Today was an in-person meeting at Madeline’s in Fogelsville. There were 16 of us gathered there, plus 7 on line.
Our Greeter was Ron Coleman in his very special suit.
Sgt-a-Arms, Mitch Huston, handled Registration, drawings and Happy Dollars.
GUEST:
Peter Wohlsen, soon to be inducted as a member.
OPENING:
Past President Amir Famili rang the bell and started the meeting at 7:30 A.M. Pres. Gail Micca was on zoom from North Dakota.
Sue Weber gave a very nice invocation.
Ron Coleman led us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the U.S.
Then Amir led us in the recitation of the Four-way Test, and added “Is it Fun?”
CELEBRATIONS:
PP Amir displayed the list of August member celebration events. It is shown below.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
AWRC ANNUAL PICNIC:
Once again this will be hosted by Sue and Bill Weber on their farm in Vera Cruz. The date is Sunday July 31st. Start time is 4:30 P.M.
So far 40 people have signed up, including two STEM YEA students and their parents.
FRESH FLOWERS FOR SALE:
See separate article.
STEM YEA UPDATE:
Amir said that the feedback has been amazing. Thanks go to the AWRC Foundation, and Gwenn Carr and Gary Englehardt.
Gwenn Carr reports STEM YEA 2022 – FINAL REPORT
✓41 students enjoyed STEM YEA 2022 and have begun their presentations to their sponsor clubs
✓AWRC had five students at STEM YEA 2022; two students and families are attending the Weber’s Picnic
✓All AWRC students have been invited to the AWRC Youth Day on August 26th
✓The documentation from the District Grant has been completed and approved by PDG Cindy Hornaman
✓Mike Orbin has billed the Rotary Clubs who sent students or sponsored students; Gwenn is receiving and depositing checks
✓Gary and I had a planning meeting with Mike Orbin on July 21, 2022 to debrief and determine candidates
for the STEM YEA 2023 team
✓Gwenn is paying invoices as they are received and approved by Joyce, Mike and Charlie
✓Peter and Gary are refreshing the STEM YEA website; we have already created a volunteer form and instructions for 2023; it has been uploaded to the website
✓Gwenn is sending a news release to the Local Club Reps, the sponsors and all District 7430 Club Presidents and VP’s; this release has been developed with PI members as well as STEM YEA team members
✓The STEM YEA 2022 Lessons Learned meeting is scheduled for August 1st; many team members and volunteers have already completed the feedback survey to provide comments and input
✓District 7430 PI team members are collaborating on an article for the Rotarian magazine.
MEALS ON WHEELS:
Helen Papathanasiou still needs more volunteers. They would be substitutes with sporadic assignments.
PARKLAND C.A.R.E.S.:
Their food pantry work day has changed from Saturdays to Tuesday evenings.
Amir noted that during this current economic crisis we need even more food pantry items to distribute.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD BANK:
The next distribution is set for August 13th.
CASINO NIGHT:
The next planning meeting is on August 1st at 7:30 P.M.
This event will be held on September 23rd at the Wheels Museum and is our critical fundraiser. It will run from 5 P.M. to 9 P.M.
It's time to get seriously excited about making our annual fundraiser a huge success. It will take involvement from each member to do this.
Keep in mind that this is not just about gambling - we are having this event in a very cool car museum so all can enjoy some aspect of our annual fundraiser. We will also have some wonderful entertainment, photo opportunities, amazing food, great fellowship and PRIZES (not necessary to play any games in order to win). In addition, we will have a 50/50 and some higher ticket items in a silent auction.
It's imperative that we all do what we can to raise funds for our upcoming projects. And it's also important that we support all of the people who put so much effort into this event.
We are still seeking more Sponsors too! Please contact Gail Micca or Laurie Grube for sponsor packet information. All forms are available electronically and fillable for easy sharing.
If you know you cannot attend this event, please consider buying a few tickets for your friends or family to attend in your absence. Or consider a donation towards a project you hold dear.
NATIONAL NIGHT OUT:
This is an event that South Whitehall Twsp will run on Tuesday, August 2nd. AW Rotarians may be there and may sell hot dogs. Rotarians are asked to sign up for an afternoon shift. Details will follow.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY:
Amir Famili said that they now are paining two houses and volunteers are needed for Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Please contact Amir.
DRUM & BUGLR CORPS COMPETITON:
This is Mitch Huston’s 44th year supporting this event at J Birney Crum stadium. They expect about 18,000 attendees.
SOUTH WHITEHALL TWSP RC CELEBRATION”
Last evening Amir Famili attended their 5 year charter night celebration. AWRC helped sponsor them originally. AW Rotarian, Lisa Walton furnished her fresh flowers.
D7430 POLIO ERADICATION EVENT:
This annual district-wide fundraiser will be managed by the Pottstown RC on Saturday, October 15th. More details are coming.
YOUTH EXCHANGE THIS FALL:
Chris Blechschmidt said that Sam is 16 years old and is coming here from Germany on August 26th. They will host first, and then Galilee Haviland will host.
Our prior Y.E. student from Croatia, Andrea, is here in the U.S. now.
DRAWINGS:
The $10 Door Prize was won by Ernie Boll. The $18 50-50 was won by Ron Coleman.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Ernie Boll is happy again today.
Murtaza Jaffer is happy that our speaker, Nancy Knoebel is here today. He invited her.
Laurie Grube is happy to announce that their bank is opening a new branch on Hamilton St. across from Dorney Park in October.
Sue Weber is happy that Andrea is here. She and Bill had dinner with her.
Sue also is happy to thank Chris and Galilee for hosting our exchange student.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
Wednesday August 3rd VIA ZOOM starting at 7:30 A.M. Come on-line early and talk with each other.
Our program will be Danilo Sanchez, Chaplain at Ripple Community Inc. The RCI Village: Proving Hope and Stability in Our Community.
PROGRAM:
Murtaza Jaffer introduced Nancy Knoebel, Founder & CEO of Danny's Ride. What A Difference A Ride Can Make is the subject. Substance Abuse Recovery Success Improves With Transportation.
Nancy thanked us for the invitation. She said that her heart is in non-profit groups. Her prior work was with Easter Seals. The following words are from her notes.
Mission and Vision
Vision: To remove the barrier of transportation that limits access to recovery supports and services by individuals living with substance use disorder.
Mission: to honor Danny’s legacy of compassion and generosity, we provide rides to recovery services for people living with substance use disorder.
Danny’s Ride History
Danny’s Ride was founded in November 2020 by Nancy Knoebel as a way to honor her son Danny Teichman. Danny died on 11/11/16 after taking kratom to help manage the impact of Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS) resulting from going off of sub Oxone as part of his recovery plan. He was one week shy of his 28th birthday.
Danny was a “ride giver” both in his recovery community and with all friends and family. This came to light in stories after his death.
Nancy wanted to find a way to honor Danny, and to help continue his legacy of providing rides to people who needed one. To help those in recovery is especially important, in order to remove one barrier to success in a process fraught with barriers.
Let’s make sure “getting there” isn’t the hardest part of recovery!
Who we are
Nancy Knoebel: formerly CEO of Easter seals Eastern PA for 20+ years, Nancy recently left Easter Seals to focus on developing Danny’s Ride. She holds an MBA from the Wharton School of business and has extensive nonprofit organizational and leadership experience. Nancy is a native of the Lehigh Valley.
Sarah Dams, board member, is the owner of Sarott Design, a graphic design company. Sarah created all the design work for Danny’s Ride, including the website.
Rachel Moyer, board member, is the content manager for Social T Marketing in Hellertown. She is leading our social marketing strategies and content.
Alex Poli, board member, is a senior underwriter at BSI Corporate Benefits in Bethlehem.
Murtaza Jaffer, board member, is a partner at EBC Printing and Signs in Allentown.
Erica Panella, board member, is a CRS working at St. Luke’s University Health Care Network.
Patti Baranowski, board member, is the workforce service program director with the PA Recovery Organizations Alliance .
Betsy Storey-Bono, board member, is director of marketing for Concannon, Miller CPA firm.
A little about substance use disorder (SUD)
SUD is a disease and has been recognized in the medical community as such
Too long stigmatized, it’s important to me to work to break down stigma, as stigma is a major factor in:
Acknowledging the disease in one’s own life
Seeking help for it
Marginalization of individuals who live with SUD (including criminalization)
Keep in mind:
Opioid prescriptions increased 169% from 1992 to 2010
4 out of 5 pharmacy-filled prescriptions are opioids
This is behind the eruption of the opioid crisis
Why Transportation?
Danny’s Ride is a form of Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT).
Transportation is a major barrier to recovery:
Loss of driver’s license
Financial difficulties
Car problems
Inpatient treatment is first step in recovery – but what happens next?
Months, if not years, of outpatient services follow
You need to be ‘able to get there’ for the services to be of value
Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT)
According to National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) statistics compiled over a 12-month period, 21.6 million Americans aged 12 or older needed treatment for drug and/or alcohol abuse but only 2.3 million received care.
The most effective regimens focus on integrated delivery that includes mental health evaluations and therapy, medical care, education, counseling and other clinical interventions. However, proper treatment can’t be provided for those who can’t access regular appointments and interventions.
In a Medical Transportation Access Coalition (MTAC) study of patients needing kidney dialysis, diabetic wound care or treatment for substance abuse disorder, 58% said they would not be able to make any medical appointments if they didn’t have access to NEMT services. A more somber note was struck by 10% of survey participants who said they would die, or probably die if their NEMT services were halted.
How Danny’s Ride works
Danny’s Ride provides the infrastructure to support ride scheduling through Uber Health and Lyft Concierge.
All rides are currently being provided by either Lyft or Uber.
Counties, providers and others work directly with Danny’s Ride to support client transportation.
Danny’s Ride passes on the cost of the ride, including the actual charges from Uber and Lyft, to its contracted partners for their rides in the form of a monthly invoice.
Danny’s Ride provides support and training to ride agents. These are individuals authorized by the contracted partners to access Danny’s Ride. Ride agents typically work for rehabilitation and recovery organizations as counselors or admin staff.
Because the business model uses Lyft and Uber, there are no geographical boundaries to where Danny’s Ride can be used.
Guidelines
In order to have the funding help as many people as possible, and where it is most needed, each payer establishes priorities.
For example:
In Lehigh County, the priority is to use Danny’s Ride for individuals coming out of inpatient and needing rides to access outpatient services following inpatient.
In Northampton County, the priority is to use it for rides to outpatient treatment, as well as to go to meetings.
The county priorities are followed based on where the client resides, not where the treatment is occurring.
Prioritization for usage
Assist riders to find resources closer to their homes to reduce the length of the trips when possible.
Use Danny’s Ride when other options are not available.
One county payer is emphasizing the ‘first five rides’ to outpatient after inpatient as their top priority.
The hope and expectation for Danny’s Ride is that it will help people get started using community resources in early recovery, and that clients are helped in treatment to identify and establish ways to manage their transportation more independently as part of their ongoing recovery.
More options/more opportunities
Danny’s Ride is eager to collaborate with other individuals and organizations to enable this resource to help more people, and to be used more broadly in many of the ways that individuals in recovery need.
Outside of the Lehigh Valley, PA
Danny’s Ride can work anywhere there is Lyft and Uber.
We hope to expand anywhere there is interest and funding can be secured.
Feel free to recommend Danny’s Ride to others where there’s a need and interest.
Next Steps for Danny’s Ride:
#1 Network and Learn
Develop clear understanding of local community needs, the SUD sector, get to know and work with the people working in the sector.
Partner with others who wish to work on mitigating the transportation barrier, particularly in the areas of program development, collaborative grant writing and shared advocacy.
#2 Solidify use within LV
Currently the programs with Northampton and Lehigh County are relatively small.
We are working on ways to socialize the concept of Danny’s Ride more broadly.
In Lehigh County, the focus is on helping people access outpatient rehab following an inpatient program; ideally Danny’s Ride will be incorporated into discharge planning.
# 3 Expand outside of the Lehigh Valley
Danny’s Ride is exploring opportunities to partner/contract beyond the Lehigh Valley community.
# 4 Explore other funding opportunities
Expand Danny’s Ride fundraising capacity to include grants, individual and corporate support
Explore other sources of government support:
County, municipality and state; ARPA, Medicaid, etc.
To get involved, partner or learn more:
Contact Nancy Knoebel:
E-mail_ nancyk404@dannysride.org
Phone: 484-265-1411
CLOSING:
Amir Famili led us in reciting our motto “One profits most who serves best,” rang the bell, and adjourned the meeting.
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