Today’s meeting is dedicated to Earth Day
Inspiration – Kris Davis
World Immunization Week is April 24-30. We are advocating for Polio eradication and the importance of vaccines. The first polio vaccine became available on April 10, 1954. Vaccines are on the greatest advancements in medicine by saving millions of lives each year. Our progress to end polio is proof that vaccines prevent children from becoming paralyzed. The polio vaccines have saved more than 20 million children around the world from paralysis. We need to continue vaccinating children against polio because as long as the virus circulates anywhere it is a threat anywhere. Imagine where the world would be if Rotary never accepted the challenge to eradicate polio. Over 350,000 children were infected every year and they missed out on simple joys of childhood. That was the realty then; now there are only two countries that still have the virus. Let’s make it zero. Our donations will save lives.
Guests
Lois Wiley, Cap’s wife, joined our meeting today.
Zoom Attendees
Randy Ditmar (Great to see you Randy!)
Alex David
Rob Brewster
Herb Altman
Announcements
Thank you to all who participated as the Honor Guard for the service for Paul Segal. It was a wonderful service. It made such a difference to Roberta and family to have everyone attend.
Good wishes on a successful hip surgery for Emily Brock. Pete is helping her and will miss today’s meeting.
Two Paul Harris pins are going out today. They are going to Sharon Garland and Margaret Kane. Congratulations!
Update on Tent Suppers. We have had four out of the five Tent Suppers which are raising funds for Ukraine Disaster Relief. To date we have collected just about $3000. If anyone who has not attended a supper that would like to donate can still do so on the link on our website. Be sure to log in. If you do, please let Mary Brewster know, so that she can add the amount to our total. Thank you to all who have supported this cause. It makes a big difference.
Upcoming Rotary After Dark Events
May 19th - An Evening at The Barker Playhouse. The Players will be performing Stephen Sondheim’s “Putting it Together”. Liz Messier will be performing! You can buy or reserve tickets through Liz or through our website. They are $30 per person. Reception starts at 6:30 pm and performance begins at 7:30pm. All Rotary Clubs in the district have been invited as well.
Earth Day
Wendy Marcus wants to acknowledge her thanks to Kelly Perry, Horticulturist from Swan Point Cemetery, for providing the lovely annuals that are on our lunch tables. They are for Rotarians to take home to plant.
Wendy brought some paper bags for us to use to gather trash around our neighborhoods. She asked us to send pictures to Holly showing you picked up some litter.
Wendy read a poem from Finding the Mother Tree “Your mind is a garden your thoughts are your seeds. You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds….”
Upcoming Meeting Events
April 28 - In person Board Meeting at 8 am at Swan Point Cemetery in the Gray Coale Reception Hall. A continental breakfast will be served. Newly incoming Board Members will be joining the meeting. Thank you to Anthony Hollingshead for providing the room.
May 17 - Our meeting will be held at the Providence Public Library. We will have boxed lunches prepared by Russel Morin Catering. More information will be coming soon including the meal choice selections The cost will $26. We will also have a tour the renovations that the library has made to the building.
Happy Bucks
- Margaret Kane -to welcome our speaker today Peg Langhammer. “I have known Peg since day one…”
- Art Norwalk for the delightful tent supper at Liz Messier’s house.
- Wendy Markus for Chefs Bill and Holly Applegate. Also wondering if folks would think about restocking the Brown Street Free Library. Wendy has Rotary stickers one can put on the books. And Wendy also is happy that Randy Dittmar is on Zoom with us today.
- Jim Gilcreast in memory of Paul Segal, who was a fellow Bostonian and Red Sox fan Jim and he had many interesting discussion. Paul will be terribly missed, and it is a great loss to the Club.
- Mary Brewster sad to have missed Paul’s funeral. Happy to have traveled to the Azores with a friend to do some painting.
- Rob Black celebrated his second granddaughter’s first birthday this past weekend. Also enjoyed the delicious dinner at Liz Messier’s house.
- Steve Hug glad to have had the opportunity to attend the lovely service for Paul Segal. He has good memories of Paul in the Rotary Book Club. Also, he will be happy and unreachable this weekend because he will visiting his children in Vermont.
- Holly Applegate is honored to have been able to take part in Paul’s service. Holly was so glad to see how much Roberta was so thankful that all attended.
Speaker
Peter Loescher introduced Peg Langhammer, Executive Director of Day One, Rhode Island's sexual assault and trauma resource center, as well as the state's sexual assault coalition. Peg has dedicated her life to helping the most vulnerable who have experienced sexual abuse. Peg has introduced legislation and developed statewide protocols regarding human trafficking, child pornography, and adult sexual assault, to build better response systems. Peter disclosed that the movie Sins of Silence, with Lindsey Wagner, was based on Peg.
Peg started off by saying that discussing this topic over lunch is difficult but there are some positive things that all of us can do. The history of Day One is that it started out as the Rhode Island Rape Crisis Center fifty years ago after a brutal rape that occurred to a nurse outside of St. Joseph’s Hospital. What is memorable about that assault is that it was the first time there was publicity around this type of event. People were taking about it. What came to light was there was no resources available and so a group of volunteers started the Crisis Center. They got a small grant from the United Fund. They started a 24-hour hotline, victims were met in the hospital emergency rooms, people were there with them helping them get the services they needed.
The name change to Day One came after some time which is a better fit, because it says that it is the beginning of healing after the traumatic event. Day One has expanded their services to include clinical services, prevention and education of sexual abuse in schools, and expanded services to respond to sex trafficking of children and adults that is occurring in the state.
Peg said that the prevalence of sexual assault has not changed in the last fifty years. It is still one in four girls and one in six boys who have experienced this. Although the prevalence hasn’t changed one thing Peg feels positive about is that people are no longer silent. Each of us can help with that by making it clear that we will not tolerate sexual abuse and that we are available to our loved ones, friends, and colleagues to help them.
Note: April was Sexual Assault Awareness Month
