards which is the country's most prestigious volunteer recognition award. "Think this year about all the people over the course of this past year that have helped in so many different ways in our community. We had so many volunteers stepping up to help in a variety of different ways and we want to make sure that we do a great job of recognizing them." The deadline to nominate someone is March 17. Contact Derek for more details.

Lesley Fry informed us of the activities of the Lima Rotary Foundation over the past year. In the past three grant periods, the Foundation has donated $17,000 to the following organizations: D.A.R.E., Lima Symphony Orchestra, SAFY, Marimor, MESA, Heartland Image Foundation, Allen Lima Youth Leadership and Encore Theater.

David Frost gave us a Paul Harris udpate. There are two ways to support the Rotary Foundation. The first is the 125 Club which acknowledges Rotarians who give $100 to the annual fund as well as $25 to PolioPlus. You can also support the Foundation by making automatically recurring gifts through Rotary Direct.