Pledge of Allegiance
George Babcock led us after a trivia quiz
Inspiration
Cap Willey gave us these inspiring thoughts for the day.
May 14th is the 134th day of the year, which means we are 36% of the way through 2024. In history, there have been some significant events that happened on May 14th:
- 1607: Jamestown settlers established the first English Colony in Virginia
- 1787: start of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (however, it took until May 25th to get a quorum).
- 1804: start of the Lewis and Clark expedition with a mission to explore the US Northwest after the Louisiana territories were acquired.
- 1948: State of Israel was declared independent and was immediately attacked by its Arab neighbors.
- 1932: New York City held the “We Want Beer” parade, which pushed for an end to prohibition.
We have conflicting holidays celebrated on May 14th. First, it is national "Decency Day," which promotes civility through active listening, better understanding, and compassion. The conflict comes from the fact that today is also national "Dance Like a Chicken" day.
On Zoom
Richard Applebaum, Sherry Smith, Barry Fain, Lew Hassell, Ben Hadsell, and Sam New
Announcements
We have a guest and potential new member on Zoom, Sherry Smith.
The District Governor Elect Nicole Brien sent a message thanking our club for the warm welcome when she visited a few weeks back. She looks forward to working with our club to continue to make our district fun and exciting.
Kris David invited Randy Ditmar to come up to the podium. He is moving to Georgia after 30 years of valued service here in Providence as a member of the Foundation Board. He has been awarded the Paul Harris Fellow award for the 4th time. She presented him with a letter of recommendation to present to his new club, as well as a signed card from all of our members. We wish him the best of luck in his new adventure!
Sunday, May 19: Our annual Day of Service project will take place at Garden City Center from 9 am - 12pm. We will be packaging our dental donations to give out to various organizations, including the Providence Public Libraries and Crossroads.
Volunteers are needed to read to students at George J. West school on May 28, 29 and 30, from 9:45 - 2:20. Contact Art Norwalk to register.
Pete Brock announced that the Gala committee is officially kicking off! We have reserved the ballroom for October 17, 2024. He asked the chairs from last year’s committee if they were interested in continuing and said they could continue meeting Tuesdays at 11:00.
Jane Berkowitz announced that the Books are Wings ‘Day of Action’ would be held this year on June 8. They have spent months collecting books for K-12 students, and will spend this day sorting, packing, and distributing them all over the state – just in time for summer reading! The event will be held at the United Way. Contact Jane to register.
Happy Bucks
- Pete Brock is happy because Bill Applegate had a great trip up to New Hampshire to discuss his installation.
- Anthony reminded members to wear their name badges so new members can learn names!
- Anthony also had happy bucks to honor Randy Ditmar, for his incredible service to the board.
- Sharon Garland thanked Randy Ditmar as well for his service.
- Rob Black had happy bucks in honor of Roger Corman, the inventor of scifi, who passed away last week.
- Bill Applegate had happy bucks in honor of Randy Ditmar, who enjoyed working with when selling his house. He also had a few happy bucks for a successful trip to New Hampshire.
- Barry Fain had happy bucks in honor of Randy Ditmar, who he said had impacted everyone in the room. He also had happy bucks to celebrate his induction into the Rhode Island Journalism Hall of Fame last Friday.
- Richard Applebaum gave $18 happy bucks, because 18 means ‘life’ in Hebrew, in honor of Randy Ditmar.
Speaker
Jane Berkowitz introduced our speaker, Anne Kilkenny, who is the Early Childhood Educator at Providence Public Library. Anne has a background in education and programming, and was the owner/director of a nationally-accredited early learning center for 15 years. She serves as an adjunct professor at CCRI in early childhood education.
Anne introduced the extensive programming that
Providence Public Libraries has for young children. She was initially hired to spearhead the library’s strategic priority of creating a space where families can come and learn. She has been dedicated to designing programs where children can not only come to learn how to read and write, but also to develop knowledge and competence, which are crucial for building foundational skills that will apply to all other learning.
Their operating theory is to “start small and start early.” For infants, they have communal play dates where children can come and play. These are influential because infant brains are wired to learn language and lessons by interacting with others. These are also an important gathering place for parents and caregivers to share support resources, strengthen competencies, and to develop connections with each other. She has gotten reports from parents who feel less isolated and more motivated through these social connections.
For toddlers and younger children, they strive to create a space where reading is fun! This will help them develop a pleasurable and positive connection to reading, which will establish a foundational appreciation for learning as a whole. By providing these children with social opportunities, they help them to build important skills that foster positive interactions with others.
The library has extensive programming for children of all ages. Anne is most proud of the “
Summer with your PVD Libraries” program, which the Rotary Foundation has funded through our summer learning grants. They give out free books and school supplies to all community libraries in RI. They also supply rec centers with materials, and a brochure which helps parents with ideas for activities, free opportunities, and other ways to keep kids engaged over the summer.
They have a “1000 Books Before Kindergarten” program, and their children’s book collection is the largest in the state. They also offer STEM and STEAM clubs and camps, who have done several field trips to places like the Wheeler Robotics club, the Mystic Aquarium, Ninigret Wildlife Refuge, the URI Marine Research lab, and Save the Bay Seal watch.
Anne shared her contact information and encouraged us to reach out for more information.
401-455-8098
