Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary through our Focus Areas
This month Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary by developing new members. Explore the possibilities with us at our meeting Wednesday at noon at Wick Park or virtually via Zoom.
Many of us are light users of ClubRunner, the Rotary-endorsed membership management and communication platform. Do you need to update your home address or employer information? Would you like to email the membership about your organization’s upcoming fundraiser? We will learn how to do these things and more.
Last Week's Meeting
Fourth Ward Councilman Mike Ray, our guest speaker on Aug. 9, says the Mahoning Avenue corridor has gained stability because of partnerships. Since taking office in 2012, Councilman Ray has worked with Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation, the Economic Action Group, Mahoning County Land Bank and other organizations to plan and implement economic development projects.
A Better Block grant that was awarded to YNDC evolved into the Mahoning Avenue Fall Fest, which will return this year after a pandemic interruption. EAG and MCLB have played roles in acquiring and renovating vacant commercial properties, including the former Clark Bar near Mahoning Plaza, a former auto parts store that soon will reopen as a coffee shop and roastery, and a former florist shop that has been renovated and is being marketed to local businesses. Ray noted that Mahoning Avenue is home to 100 businesses.
Rotarians are asked to contribute to Operation Warm by Sept. 1. Despite inflation, RCY can still purchase warm coats for city school children for $20 each from its supplier. Samantha Turner said volunteers will be needed to assist with coat fittings at Harding Elementary a few weeks after the new school year begins.
RCY was well represented at the Science of Brewing, an annual fundraiser for the Oh Wow! Center for Science and Technology, on Aug. 11. Congratulations to our fellow Rotarians Marvin Logan, executive director of Oh Wow, and Ellie Platt, who assisted with event planning.
RCY Joins WhatsApp
A message from President Deanna:
We are adding WhatsApp to our Rotary communication strategy as a quick way Rotarians can communicate on the go. WhatsApp is a group texting service that allows you to determine your notification settings. This will allow quick updates to the group and an easy reference point for all the reminders.
Committees can post updates on meeting times, flyers, etc for fast distribution to the group.
Out and about and see a Rotarian? Take a selfie and post it to the group.
The Youngstown Symphony will perform a concert, “Symphonic Superheroes,” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2, at Stambaugh Auditorium. The program will feature classics such as Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” and Rossini’s “William Tell Overture” in addition to recent themes from more superhero films.
Dani Dier at Stambaugh is offering our club an opportunity to purchase 10 tickets or more at a rate of $20.50 per ticket (for 10 tickets or more) plus only charge a $20 flat service fee for the bulk order rather than $7 per ticket. Also, tickets for children/students will be free as part of Rotary’s package. President-Elect Gerri Jenkins is the club’s point of contact. Reach out to her by Friday to order tickets and arrange payment.
Rotary also has the opportunity to set up a display table in the lobby before the concert. Please let Gerri know if you can help at the table. Stambaugh is assembling gift bags for kids, to which RCY can contribute. The deadline to deliver items to Stambaugh is Wednesday.
TREKKING ON WITH TREX RECYCLING
RCY members take filmy plastic recycling very seriously! To date, we have collected more than 1,000 lbs., which qualifies the club to receive two park benches from our partner, the Trex composite decking company.
Plastic collection will continue, but only on the second Wednesday of each month (next collection on Sept. 13). Look for clear collection bags at the registration table during our weekly meetings. Stuff them with plastic shopping bags, Ziploc-style storage and freezer bags, bread bags, print media sleeves, air pillows from shipped packages, and other filmy plastics.
A few volunteers are needed to weigh bags and transport them to a dropoff site. See President Deanna or Mike Latessa if you can help.
ROTARY DISTRICTS #6630, 6650, 6600 END POLIO NOW GAME AT PROGRESSIVE FIELD
Thursday, August 17 2023
Detroit Tigers vs Cleveland Guardians
Gates Open: 6:00pm / First Pitch: 7:15pm
Pregame Parade on the field
TERRACE CLUB EVENT INCLUDES
Access to Terrace Club 4th Floor
Dinner & Pepsi Products
Exclusive Raffles and Auction
Cash Bar
TICKET PRICING OPTIONS
Lower Box + Terrace Club --$80
Upper Box + Terrace Club ---$70
$5 off Kids ticket in Terrace Club
Lower Box Ticket Only --$35
Upper Box Ticket Only --$25
ALL TICKETS INCLUDE A CONTRIBUTION TO END POLIO NOW CAMPAIGN
For information, contact Rotarian Stew Buchanan at 330-607-1442 or stewb1898@aol.com
Young Inventor of Eco-Friendly Bricks Comes Full Circle
Binish Desai began working on an eco-friendly brick made out of recycling and waste, when he was 11. The former Rotary Youth Exchange student, inventor, and entrepreneur credits Rotary with giving him the support to pursue his dreams. Now he’s giving back through a new Rotary club.
Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”
Growing up in Valsad, a city on the Arabian Sea in west-central India, Desai was also a fan of Dexter’s Laboratory, another animated TV show, this one about a boy scientist. “So I created my own lab in the corner of our living room in a TV cabinet. And I would always carry something called a ‘bag of ideas,’ where I would jot down different innovations of mine.”
For instance, having learned about evaporation and condensation in school, he noticed the steam that escaped from the pressure cooker when his mother prepared dinner. He created a device to capture that steam, which would then return to its liquid state — water that could be used for gardening. “That was my first invention ever,” he says.
“There is nothing that is useless in this world,” Desai insists. “The concept of waste does not exist in nature. It’s human consumption that creates it, so it’s our responsibility to get rid of it. And in the process of converting trash into treasure, we can also generate a lot of employment.”
In the nearly two decades since his Captain Planet days — Desai turns 27 this month — he has come up with more inventions; built and lost a company; founded, with his wife, several women’s empowerment centers; and generally concocted ways to improve the lives of everyone in his very broadly defined community. Central to his success has been his involvement with Rotary, a relationship that was sparked by a family connection and nurtured by a year in the United States as a Rotary Youth Exchange student. Now, as a charter member of the Rotary Club of Vibrant Valsad, his life in Rotary has taken flight.
Somebody hand that young man a cape.
THIS WEEK IN ROTARY HISTORY
August 10, 2004: Our Club developed a mission statement for strategic planning, and began the process by holding two meetings per month for the next three months.
CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION
Birthdays:
Shirley Shields 8/9
Michael Latessa 8/11
Anniversaries:
No Rotary anniversaries this week.
SAVE THE DATE
The annual Steak Fry will be on Sept. 20. More details coming soon.
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