Protect your environment

Rotary responds to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine

EVANSTON, ILL,. April 5, 2022 – Rotary announced today that it has raised more than $7 million to support locally-led relief efforts underway by Rotary clubs in Ukraine and neighboring countries.

“The need for immediate humanitarian aid is increasing with each passing day,” said John Hewko, CEO of Rotary International. “Rotary clubs in Europe and around the world, including our 1,100 members in Ukraine, have stepped up their relief work, with some on the ground helping those displaced by the war.”

• In western Ukraine, Rotary members in Lviv are working with local authorities and major hospitals to provide urgent medical supplies and equipment.
• In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Rotary clubs have partnered with a railway company to offer transport to refugees and deliver essential items.
• In France and Germany, Rotary members set up a central fund and working group to coordinate aid for Ukraine and border countries.
• Rotary clubs in Poland have taken swift action to provide food, water, medical equipment, and transport and shelter for Ukrainian refugees. 

Funds raised by the Rotary Foundation – Rotary’s charity arm, go directly to those in need through local Rotary clubs in Ukraine and other countries where substantial aid is needed for refugees.

Rotary clubs are also coordinating with partners to explore effective solutions to increased humanitarian needs. Rotary’s disaster response partner ShelterBox, is collaborating with Rotary members in Eastern Europe to provide essential supplies and access to temporary housing for those who have left Ukraine, along with medical and shelter supplies for communities in Ukraine. Items include mattresses for people living in schools and sports centers, shelter kits with tools and rope, hygiene kits, winter jackets, solar lights, and water carriers to help people survive as they are forced to live in damaged buildings. 

About Rotary: Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.4 million members of more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visitRotary.org.

Our new President Susan Grimes opened her first meeting and spoke about the three R’s to focus on during the 2021-2022 Rotary year. The meeting was the first in-person meeting since March 2020. The club meets at the Shelburne Methodist Church and online via Zoom.

Trafton Crandall introduced our speakers today, the three recipients of our scholarships: Lena Ashooh, Lena Kerest, and Chloe Landers. Each of the recipients provided an inspirational view of what they have done and what they are planning to do at their colleges or universities.

Dr. Mayer’s collection of poetry, Poems From The Wilderness was published Nov. 2020. These poems were all composed while solo hiking or skiing in the wilderness of Vermont and New Hampshire. Mayer shares his love of the backcountry, trail-walking, camping, and the “wilderness effect,” a unique sensation of aliveness and deep connection. Though deeply personal, he hopes they will resonate with those pieces of wilderness we all carry within us, and offer respite in these challenging pandemic times.

He lives in Middlebury, Vermont

“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not be but gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Our speakers today are Joshua Rooney and Alice Brown, mentoring coordinators for the Champlain Valley School District (CVSD).

Margaret Woodruff is the newest member our club. Margaret is the Director of the Charlotte Library. She became aware of Rotary through our book donations and our work around town. Club President Chris Davis was her sponsor. Margaret has been the Director of the library for 10 years, and was the children’s librarian before that. She lives in east Charlotte with her husband, and has three grown daughters. 

Don Stevens is our speaker today. Don is Chief of the Nohegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation and president of the AHA- Abenaki Helping Abenaki. 

Heather Moore is the Executive Director of Camp Thorpe, located in Goshen, Vermont. The camp hosts 250 campers with developmental disabilities.

https://www.campthorpe.org

Photo courtesy of The Shelburne News

Emma Marden is our guest today. Emma is a freshman at CVU, and was the organizer of the Black Lives Matter flag raising and march at Shelburne Community School. 

Our speakers today are Susan Stock and Pam Brangan from the Shelburne Food Shelf.

Food insecurity and demand for the food shelf has soared during the pandemic, and more and more people continue to sign up. The community has really stepped up as well. Shelburne Farms, New Village Farms, Zen Center, home farmers have donated food. Fisher Brothers Farm donated ice cream and a freezer!! 
https://www.shelburnefoodshelf.org

Michael Monte is our speaker today. Michael is Champlain Housing Trust COO. He will be taking over as CEO when the current CEO retires. He has over 40 years community and economic development experience, and was the head of Burlington’s CEDO office for many years.

Membership Chair Ric inducted Laurie Burke as our newest member during this morning's Zoom meeting.

Laurie Burke is very happy to be joining our Club. Community service has always been very important to her. Her father was a Kiwanis member and he and his fellow Kiwanians built a rope tow for local kids, and that made an impression on her.

She works at the Stern Center writing and fundraising and is looking forward to helping our Club fundraise!

Laurie graduated with a BA from UVM and received her Master’s in teaching at Harvard. She lives in Shelburne with her husband and has two adult daughters. She feels she can offer Rotary a roll up the sleeves approach to work, writing for fundraising, and she finds our group to be a caring community of folks who have led really interesting lives. We are honored to have her as a member. 

Chris rang the bell and greeted everyone with his cheery self.

Susan shared some opening words:

A Prayer for Unity
In this century and in any century
Our deepest hope, our most tender prayer, is that we learn to listen
May we listen to one another in hope and mercy
May we listen to plants and animals in wonder and respect
May we listen to our own hearts in love and forgiveness
May we listen to God in quietness and awe
And in this listening, which is boundless in its beauty 
May we find the wisdom to cooperate
With a healing spirit and a divine spirit who beckons us into peace and community and creativity 
We do not ask for a perfect world, but we do ask for a better world
We ask for deep listening. 

Jamie Milne is one of two guests today. He is the District Governor for our Club. Rotary International’s theme this year is Rotary Opens Opportunities, which is also our District theme. In 2023-24, Jennifer Jones from Canada will be the Rotary International President, Jennifer will be the first woman president of Rotary International. Assistant Governor Susan Cherry will be our 2023-24 District Governor. 

Our next speaker today is Claudia Marshall. She is originally from the Detroit area, she’s worked as a morning DJ, as a news anchor and an award-winning writer. She moved to Charlotte in 2013. Claudia is the publisher of the Charlotte News. 

Our speaker today is Dr. Cheyanne Warren, here to talk to us about Dental Therapy. Cheyanne leads the Dental Therapy program at Vermont Technical College.

Our speaker today is Cindy Bruzzese. Cindy is the executive director at the Vermont Ethics Network. She is a native Vermonter and has worked at the VEN since 2008. She works as a medical ethicist at UVM in addition to a myriad of other roles. 

Engineering The Future of Flight

Nick Floersch is our speaker today, from Code for BTV.

http://www.codeforbtv.org

Code for BTV brings together teams of volunteer citizens and technologists to create new tools for civic oriented and social justice, social safety net and economic development, with a focus on making government work better. 

Megan Camp and Alec Webb of Shelburne Farms

Contented members of the SF Dairy's Brown Swiss herd

Linda Gilbert read our morning devotional from the Dalai Lama.

From birth, we rely on others, particularly our mothers. From then, each individual’s existence entirely depends on a community, because we are a social animal. Community is the source of our happiness, so we must take care of the community. So now, in modern times, the concept of humanity is one community. East, west, north, south: everyone is interdependent. The modern economy has no national boundaries. Therefore, now we need a sense of oneness of all 7 billion human beings. In the past, may problems were created because of too much emphasis on our differences, such as nationalities and religions. Now, in modern times, that thinking is out of date. We should think about humanity, about the whole world. 

6/24/20

Charlotte Shelburne Hinesburg Rotary via Zoom

Bob Sanders, Carrie Fenn, Linda Barker, Erik K. Terry, France, Linda Gilbert, Richard Fox, Charlie Kofman, Susan Grimes, John Hammer, Howard, Carole, Adam, Ric, Chris Davis, Rosalyn Graham, Keith Walsh, Denis, Jonathan, Jim Donovan, Margo Casco, Joan, Erica Webster, Bill Deming, Dan York

Keith rang the bell at 7:33.

6/10/20

Charlotte Shelburne Hinesburg Rotary via Zoom

Start of the meeting was delayed a bit due to technical issues. 

Chris Davis reported that he has started to use the organizational charts Erik developed to create committees and assign chairs. Idea is to get all active members on a committee and get the committees working. Some have suggested we don’t be too rash about jumping in to meeting as a group so we should plan to do the changing of the guard either Friday June 26 with the incoming officers or simply Weds. July 1 during our regular meeting.

The Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotary members and friends of The Rotary Foundation who elect to contribute $1,000 or more each year to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus Fund, or approved global grants. The purpose of the Paul Harris Society is to honor and thank individuals for their generous, ongoing support of The Rotary Foundation. Rotary districts often honor new members of the Paul Harris Society by presenting them with a certificate and chevron at a district or club event.

June 3, 2020

Charlotte Shelburne Hinesburg Rotary via Zoom

Bob Sanders, Denis Barton. Terry Kavanaugh, Richard Fox, France Le Blanc, Charlie Kofman, Erik Kolomaznik, Carole Obuchowski, Ric Flood, Jonathan Lowell, John Pane, Jessica Brumstead, Jim Donovan, Nancy Danforth , Susan Grimes, Joan Lenes, Rosalyn Graham, Margo Casco, John Hammer, Keith Walsh, Chris Davis, Dan York, Howard Seaver, Schiavones, Carrie Fenn

Keith started us off at 7:30am. 

Fritz asked we all give a summary about what life has been like these last few months. 

Ric Flood formally inducted John into our Club. John Pane said he started with Rotary when he reached out to John Hammer to offer to volunteer and John H. said he should just join our Club. He is looking forward to engaging with Rotary.

Dr. Brumstead zoomed in from his office. The UVM Health Network is made up of 4 hospitals in northern New York and three hospitals in Vermont.

Today’s Speaker is Lee Krohn, Town Manager of Shelburne. https://www.shelburnevt.org

Lee started off by emphasizing that this is an unusual and difficult time. The Town got involved early and cancelled all in person meetings. Town offices have created a different staffing schedule- folks with actual offices are in the office, planning and zoning folks are working from home. The goal is to keep everyone safe and healthy while slowly ramping up. Diana is providing services as the town clerk and managing her staff’s health and safety...

Today’s speaker is Linda Bowden from AARP Vermont. 

https://states.aarp.org/vermont/

Linda Bowden is the volunteer AARP state president in Vermont. She started working with AARP in 2016 after retiring from Echo. 

Linda’s presentation focused on the “Home Fit” program.

We were so fortunate to hear from Roz Graham this morning. She shared her history of family and service.

Dr. Kristen K DeStigter with President Keith. Kristen is President and Co-founder of Imaging the World (ITW) and Professor and Chair of Radiology at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont and the Radiology Health Care Service Chief for the University of Vermont Health Network. Kristin spoke to Rotarians about her work to bring low-cost ultrasound programs into remote healthcare facilities in Uganda and other developing countries.

Susan started her talk with a photo of a painting she saw on a building in Boston while she was visiting the city with her family. The painting depicts a marathoner with the question “What gets you to the finish line?” Susan considered the question- What is the drive that gets us through the day? What gives us purpose? This theme ran throughout her talk as she took us through her fascinating and lovely life.