“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” –Maya Angelou – 1928-2014 –

American Poet

“The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give.” – Walt Whitman – 1819-1892, Poet and Essayist

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson – 1803-1882 – American Essayist-Poet

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(Notes provided by Allan Penwell)

There is NO Rotary meeting this Thursday on January 30^th.

Sunrise Karaoke fundraiser is on February 27^th at Lodgic. Door open at 6:30 p.m. and program at 7:00 p.m.

Read Across America is February 29^th.

PROGRAM

Champaign Mayor, Deb Feinen, discussed the community program of Goal Getters. Goal Getters is for those students who struggle socially and academically and need a push to get on the right track. The program grew out of the tragic event in 2009 when a teenager was accidentally shot by a Champaign police officer. The program is intended to reduce gun violence and provide leadership skills to youth in Champaign.

School staff identify students who are at risk and recruit them into the Goal Getters program. Those who participate in the program are required to sign a contract that says they willl stay on top of their schoolwork and out of trouble. Participants meet several times a month in a social and learning setting. Many of these students have weak family structures, and they struggle with just getting to school on time or transportation problems if they were to have a job. Because of these struggles, the program wraps around the whole family in an effort to get those close to the students involved in going the right direction.

The initiative was created by the Champaign Unit 4 Schools, the City of Champaign and the Champaign Community Coalition. Funding comes from the City of Champaign and the C-U Schools Foundation. 

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

January 30th – 5th Thursday of the month – No meeting – Social on Sunday, 2/2 instead

February 6th – Jennifer Shelby (Cary)

February 13th – TBD

February 20th – Stephanie Davenport – DSC (Charlie)

February 27th – No regular morning meeting – Club Karaoke 

March 5th – Sarah Edwards or Danda Beard from WILL (Mary)

March 12th – TBD

March 19th – Evelyn Shapiro of Champaign Public Library (Ondine)

March 26th – TBD (Tom)

April 2nd – TBD (David)

“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” – Aristotle – 384 BC-322 BC – Greek Philosopher

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” – Nelson Mandela – 1918-2013, Former President of South Africa

“Young girls need to see role models in whatever careers they choose… you can’t be what you can’t see.” – Sally Ride – 1951-2012 – Astronaut and physicist

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the disgruntled gentleman from Connecticut, Edward Perri)

Paul announced that the annual Foundation Bowl raised a $100 dollars for the Rotary Foundation.

Darrell announced several upcoming club activities:

February 2, 2:00pm in the State Farm Center, Club social at the U of I Women’s Basketball Game vs Wisconsin. It’s “Pack the House and Play for Kay Pink Game”. See Keith if you need tickets.

February 13, Club volunteer opportunity with the distribution of Food at Promise Healthcare Food as Medicine. Two sessions are available from 9 to 10:30 am and from 12:30 to 2 pm. Let Phillis know what time you can make it. 

February 27, CU Sunrise Karaoke Party, Fundraiser and social gathering at Lodgic. Teaming up with CU Schools Foundation there will be opportunities to help before and during the event and sing! See Darrell, Lou and Cary for more information.

February 29 is the annual “Read Across America” in which our club has made donations of time and money in the past years. More information next month.

PROGRAM

Mary introduced Rush Record as our speaker this morning. Rush has been the Executive Director of Champaign County CASA program for the last 10 years. Rush previously worked for the Champaign School District and as a juvenile probation officer for Champaign County. Rush has served on the State of Illinois CASA Association board of Directors, has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Illinois and lives in Champaign with his wife and two daughters.

CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates which is a not-for-profit organization that recruits and trains volunteers who advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in our area. CASA volunteers work through the juvenile court system to insure prompt delivery of services to the court concerning the child’s well-being.

Currently approximately 385 children, 40% which are under 6 years old, are served by approximately 100 volunteers. A volunteer must be 21 years of age, commit to a background check and will be asked to commit to a case for two years. The volunteer must take a 30 hour classroom training program and then will have regular contact with a child and case professionals.

CASA started here in Champaign County in 1994. Currently CASA has 10 full time staff members, 2 part time attorneys and a full-time director. Funding comes from private donations, The United Way, grants and the State of Illinois. More information is available at casa4kids.org/volunteer. Our club is trying raise money to help sponsor a child; see Robb for more information and a donation.     

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

January 23rd – Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen (Bob)

January 30th – 5th Thursday of the month – No meeting

February 6th – Jennifer Shelby (Cary)

February 13th – TBD

February 20th – Stephanie Davenport – DSC (Charlie)

February 27th – No regular morning meeting – Club Karaoke 

March 5th – Sarah Edwards or Danda Beard from WILL (Mary)

March 12th – TBD

March 19th – Evelyn Shapiro of Champaign Public Library (Ondine)

March 26th – TBD (Tom)

April 2nd – TBD (David)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

(notes provided by the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)

Mike Hirschi spoke about our District Points Match program to become a Paul Harris Fellow. The Rotary Foundation is what funds projects both locally and worldwide. Lou has info regarding any club member’s points status, and you can also find your status at Rotary.org. There you can set up a one time or recurring contribution to the foundation.

Feb 1: Mike Hirschi from Champaign West announced this year’s 5th annual CU’s Got Talent competition on Saturday Feb 1 from 6-9pm at the Virginia Theater. In addition to showcasing some of the wonderful talent in our area, the event raises funds for a number of local nonprofit organizations.

Feb 2: Social: Sunday February 2, 2pm, State Farm Center Bar & Grill – Illinois Women’s Basketball vs Wisconsin. See Keith for tickets or more info. This will be fun!

Feb 13: The next food distribution at Promise Healthcare Food as Medicine program is February 13 from 9:00 – 10:30, 12:30 – 2:00.

Feb 27: CU Sunrise Fundraiser: Leap Into Karaoke for CU Schools Foundation, Thursday, February 27, 2020 at 7 PM – 10 PM at Lodgic

Feb 29: Read Across America, Saturday, February 29th at Lincoln Square in Urbana. Contact Niki Hoesman at nahoesman@urbanaparks.org for information about having a booth or being a sponsor for our Community’s 20th Annual Celebration!

CLUB ASSEMBLY NOTES

Grant & Volunteer Opportunities: Phyllis provided an update on our club’s Rotary District grant to Promise Healthcare Food as Medicine program.  A portion of the grant funds have been used to purchase shelf-stable milk and dried black beans and a grant from the Eastern Illinois Food Bank provides funds to discount these purchases so our grant money will go twice as far in purchasing some food items.  There is a monthly food distribution at Promise Healthcare today and volunteers are needed.  There will also be volunteer opportunities in the next few weeks to prepare food bags for Promise Healthcare clients and Phyllis will forward possible dates/times.

Membership: Diana is always receptive to club member ideas about how to attract new members.

Service: Tod recapped our recent service activities. Our goal is to participate in at least one service activity each month through 2020.

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with program committee member responsible listed in parentheses)

January 9th – Club Assembly

January 16th – Rush Record, Executive Director, CASA (Mary)

January 23rd – Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen (Bob)

January 30th – TBD

February 6th – Jennifer Shelby (Cary)

February 13th – TBD

February 20th – Stephanie Davenport – DSC (Charlie)

February 27th – No regular morning meeting – Club Karaoke 

March 5th – Sarah Edwards or Danda Beard from WILL (Mary)

March 12th – TBD

March 19th – Evelyn Shapiro of Champaign Public Library (Ondine)

March 26th – TBD (Tom)

April 2nd – TBD (David)