Newsletter Date: October 8
Meeting Date: October 2
Reporter: Bryan Cook
Enjoy Columbus Day on Monday.
Come to Rotary on Tuesday!
INSPIRATION
Jim Gilcreast encouraged us all to continue the fight to eradicate polio. His mother had polio and while she recovered, in her later years she suffered from Post Polio Syndrome. Jim reminded us that our efforts against polio have both present and future benefits.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, Etc.
President Don announced the passing of Maureen Brady, wife of PP Tom Brady, as well as that of former member John Connors.
John McGinn advised that he is handling square sponsorships and encouraged all members to support the Street Painting Festival.
Randy Dittmar invited all Rotarians to join the bowling league. In his words, “you don’t have to be good to participate”. Cost for the season should be around $250 and interested parties can see Randy.
Jim Gilcreast described two bylaw changes being put before the membership. The first amendment offered three new classes of membership and the second dealt with the distribution of funds from the Providence Rotary Charities Foundation should it ever be disbanded. Both amendments were approved by the membership in attendance.
Pres. Don thanked Kevin Kernan for storing and delivering clothes donated in our recent collection.
George Babcock invited all Rotarians to join him at the Squantum Club for a Halloween party on 10/27. Reservations need to be received by George no later than 10/24. While costumes are not mandatory, they are encouraged.
HAPPY BUCKS
The diva of dollars, Margaret Kane, took up the collection.
Pete Brock--- After the unfortunate Pats loss, Pete had to find a new (temporary we hope) source of happiness. His $ today is dedicated to the beautiful sunrise.
Jim Williams—Happy to be back at Prov Rotary. His home in Key Largo survived Hurricane Irma but the island was w/out power until recently.
Jane Kratsch—Had a great weekend in Maine.
Wendy Marcus- thankful her middle son, Kinsey, returned home from Las Vegas prior to the shooting.
Sharon Garland-- Welcome to our speaker.
Rob Black--$ for those celebrating birthdays this month.
Richard Applebaum—Had a great weekend, appreciated his celebration of Yom Kippur, and happy to see Jim Williams
DAY ONE: PROTECTING VICTIMS
AND PREVENTING SEXUAL ABUSE
PP Peter Loescher introduced our speaker, Peg Langhammer, executive director of Day One, the only organization in RI focused primarily on sexual assault.
With 40 employees and 60 volunteers, Day One is present in all RI hospitals and works with all 11 RI colleges. They offer individual and group counselling as well as preventative education programs.
For the past 25 years, they have run a Children’s Advocacy Center which helps children deal with the trauma of sexual abuse. Among their services is the handling of victim interviews which allows a child to be interviewed one time by a trained individual, sparing the child from having to retell their story to multiple people.
Day One is also involved in helping to save those who are involved in sex trafficking which crosses all socioeconomic lines and affects people from all RI communities.
Ms. Langhammer went on to discuss RI’s new mandatory reporting law for abuse. Everyone is a mandatory reporter for physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. She said there were numerous questions surrounding the reporting of an alleged abuse incident at Harry Kizirian Elementary School.
Guest
Alicia Newman
Sister-in-law of Jim Williams
