On March 20, we held an Open House for prospective new members.  Membership Chair John Douglass organized the event, which was held at RCTV Studios.  As part of the evening, Sheila Clarke and Pooja Parsons were formally installed as Members, although both have been actively participating in Rotary for quite some time.  Pictured here are Gregg Johnson (Sheila's sponsor), Sheila Clarke, John Douglass, Pooja Parsons and Brian Snell (Pooja's sponsor).

 

It was a marvelous event with several prospective members in attendance to learn a little bit about all Rotary does in the community.

 

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is Rotary International’s leadership training program for young people.  Rotary District 7930 has a long-running annual program for high school students. Sophomores and juniors are invited to attend a weekend long event, where they learn leadership and life skills including goal setting, cultural understanding, problem solving, communication, public speaking, networking, community building, low and high ropes challenges, team building and more!

 

Reading Rotary will sponsor up to 5 students to participate.  We have had a history of sending lots of students who have loved RYLA, the leadership skills they brought back and the friends they made.

 

Applications must be completed and returned to Reading Rotary President Tim Kelley, 1 Pleasant St., Suite 5, Reading, MA 01867 by April 1.  Please contact Tim by email or at 781-942-9838 with any questions.  

 

For additional information see the District 7930 RYLA page.

 

 

This week's speakers were Stacy Rodriguez-Rennard and Gail Gregory with Title IX Girls, a non-profit organization which melds a running club for girls with social emotional wellness.  Our member Tyler Fleming is running the Boston Marathon to support them.  TItle IX Girls seeks to teach girls at the most vulnerable age how to navigate their emotional experience, find inner strength, and discover stability within an unstable world.  They "aim to meet every girl where she is, helping her see her potential before she realizes her own power and providing a space for her to explore, practice and master skill development."

 

You can support Tyler's fundraising efforts here.

We have not one Rotarian but two running the Boston Marathon for a charitable organization.  John Doherty will be running the Boston Marathon to support Rosie's Place.  John has lead many groups of Rotarians and Interactors to serve at Rosie's.

 

 

Rotary's Taste of Metro North event is scheduled for June 12 to be part of the Reading 375 festivities.  Brian Snell and Mike Bonsey are co-chairing.  They will be looking for help on this committee.  Mark your calendars now.

 

We will also be in the midst of planning for the 2019 Fall Street Faire and we will also need lots of hands for that planning, too.

 

 

 

It was a beautifully sunny but brutally cold and windy day at Long Beach this past Saturday for the 2019 Polar Plunge.  Rotarian Plungers were Mike Bonsey, Gregg Johnson and KC Latham.  Plungers from Interact were TJ Kelley, Kyle Dumas and Mike McHugh.

 

District 7030 has set a high bar with a goal of raising $125,000 this year for polio eradication.   Polio is the signature cause of Rotary International.  The Gates Foundation has partnered with Rotary and has committed to matching donations 2 to 1, that is Gates will contribute $2 for every $1 we raise.  Rotary has the opportunity be the major mover in eradicating only the second disease in history.  We're close, but not quite there yet.

 

Our club is as of now is 7th in the District with $3,050 raised.  Our neighbor Wakefield has raised over $9K.  Great job, Wakefield.

 

Here's our Team link for donations.  Please spread the word and let's see how much we can raise to this vitally important cause.

 

Keep our schedule of meetings and events at the tip of your fingers.  You can sync the Club Calendar on ReadingMaRotary.org with Outlook, Google Calendar or Apple Calendar on your personal device.  Go to this page, click subscribe and follow the instructions.