Erin Roche from First Children's Finance
Today, our Speaker was Erin Roche from First Children's Finance. The goal of First Children's Finance is to build stronger child care businesses and better communities. They help start, sustain, and grow child care businesses by providing business resources and access to capital. This week is the program's 2 year birthday! First Children's Finance helps child care centers both at home and in centers with business planning, grant applications, loan applications, support and advice for these important small businesses and when a business cannot make it they help find alternatives for that community either by establishing new child care centers or through sustainability efforts.
We also heard today from Rotarian Jim Donavan who visited Japan and attended a Rotary meeting in Takisaki. He found the visit super informative and learned through an interpreter how important Rotary programs are for Japan Rotarians. They share banners with all visitors and once they figured out that Jim was a visitor from the USA in Vermont they shared lunch and a banner from their club. Jim truly enjoyed this opportunity and hopes others of us will try and do the same when they, too, are traveling.
We continue to struggle with the best way to continue a breakfast meeting without our beloved Chef, Sophie.
The Service Team led by Rotarian Nancy Danforth will be meeting this week as well as the Community Needs Assessment Team meeting next Monday evening.