Weekly Bulletin - July 24, 2014 Meeting

Posted by Barbara Myles 
on Jul 30, 2014
 

Nicole Hamel told us about the Up With People organization and shared her life changing experiences as a UWP cast member.

 

 

Nicole Hamel is a new member of the Westford Rotary Club.  Her mother, Penny Hamel, is a 25 year member and past president of the Westford Rotary Club.  After Nicole graduated from High School, she joined the cast of Up With People.  During her time with UWP, Nicole spent a month in the Philippines.  There are a lot of slums around the city of Manila.  While she was in one of these slums doing community service, she met a little girl who changed her life.  The little girl took Nicole to the local beach that she thought was beautiful.  At first Nicole did not see the beauty of the beach that was full of trash and garbage.  She learned that you can find beauty in things if you look for it.  Now instead of wanting to be a theater performer, she is going to nursing school. 

     The mission of Up With People is “to bridge cultural barriers and create global understanding through service and a musical show.” (Wikipedia)  Nicole showed us a video about UWP then told us about the upcoming UPW show in Lowell on August 21 and 22 at the Collins Center in North Andover to benefit Habitat for Humanity.  The cast will spend a week in the area doing community service the days before their performance.  Go to http://ww1.mktix.com/page.php?wpage=organizations/organizationdetail.htm&Org=MKT-1137&refererid=uwp to purchase tickets for the show!
 

Next week, August 7, we host Wings & Wheels at the Minute Man Air Field.  No meeting on August 7.

 

Guests:

  • Nicole Hamel, Rotary Club of Westford, speaker
  • Two Up With People staff members, speakers

 

Club Announcements:

Richard distributed the current 2014-2015 Calendar of Activities that will be available on our website soon.  Richard stated that the 2013-2014 Calendar of Activities that Laura kept up to date last year was successful and he plans to continue the practice of keeping the Calendar of Activities up to date.

Local projects:

  • Wings & Wheels: Please sign up for the Nashoba nights if you haven’t already (July 17, August 7, and August 28) online www.SignUpGenius.com/go4090D45AEA823A57-wings, or contact Laura.  
    • BOSE is raffling off an AV20 aviation headset worth $1049.  We get the proceeds. 
    • See the website for rain cancellations, schedule, etc.: www.WingsandWheelsMA.com.
  • Women in Rotary 25th anniversary bash is postponed to the fall: Contact Nancy for more information.
  • Spirit of Hudson is August 16. Nanci reported that $7,500 has already been raised! Contact Nanci to help plan, volunteer or find sponsors for this event.
    • We need 42 volunteers to help in specific areas.  Nanci will reach out individually.
    • There will be 2 entrance areas this year and a Rotary table.
    • Additional help is needed for trash pickup, ice, and clean up.  We’ll also need help at tables in high-traffic areas to sell tickets on Thursday nights in mid-July.
    • Also contact Nanci to hang posters or post lawn signs in your yard.
  • Healthcare Fair on October 20 at NRHS!  It will be a Reality Fair with healthcare providers in attendance.  Contact Jim for more info.
  • Medium and small Rotarian at Work T-shirts are now available for $5.  Contact Laura.
  • A new rainwater harvesting district project proposal will be discussed at the next Board Meeting on August 6.
  • Students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester would like to form a Rotaract Club with us.  Richard attended one of their meetings and was very impressed with them!
     

International projects:

  • We Are One project: Dr. Frantz Compere continues work to transform an empty box truck into a dental clinic with two dental chairs.  The start of operations for the Mobile Dental Clinic is set for this fall!  For more information, read the July 2014 issue of Mary’s “We Are One Newsletter” that will be available on our website soon.  The final report for this project is due in December.

 

Rotary announcements:

  • East Fitchburg Rotary Club is having a 25th anniversary of Women in Rotary event on August 24 from 4 to 7 p.m.  Contact Mary for more information and tickets.

 

Happy/Sad Fines:

  • Jim was happy that he went to Hawaii!
  • Fatima was happy to be the first person to arrive at today’s meeting which is also Richard’s first meeting as president of our club.  She was happy that her mom’s latest back surgery was successful.  She was happy for her family including her children and grandchildren.  She was also happy to have finished her real estate classes.
  • Richard was happy to be at his first meeting as our president.
  • Mary was sad that she lost her friend and her sister recently.