May 18, 2021 Meeting Notes - Challenge Scholars!

President Earl Crowe proudly got everyone on their feet at 0700 and Wayne led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, followed by the invocation, given by Milt.

Announcements

Robin detailed the trials and successes of The Rotary Foundation Gala and Fundraiser. Overall did well, but fell far short of the overall goal. While the zone fell short, our District was well beyond the District goal. We did great, 20% above our goal! Past DG Peter Schultz was credited with garnering local support. Rock band "Rush" was part of the Gala thanks to Peter Schultz being a member of the band before they made it big!

Our "Take-Over" of the Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market at Pybus started on Sat., May 15. 18 volunteers (including a few kids) made for a great crew. We started the year passing out planes and doggy biscuits! Both were very popular with the right crowd. Next month we will be out helping on June 19th. Be on the lookout for sign-up sheets at our meetings if you'd like to volunteer or contact Kathleen (kmcnalty1@outlook.com). We're hoping to add a pet parade with Firehouse Pets. So bring your pet next time! 

Carol purchased 20 Stage Kids Wizard of Oz tickets for June 18th and will bring the tickets next week.

If you want to go and didn't get in on the group tickets, you can still purchase tickets at the box office and join us for a pre-function at Holmbergs.

A reminder that masks are still required in the main Pybus area until June 30th. If you are vaccinated, you may remove them in the Event Center once you are seated.

Earl and the club congratulated Kathleen on Paul Harris +2!

Brags and Confessions

Wayne bragged that he and Karen celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary and met the Adamson's at Tastebuds, where the Adamsons were having a little bit of unfortunate car trouble. Wayne made a donation to the Salisbury fund. He also had Karen's daughter for a visit and had their first swim in their pool. He also did (not) say he was going to have a pool party for the club this summer! (It will happen when it's warmer! sez Wayne!)

Jim Adamson bragged that a man in his church has continued to ride in our annual bike ride even though he has trouble walking. Last year, and again this year, he continued to donate to the ride in spite of not being able to do it.

Jackie bragged about her great social weekend starting at the Adamsons for the gala and finishing with dinner at the McDarments (I'm sure the highlight of anyone's weekend)!

Kelly bragged about having mothers day in Scottsdale and that her son and his partner are expecting a baby boy! Congratulations!

Robin bragged that her granddaughter got her first COVID shot and that she has finished painting and decorating her mom's new room. Her arrival countdown is less than two weeks!

Program - Challenge Scholar Update

We have one senior and nine juniors in the program currently. The juniors are under the new modified program rules. Up to $300 is available each semester for each student if they meet certain goals. It was good to see that they each earned some money and the highest was $200. A total of $950 was earned by the Challenge Scholar students. The scholarships target some of the students most at risk and gives them promise and hope.

Kory Kalahar is the principal at Westside High School and was excited to share news on some of our scholarship students that attend there. He gave personal insights and anecdotes about each of the students at his school and said he was truly inspired by these kids. It has been a challenging year for all students and really hard for Westside students.

Some of these kids really struggle with remote learning (as many kids do) and the added distraction was difficult to overcome for many. Many have a lot of chaos in their lives and often involves a difficult family situation, such as single parent households. One of our challenge scholars moved to night school and has become re-engaged. These kids have wonderful personalities and need help to find their motivational focus. Volunteerism is required as part of the scholar program and he told of one scholar who helped at the May 6 Tamale fundraiser for Westside. They have been working with students to provide volunteer opportunities, but it has been hard because of COVID.

One student has an affinity for cars and his mentor has taken him to a couple of race shops. This scholar has applied to the Washington Youth Academy where if accepted he will live for six months in Bremerton. While there, he will earn eight credits and work with the community.

The Challenge Scholarship has definitely changed the lives of many students and has given them focus to their energy and motivation to finish high school and reach for goals in life. And it couldn't be done without their mentors putting in their effort.

Each of the club's mentors then got up and spoke about their mentees. Mentors reach out every couple of weeks or whatever the student needs. It can be hit and miss, but they have patience and lend emotional support. One scholar used his $100 to purchase some necessities like deodorant - no word on whether he used it as a gift for his mentor. Some mentees are more challenging than others, much like bloggers. David suggested finding service projects where we can get our Challenge Scholars involved and help them feel like part of something bigger.

Mentors discussed how you can't take it personal if the student doesn't respond; you have to give them
the space they need. Some students will talk all day, but won't respond about school. They just keep trying and build rapport. Mentors help provide a way to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Mentorship can be a roller coaster, but it's worth it to be a part of some success stories. It's amazing what a difference in someone's life it can be to have someone giving them support, saying "you can do it."

The deadline for Challenge Scholar applications for next year is at the end of this school year.

Raffle

Jim drew the winning raffle ticket! (For Alan) Alan found his missing marble, but alas it was not the silver one. Better luck next week! Next week's silver marble might net you $24 or more!

Closing

Earl closed with a an inspirational quote from Booker T. Washington - "If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." And then it was time to go. See you next week!