Members in Attendance (9):  Roberto Martinez, Jim Leyhane, Debbie Brown, Pat Bailey, Peter Brown, Dick Drumm, John Justino, Ruth Samuels and Debbie Rodriguez.

By Zoom (0):  

President Brown called the meeting to order. 

Theme for the Year: “Building Community”

MEETING NOTES:

YMCA Caring Community Basket Brigade: The YMCA is looking for volunteers to help assemble Thanksgiving baskets with donated food (including turkeys), or drive baskets to designated families (always 2 drivers together) on November 18th. They are set to serve 1500 families this Thanksgiving season. To volunteer, please follow this link. https://cdymca.volunteermatters.org/project-catalog/602.

Adopt a Family: The Club has not heard from Richard at Circles of Mercy yet.

Holiday Party and Silent Auction: The party will be held on December 14th at Moscatiellos. The cost is $30 per person. If you have not yet done so, please contact Roberto Martinez and let him know your intention to participate and the number in your party. We need at least 25 people to reserve the room.

Holiday Schedule: There will be a Rotary meeting on December 21st. There will be no Rotary meetings on December 28th and January 4th. The first Rotary meeting of the new year will be held on January 11th. Speakers will be needed for next year.

Water for Kenya: During Peter and Debbie Brown’s recent trip to Maasai Mara Kenya, one of their guides told them about the St. John Fischer Nursing School Clinical Program that sends student nurses to Kenya for a week of clinicals. Peter spoke to Vivianne Cunningham, of St. John Fischer, and discussed the possibility of SRC Rotary helping with the program. Due to unrest in the region, the College will not be doing the clinicals. However, a well (bore hole) is needed. Women walk long distances to obtain water which creates both physical and economic issues. Previously drilled wells often fail over time due to lack of maintenance. Peter Brown is interested in looking into this project. There is a Rotary Club in the Rift Valley.

Viking Gym: The Viking gym kits are stored in the town garage. There are eight pieces of equipment. Ron Annis reported that he assembled one of the pieces of equipment. Jim Leyhane will check with the Town to confirm that the Kiwanis Club will assemble half of the equipment. The Club will look for volunteers to assemble the rest of the equipment sometime after the holidays.

Exchange Program: Peter Brown reported that Maple Hill is still interested in the Exchange Program. Jason Chevrier, Superintendent of the Schodack Central School District, will be having a conversation with the Principal of the Middleburgh High School about their student exchange program.

Rotary Leadership Institute: SRC Rotary will pay the $75 dollar fee for Rotary and Rotaract members to attend. The event will be held on November 4th with registration starting at 7:30 a.m. at the Albany Unitarian Universalist Association, 405 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY  12206.    There is free public parking on the street and in the Albany University lot across and kitty corner from the site. To register, go to RLINEA.org and scroll down to the Albany event and hit the button that says “Learn More.”  If you don’t remember your log-in name, register as a Guest for Part 1, and as you complete your registration, there is a place to indicate which Part you really want to take. Part 1:  My Rotary World, Ethics and Vocational Service, Foundation 1:  Our Foundation, Engaging Members, Creating Service Projects, and My Leadership in Rotary. Part 2:  Rotary Opportunities, Effective Leadership Strategies, Attracting Members, Club Communications, Team Building, and Foundation II:  Targeted Service. Part 3:  Strategic Planning, Foundation III:  International Service, Public Image and Public Relations, Building a Stronger Club, and Making a Difference.

World Polio Day: was Tuesday, 10/14/23. Per Jim Leyhane, no information was disseminated. We will have a program on Polio eradication in January.

Foundation Dinner: will be held on November 16th at the Edison Downtown in Schenectady.

DAF Fund: Jim Leyhane reported that the Fund is almost back to its starting point.

Next Meeting: Thursday, November 2nd, dinner at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. Also, you can join the by Zoom using the link on the websites calendar page. Ed Kellerman will speak about “The History of Political and Historical Memorabilia”.

Entree choices will be Antipasto Salid, Chicken Marsella or Penne Alla Vodka.

John Eberle is the President and CEO of the Capital District Community Foundation. He worked for not-for-profits for over thirty years. He also worked in construction.

The Capital District Community Foundation grows communities through philanthropy. They receive, manage and grow charitable dollars. They make grants to non-profits and help them with grant making. In 2026, they received $80 million, created 166 new funds and dispersed over $63 million into the community.

Their strategic framework includes inspiring and elevating the community. They provide training, mentoring, technical assistance and board development to nonprofit organizations. In response to a survey done several years ago which showed no diversity in leadership structures, they developed the Catalyst for Change Program for board inclusion training for individuals to advance diversity in nonprofit boards to better reflect the community.

For further information, please go to http://www.cfgcr.org.