Weekly Bulletin - October 22, 2015 Meeting

Posted by Richard Garcia 
on Oct 30, 2015
 
New Member Jody Marchand with Sponsor Karin Gaffney
 
 
Guests:
  • Sophie Wadsworth, speaker
 
Announcements:
  • Purple Pinkie Day: Stow and Bolton held events today, Lancaster tomorrow. Both schools had greater participation this year than last.
  • Joint meeting at WPI: We’re meeting with the Rotaract Club at WPI on November 12. The Worcester and Marlborough clubs are also invited.
  • Food packaging: District Rotarians are invited to Solomon Pond Mall on November 14 to package food for Stop Hunger New England, in a location outside Macy’s; the event also includes a food drive. See rotary7910.org for details.
  • Razia’s Ray of Hope: Razia has started a technical college for the girls graduating high school, and received $500 from our club towards the effort. A documentary film about it has been made and submitted to the Sundance film festival. A talk about the film by Razia and the filmmaker will be held on October 28 at the Nashoba Brooks School in Concord and on October 29 at the Wellesley Middle School.
  • Repair café: The “rent” to use the First Parish Church is going up; Ray is talking to the Florence Sawyer School about the next event. Donations by customers cover the cost. Another spin-off Repair Café will be in Westborough after the winter holidays.
  • Foundation forum: This will be held on November 4 at the Holiday Inn Boxboro. See the District 7910 web site for details.
 
New member
  • Jody Marchand was inducted into membership.  She is the founder of a nonprofit organization, Live for Liv, which honors her daughter, Olivia, who was killed in a domestic violence incident; the organization raises funds to help put a stop to domestic violence. Jody was sponsored by Karin Gaffney.
 
Happy/sad fines:
  • Laura: attended the wedding of her next door neighbor’s daughter at Fruitlands Museum over the weekend; Monday was the district PR meeting, with 7 club members in attendance; Tuesday, a board meeting for the Club’s charitable endowment; Wednesday, the wine fellowship. And the weather has been lovely!
  • Ray: glad about a successful Repair Café last Saturday.
  • Don: flew a 1930s aircraft out in California; and got to hug his granddaughter in Colorado.
  • Chris: happy about the Stow Hale School’s Purple Pinky Day participation, and the Bolton school beat last year’s PPD fundraising.
  • Karin: happy that two executive directors of nonprofit organizations in which she’s involved are present; that they’re putting second bathroom into their antique house; and that her daughter now has a job.
  • Ron: glad to extend a welcome to Jody and to Sophie; and that he’s lost 15 pounds on his diet.
  • Carolyn: happy for the blessing of two new Habitat for Humanity houses.
  • Jacky: happy that Don survived flying a 1930s plane, and promises to kick butt in Lancaster’s Purple Pinkie Day.
  • Mary: glad that her 2-hour dental appointment is over.
  • Bob: happy to be installing electricity at the new Bolton Common.
  • Jody: grateful for the presentation of four little plays on domestic violence at the high school, and for the reading of a letter from Olivia on conformity and individuality.
  • Jim: encouraged by Leigh Carpenter’s application for membership; and happy that his snow blower is working. (We’re only two weeks from last year’s first snowfall.)
  • Nancy: is grateful for a long growing season, and sad over the end of chard and kale.
 
Program:
 
Sophie Wadsworth is the Executive Director of The Nature Connection, which brings the healing power of nature to people with limited or no access to the outside world: at-risk youth; elders; and people with disabilities. Through regular programs combining seasonal natural materials, live animals, and hands-on activities, The Nature Connection connects individuals with nature’s capacity to heal, teach, and create joy.
 
The Nature Connection is a nonprofit organization based in Concord. It’s been in operation for 32 years, and serves people of all ages. Think of your morning, the colors on the trees, and imagine how much poorer life would be without that. Giving people access to nature is more than just nice; it actually helps people become more alive. They offer restoration rejuvenation, and the joy that comes through exploring the touch and sounds of nature.
 
Some 30 volunteers help with the programs. It would be impossible to continue the work without them. By bringing the outdoors indoors, they reignite joy and connection to others. As Sarah Seabury Ward, the organization’s founder, says, “We may regard plants as teachers; rocks, rivers and clouds as messengers; and animals as intermediaries.”