Dear Playa Venice Rotarians & Friends,
Tomorrow’s Zoom meeting is Bring a Friend to Rotary, something we do twice a year. It’s a chance for members to invite friends, neighbors and co-workers to one of our meetings. Although we’re unable to introduce people face to face, it’s still a chance for interested community members to see and hear what we’re all about... this time in their pajamas!
Here’s the Zoom meeting link (it’s the same recurring link), which you are welcome to forward to invitees:
There is no password, but each person will be placed in a waiting room, and welcomed into the meeting asap. We’ll gather and socialize from 7:30-8:00am, then start at 8:00 and finish by 9:00. Be prepared to introduce your guest!
Our guest speaker is Matt Tecle, the Deputy District Director for our LA City Council District 11, and a member of the club. He’ll let us know about the current affairs in our district, and take your questions.
Even though we have not been able to meet in person (this is our fifth week – miss you guys!), in response to COVID-19, the club has been as busy as ever...
- On Easter Sunday, the club, in collaboration with Rainbow Acres on Washington, supplied 110 meals to the workers at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital. Thank you Howard Pollack, Tracey Thompson Busa, Gwen Vuchsas, and Kari Mozell for making it happen!
- The week before, the club facilitated and delivered 2,000 (!) face shields to health care workers.
- Members Declan Geraghty and Nora MacLellan are working together to provide even more face shields, plus mask strap adapters, to local health care workers.
- The club is teaming up with the LAX Coastal Chamber, with the Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital, and with Westchester Elks to make sure the safe-collection BLOOD DRIVE on April 20 is a complete success. Thank you members Paola Melis and Bonnie Cullinan for taking the lead! Sign up here: https://www.donatebloodcedars.org/index.cfm?group=op&expand=5561&zc=90293
- The club contributed money to the following organizations so they could so they could provide food and supplies to their most vulnerable families:
- Mar Vista Family Center
- Boys & Girls Club of Venice
- Visitation School/ St. Margaret’s Center
With all our projects, we will of course continue to work with locally owned restaurants & businesses to provide these services.
Some individual & family contributions:
- Bobbie Casalino-Lewis and Matt Tecle volunteered along with Westchester Rotary members to deliver meals to seniors. If you know of seniors who need assistance, please tell them about Westside Pacific Villages! https://thewpv.org/ The club is spearheading a giant cookie batch that will be included in senior deliveries next week.
- Bobbie’s son Beau, who is a pilot in the Air Force, volunteered to fly ventilators from Sacramento to the east coast in a C-130. Go Beau!
- Members Susan Oh and Robert Ippolito are helping their tenants through financial hardship by offering them safe work for rent credit. Susan and Robert are also helping elderly tenants by dropping off masks, food, and supplies.
- Glenn and Kristen Hemanes have been posting terrific tips on social media to Reduce Stress & Anxiety in Uncertain Times. They even submitted it to the U.N. Global Call Out to Creatives to help the public during the pandemic.
- John Sharpe’s Friday Night Live concerts are happening every Friday at 6:00 via the @wamblockparty Instagram feed to support musicians while venues are closed.
- Member Lucy Wegneris hand-making awesome masks at home!
Let’s keep it up PVS Rotarians!
Looking ahead, our Scholarship Program is going ahead as planned. The club gives away up to twelve $1,000 scholarships to local high school seniors each year. It’s an amazing program, spearheaded by our Foundation Board Chair Gail Goldstein. Applications will be ready on our website next week, so let’s get the word out to local seniors and schools!
I think it’s time for a Zoom happy hour...
In Rotary service,
Brady
“Have Fun and Get It Done!”
Meeting info:
Link:
Meeting ID: 753 725 112
Time: Recurring meeting Wednesdays 7:30am-9:00am
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,753725112# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,753725112# US (Houston)
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/adnzlpEvt6
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