If you did not make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed…

Crab Feed – Save The Date!: This year’s Crab Feed has been scheduled for Wednesday, Mar. 29. This annual event allows us to come together as a club, enjoy fellowship and honor those members who have become Paul Harris Fellows or have reached their next Paul Harris Fellow level. We will not have a noon meeting on Mar. 29.

The crab dinner, which will include hot soup, salad, bread, a half-pound of crab and beverages, will be $45. A vegetarian option will be available for $25. Crab will also be available for purchase by the pound at market price.

For questions, or if you want to be involved on the planning contact, please contact Julia Kollar.

In addition, Parri Van Dyke is once again putting together a silent auction with proceeds to benefit The Rotary Foundation. We are looking for specific items such as weekend getaways, wine and wine tastings, hosted dinner and themed gift baskets…or maybe you have an idea of something to donate! If you would like to donate, please contact Parri at 503-680-1553 or vandykeparri@gmail.com.

Rotaract/Interact Liaisons Needed: We are in need of club liaisons that would like to be involved with both the Rotaract Club at Pacific University and with the Interact Club at Forest Grove High School. Both clubs are connected to our Rotary club and aim to provide service opportunities to students. If you are interested, or would like more information on what the role entails, please contact President Janet.

Concours Sponsorship Opportunities: The Concours d’Elegance Committee is well underway with procuring sponsorships for our 2023 show, which will take place on Sunday, July 16. There is plenty of sponsorship opportunities for both businesses and individuals for starting as low as $350. How important is sponsorships? Most of the profit that comes from Concours, which helps pay for our service outreach and funds our Scholarship Program, comes from sponsorships.

Click Here To Download The Sponsorship Flyer, which describes a number of the show’s sponsor opportunities. For more information or to help secure a sponsorship, please contact Tim Pearson at 503-998-8616 or timpearsonpc@gmail.com or Andrea Stewart at 503-357-1427 or astewart@pacificu.edu.

Youth Exchange Update: While we are looking forward to our continued involvement with the Rotary Youth Exchange program, the way our club will be involved during the 2023-24 Rotary year will be different.

We recently received word that the person that had been selected to be our outbound exchange student has withdrawn for personal reasons. Instead of not being able to participate in the program this year, our club is looking to be involved with the program through a program called “The Power Of One.”

“The Power Of One,” program, which is powered by Rotary Youth Exchange, helps to open to door to African students through one-way exchanges. In past years, District 5100 has been involved with this program through exchanges with clubs in The Dalles and Monmouth-Independence.

Be watching for more updates as we pursue being involved this year through this exciting program!

Project Flourish Global Grant Update: The Lake Oswego Rotary Club has provided an update on its Project Flourish Global Grant, which our club provided supporting funds to assist with. The grant helps to support MAIA, an organization which aims to support Indigenous women in Central America through educational opportunities.

The global grant has helped to support 27 Girl Pioneers, as participants are called. The 27 Girl Pioneers are going through or have completed five-month internships and received 295 hours of workplace training. The training includes seven formal certification courses in soft skills, hard skills, civic participation, financial literacy, Excel, personal branding and job readiness. The Girl Pioneers have also received over 100 hours of workplace English training and over 40 hours of IT training.

Six Girl Pioneers have secured formal employment and 10 are in the application process. Twenty-five Girl Pioneers have applied for university scholarships. Ten have secured university scholarships for the 2023 academic year. Of those, five have received full-ride scholarship. One was Central America’s first and only Rise Challenge global award recipient. A second is a 2022 SHE CAN scholarship recipient and will continue her university studies in the United States.

To view the complete report from the Lake Oswego Rotary Club, Click Here. To learn more about the MAIA program, please visit maiaimpact.org.

Our club is proud to have supported this Global Grant project that is helping to empower young women through education!

Concours Concert Event – Help Wanted: The Concours Committee has given the green light to go ahead with another concert event linked to the annual show. The concert is tentatively scheduled for Friday, July 14 with the Concours taking place on Sunday, July 16. If you are interested in helping plan and execute the concert event, please contact Court Carrier.

Caterers For Future Meetings: President Janet is looking for one to two more members to serve with herself, Howard Sullivan and Court Carrier in identifying local caterers that could serve the club at future meetings. We will have a number of meetings coming up where we will meet at the Forest Grove School District offices and will need catering for those meetings. If you would like to assist, please let President Janet know.

Past Programs: Did you miss a meeting or want to go back and check out a program again? Most of our programs since May 2020 (over 100 videos to date) are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Elks Backpack Program: The Elks Backpack Program, which provides food for youth in the Forest Grove School District experiencing food insecurity, is looking for 50 new or gently used backpacks for the program. If you have backpacks to donate, please bring those to a future meeting and we will get them to the appropriate people.

St. Anthony’s Blood Drive: St Anthony’s Catholic Church is once again hosting an American Red Cross blood drive on Wednesday, Jan. 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments are required. Click Here to reserve your appointment to give.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Our club’s support for the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry continues.  Thanks to its partnership with the Oregon Food Bank, food donations are still welcome but are of less need at this time. Of need, however, are toiletries and hygiene products as well as household cleaning materials.

The Food Pantry is open on Mondays from 4-6 p.m. The pantry is now open in its new site in the building along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center.

For information on the Food Pantry, please contact Brian Burke, bburke@fgsd.k12.or.us. If you wish to make a cash donation to the pantry, Click Here.

Additionally, Rotarian Gwen Hullinger has put together an Amazon wish list of items that can be purchased and donated. Click Here To View That List.

Around District 5100
District 5130 Disaster Relief Fund: Our Rotary friends in District 5130 in Northern California are facing some significant challenges as the calendar turns from 2022 to 2023. A 6.4 magnitude earthquake on December 20^th caused significant damage to homes and businesses in Humboldt County.

A follow-up 5.4 magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day, followed by the winds and rains of the cyclone bomb have left the businesses and residents reeling.

The District has an established Disaster Relief Fund to help with recovery efforts. If you are able to and want to provide some financial assistance to our neighbors to the south, please visit their website at https://www.rotary5130.org/district-disaster-response-plan/.

District 5100 Newsletter: Click Here To View The Monthly District 5100 Newsletter

Around Rotary International
Six Rotary Members Honored As People Of Action: Champions Of Inclusion: Rotary honored six members as People of Action: Champions of Inclusion in January to recognize their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion around the world. The distinction was announced to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the U.S. holiday that honors the slain civil rights leader. These members and their work exemplify Rotary’s core values and illustrate how inclusivity can make a transformational impact on individuals and communities.

Iclal Kardıçalı
Turkey
Project: Do You Like Music?
Rotary E-Club of District 2440

Kardıçalı, a community volunteer for 50 years, focuses on helping women and children through music. She conducts music training and therapy for displaced children, especially those from Kurdish, Syrian, and Roma communities. She helps children express themselves through music and understand its role in showing how diversity enriches the human experience. Kardıçalı trains teachers and students in music education, especially at state schools in the Izmir area that have fewer resources. She also supports the Children’s Peace Orchestra, whose members lack housing. Her book, “Do You Like Music?,” is being translated into Braille so it will be available to even more children. She’s also working with Izmir community leaders to adapt the book for children with learning disabilities. And she donates copies of the book to students, teachers, organizations, and schools to make the project more sustainable. Her project is supported by Rotary clubs from Districts 2440 and 2420, along with Inner Wheel clubs in Turkey and northern Cyprus, state schools, Lions clubs, and the National Education Board of Çeşme for Teacher Training.

Rosemary Nambooze
Uganda
Project: Angel’s Center for Children with Special Needs and Inclusive Education Under Basic Education and Literacy Project
Rotary Club of Wakiso (District 9213)

Nambooze, an advocate for children with disabilities and for inclusive education, founded the Angel’s Center for Children with Special Needs in Wakiso, Uganda. Her advocacy comes from her experience as a parent of a child with Down syndrome who encountered a lack of services for children and their caregivers. The Angel’s Center currently hosts more than 120 children and provides early learning intervention, integrated therapy, outpatient services, and nutrition-focused sensory gardens. It supports caregivers with counseling and respite care, and helps teachers learn how to meet the needs of children with disabilities. Nambooze also helps young adults with disabilities find employment. Since 2012, her work has affected more than 150 children and 200 families. As her Rotary club’s president-elect, Nambooze also mobilizes members to advocate for all children to have equal access to education, health care, and community activities. The club’s signature project supports inclusive education measures in schools, such as building libraries, implementing adaptive infrastructure, training teachers, developing a needs-based curriculum, and enrolling and retaining students with disabilities.

Sarita Shukla
India
Project: Transgender Empowerment — Astitva
Rotary Club of Global Action District 5150

Shukla is dedicated to supporting the transgender community in New Delhi, India. She leads the transgender empowerment project, known as Astitva, at Pahal — Nurturing Lives, a mentorship organization that works to empower young people of all genders. Shukla says the transgender community is very vulnerable as the least understood and the most abused. People who are transgender often have no options to earn a livelihood other than sex work or begging. After the COVID-19 pandemic affected those sources of income, Shukla supplied people with groceries and other necessities and worked with local authorities to get members of the transgender community vaccinated. She also helps raise HIV/AIDS awareness in the community and educates people about prevention. Through Astitva, she provides counseling, training, and mentoring to help transgender people transition to government and corporate jobs. She has had an impact on more than 2,000 people through these initiatives and hopes to help many more.

Anderson Zerwes
Brazil
Project: Brazil’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee
Rotary Club de Encruzilhada do Sul (District 4680)

Zerwes is an advocate for LGBTQ+, racial, and gender equality and disability rights who has been a leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion in South America. He led the formation and is the current president of CDEI Brasil (the DEI committee in Brazil), which has more than 60 Rotary and Rotaract members from across the country and supports and guides local districts. His work has encouraged 27 out of 31 governors to make DEI district chairs part of their leadership teams and ensure that DEI activities are part of the district’s focus. The committee has prepared educational materials, trained leaders, produced monthly webinars and social media content, and raised awareness about DEI events. It has also built partnerships with nongovernmental organizations and advised communities about DEI issues. Zerwes has worked closely with clubs, districts, and leaders in Brazil to ensure that Rotary offers a welcoming environment for people from diverse backgrounds. The committee regularly shares news about its activities with the DEI Task Force. Because of Zerwes’ initiatives, CDEI has served as a model for other Rotary clubs and districts and has been replicated in other countries.

Cam Stewart — Mikostahpinukum (Red Morning)
Canada
Project: Indigenous Community Action Project
Rotary Club of Calgary East (District 5360)

Stewart has been active in diversity, inclusion, and human rights for more than two decades, with a particular focus on Indigenous inclusion. He founded and chairs District 5360’s Indigenous Relations Committee, which is unique within Rotary because its members include Indigenous, non-Rotarian leaders. The committee, which reports to the district governor, ensures that Indigenous issues and people are a priority. It received a district grant for the Indigenous Community Action Project to address some calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. This project creates opportunities for Rotary clubs and Indigenous organizations to identify community issues, brainstorm solutions, develop initiatives, and take action together. Stewart provides resources for clubs to learn about DEI issues related to Indigenous peoples and organizes events where people can meet, learn, celebrate, and build relationships. He also arranges for Elders or other keepers of knowledge to participate in Rotary events. Stewart has been honored with an eagle feather and a pipe from Elder Doreen Spence and was given the Blackfoot name Mikostahpinukum (Red Morning) by Elder Herman Yellow Old Woman.

André Hadley Marria
United States
Project: Spark Thomasville
Rotary Club of Thomasville (District 6900)

Marria is a diversity, equity, and inclusion leader in her club, district, and community, and a founding mentor of a program for entrepreneurs from underserved communities. Currently governor-elect of District 6900, she has served as DEI chair since 2020 and built a district-wide effort. After encouraging each club to select a DEI chair, she helped people identify personal biases and improve their clubs’ culture and inclusivity. Marria was the first Black president of her Rotary club and led the club’s first Black history program. She has also had a variety of roles, including board member and executive director, at Spark Thomasville, a 12-week incubator program for entrepreneurs. She has helped participants set goals, develop business plans, improve their communication skills, and perfect their presentation pitches for a competition. She initiated a partnership between Spark and her Rotary club that provides program participants with educational materials and mentorship. Her leadership at Spark Thomasville led to a redesigned curriculum, a more diverse board, a more inclusive applicant pool, and the organization becoming a federally recognized nonprofit. Marria has also raised more than $500,000 for the Marguerite Neel Williams Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Georgia, where she continues her work in youth development.

Last Week’s Program: Tim Graham, Forest Grove Community Alternative Learning Center

Click Here To Watch The Full Program

Before he becomes an official of our club, we were honored to have Tim Graham present our program last week on the Forest Grove School District’s Community Alternative Learning Center.

Tim is in his year as the principal of CALC. He has been involved in education for 33 years, eight of those as a teacher and coach and 25 years as a principal. His first 11 years was in traditional schools before transitioning to starting an alternative high school in Oregon City. It did not take long to for him to warm up to the challenge. He later moved on to Newberg where he worked with current FGSD superintendent Dave Parker, who convinced Tim to move over to Forest Grove this year.

What is alternative education? Tim says when people think of alternative education, they think juvenile delinquents. That is not the case. The goal for alternative education is to provide education alternatives for those who are challenged in learning. One size does not fit all and a large high school cannot meet everyone’s needs. There is a need to create schools that fit the kids and not make kids fit the schools.

Tim says that in traditional education, we expect high school-aged students to show up and fit into the institution. If a child can’t learn the way we teach, maybe education should teach the way they learn. Most students will not work well for someone they don’t like. There has to be relevance to the subject matter being taught. Once you have relationship and relevance, you can up the rigor of instruction.

Tim believes that some of the innovations taking place in alternative education will make their way into mainstream high schools. A need for an alternative high school does not reflect badly on the high school.

In past years, CALC has had three teachers and three instructional assistants in a school with 2.5 classrooms, but there was no room for growth. This summer, FGSD completely remodeled the facility housing CALC at the Taylor Way annex, creating offices and additional classroom space. In addition to Tim, the district hired an additional science teacher and a student success specialist.

Tim’s goals for CALC in 2022-23 are to change the perception of alternative education in the district, to grow the program and build layers of support, and to establish a “CTE Friday” program (taking students to career training sites and local colleges). The program also tries to provide job shadow experiences and internships for seniors. The goal for next year is for six CTE Fridays but eventually to expand it to every year.

Club Calendar
Wed., Jan. 25: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Hector Martinez, CASA of Oregon

Wed., Feb. 1: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: To Be Announced

Wed., Feb. 8: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: To Be Announced

Thurs., Feb. 9: Executive Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
Via Zoom