If Westbrook Schools are closed due to weather, there will be no Rotary lunch meeting that day. This is usually not decided or announced by the school district until early in the morning of the day of cancellation. We will make every effort to send out notice to members as soon as possible, but please monitor weather reports and check available sources. Note that a delay in school opening may still allow us to hold our meeting as Chef plans ahead in these situations.
You can find out about school closings from many sources including: wmtw.com/weather/closings or wcsh6closings where you can search on Westbrook or sign up for email notifications.
Heather Douglas, Proprietor of Farmstand Collective, has submitted an application for membership. Many of you have already met her as she has attended some of our recent lunch meetings and helped with tree lot set up.
Heather graduated from Hodgdon (ME) High School and moved to Portland in 2001. She subsequently bought a house in Gorham and has lived there since 2003. She is a graduate of Husson University with degrees in Business Administration and is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of Southern Maine.
Heather worked for several years at Shipyard Brewing, with increasing levels of responsibility that included Export Development, Product Management, and Marketing Director. Most recently she was Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Jobs for Maine Graduates before leaving to devote full time to her own business, a boutique design and marketing firm focused on small businesses.
She is an animal lover, growing up with horses, cows, dogs and cats. She loves to travel and says her favorite destination so far is Cape Town, South Africa. She enjoys scuba diving, volunteering, hiking, cooking, entertaining, and spending time on the water on Sebago and East Grand Lake each summer.
Heather and her husband Greg live in Gorham. She can be found on Facebook as Heather Bartlett Douglass and also under her business name Farmstand Collective.
Xtreme Screen & Sportsware and Blazes Burgers are each lending a hand to children in need this holiday season.
Located at 937 Main St, Westbrook, Xtreme Screen has a "giving tree" for youth that the schools have identified as needing some help for the holidays. Each tag contains the age and sex of a child in need, along with a short wish list of items. Stop in during their regular business hours to pick a tag. Monday -Thursday 8am-4pm. Wrapped gifts to be returned by Friday December 13.
Blazes Burgers at 652 Main St , Westbrook, across from Riverbank Park will be collecting items that Westbrook Schools Nurses have identified as being in high demand. Sweatpants, socks, and underpants in all sizes. Winter hats and gloves. Drop unwrapped items in their collection box during the month of December. Items will be distributed among the schools based on size and highest need.
We had a great starting weekend with about 126 trees sold in just three days. Great work everyone! If you haven't signed up for a shift yet or would like to volunteer for additional shifts, please go to Sign Up Genius:
As many of you know, due to delivery truck trouble last Wednesday, we only received half of our tree order. We expect more trees to arrive sometime this week so we can be stocked up for next weekend.
Steve Rand is in contact with Spraque and will co-ordinate delivery and volunteers once we can secure a date. We will be receiving approx 200 more trees, so will need some help when the time comes. Please watch for details from Steve.
If you have an idea for a speaker or program,look for a sign-up sheet and an upcoming meeting or contact Christine Johnson at cejinmaine@gmail.com
We are also interested in ideas for service projects in lieu of meetings, or in-meeting service projects.
The following lunch dates are available in the 2019-2020 Rotary year for YOUR program. Time flies and we need ideas for the first two meetings in January ASAP! Sign up today!!
This week!! 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/
Confirmed for Next Week!! Rotary Annual Christmas Party - Tuesday evening December 10, 2019. 5:30PM at the home of Judith & Ed Reidman, 7 Enchanted Lane, Westbrook, ME. Pot luck - bring your favorite beverage and appetizer, main dish, salad or dessert to share. If you'd like to participate in a Yankee Swap, please bring a wrapped gift of value no more than $20.
Festival of Trees Tips for Charity Luncheon - Friday December 13, 2019 11:30 or 12:30 - We are having our Rotary table again this year. Tickets now available. Contact Christine Johnson cejinmaine@gmail.com or 653-0869 to reserve your spot today. Only 1 seat remaining at 11:30!
The Locker Project - TLP will be at 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 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 - During the Christmas season, supporters of AMG have the opportunity to provide special gifts to the boys & girls cared for 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, benefiting local economies. $20 per bundle - to donate: https://amginternational.org/product/bundles-of-love-5/If you'd like to support FBC Westbrook's work in Guatemala directly, go to http://www.fbcwestbrook.com/, Click on button To Give Online, then select from drop down options 2019 Bundles of Love for Oratorio
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. A final date added: Dec 3
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/
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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