Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary through our Focus Areas
This month Rotary International asks us to Imagine Rotary by supporting the members of our community to become economically self sufficient. Explore the possibilities with us at our meeting Wednesday at noon at Wick Park or virtually via Zoom.
Members of the Youngstown Rotary Foundation committee will update us on RI’s End Polio Now campaign and our own club’s upcoming Pints for Polio fundraiser from 1 to 4 this Sunday at Penguin City.
Last Week's Meeting
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and speaker Dawn Powell says it’s important to recognize the “intensity of what trauma does to a person.”
Powell is a licensed independent social worker and chief executive officer of Guiding Light Counseling & Consulting, LLC, Youngstown. She previously led the Rape Crisis & Counseling Center within Compass Family & Community Services. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Ashland University in Ohio and Clark Atlanta University. She was introduced by Rotarian Dionne Dowdy.
One in four women, and one in seven men, experience domestic violence. It isn’t only physical in nature – it also can be verbal, financial, emotional and sexual, she said. Emotional violence may be the most difficult form from which to recover, Powell noted. Victims who don’t leave their abusers don’t enjoy violence but struggle to recognize what is happening to them and how to empower themselves to overcome abuse. The pain is real, as victims live in “a constant state of alertness and waiting, anticipating the next attack,” she added.
One way to reduce domestic violence is to look beyond our biases, be informed, and be supportive, Powell continued. Domestic violence occurs in all economic classes. Having conversations with teens is important; “They won’t tell you [immediately] but will reach out when they need to,” she said.
Watch for messages from victims, Powell emphasized, adding that the social media platform TikTok has images of persons with “help” messages written on their arms. President Sharon Letson observed that, during a recent hospital visit, she was asked if she was “in a safe place” – another way that healthcare professionals are reaching out to victims.
This past month “Operation Pollination” appeared in the RI District 6650 newsletter for the first time - demonstrating that the signing of the OP Resolution by two District Governors was not simply a poetic gesture.
By creating a space for OP in the District 6650 newsletter, clubs and their community partners now have an place to celebrate successes, share strategies and resources, and inspire others to join this environmental movement.
Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation added the Environment as a seventh Area of Focus in June 2020. That effort was led by the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group, which also supports Operation Pollination.
Operation Pollination came to east central Ohio two years ago. In October 2020 members of the Rotary Club of Youngstown began asking a growing consortium of community partners to join in helping to create, restore, preserve natural habitat sites, educate about the urgency of arresting species decline, and the importance of biodiversity to all life on earth. Mill Creek Metroparks, First Energy, Mahoning Soil & Water Conservation District, Mahoning County Land Bank, Youngstown CityScape, and the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County were among the first to participate.
A lot has happened since then:
Along with the Rotary Club of Youngstown, Struthers, Warren, Cortland, East Liverpool, Wooster, and Louisville – in collaboration with community partners - have each taken up the work of protecting and restoring our natural areas.
RI District 6600 in northwest Ohio is the second Ohio District to support OP by signing a Resolution.
The first bi-national Resolution signing between the US and Canada took place in Windsor;
Rotary International President Jennifer Jones has signed the Resolution on behalf of all in the Rotary world.
A group of OP Ambassadors from the US, Canada, Mexico, India, Costa Rica, Columbia, Mongolia, Scotland, England, Germany, and Australia work together to help educate and provide resources.
The endangered monarch butterfly serves as an iconic leading environmental indicator as pesticide use, climate change, and habitat loss also threaten bees, bats, beetles, and birds, small mammals and reptiles, and - as we learn more - even aquatic migratory species. Their struggles translate to declines in food and other crops essential to human health and well-being.
Operation Pollination is a global initiative, but each of us in our back yard, on porch, patio, rooftop, or balcony can help by providing a host plant for pollinators and nectar for fuel. No pot is too small!
We're off and running! So far, nearly 200 pounds of plastic has been collected for the Trex project. Keep up the good work!
Don’t forget - the Operation Pollination committee is encouraging all Rotarians to save their plastic film and bring it to Rotary on Wednesdays. Once we collect 500 pounds of plastic, we turn it into Trex, the company that manufactures composite decking. Trex, in turn, will donate a bench made of the recycled plastic that we will place in a pollinator garden or near a Little Free Library.
We have until the end of February 2023 to collect the plastic. You can turn in your recyclables to Elsa Higby, Ra’Cole Taltoan, or LInda Kostka, who will weigh, track, and turn it in. Review the list of items below to see what’s acceptable.
The Rotary Club of Youngstown Beerfest Volunteer Signup
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