UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

For more details and additional events, see the Announcements section below.

More socials, projects, & events coming soon!

Please note: The bulletin committee could use more writers.   

Opening Ceremonies:

President Casey, “Welcome to the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa where we celebrate the Magic of Rotary while we do good in our world and have fun doing it!”

Past President Ann Gospe led us in the reciting off the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four-Way Test.  Her Reflection, in keeping that this is the 23^rd anniversary of September 11, 2001, she read President Biden’s speech, honoring those who died that day on the planes and the first responders who died that day.

Guests:

Kim Streeter and Allen Fontain Gundeson from REFPA and former member Kerrie Chambers (I believe she is completing an application to return to the club).

Sunshine Report:

Ginny Cannon just got her flu and covid vaccinations.  Just a reminder for the rest of us!

50/50 Drawing:

$57.00 in the pot and seven marbles in the bag per Pete Lescure.  Ann Gospe’s ticket was pulled, but she failed to pull out the blue marble. The pot rolls over.

September Birthdays:

This month we have Doug Chase, Cecil Hume, Ryan Thomas, Eric Butterfield and Laura Stephens celebrating their birthdays.  However, Laura was the only birthday Rotarian here today so we sang to her and she got a gift certificate for Corrick’s.

Announcements:

1. SCARC is in Petaluma on September 26.  It will at Lucchesi Park at the Miracle League Pavilion Patio, 320 North McDowell Blvd, Petaluma.  This month’s topic is RYLA.  Dinner is $40.00 and includes Tostadas with pulled pork, rice, beans, salad and dessert. Beer, wine and water are included.  RSVP by September 20 to Gail Cardaropoli [email protected] or (707) 322-1188
2. Steve Marburger said that the internet trolls are getting much more clever. They almost got two of our members in the most recent security breech. Steve was able to rescue them.  He reminded us how easy it is to have the bad guys not only invade our computers, but they can steal your life savings in an instant! Please call Steve if you need more information.
3. Fred Levin is now selling tickets for our November 7, 2024 Veteran’s Tribute. Ticket prices at $20.00. It is recommended that you buy two, one for yourself and one for a veteran. The keynote speaker is Captain Brett Crozier, USN Retired.  Diane Moresi was his first-grade teacher and highly recommends his book, “Surf When You Can.”
4. Tasia Henderson announced that SRJC Rotaract fund raiser at the Coddingtown Chipotle on September 29 from 4:00-8:00pm. You must have the flyer with you so they get the 25% donation. See they tables at our meeting for a flyer or there is probably on attached to this bulletin.
5. The Redwood Empire Food Bank has cancelled its 5:00-7:00pm bagging program per Charlie Howard Gibbon. He has no further information at this time.  If you would like to work with the Boy Scouts at the Food Bank and September 16, check in with Charlie for the details.  Kind of sad…this was our only social for the beginning of Covid in 2020.
6. Saras has arrived from Indonesia and there is a welcoming party on Friday, September 13 at the Gospe’s from 5:30 – 7:30PM. Since this bulletin comes out after the event, your bulletin editor hopes that you went and had an excellent time! (see some pics above. More coming soon.)
7. Jim Green has roped Kris Anderson into a booth at the next Women in Conversation event at the Green Music Center in Rohnert Park on September 25 from 3:00 – 6:00. Other area Rotary Clubs are participating too. We will have our new brochure available to hand out and we will have a drawing for a spa package. We hope to get a lot of women to sign up for the potential prize. Then we will divide up the entries and invite the women to a Rotary meeting.

Today’s Guest Speaker, Kim Streeter for the Redwood Empire Foster Parent Association (REFPA)

The REFPA was started in 1963. They work with the County of Sonoma with taking in children who need emergency placement. Our guest speaker has been a foster parent, now called resource parent or family, for 14 years and has aided 38 children.  The time a child spends with their resource family ranges from 24 hours to 17 months.  They do a wide range of programs for the children and it sounds like their weekly bingo games in Petaluma is a major fund raiser for them.

When a child arrives, it is usually an emergency situation and they leave their home with nothing. The Blue Bag Program provides them with a duffle bag with age/gender appropriate clothes for a few days, plus books and toys.  The older kids will be given a $150 gift card and taken shopping at Target. They have a scholarship program that pays for extracurricular activities.  Examples: they will pay for prom, yearbooks and other senior high school expenses. They had a child who was a wrestler and they covered his costs. They will pay up to $175 for a car seat and that seat will stay with the child.  During the December holidays they have gift cards and a raffle for five reunited families to get a $500 gift card. They have a new multicultural hair program that teaches care givers how to take care of hair of their foster kids. At Halloween time they do Trunk or Treat for the kids.

They do all that they can to give a child a normal, safe place to be while their parents get treatment for their issues.

It costs $50.00 a year to become a member of their organization.

The County of Sonoma determines the placement of the children, not REFPA. The biggest reasons children are taken from their families because of drugs and alcoholism.  Sometimes they are in jail for these offenses and there are no family members to take the children in.

Teachers will often report at the end of a school year their concerns about their students because they will be out of school for 2-3 months.  For more information, check out their website, Instagram, or Facebook Page.

Additional Pictures: