Today was a Zoom only meeting with 24 of us on line.
GUESTS:
Just us today.
CHAT TIME:
Ernie Boll is back in our rainy town from dry Arizona.
James Pepe, today’s speaker, had a headphone issue that he corrected. With him was an 11 year old shaggy pit bull mix dog.
John Scott was on from his car again.
OPENING:
Pres. Gail Micca at 7:30 rang the bell and started the meeting.
Tom Friday gave a very nice invocation, with special mention of Kathy Ott and Dawn Costello.
Then Ron Coleman led us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the U.S. And we were together for a change.
Gail then led us in the recitation of the Four Way Test to which we added “Is it fun?”
AWRC HISTORY STORY:
Past President Ernie Boll delivered today’s story about AWRC‘s International Projects.
AWRC LEADERSHIP NEEDS:
AW members are asked to step up and fill some needs:
Vice President
Fundraising Comm. Chair
Co-Chair for the Service Comm.
CELEBRATIONS:
Pres. Gail displayed the list of April member celebration events. Today marks 6 years for John Scott as a member.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
STEM-YEA HELP NEEDED:
Gwenn Carr asked us to consider volunteering to help for some of the 4 days in July 7th thru 12 to make the STEM-YEA event a success. We need volunteers for daytime and also evenings.
Gary Englehardt is the curator for the STEM YEA Twitter account. We are publishing new tweets every 2 or 3 days so if you want to be up to date on what is happening with STEM YEA, please follow us on Twitter. Search for STEM YEA on Twitter and you should see our account.
There is also a News page on the website www.stemyea.com that is updated on a regular basis.
DISASTER RELIEF:
Our Interact club has donated to the Rotary Foundation Disaster Relief Fund.
PARKLAND C.A.R.E.S.:
Gail Micca says Karen Rodgers packed the produce for the Pantry.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD BANK:
Jean Masiko said that the next distribution will be on April 9th. Volunteers are needed. She said that it will not be raining.
HIGHWAY CLEANUP PLAN:
Sharon Goldner will lead the event on Saturday, April 9th and needs more volunteers. Please bring gloves and your own water supply.
There is only about a mile to clean on RT 222. Meet there at 8:00 A.M.
Having your non-Rotarian friends help out is a good way to introduce them to Rotary.
DISTRICT TRAINING ASSEMBLY:
This annual event at DeSales University will be on Saturday April 9th.
DISTRICT 7430 ANNUAL CONFERENCE:
Pres. Gail reminds us that this event also is a great opportunity to learn more about Rotary and to have some fun.
Try it. You’ll like it.
NOTE, you can just sign up for a day and not the whole event.
AWRC 60TH CHARTER NIGHT PARTY:
Please register before the deadline. We have 45 signed up so far.
ROTARY DAY OF SERVICE -- APRIL 30:
Jeanne Shipe will lead the AW Rotarians who will work with members of the downtown Allentown RC to operate a day of “Shredding” at the Lower Macungie Township Building on Brookside Road. Anybody can bring up to 4 boxes of items to be shredded.
Volunteers are needed for 9:30 A.M. to 1 P.M.
SNACK PACKS:
Pres. Gail will Chair this program for the next 3 months.
NEW DATE -- Wednesday, April 20th for Northwestern Lehigh with Jean Machamer leading..
April 27th is the next packing event at Parkland H.S.
MEALS ON WHEELS_
Helen Papathanasiou is Chairing the M.O.W. program for the next few months. Please let Helen know if you will substitute.
This program is going well.
AWRC GREEN THUMB GARDEN:
Our April 20th in-person meeting will be held at the Parkland Community Library. It will be followed by a tour of the AW Gardens. Bring your family and friends and wear suitable footwear for the tour. Breakfast food will be by the Buttered Crumb !
IN-PERSON MEETINGS AHEAD:
Pres. Gail noted that the April 13, 20 and 27 meetings will be in-person. Also our May 4, 11 and 18 meetings are all in-person at Madeline’s.
AWRC DISTRICT GRANT APPLICATION:
Incoming Treasurer John Scott said that we will apply for funds to purchase as many as five Bike Tune-up stations for our community. You can see one already at Rodale Park.
NEW CHESS CLUB PROPOSED:
Gail Micca said that there is an effort to start a new chess club for beginners in our area. This Chess Club will get some AWRC support in two ways: $500 in supplies and Members who want to volunteer.
MEMBER PHOTOS ARE NEEDED:
Please send your high resolution picture of you and your significant other to Gail Micca for inclusion in our special 60th anniversary Directory.
LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
Amir Famili said that the Pantry now is again allowing clients to come into their facility. We continue to deliver about 400 lbs. of fresh produce to them every two weeks.
“KINDER KINDNESS” PROGRAM:
Amir Famili reports that this new program is underway. We have purchased 700 books for Parkland kindergarten children, and also 150 books for Northwestern Lehigh kids. AW Rotarians can help deliver them.
R.Y.L.A CAMP NEIDIG:
Our 2022 Camp Neidig Youth Leadership Program will be held June 17th- June 20th at Camp Manatawny. AW Rotarians are needed to volunteer for this weekend.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Amir Famili said that the Persian families of the LV are having a great meal on Saturday starting at 7:45, and we are invited.
Laurie Grube is a Grandmother with the birth of her granddaughter last Thursday. All is well.
Jill Kearney is happy that they are going to Texas for a long weekend.
Ron Coleman put in $5 in happiness for his police officer son-in-law in South Carolina. He was controlling traffic on a bridge when the wind blew a truck over that landed on his patrol car. It crushed the other side -- he is OK.
Marlene Heller said that she and Gary are having a great time looking over documents from the 1700’s that Gary is photographing for the historical societies.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
Wednesday April 13th at Madeline’s in Fogelsville IN PERSON starting at 7:30 A.M. Come early and chat. Our program will be Clay Reilly giving his New Rotary Member Classification Presentation.
PROGRAM:
Program Chair Ralph Witcher said that Brad Maier made the connection that got us today’s speaker. And Ralph noted there are about 1.9 million new cancer cases expected this year in the U.S. Then he introduced James Pepe, Sr. Community Development Manager for the -American Cancer Society to discuss the Lehigh Valley Vs. Cancer Campaign. Jim also is a Real Estate Agent at eXp Realty & Owner of Villain Barbecue in
Jim is experienced professional that has worked in marketing and partnerships in the sporting goods industry, as well as event operations for soccer matches. In addition he has overseen development and event operations for a major non-profit, the American Cancer Society.
Jim had a successful 16+ year career marketing for Kwik Goal, the largest manufacturer of soccer goals and training equipment in North America. His growth in the company culminated with being named Director of Marketing in 2015. He planned and execute projects across multiple platforms, including several digital avenues and traditional print. I worked extensively on the website family, successfully launching 4 websites within a 6 month period.
Jim thanked us for this opportunity. He had 9 slides with information on them.
The American Cancer Society is a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. Their Global Headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia, and they have regional and local offices throughout the country to ensure they have a presence in every community.
The mission of the American Cancer Society is to save lives, celebrate lives and lead the fight for a world without cancer
National – Research/Education/NCIC (call center)
Regional – Hope Lodge
Local – Road to Recovery
ACS provides the most funding for cancer research outside of the federal government. As of August 1, 2021, ACS is funding 630 research grants totaling more than $384 million. And in the state of Pennsylvania, ACS is currently funding 39 research grants totaling more than $25 million
The Lodges are Facilities where cancer patients and their care givers can stay free of charge to be closer to treatment facilities. Each patient gets a room to share with their care giver, a private bathroom, TV, desk and more (think of it like a hotel room).
The 2 Hope Lodges that serve our area most are: Cheltenham (Philadelphia), and New York City (near The Garden). 1 night in Hope Lodge has a value of $100+.
This program helps cancer patients get to doctor appointments and treatments when they struggle to find transportation. Rides are provided two ways: By volunteers and through ride-share services.
The Road to Recovery program has been on hiatus since March 2020. The program is currently in a “pilot” status as they determine the best and safest ways to serve cancer patients. 1 ride in the Road to Recovery program has a value of $25.
In 2019, 160 residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties stayed in Hope Lodges. Those cancer warriors stayed at Hope Lodge for roughly 1,600 nights. In 2018,Road to Recovery served 148 residents totaling 2,506 rides.
American Cancer Society
Lehigh Valley vs Cancer
Lehigh Valley vs Cancer is a new concept that they are building.
In years past their events (Relay For Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, etc.) felt like they stood alone rather than as a collective. Lehigh Valley vs Cancer recognizes that it will take our entire community to take the fight to cancer. This includes ACS Staff, volunteers and participants, as well as other cancer organizations in the Lehigh Valley.
The Relay For Life of Lehigh Valley is set for August 20, in Coca-Cola Park, Noon to 5pm.
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is on October 15, at Steel Stacks, at 8am.
Real Men Wear Pink Lehigh Valley, Gold Together Champions.
How to get involved
Share ACS mission moments to help improve cancer and ACS knowledge.
Consider a trip to Hope Lodge to serve dinner for the residents (when the program goes active again).
Volunteer as a Road to Recovery driver.
Consider joining the Lehigh Valley Board of Advisors.
Volunteer to help plan a fundraiser or to help ACS with different programming in the Lehigh Valley.
Participate in a campaign or event.
Start a team for Relay or Strides, join RMWP or Gold Together Champions.
Consider helping ACS partner with local companies and organizations.
Jim answered some questions also.
CLOSING:
Pres. Gail led us in reciting our motto “One profits most who serves
best.”, rang the bell and adjourned the meeting.
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