President Kim called meeting to order at 7:30am, leading the Club in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Deborah Fink shared Barbara Heard’s Thought for the Day, and Jane Lafleaur volunteered to do next week.
Buckets on the Table this week is for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Starting next week, Buckets will be for the Backpack Program, led by Barbara Heard.
Our guest speaker was Megan Williams from United Midcoast Charities, an organization that supports the Midcoast non-profit community. Megan focused her remarks on the steps UMC is taking given the ongoing pandemic.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UMC has established a Rapid Response Fund. 100% of all donations received will go out as support for local nonprofits that are meeting the immediate needs of individuals seeking help in Knox and Waldo counties. The Fund is intended to provide stopgap support and anticipates the likelihood that local nonprofits will find themselves under-resourced to serve a growing demand for their services. Donations are now being accepted toward this fund.
Nonprofits seeking Rapid Response funding should email Megan with their need.
Megan also discussed the importance of urgent and responsive funds, recognizing the significance of ongoing operating funds for organizations dealing with the current situation. In that light, UMC will maintain the March 31 deadline for its regular annual grant submissions, but they are planning to accelerate this year’s review process and aim to distribute the 2020 grants by June, ahead of the usual distribution schedule. Getting funds distributed quickly to those working on providing food, housing, healthcare, and other basic needs to our community is UMC’s highest priority.
Sandy Cox overviewed the ongoing efforts to get the Rotariansserving.org website more populated, and highlighted the Midcoast Rotarians efforts to date, which include a tie-in for UMC’s Rapid Response Fund.
Gary and Roberta Walker joined our meeting, on the 11th day of their 14day self-quarantine after their return from Florida. Gary shared the Rotary Minute for the Club, talking about George Bernard Shaw, who should have been a Rotarian, based on his famous quote: “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It ia a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations.”
Joan LeMole spoke on the Interact Club’s status, and the desire to recognize the seniors in that Club, which will likely be done via a Zoom meeting on a future date.
It was announced by Tim Dresser that the Scholarship Committee is meeting via Zoom too, and plans to make its determinations by the May 20th deadline they established.
A Special Board meeting will be held next Tuesday morning via Zoom, starting at 7am, to discuss potential reallocation of spring funds, and working on a potential matching grant.
As the meeting ended, President Kim identified that DG Suzanne Uhl-Melanson will be our guest speaker at next week’s meeting.