Westbrook High School Interact Adviser Dr Bruce Dyer, along with three students, joined us at our meeting of October 22, 2019. Kamdyn Russell is a Senior and President of WHS Interact Club. Matthew Eugley and MacKenzie Remington are two of the Juniors at WHS who attended RYLA this summer.
Kamdyn and Bruce spoke about planned Interact projects for this school year. These include projects and activities that WHS Interact has supported for several years. Members of the club visit Springbrook nursing home to spend time socializing with dementia patients. They will be raking leaves for community members who need some help with their yards and they will be baking pies for the Food Pantry for Thanksgiving. They will also continue as part of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program in each of the elementary schools and the middle school.
Matt and MacKenzie attended RYLA in June. Matt says he wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but went in with an open mind. He learned how other people can see things differently from you and gained a new prospective on how it is to be part of a group when you are not the one leading that group. Mackenzie told us that she is usually a follower rather than a leader. She found that RYLA brought out her leadership qualities and she hopes to carry that forward.
At RYLA, every activity had to be completed as a group and each task had to be completed before the next could begin. Each team had to choose a different leader for each challenge. For certain activities, some team members were given restrictions that the team had to work with and around to accomplish their common goal. Team members kept a journal to make notes about what they learned and took away from each challenge.
At the end of the meeting, we discussed identifying opportunities for Interact and Rotary to work more closely together to support each other’s projects. With Christmas tree delivery set for Wednesday November 27, a day off from school, we anticipate having several WHS and GHS Interact members join us to off load the truck and finalize sales lot set up. Hopefully this will be the start of more collaboration throughout the year.
Christmas Tree Sales Lot Dates - Tuesday November 19, 2019 - Meet for lunch at WRVC at 11:30AM, then to the municipal lot at the corner of William Clark Dr and Mechanic St for sales lot set up. Wednesday November 27, 2019 - Meet at the lot at 11:30AM for a quick lunch. Trees scheduled to arrive at Noon.
Dirigo Kids Annual Toys for Tots Fundraiser – Friday December 6, 2019. 5:30PM Italian Heritage Center, 40 Westland Ave, Portland. $65 per person/$500 per table. Sponsorship opportunities. Visit: https://dirigokids.com/
Rotary Annual Christmas Party - Tuesday evening December 10, 2019. 5:30PM at the home of Judith & Ed Reidman, 7 Enchanted Lane, Westbrook, ME. More details to follow.
Festival of Trees Tips for Charity Luncheon - Friday December 13, 2019 11:30 or 12:30 - We'll have our Rotary table again this year. Tickets now available. Contact Christine Johnson cejinmaine@gmail.com or 653-0869 to reserve your spot today. Only 8 seats available at each seating!
Update The Locker Project - TLP will be returning to Westbrook High School, 125 Stroundwater St, Westbrook, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month, with some exceptions due to holidays. Arrive by 1PM for set up. Done by about 2PM after clean up. Check in and out at the front office. Upcoming dates include Nov 13, Dec 11, Jan 8 & 22 , Feb 12 & 26, March 11 & 25, April 8 & 22, May 13 & 27 . If you would like to volunteer, please contact Christine Johnson.
Bundles of Love - It's that time of year again. During the Christmas season, supporters of AMG have the opportunity to provide special gifts to the boys and girls cared for and served in 57 child and youth development centers in 13 countries. All gifts are purchased locally, in country, by AMG staff who know the specific needs of each individual recipient. Likewise, funds spent for Bundles of Love also help the local economy and benefit the communities served around the world. $20 per bundle - to donate: https://amginternational.org/product/bundles-of-love-5/ Contact Scott Linscott with questions.
Update Winter Gear Drive for Westbrook Schools – During the month of November, we’ll be collecting winter gear for kids. Hats, mittens, boots and coats for all ages. Scarves for older kids. There is also a huge need for sweat pants in all sizes. Collected at meetings: Nov 5, 12 and 19.
New Crutches 4 Africa - Container Load - Saturday November 23, 2019, 9AM-1PM. Come for any of all of this time. Warehouse at 20 Gooch St, Biddeford. This will be the 10th load from District 7780! A collaborative project of the Rotary Clubs of District 7780.
New Altrusa Calendar Raffle – It’s that time of year again! Altrusa is selling chances for prizes that will be drawn every day of January 2020. $10 per chance, multiple chances to win great prizes. See Christine Johnson or Judith Reidman to purchase your entries or find the entry form here to download and print: https://westbrookgorhamrotary.org/page/2020-altrusa-calendar-raffle/
NewOcean State Job Lots – Coats for Veterans. Nov 7-Nov 30. Purchase a winter coat for $40 and give it back to the store for a veteran in need. Receive a $40 gift card to use in the store on a later date. Stores are located in Falmouth, Biddeford, Sanford and Oxford.
Reading Friends - Read weekly with 1st or 2nd graders at Gorham's Village School, 12 Robie St, Gorham. Starting immediately. From about 9-10AM on a weekday morning of your choice. Some opportunities may be available for a later reading time. Even if you can only commit to a few weeks in the fall, winter or spring, consider joining this important work for literacy. If interested, contact Christine Johnson. Registration and a basic background check are required. Go to this link to register: Reading Friends Volunteer Form Village School Gorham for "child's name" enter Rotary Volunteer, under Teacher select "other" and enter "Reading Volunteer".
Children's Books for Pantries - We continue to supply new and gently used children's books to food pantries about every two weeks. We have been fortunate to obtain a regular supply of used books from Goodwill Buy the Pound. We also periodically obtain new books from a couple of sources at little cost. However, the need is always greater than the supply. If you, a family member, friend or colleague have children or grandchildren who have outgrown their books, we'd love to have them to share with children who will love them. All ages from babies to young teens. We can also always use large print books for older readers. Bring to any club meeting or contact Christine Johnson for pick up.
Can Tabs for Ronald McDonald House - Thank you for continuing to collect can tabs.It's and easy way to help a wonderful organization! Just keep a small plastic bag or small jar in your kitchen, on the counter or in a drawer. As you go to toss your returnable can into your CLYNK bag, simply twist off the tab first.
CLYNK for Literacy - Ongoing - Don't forget to keep filling those bags to help fund the children's books we ask our speakers to sign for the Baxter and Walker Libraries. Extra bags are always available at our meetings. If you have been working on filling a bag for a very long time (6 months or more), please consider returning it and starting a new one. Thank you for your ongoing support of this fundraiser!
Donate to our Club's Charity through Amazon Smile – Ongoing - If you order items from Amazon.com, even if not very often, you can help Westbrook Gorham Rotary Club Charities. Go to http://smile.amazon.com/. Search for our Charity and select it. You may need to login to your Amazon account before being able to finalize your selection. Then, when you shop Amazon.com (always starting from http://smile.amazon.com/) a portion of every purchase will be donated to our charity.
Volunteer at Preble St – Register as a volunteer then select as few or as many volunteer shifts as you want. These can be working in the Receiving Center accepting, sorting and stocking donations; helping prepare and/or serve breakfast, lunch or dinner; sorting or distributing food pantry items; or other activities listed on the volunteer page. For more information and to learn how to register as a volunteer: https://www.preblestreet.org/you-can-help/volunteer/
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Westbrook High School Interact Adviser Dr Bruce Dyer, along with three students, joined us at our meeting of October 22, 2019. Kamdyn Russell is a Senior and President of WHS Interact Club. Matthew Eugley and MacKenzie Remington are two of the Juniors at WHS who attended RYLA this summer.
community members who need some help with their yards and they will be baking pies for the Food Pantry for Thanksgiving. They will also continue as part of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program in each of the elementary schools and the middle school.
At RYLA, every activity had to be completed as a group and each task had to be completed before the next could begin. Each team had to choose a different leader for each challenge. For certain activities, some team members were given restrictions that the team had to work with and around to accomplish their common goal. Team members kept a journal to make notes about what they learned and took away from each challenge.
At the end of the meeting, we discussed identifying opportunities for Interact and Rotary to work more closely together to support each other’s projects. With Christmas tree delivery set for Wednesday November 27, a day off from school, we anticipate having several WHS and GHS Interact members join us to off load the truck and finalize sales lot set up. Hopefully this will be the start of more collaboration throughout the year..jpg?_=637090454124483998)
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