Greetings fellow Rotarians! Today’s speaker was Lieutenant Scott Murray from the Greater Burlington Salvation Army. The Salvation Army was founded in London, England in 1865 as a religious order that strived to serve those with few financial means.  The organization now boasts more than 8,500 centers of operation worldwide.  The Salvation Army promotes individual rehabilitation by providing nourishing meals, adequate housing and necessary medical care for those who need it. As expected, an organization like this relies heavily upon the support of local volunteers.  The Burlington chapter alone has benefitted from more than 80,000 volunteer hours from people in its community.  Included in these hours are the annual bell-ringing shifts for which our Club volunteers every holiday season.  Lt. Murray pointed out that our Club was responsible for bringing in an unprecedented amount of money from patrons during the shifts we did last December. Our Club will once again have the opportunity to partake in this event as we are scheduled to serve as bell-ringers again.  More details about shift times and dates will follow in the next few weeks.

 

 

            The next big event on the horizon is the annual Senior Luncheon that we put on with the Knights of Columbus.  This year’s luncheon is scheduled for Wednesday, December 2^nd at the Champlain Valley Expo from 12:00pm to 2:00pm.  This event will be held in lieu of our regularly scheduled meeting that day.  For our newer Rotarians, this is a luncheon we put on each year for local senior citizens.  We need as many Rotarians as possible to not only volunteer for this luncheon, but to donate items for goodie bags that are handed out to the senior citizens.  More details about this event will follow in the next few weeks!

 

 

            The next opportunity to volunteer at the Food Shelf will be on Thursday, November 19^th.  Please let Sharon Dettenrieder know if you are interested in helping out on that date.

 

 

            The Rotary theme for the month of November is the Rotary Foundation. As most of you are already aware, the Rotary Foundation is the financial arm of Rotary International that helps fund many of Rotary’s philanthropic projects and efforts across the globe. The Foundation is funded entirely by donations from individuals and businesses alike. For this reason, every Rotarian is asked to donate to the Foundation every year.  Rotary International’s goal is for every Rotarian to attain the status of a Paul Harris Fellow by eventually donating $1,000.00 to the Foundation.  

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, November 11, 2015 – In celebration of the Rotary Foundation, District Foundation Chair, Marilyn Bedell will discuss the various avenues of giving to the Foundation. 

 

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