Locker Project Fresh Food Distribution – In this school year, produce distributions at Westbrook High School will take place the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month: Nov 14 & 28, Dec 12 , Jan 9 & 23, Feb 13 & 27, Mar 13 & 27, Apr 10 & 24, May 8 & 22 and June 12. Any date changes will be announced in the Scribbler. Time: arrive by 1 PM depart by 2:30 PM, unless otherwise noted.
Rotary Night Out - Our next Rotary Night out will be Tuesday Nov 20 starting at 5:30 PM. Meeting location TBD. Future nights out will be the third Tuesday evening of the month, with exception of December (see below).
New Christmas Tree Lot Set Up - Friday November 23, 2018. Lot set up and tree delivery in the morning. Watch for more details.
MREMA Toys for Tots & Teens Benefit - Friday November 30, 2018 - 5PM - Italian Heritage Center, Portland, ME. For more information and tickets follow this link 2018 MREMA Toys For Tots & Teens Benefit
Tips for Charity Luncheon - Friday December 7, 2018 - Part of the annual Festival of Trees. Come join the Rotary table at the Westbrook-Warren Church. Two seatings at 11:30 AM or 12:20 PM. Contact Christine Johnson to reserve your spot now! Always a fun time.
Christmas Party - Tuesday December 11, 2018. 5:30PM. Home of Judith & Ed Reidman, 7 Enchanted Lane, Westbrook, ME. Pot Luck. Yankee swap. Current and former members, spouses and guests are welcome.
Falcon's Nest Food Pantry at Westbrook Middle School- Immediate Need - The response from kids has been huge and the pantry has recently been running low. Items that are always welcome are: single serve meals; granola bars, real bars, fruit bars; crackers (graham, saltines, Cheezits, etc); Chef Boyardee; mac and cheese, especially single serve; peanut butter; jelly/jam; single serve oatmeal or oatmeal in packets; fruit cups; jello cups; soups; and tuna in packs. If you can help, you can bring items to an upcoming meeting or drop them at WMS during the school day.
Bundles of Love - For a Guatemalan child and family - $25 per bundle - Deadline to donate is November 28, 2018. To give on line go to http://fbcwestbrook.com/ click on the Give Online icon, then either login or choose Quick Give. Finally, enter the dollar amount and choose Bundles of Love from the drop down menu. Or you may mail your check made payable to FBC Westbrook - Bundles, 733 Main St, Westbrook, ME 04092. Bundles will include items specifically needed by each child and could include: food, shoes, school uniforms, school supplies, toys, or other needed items.
Toys for Tots - Annual toy drive for local children. There are many drop-off locations in our community, including the Allstate Insurance offices of Carlo Giraulo, 543 Main St, Westbrook. His office is open 8AM-5PM Monday-Friday. Toys can be dropped off through December 15, 2018. This drive led by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve has been ongoing nationwide since 1948. For more information visit https://www.toysfortots.org/
American Legion Post Indoor Yard SaleFundraiser- Sunday November 18 9AM-3PM at Dunn St Legion Hall Westbrook. If you have items that you would like to donate, you can contact Cindy DeCosta to arrange for pick up or delivery. Please NO electronics or large furniture (mattresses, couches, etc). If you have small items, you can contact Christine Johnson so we can try to consolidate items for easier delivery to the Hall. Fundraiser to support local veterans.
Gorham High School is currently planning a building project to expand the high school to meet current and projected needs. Gorham Superintendent of Schools Heather Perry and Assistant Superintendent Dr Chris Record were guests at our meeting of October 30, 2018.
Heather first shared some quick facts about the high school which sits on 23 acres near the center of town. The original building was constructed in 1958, with additions completed in 1964, 1970, 1980 and 1992. With the 1992 additions, the school was built to accommodate 750 students, but the school now serves a little over 860 students.
Dr Chris Record (L) listens to Supt Heather Perry
The classroom size is between 517-700 square feet compared to current standard of 800 square feet. The cafeteria is also well undersized - kids stand, sit on the floor or eat in the hallway because there is not enough room to sit. There are safety concerns due to the location of admin offices in relation to the parking lot, and energy consumption relative to its size is well more than double the newer Middle and Great Falls schools.
Gorham has become an attractive community for families and the school population continues to grow. Conservative estimates indicate the school population will grow over 17% in the next 10 years. However, if the current trend does not slow, the school population could grow over 32% in that same time frame. This would mean somewhere between 944 and 1032 students in grades 9-12.
Heather went on to explain that they have been studying the need since 2009 when an exploratory committee was first established. Over the years, various committees were established to study different issues, enrollment projections were updated, and a feasibility study was completed. In Fall 2017, Harriman Architects was hired.
The building committee wants the proposal to benefit the students as well as the community as a whole. The primary focus is on the building, adding more classroom space and creating an auxiliary gym. This includes adding space outside of the current gym footprint to allow for community access to the gym when students are not present and security upgrades. They are also looking at how to expand parking and possibly add a synthetic surface to the large field to allow for more public use. The intent is to “future proof” the building and prepare for the education of the future.
The school is now working with Harriman to finalize conceptual designs plans with a target of bringing it to referendum in November 2019. The design is being finetuned so they can have a cost estimate by the end of November and launch community conversations that will continue through the spring. The prospects of securing any state funding for this project are next to zero as the as GHS is near the bottom of the priority list.
The Great Falls Elementary School in Gorham will be conducting their One Book, One School reading program again this year. Their goal is to purchase a copy of the selected book for all their 570+ students, all teaching and non-teaching staff in the building, and for their bus drivers. This year’s title is Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi.
Westbrook-Gorham Rotary was happy to help them with this project with a donation of $250.
In the 2017-2018 Rotary year, then Rotary International President Ian Riseley challenged clubs to contribute at least $1,500 toward the eradication of polio. Members of the Westbrook Gorham Rotary Club really stepped up and contributed an amazing $4.547. This was more than a 10-fold increase over the previous year!
PDG Lawrence Furbish joined us on October 30, 2018 to present a certificate thanking us for meeting the challenge. In addition, based on available date, he shared that our club has contributed $28,423 since 1998. Congratulations and a huge thanks to all who have contributed.
We were pleased to welcome Byron Alvarez and his new wife Francys from Guatemala City. He has been our partner at Centro Cristiano Cultural De Guatemala for various projects in Guatemala. He thanked us for our work in his country, and specifically mentioned the trauma bags that we were able to purchase and train as part of a District Grant a couple of years ago.
Byron and Francys were in Maine for a few days and attended our meeting as guests of Bill Chadwick.
The Locker Project - Fresh food and baked goods distribution in Westbrook. In this school year, produce distributions at Westbrook High School will take place the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month. Next opportunities Nov 7 & 14 (note added date THIS WEEK), arrive by 12:45 for set up. Help lay out food on tables and interact with the kids to encourage them to take items. You will be a welcoming presence, making sure people know they are invited to take food. Everyone is invited to bring food home with them. If you can help on any of these dates, please contact Christine Johnson. For more information, or to donate, visit their website: mainelockerproject.org Look for Back-to-School dates shortly.
Can Tabs for Ronald MacDonald House – THIS WEEK!! - Thank you for continuing to collect can tabs.If you bring your collection at any time during October, through our November 6th meeting, all tabs collected will be taken to RMH on or before November 9.
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.
Mid Year Leadership Dinner - Monday January 28, 2019. 5:00PM. Program designed for current Presidents, Presidents Elect and Vice Presidents More info to follow.
District Training Assembly - Saturday April 6, 2019. 8AM-1PM. More info to follow.
Rotary Fest (AKA District Conference) - Friday-Saturday June 21-22, 2019 - Fort Williams, Park Cape Elizabeth. Friday service project and cook out for volunteers. Saturday packed with fun and educational events for adults and kids, and another service project opportunity. DG John and the Planning Committee are working hard to make this a free event for all. Watch for more details.
If you have an idea for a speaker or program, please contact Christine Johnson at cejinmaine@gmail.com or Phil Spiller at pdsflynavy@gmail.com . We are also interested in ideas for periodic evening meetings, service projects in lieu of meetings, or in-meeting service projects
We are now scheduling programs for January, with one date left in December.
Here is the list of upcoming speakers and programs:
* 11/6 - Scott Linscott & Christine Johnson - Our Website Updates
* 11/13 - Gregg Dowty - District Protection Chair
* 11/20 - Rotary Night Out
Don Zillman - Prof of Law at UMaine Law School
Program in recognition of Armistice Day Nov 11, 1918
* 11/27 - Tom & Catherine Wilbur - District Trip to Kakamega, Kenya
* 12/4 - Club Assembly
* 12/11 - No Lunch Meeting - See you at the Christmas Party
Rotary is about fellowship, as well as service to our community. Even if you must miss a meeting, you can remain engaged by attending Rotary-sponsored events of our club or other clubs like fundraisers, by selling Christmas Trees, by volunteering at our Golf Tournament or our Road Race, or by attending District events or training. Just let our Secretary know when you have participated in any of these activities at info@westbrookgorhamrotary.org
.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png?_=636770612018361283)
.jpg)
.png)
.png?_=636770612018361283)
.jpg?_=636770612018361283)