On Tuesday, July 7th at 6 PM, our club had a virtual meeting over the telephone and internet via Zoom.  President Laura Pellerano started the meeting.
 
Invocation was read by Tracy Shaffer.
 
The pledge was led by Tracy Shaffer, Ashley Johnson took notes and Tony and Julie Bouchard took attendance.
 
Guests: Max Dietshe, David Young and His Parents, Grace Cushing
 
Visiting Rotarians: Dave and Betty Parsons
 
Birthdays: Fred Beyer on July 7th and Iris Simon on July 8th! Happy Birthday!
 
Wedding Anniversaries: Rod and Cindy Fox 55 Years on July 10th and Jackie and Michael Sinclair 15 Years on July 10th. Congratulations!
 
Club Anniversaries: Michael Marino 11 Years on July 7th and Lincoln Ehrlenach 18 Years on July 9th. Congratulations!
 
Checking In/Happy Dollars: Clyde Cushing, Pam Cushing, Jodie Cushing, Dan Frye, Allegra Pellerano, Tracy Shaffer, JoAnn Brown, Marian and Dave Wells, Carl Lusby, Rod Fox, Scott Kimball, Rhonda Parker, Gene Pellerano, Melody Pereira, Lincoln and Debbie Ehrlenbach, Ashley Johnson and Linda Fuller.  
 
All Happy Dollars goes towards Forgotten Felines this quarter. They rescue and rehome Rehabilitate and provide assistance with spay and neutering stray and feral cats. They are 100% funded by donations and funds raised from yard sales and craft fairs. 
 
Don’t forget about Polio Plus and EREY! Please consider making a donation.
Rotary Business:
  1. Tracy Shaffer received positive feedback from the membership survey  on everyone’s comfort levels on meeting again in China Hill. Our 1st in person meeting will be on Tuesday, July 21st at China Hill. An email will be sent out soon for reservations as seating will be limited due to COVID-19.
  2. Membership Update: JoAnn Brown reported the committee is encouraging members to bring a perspective member to a meeting to be entered into a drawing for a gift card! The Passport Program is up and running again this year. Please fill out the passport by July 31st of 2021 and you will receive a Rotary Vest! JoAnn also encouraged members to join a committee within the club.
  3. International Update: Dave Wells is looking for members to join the International Committee this year. Please let him know if you are interested in joining. The Wheelchair distribution has been delayed due to COVID-19 to Panama. 120 wheelchairs are currently being manufactured. The Bar Harbor Club and The Bangor Breakfast Club are part of this project.
  4. Download ClubRunner App: An email was sent out last week encouraging all members to download the ClubRunner app on to their smart phones or devices. It is a wonderful and highly recommended.
  5. Blood Drive: Scott Kimball reported the next Blood Drive is Tuesday, July 14th at the Ellsworth Elks Lodge from 1:00pm to 6:00pm. Please let him know if you would like to volunteer.
Guest Speaker:  This week’s guest speaker was David Young. David graduated from George Stevens Academy in 2007, Loyola - Chicago 2011 and Brandeis University 2013.
David works as a consultant at UNESCO Bangkok, where he is mostly focused on managing and organizing training programs focused on providing young people in Southeast Asia with leadership skills such as research, media advocacy, and policy development. His work specifically focuses on vulnerable youth sub-populations such as LGBTQI and indigenous persons.
 
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture; UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
 
The COVID-19 outbreak has deprived students of brick-and-mortar schools, including about 500,000 migrant children in Thailand who are among the most vulnerable. The increasing financial burden, emotional distress linked to families losing jobs, and school and migrant-learning centre closures have put children at risk of losing opportunities or even dropping out of school.
 
For many migrants, the accompanying economic crisis means that even more children have to contribute to earning incomes to help their families survive day to day. Child labour further adversely affects learning loss and makes students fall further behind. Lifelong learning prospects are at stake, but so are healthy and inclusive societies that are in the interest of everyone.
 
Respectfully submitted by Ashley Johnson
Sponsors