Greetings Rotarians!  Our speaker today was Catherine Stevens from Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity (GMHH).  This non-profit organization builds simple, decent and perpetually affordable dwellings for working families in Chittenden County. To qualify for housing, candidates must be families who are at or below 60% of the median household income levels in our community and live in sub-standard rental housing. To keep the homes perpetually affordable, GMHH offers interest free loans to the homeowners. The houses are built and refurbished by dedicated volunteers and the funding for the building materials comes from a combination of donations, mortgage payments from homeowners, and revenue from the Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in Williston.  Please visit http://www.vermonthabitat.org/ for more information about this organization.

 

 

            We are pleased to announce that the Feed My Starving Children service project was a huge success!  This past Saturday, several Rotarians and community members helped pack food packages for families living in areas of the world in which food is scarce.  In a mere two hours, the volunteers packed 48,000 meal packets which will be enough to feed 128 children in one year!  Great work to all who volunteered for this event!  A special thank you goes out Amy Jackman for spearheading our Club’s efforts on this project.

 

 

            Our Club’s Annual Meeting will be held on December 14^th. At that time we will be holding our annual election for board of director positions.  Any and all members are encouraged to run!

 

 

            Our Club will be picking apples at Chapin Orchards after next Wednesday’s meeting (October 26^th).  The apples picked will be donated the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf.  Please contact Phil Murdock if you are interested in participating.

 

 

            We are currently in need of a volunteer who will coordinate the collection of items for the “goodie bags” that we distribute at the annual Senior Holiday Luncheon that is scheduled for December 7^th.  We also need to find a business that is willing to donate 200 plastic bags for this event. Please contact Sharon Dettenreider if you are interested in assisting with this project. 

 

 

            The next opportunities to volunteer at the Heavenly Food Pantry will be on Thursday, November 17^th and on Thursday, December 15^th.  Please contact Sharon Dettenrieder if you would like to sign up for shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  October 26, 2016 – We will be discussing the 2016 Survey results and (time permitting) holding charitable committee meetings.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and information about the Club, please go to our website at www.essexrotary.org   Be sure to also visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EssexVermontRotary

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet