News of this New York State club that practices "Service Above Self"
Author: SRCrotary
A volunteer service club located in Rensselaer County, NY, that is part of Rotary International, the 1.23 million-member international organization of men and women serving their community and their world.
This week we return to Moscatiello’s for a general club assembly. We will reviewing and updating on current and upcoming programs and projects, as well as discussing new ones. We are looking for input from all club members, so please try to join us tomorrow night at Moscatiello’s at 6:00pm. If you are unable to attend in person, you may join us remotely using the link on the calendar page. There will be a board meeting immediately following the conclusion of our regular meeting. Any board members who can not attend may also join us remotely for the board meeting using the same link on the calendar page.
Dinner Choices for this week: Chicken Ceasar Salad, Chicken Marsala, or Baked Ziti
Other Club Business:
The raffle drawing is during next week’s (1/19/23) meeting, please continue to sell tickets. If you have any unsold tickets, please bring them tomorrow night. We have some members who have sold out and are looking for more to sell.
Rotary Dues:
If you chose to pay your Rotary Dues in two yearly payments, your second payment is now due. Please bring a check to this week’s meeting or mail your payment to Murray. Any questions please contact Murray Forth.
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (13): Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane, Charlie Foote, Andy Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Ray Hannan, Debbie Rodriguez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Phil Kellerman, and Dick Drumm, By Zoom: Murray Forth.
GUESTS (1): Richard Zazycki
President Kevin Leyhane called the meeting to order.
MEETING NOTES:
Theme for the Year: “Growing Fellowship and Service Locally and Globally.”
Hybrid Meeting: Please let Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane or Roberto Martinez know if you plan to join the weekly meeting via Zoom.
Proxy Votes: If unable to attend please submit your proxy votes to Kevin Leyhane. Proxy votes can also be submitted using the Remind App. Text to the number 81010.
Circles of Mercy Adopt a Family: Once again, members provided all the gifts from both family’s lists along with additional gift cards. All gifts were delivered to Circles of Mercy on December 19, 2022. We are looking forward to continuing this Holiday tradition in 2023.
Holiday Party: Thank you to everyone that invited guests and supported the gift basket auction. The auction raised $675 dollars.
Cafe Capriccio Raffle: Tickets for a dinner for 12 at Cafe Capriccio are still available from Andy Leyhane. All members are asked to sell ten raffle tickets for $20 each. The drawing is planned for January 19th. The dinner will be held sometime in February on a date mutually agreeable with the Restaurant and the raffle winner.
Student Exchange Program: Peter Brown and Jim Leyhane will be meeting with Jeff Simons, Superintendent of the East Greenbush Central School District, next week.
Guest Speakers and Calendar: The calendar has been updated and we are looking to book speakers for the upcoming year: If you know someone that would be interested, please reach out to Kevin Leyhane, Peter Brown or Becky Raymond.
Next Meeting: Thursday, January 12, 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.
Entree choices will be Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Caesar Salad or Chicken Marsala.
Circles of Mercy
Richard Zazycki, Executive Director of Circles of Mercy, spoke about the services and programs provided to the Rensselaer Community.
During 2021, Circles of Mercy assisted “over 1,600 clients who required over 7,000 service transactions.” The thrift store Catherine’s Closet provided more than 150 grants for clothing for adults and children and for baby supplies. For every dollar donated, 87 cents go directly to programs and services. Due to COVID, they were unable to conduct the Walk for Mercy and the Irish Night Out, two of their major fundraisers.
Through the Cate’s Kid Program, Cirles of Mercy collaborate with other non-profit agencies such as the Rensselaer School District, the Rensselaer Boyes and Girls Club, the Rensselaer Street Soldiers, and the CEO Rensselaer Family Resource Center’s Head Start Program. They are able to share resources and/or donated materials.
Eight grade students from the Doane Stuart School in Rensselaer participate in the “First Friday Club” where they come to Circles of Mercy once a month to perform community service.
In partnership with the IRS, the annual VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program will begin on or after January 23rd. Low-income clients and seniors will be able to access both in-person and virtual tax preparation services. Last year “377 tax returns filed resulted in combined refunds and tax credits of $524,565.”
As we welcome in 2023, we are preparing for our first meeting of the new year. Once again we will be meeting at Moscatiello’s at 6:00 pm on January 5, 2023. Richard Zazycki of Circles of Mercy in Rensselaer will be joining us as a guest speaker. Richard will be speaking about the programs Circles of Mercy offers and how the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club has partnered with them over the years in support of these programs. The menu choices will be Chicken Ceasar Salad, Beef Lasagna, or Penne Alfredo. If you are unable to attend this meeting but would like to join us remotely you may do so using the link on the calendar page. Please let Roberto or Kevin know if you would like to join this meeting remotely. Looking forward to seeing everyone again this Thursday.
Other Business:
There will be a board meeting following next weeks meeting on January 12, 2023.
With only a few weeks left until our raffle drawing, please continue to sell raffle tickets for the Cafe Capriccio private dinner.
Once again, the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club partnered with Circles of Mercy to support to local families as part of their adopt a family program. Club members donated their time, money and gifts to make this time a year special for these families. Despite a small delay due to weather, all of the gifts were delivered to Circles of Mercy and our partnership continues to grow.
Quick reminder, our next meeting is January 5th at Moscatiello’s, so enjoy the time with your families and friends. As you gather with family and friends over the holidays, it is a great time to promote and sell raffle tickets for our Cafe Capriccio dinner.
On December 15, 2022, thirty-nine Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club members, their families, and guests gathered at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant to spread holiday cheer and fellowship at our annual Holiday Party. The night featured fine dining and drinks with the occasional carol. The night was also not without service, tickets for our Cafe Capriccio private dinner raffle were sold, gifts for our Circles of Mercy Adopt-a-Family were collected, and our annual gift basket silent auction was held. The gift basket action raised $675 for our youth initiatives, and overall the night was a very enjoyable success.
The club is on holiday recess for the next two weeks, and we look forward to our return to Moscatiello’s in the new year on January 5th, 20223. Enjoy the time with your family and friends, and Happy Holidays everyone.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (13): Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Becky Raymond, Ray Hannan, Debbie Rodriguez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, and John Justino. By Zoom: Charlie Foote, Andy Leyhane
GUESTS (4): David Gittelman and Tim Chorba. By Zoom: Megan Keil and Ann Williams (Peace Corps Recruiter for the Capital District).
President Kevin Leyhane called the meeting to order.
MEETING NOTES:
Hybrid Meeting: Please let Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane or Roberto Martinez know if you plan to join the weekly meeting via Zoom.
Proxy Votes: If unable to attend please submit your proxy votes to Kevin Leyhane. Proxy votes can also be submitted using the Remind App. Text to the number 81010.
Cafe Capriccio Raffle: Tickets are now available from Andy Leyhane. All members are asked to sell ten raffle tickets for $20 each. The drawing is planned for January 17th. The dinner will be held sometime in February on a date mutually agreeable with the Restaurant and the raffle winner. Raffle proceeds will be used to fund the Student Exchange Program and student scholarships.
Circles of Mercy Adopt a Family: Most of the items have been purchased but there are still a few items that have not been claimed. Gifts should be wrapped and labeled with family member’s name. The due date has been extended to Dember 15th. Richard has accepted our invitation to the Holiday Party and will take any gifts with him when he leaves that evening.
Holiday Party: Our party is scheduled for December 15th at Moscatiellos. Dinner is $30 per person. If you have not yet done so, please let Roberto Martinez know if you are attending and if bringing a guest(s). Please bring your baskets for auction. It was suggested that the cost of assembling the baskets be $30. This has been a successful fundraiser in past years.
Next Meeting – Thursday, December 15, Holiday Party dinner at 6:00 pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant, Route 4, North Greenbush. There will be no Zoom option this week.
Entree choices will be Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Caesar salad, Meat Lasagna, or Chicken Marsala plus a side salad and cookies.
Megan Keil, Peace Corps Recruiter for Main and New Hampshire spoke about recruiting for the Peace Corps and about being a Peace Corps Member.
The Peace Corps is a government agency established by John F. Kennedy in 1961. The Peace Corps mission is to promote world peace and friendship by meeting the needs of the participating countries for trained people, by promoting a better understanding of the U.S. and, by promoting in the U.S, a better understanding of other countries. The Peace Corps has six sectors of focus: health, education, agriculture, the environment, economic development and community development.
You must be 18 years old to volunteer. The majority of volunteers are between 22 and 30 years of age. However, there is no upper age limit. Retirees are welcome. In March of 2020. all volunteers were sent back to the U.S. because of the pandemic. Now, half of the volunteers are posted in Africa. Vietnam is the most recent post added. The first three months of the two-year deployment are devoted to training which takes place in the assigned country. Volunteers learn the language and about the country’s culture.
Megan Keil started as a Peace Corps volunteer. She was assigned to Tanzania on the east coast of Africa and taught biology at an all-girls boarding school in Njombi. During training, she stayed with a family to learn about the culture and to speak Swahili. After, that she lived in a house in the school compound. There were 600 girls attending the school and may did not have books. Megan learned how to work with limited resources. She extended her service for another year and worked in the Peace Corps main office in Dar es Salaam. When Megan returned to the U.S., she looked for ways to continue volunteering and joined Rotary.
Megan starting recruiting for the Peace Corps in 2020. She speaks to college students about joining the Peace Corps. These students must have experience as a community volunteer and have participated as a leader in activities. She directs students lacking in such experience to their local Rotary Club to obtain more experience. Megan is a member of the Peace Corps-Rotary Partnership. The Partnership promotes global development and volunteer service. “Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Rotary clubs and Peace Corps volunteers can share their resources and knowledge to boost the impact of development projects globally.”
David Gittelman, (Vice-President of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) and Tim Chorba (President of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) explained that their organization provides a social club for returned volunteers to get together. They have an advocacy component. They provide a platform for the returned volunteers to promote a better understanding of their host countries. They do some fundraising to help fund projects for Peace Corps volunteers in the field. They also help volunteers readjust to life in the U.S.
As the Holiday Season marches on, wanted to share some information during this busy time of year.
This Thursday’s meeting will be held at Moscatiello’s on Thursday at 6:00pm. Our usual room has been booked for another group so we will be meeting in the back room on the far right of the building. Our presentation will be from Megan Keil, a U.S Peace Corps Recruiter and fellow Rotarian. Meagan will be joining us via Zoom which means the meeting will be hybrid using the zoom link posted on the top of the calendar page of our website. We are sharing the link with other clubs in our district.
The Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club’s Annual Christmas party will be held on Thursday December 15, 2022 at 6:00pm at Moscatiello’s Italian Family Restaurant. The menu is a choice of Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Caesar salad, Meat Lasagna, or Chicken Marsala plus a side salad and cookies. The cost is $30 each and any accompanying children can order off the kid’s menu at the posted prices. We look forward to seeing everyone at this annual tradition.
Our annual Christmas Partyalso means it is that time of year for our most creative fundraiser of the year, the gift basket silent auction. Each family is asked to create and bring a themed gift basket (roughly $35 value) similar to the ones above and below. The baskets will be place on a table during the event and throughout the night members and guests will have time to look over and bid on the baskets in a silent auction style. At the end of the night all baskets are awarded to the highest bidders and all proceeds will be used for future youth programs. So start planning and searching the internet for those gift basket ideas. If you have invited guests to our Christmas Party, be sure to reach out and ask if they would like to create and donate a basket.
Cafe Capriccio Raffle: Once again we are raffling off a private dinner for 12 in the Chef’s Dining Room at Cafe Capriccio. The cost of the tickets is $20 each with the funds being designated for community and youth initiatives. The drawing will be held at our meeting on January 19. 2023 with the winner being posted on this website. Cafe Capriccio will work with the winner to select a date for the dinner.
Adopt-a-family update: Successful progress is still being made for our two adopted families. An updated gift list is posted below. Red indicates the gifts have been purchased, green indicates someone has purchased a gift in the category but more may be purchased. All gifts should be wrapped and labeled. If you need the full name of an individual for the gift, please email Kevin. Richard Zazycki from Circles of Mercy will be attending our Christmas Party and has agreed to take the gifts with him when he leaves. So plan on bringing donated gifts to our party, or if you are unable to attend contact a board member to arrange delivery to our party on the 15th.
This Thursday, December 8, 2022 at 6:00pm we return to Moscatiello’s for another fascinating presentation scheduled by Becky Raymond. Joining via Zoom will be Megan Keil a recruiter for the United States Peace Corps, New Hampshire Office, and she is a fellow Rotary Member. Megan will be speaking on the mission of the Peace Corps, and how the Peace Corps and Rotary intersect. She will be discussing new opportunities for service in over 60 countries around the world.
The meeting will be run as a hybrid with those who can’t make it too Moscatiello’s can join us remotely using the link posted on our club calendar page. We are also reaching out to other clubs in our district and sharing the link so others may join us for Megan’s presentation. The presentation is set to begin at 6:00pm. Looking forward to seeing everyone this Thursday.
MEMBERS ATTENDING (14): Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane, Andy Leyhane, Roberto Martinez, Pat Bailey, Becky Raymond, Ray Hannan, Debbie Rodriguez, Peter Brown, Debbie Brown, Phil Kellerman, Dick Drumm, and Terry Brewer. By Zoom: Murray Fourth, Charlie Foote.
GUESTS: Line (pronounced Leena) Hendriksen and Mike Stangl.
President Kevin Leyhane called the meeting to order.
MEETING NOTES:
Hybrid Meeting: Please let Kevin Leyhane, Jim Leyhane or Roberto Martinez know if you plan to join the weekly meeting via Zoom.
Proxy Votes: If unable to attend please submit your proxy votes to Kevin Leyhane. Proxy votes can also be submitted using the Remind App. Text to the number 81010.
Student Exchange Program: We are in communication with Maple Hill High School.
Cafe Capriccio Raffle: Tickets are now available from Andy Leyhane. All members are asked to sell ten raffle tickets for $20 each. The drawing is planned for January 17th. The dinner will be held sometime in February on a date mutually agreeable with the Restaurant and the raffle winner. Raffle proceeds will be used to fund the Student Exchange Program.
Circles of Mercy Adopt a Family: The Club has adopted two families this year. Their wish lists are now available on the website. Gifts should be wrapped and tagged with family member’s name. Please bring your gifts to the December 8th meeting ore conact Kevin Leyhane to make alternate arrangements. Gifts are due by December 12th. Kevin will deliver them to Circles of Mercy. The due date may be extended to Dember 15th if Richard accepts our invitation to the Holiday Party.
Holiday Party: Our party is scheduled for December 15th at Moscatiellos. Dinner is $30 per person. The menu is a choice of Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken Caesar salad, Meat Lasagna, or Chicken Marsala plus a side salad and cookies. If you have not yet done so, please let Roberto Martinez know if you are attending and if bringing a guest(s). Please bring your baskets for auction. It was suggested that the cost of assembling the baskets be $30. This has been a successful fundraiser in past years.
Next Meeting – Thursday, December 8, 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. Our speaker will be Megan Keil, US Peace Corps Recruiter and Rotary member.
Entree choices will be Chicken Ceasar Salad, Meat Lasagna or Cheese Ravioli with marinara or meat sauce.
Line Hendriksen spoke about Apparel Impact which is a textile recycler. The Company was founded in 2014 and is New England based. They have 830 partners that allow Apparel Impact to place recycling bins on their property. The bins are emptied once or twice a week. At the warehouse, the clothing is placed in large sacks that hold 350 to 400 pounds each. The clothing is not sorted. When they have collected 40,000 pounds of textiles, the sacks are picked up and are sold to wholesale brokers. The sacks end up in sorting centers are then shipped to Central and South America, Africa and Mexico. Apparel Impact has recovered 6.5 million pounds of textiles. Over 700,000 tons of used clothing is sent to other countries annually. The economies in these countries are positively impacted through the creation of markets and jobs. 87% are women owned businesses.
Did you know:
70% of the world population can’t afford new clothes.
8% of global carbon emissions are produced by the textile industry.
1.3 million gallons of water are used per year in fabric dyeing. You can see next seasons fashion colors in Chinese rivers.
It takes 750 gallons of water to manufacture one tee shirt.
14 million tons of textile waste are generated in the U.S. annually.
Only 15% of textile are recycled. The rest end up in landfills.
American taxpayers spend 900 million dollars per year on landfills.
We can address some of these issues by keeping the textile waste out of landfills by recycling them. You can also have clothing swaps. Textiles can be upcycled. Used textiles are used for stuffing seats in cars and for insulation. Ideally, rethink clothing purchases. Do we really need that article of clothing?
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 