The Locker Project - Fresh food and baked goods distribution at Westbrook High School in the cafeteria. Two volunteer needed for each of these upcoming dates. 1-2PM each time. Wednesdays January 24, February 7, March 7, March 21, April 4. No heavy lifting required. Help lay out food on tables and interact with the kids to encourage them to take items. If you can help on any of these dates, please contact Christine Johnson.
FBC Westbrook Free Community Meal - Saturday January 20. Monthly, free, community dinner. Whether you are hungry for a delicious meal or hungry to get out and interact with others, they would love for you to be their guest. Yes, you can donate toward next month's meal but it's not necessary. This is not a fundraiser, it's a community connecting night with great food. They've been doing these dinners for going on 10 years. Come and bring a friend.
Altrusa Fundraiser - Saturday February 3, Spaghetti Dinner at St Peter's Episcopal Church, 678 Washington Ave Portland. $10. Eat In or Take Out 5PM to 7PM. Proceeds benefit Altrusa programs.
Toiletries for the High School - Ongoing - Collect those tiny bottles of toiletries you are paying for during your next hotel visit and bring them home to help students in need of personal hygiene products. The HS Pantry and the HS Nurse are always looking to restock these basic supplies. You can always drop items off during the school day at the HS main office, or bring them to a meeting.
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.
Can Tabs for Ronald MacDonald House – Ongoing - Let’s keep collecting those can tabs over the winter months so we'll have a big donation in the spring.
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.
On January 9, 2018, we were pleased to induct two new members into the Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club. Sarah Hutchins, Mortgage Loan Officer at Evergreen Credit Union, and Kathi Perkins, a long time Rotarian and retired educator who recently moved to our area, were welcomed to our club.
With Secretary Mike Foley in Hawaii, Club Service Chair Christine Johnson (R) and Club President Bill Chadwick (L) presented badges and other insignia to Sarah Hutchins and Kathi Perkins.
Prior to formal induction into the Club on January 9, 2018, Sarah Hutchins presented her Classification Talk to help us get to know her better. While Sarah currently lives in Gorham, she is from Westbrook where her parents still live in the house she grew up in. She graduated from Westbrook High School in the same class as fellow member Phil Spiller.
Sarah has worked since she was 11 years old when she first had a paper route. She later worked in restaurants, and then went to work for MBNA where skills learned led her into the mortgage business. She eventually formed her own business, at which time she first joined Rotary for a short time. Sarah now works for Evergreen Credit Union at their Riverside St location where she is Mortgage Loan Officer.
Sarah reminded us that credit unions are owned by their members, unlike banks, and have been very stable financially even through economic downturns. Evergreen Credit Union is very supportive of community volunteer work. Evergreen provides a lot of community support for things like food pantries, schools, Special Olympics, adopt-a-family (at Christmas) and much more. In fact, Sarah is a regular volunteer at the Westbrook Food Pantry.
Sarah is passionate about working to drive opiates and the resulting problems out of our community. She is involved with the Westbrook Recovery Liaison Program that helps people who have opiate disorder or are victims of opiate disorders. So many people of all income and social levels can be affected by this widespread problem. She hopes that Westbrook-Gorham Rotary will get involved in this fight.
Woodfords Family Services got its start 50 years ago in the basement of Woodfords Congregational Church. They started by working with five families with special needs children for whom public school was not a good fit. They now work with over 1500 families from very young children to elders. They are committed to the support and inclusion of people with special needs and their families in Maine communities.
On December 19, 2017, Kerry de Bree, Director of Development at Woodfords Family Services (WFC) explained that they provide in home support and case management for kids and adults alike. Their programs include education support and help identifying needed support services to help clients maximize their potential, lead safe and secure lives, and have positive enriching relationships. For example, they work hard at combating bullying, since folks with disabilities can be easy targets.
Woodfords works with children who are in state custody. In Maine, more than 2000 are in foster care each year. 60% of children entering foster care in Maine do so due to parental substance abuse or abuse risk factors. In the past 10 years, the number of children under age 5 in foster care has nearly doubled.
Therapeutic Foster Care is a subset of foster care cases and provides loving homes and care for children with medical, behavioral or mental health issues. A specialized type of care.
Who can be a Foster Parent?
Must be at least 21
Can be married or single
Can be a home owner or a renter
Have children or be childless
Can be at home or work outside the home
All types of people, of different backgrounds, from all sorts of circumstances can be a Foster Parents. The key is having a safe and loving home. Foster parents help children work towards specific goals and help coordinate a continuum of support for the child. There is a lot of help available for foster parents through free training, mentoring programs, case workers, 24/7 on-call support, and in-home support.
Reunification with the child’s family is the primary goal of foster care. Unfortunately, less than half of children end up back with their family.
Kerry de Bree has been with Woodfords Family Services since 2007. She is responsible for fundraising efforts through federal, state and local grants, individual programs and special events. She also oversees the agency’s marketing efforts, including employee recruitment and legislative advocacy.
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 Mike Foley know when you have participated in any of these activities at mfoley@me.com