Month: December 2020

Rotary Club of Shady Brook president Bob Morris was honored to present fellow club member Dr. August (Augie) Adrid with a certificate and pin recognizing him as a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow.  In order to qualify as a Paul Harris Fellow, a Rotarian is recognized when they have donated $1,000 or more at one time or over a period of years to the Rotary Foundation, Polio Plus, or other approved Foundation grants.

(l to r:  Club President Bob Morris and Dr. Augie Adrid)

The mission of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty; preventing disease, providing clean water, supporting education, growing local economies, saving mothers and children and promoting peace.  For as little as 60 cents, a child can be protected from polio, $50 can provide clean water to help fight waterborne illness and $500 can launch an antibullying campaign and create a safe environment for children.  Some of the Foundation’s monies are used as grants for local Rotary clubs.  In the case of the Rotary Club of Shady Brook, its grant monies have been used to help it continue its 12-year support of Philadelphia’s William Dick School.

Through its Polio Plus initiative, Rotary, as a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, has played a major role in reducing worldwide polio cases by 99.9 percent since its first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.  Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease.  Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.  Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free.  If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.

When he received his Paul Harris recognition, Dr. Adrid said, “I am deeply honored to be a member of an organization that sponsors so many worthwhile projects, locally and internationally.  Rotary’s international outreach has been of special importance to me given the fact I was born outside the United States of America.”

Dr. Adrid, a founding member and former president of the Rotary Club of Shady Brook, played the leading role in the Club’s first International project; providing clean water for the village of Big Rock in the province of Abucay Bataan in the Philippines, not coincidentally the country where Augie was born.

The village’s only water supply for 600 plus residents was from a stream which was used for bathing, washing clothes and drinking.  Shady Brook Rotary, in partnership with a local Rotary Club in the Philippines hired a contractor to dig a deep well and provide a storage tank so clean water would always be available.

On February 28, 2012, Dr. Augie Adrid, attended the ceremony dedicating the well to the village.  Dr. Adrid’s brother Rene who lives in the area, was instrumental in the completion of the project.

Pictured at the ceremony are Dr. Adrid and Ana Santiago the Mayor of the province.

Dr. Adrid remains active in many of the Rotary Club of Shady Brook’s service projects and initiatives.  In addition to chairing the Club’s Maple Point Middle School (Langhorne) Student-ot-the-Month recognition program and its annual Neshaminy High School Scholarship award program, he has been active in helping to provide support for our area’s local veterans, fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and its annual Light the Night walk, feeding residents at AstraZeneca’s Hope Lodge, raising funds to support Bucks County’s A Woman’s Place domestic shelter, charity golf outings and even helping with the club’s semi-annual Adopt-A-Highway road clean-up efforts.  His life before and since joining Rotary has always exemplified Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self”.

Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19pandemic and their impact on our normal fall fundraising campaigns to provide holiday meals for veterans who have fallen on dififcult economic times and their families, our Club raised a record $3,850.00 this year!

These monies allowed us to provide meals more than twenty veterans and also a refirgerator for another retired serviceoman … through VFW Post 6393 in Yardley, American Legion Post 317 in Yardley, American Legion Post 148 in Langhorne and Salute2Service in Bristol

Among some of the recipients were:

1. Wife of a 100% disabled Vietnam Veteran, Veteran hospitalized.

 

2. Disabled retired Army Vietnam Veteran, lives with 2 dependent adults.

 

3. Disabled Vietnam Veteran, retired Phila. Police, mostly immobile.

 

4. Disabled Vietnam Veteran, Purple Heart recipient, cancer survivor.

 

5. Disabled Vietnam Veteran, blind – Macular degeneration.

 

6. Disabled Vietnam Veteran, liver transplant recipient.

 

7. Disabled VFW Auxiliary member, 4^th stage kidney disease.

 

8. Vietnam Veteran, unemployed, living with 3 dependent adult family members.

 

9. Disabled, Army retired Iraq, Afghanistan Veteran.

 

10. Disabled Iraq Veteran, sole adult raising 3 elementary, middle school children.

 

11. Disable Vietnam Veteran, housebound.

 

We were only able to accomplish this through the generous donations of dozens of individuals and organizaitons who responded to our online, personally-distributed and other outreaches … people who represent the best in America and of Americans!

 

 

Joanne Bogrett, the United Way of Bucks ounty's Chief Development Officer joined our weekly meting this morning via Zoom.

Joanne has been described by former cients as being known for lasting connections both personally and professionally, She is an innovative fundraiser and team builder. Her deeply rooted ethical values are complemented with a desire to connect fledgling programs and the individuals and institutions who fund them. Influential, comfortable, and action-oriented in public speaking, she shares a similar personal story to the many under served. Her accountable accomplishments include fundraising over $25 million, embracing smaller projects for Veteran's, and hosting large scaled televised events. She is passionate about sustainability, continuity and compassion.

Over the years, Joanne has worked with many veterans’ organizations, service clubs including Rotary Clubs, prison inmates and those in need in Harlem.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in March, Joanne has taken only one day off, and not even seen some of her adult children.

The stated mission of the United Way of Bucks County, as with other United Way organizations across the country,

creates opportunities for quality education, financial stability, and good health to ensure real, lasting change for individuals and our communities.

Their members believe that "we are all connected and that we all have a stake in making Bucks County a healthy and prosperous community.  We know that when we work together to advance the common good, we create a better life for all.

To advance the greater good, we focus on three key issues:  access to a quality education, a stable income, and good health – the building blocks of a great life.

All of our work is done in collaboration with diverse partners. Depending on the issue and how the community chooses to address it, United Way of Bucks County works with schools, government agencies, businesses, organized labor, financial institutions, community development corporations, voluntary and neighborhood associations, the faith community, and others"

In this year which has been defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, much of the Bucks County United Way’s efforts have been focused on addressing the growing epidemic of food insecurity.  This is a tragic phenomenon which knows affecting people across all current and prior economic, social, gender or geographic boundaries. 

Yesterday, Joanne was participating in handing our turkeys, vegetables, fruits and other food stuffs in Solebury.  Some of these foods have been acquired at deeply discounted prices from, or sometimes donated by from local farms.

Other food distributions have been made using drive-thru locations, including St. Mary Medical Center, Quakertown and Bucks County Community College’s campus in Bristol.

We were surprised to hear that there are [particularly elderly] people within our communities who are petrified to even go grocery shopping.

Joanne shared how some of this work has been the “single greatest humbling experience” of her live.

100% of all funds which have been raised their COVID-19 related efforts have and continue to go directly into the programs, with no administrative deductions.

They organization has opened a Help Center at 194 Commerce Circle in Bristol, in conjunction with St. Mary Medical Center, the Opportunity Center of Bucks County and a local bank.  Among some of the items they try to stock for those in need are:

• Bedding
• Kitchen utensils
• Weighted blankets
• Shower organization racks
• Curtains & Blinds (measure windows before visiting)
• Area rugs
• Toothbrushes
• Body wash
• Sanitary products

Although the vaccines are becoming available, for most people it could be months before they can get inoculated.  Further, many people are facing evictions as the programs and government financing programs which have prevented them have or will soon expire without new state and federal governmental assistance.

Other programs the Bucks United Way has been committed to are:

• Collaborating with Philabundance and other county food banks.
• A one-time emergency help program for people who have fallen behind on utility bills.
• Providing cars for some eleven people who needed them to commute to first, second or third jobs and to be able to travel to make chemo treatment appointments.
• Counselling people to help them before they find themselves living out of their cars.
• Providing backpacks and other supplies for school children.
• Providing backdrops for students forced to live in shelters to remove such stigmas when doing on-line learning.

Joanne mentioned that just last evening she received a call about a teen with cystic fibrosis and whose family couldn’t leave the house … who needed an iPad for his remote schooling.  By 8:00 this morning as our meeting was starting, the United Way had secured the iPad for the young man.

Many of us were amazed by both the needs in our county and also the efforts on the part of the United Way and many of the other agencies with which it collaborates in addressing those challenges.

The Club thanked Joanne for her time and information.

 

This afternoon, the Rotary Club of Shady Brook was pleaed to be able to present checks of $400.00 to three of the areas most recognized organizations whose missions are to help and support our local veterans who have served ou rnation in uniform.

These checks were presetned to Tom Smith, Commander of the Knowles-Doyle Americal Legion Post 317 located in Yardley,

(l to r)  Club President Bob Morris and Commander Tom Smith

Robert Osterhout, Commander of the Jesse W. Soby American Letion Post 148 from Langhorne,

(l to r)  Club President Bob Morris and Commander Robert Osterhout

and Rdoney Wyatt, founder of Bristol-based Service2Salute

(l to r)  Club President Bob Morris and Rodney Wyatt

These organizaitons will be using the funds to provide holiday meals for veterans who have honorably served our nation and yet face challenging financial times, compounded by the ancillary economic and social complications created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their families

Also participating in the presentaiton were Irv Perlstein and DIck Newbert.

(l to r)  Ted Smith, Dick Newbert, Rodney Wyatt, Robert Osterhout and Irv Perlstein

With the deepest thanks to many generous donors, the Club was able to present Bob Craven, president of the Guardians

of the National Cemetery in Washington Crossing, PA

with a check for $400.00 to allow them to provide holiday meals to needy veterans.

(l to r)  Irv Perlstein, Bob Craven, Dick Newbert and Alan Agree)

****************************

 

Sadly, the COVIDD-19 pandemic has precluded the nation’s National Cemeteries from continuing with their annual Wreaths Across America

programs of placing wreaths on every fallen veteran’s grave, a ceremony in which many of our members have participated in the past.  However, a scaled-down observance was evident with a giant wreath being placed before each section of graves,

while scaaattered wreaths placed by the families of loved ones interred at the cemetery were in evidence.  

The Club was honored to be able to present Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6393 in Yardley with a donation of $1,100.00 to provide holiday meals for veterans who have fallen on difficult or challenging economic times and their families.

(l to r)  Alan Agree, Club President Bob Morris, VFW Post 6393 Commander Russ Davidson, Irv Perlstein and Augie Adird – Dick Newbert behind the camera

This donation is in addition to several recent gift certificates for meals which could be redeemed at ShopRite in Lower Makefield which were donated to the Post just prior to Thanksgiving.

Bob Morris presents the actual check to Russ Davidson

 

 

Neshaminy School District's Superintendent Rob McGee joined our meeting this morning.

He began briefly touching on the challenges today’s educators are facing in trying to bridge and shrink the widening educational gap in America.  Race, culture, ethnicity, language, and economic status continue to be powerful predictors of school failure. Whether the measure is grades, test scores, attendance, discipline referrals, drop-out or graduation rates, those students who differ most from mainstream White, middle/upper class, English speaking America, are also most vulnerable to being mis-served by our nation’s schools.

Rob then discussed in much greater detail the challenges which the Neshaminy School district has faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  When it first hit last spring and schools were faced with having to change almost overnight from an in-school norm to remote learning neither teachers or students were prepared. However, between the last school year and the opening of the 2020-21 school year many lessons had been learned.

The Neshaminy staff began reporting back on August 31^st to prepare for having to better prepare for both synchronous and asynchronous teaching. They were assisted by four instructor helpers, positions gratefully approved by the Neshaminy school board.

They were being helped to develop three teaching/learning models:

1. In-Person/In-Class model – complicated by the fact many classes are catering to both students in the classroom and others at home at the same time.
2. Asynchronous model – in which students learn on their own time.
3. Synchronous model – where students are linked via Zoom or other similar application to the classroom in real time.

The first day of school was on September 8^th when some of the most “vulnerable” were brought in for in-person learning while the rest of the students began with synchronous on-line learning.

On September 14^th, students were brought in for in-person classes, two grades at a time and only 50% of each per day, until all grade levels were involved.  Studies were conducted during these days to evaluate social distancing on buses, and in classrooms, hallways, and even bathrooms.

On October 5^th a full-blown educational hybrid model was implemented in which students could opt for all remote learning of one in which they would be in school two days a week and live-streaming their classes for three days each week.

The original November 2^nd date for migrating to a normal in-school model had to be revisited both because it was a day before the election and the surge of COVID cases … ultimately resulting in stay-at-home restrictions.  A new date of November 30^th (now, just this past Monday) was then adopted with students being offered one of three new, parental choice options.

1. Four days or in-school classes and one day of synchronous learning at home.
2. Five days a week of Asynchronous learning at home.
3. Five days a week of Synchronous learning at home.

Initially, only 20% have opted for other than in-class learning, a figure slowly decreasing.

One thing which appears to be evident is that the hybrid models are less effective than traditional in-person/in-class models.

Preliminary planning in underway to address providing summer classes and other ways to assist students who may fall behind where they should be due to the new learning environment.

If there are cases of COVID within the district … whether students, teachers or other staff … decisions on closing schools will be made on a school-by-school basis

During the subsequent question and answer period, two members inquired about potential volunteer opportunities to provide on-line tutoring of students.  Rob explained that there was a rigorous process for being vetted before they could go on an on-call list of tutors.

When asked about the students’ acceptance and usage of masks, particularly in the younger grades, Rob mentioned that throughout the system, properly worn masking by students was not a problem … and, in fact, just this morning he watched more than 1,000 high school students all arriving with their masks.  There are occasionally brief “mask breaks” for students.

When queried about mental health issues resulting from the at-home and hybrid educational models, he was sympathetic to the suffering many students have experienced from a lack of social intercourse with their peers.  However, the school system does have a number of counsellors, social workers and other resources available when needed.

For the one-in-three children who were eligible for free meals (an annual family income of less than $60,000), “grab-and-go” meals were made available … a program expanded to all students.

When asked, Rob explained that every student has been equipped with a Chromebook, iPad or other laptop and that in pockets of the district where high-speed connectivity was poor, Comcast and Verizon stepped-up to ensure all student’s homes had such available connectivity.

Challenges created by the new hybrid models of education facing seniors going on to college next academic year are as yet still an unknown.  Such an evaluations will begin to be made after the college acceptance date of April 1, 2021.

However, Rob believes that the pandemic has created a new paradigm in which both teachers and students are likely going to be living with increased levels of mixed in-school and on-line learning.

Some concerns have become apparent when the results of some at-home tests displayed evidence of undo parental influence.

One result of the hybrid learning models COVID-19 has necessitated is that many students seem to have a much greater appreciation of the importance of learning.

Tas to the long-term impact and effects of the learning models presently being used is still unknown and may not be able to be fully understood for several years to come.

We recently received the folllowing from Amy Williams, principal of the William Dick School in thanks for Thanksgiving Dinner gift certificates at Shop Rite.

Please share with you Rotary Club members this update regarding feeding students in and around the William Dick School community. 

As a follow up to our thank you for the Shop Rite gift cards donated prior to Thanksgiving, I am attaching a photo of two girls eating their Thanksgiving dinner made possible by the donation of one of the shop Rite gift cards by the Shady Brook Rotary.

I will keep you updated on the distribution of the future Shop Rite gift cards. 

Thanks again for everything the rotary does for us on a consistent basis!

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has made it impossible for us to continue with many of our ongoing initiatives to support teh school and its students, this is evidence how we contine to make a differene in the lives of the young people who attend and live in and around the William Dick School.