Marana Rotary Club Meeting Sept 22, 2015

Posted by Secretary Jo Holt 
 
 
In spite of actual weather happening courtesy of the remnants of Tropical Depression Sixteen-E, the hardiest of Marana Rotarians made their way to Nana’s Kitchen for our weekly meeting. President Elect, Mary Straus, brightened the room as she lead our meeting. Mary is standing in for President Alice Rigney, who continues to improve with our very best wishes.
 
Randy Brooks reminded us about the upcoming District Conference, and mentioned that exchange student Matus will be bringing a special Slovakian dessert to the Conference (for those who are primarily dessert-driven). Alan Chestnut gave his happy bucks in honor of his recent trip to Colorado, where he witnessed a special princess tea party put on by his grandchildren. That’s “witnessed,” not “participated in.” At least that’s what he told us.
 
And Immediate Past President Maeve Johnson not only led us in song, but also recounted her adventures with Secretary Jo Holt at last Saturday’s marathon Hunger Walk. Yes, folks, Jo and Maeve traversed the entire 1.6 miles in record time. Jo traveled to and from the walk (held at the Kino Sports Complex) in the bus our Club supplied for staff, volunteers, and board members of the Marana Food Bank. Jo decided to ride the bus, you know, just to keep an eye on everyone.
 
 
 
Calendar Update: 
Sept 24-26
The annual District 5500 Conference will be held at the Hilton El Conquistador in Oro Valley. Our Club, in conjunction with the Dove Mountain and Oro Valley Clubs, will be hosting an ice cream social on Friday Sept 25. To register for the Conference, go to the District website, www.RotaryD5500.org, where you’ll be directed to the District Conference 2015 Site Page.
 
Fri Oct 9
Our annual Service Above Self Awards Dinner at Dove Mountain Highlands Clubhouse. You can buy your tickets for this event right here on our website!
 
Wed Nov 7
Rotary Foundation Day includes a seminar at PCC from 9am to 3pm, and dinner at the Omni, reception at 6pm, dinner at 7.
 
 
Breaking News:
Our friend and President Elect of Dove Mountain Rotary, Aleta Wiener, visited us this morning to invite everyone to their evening meeting on Oct. 22 at 5pm. The speaker will be Saad Allawi from the Oro Valley Rotary Club on “Anger in the Arab World; What Should the West Do?” Dove Mountain Rotary meets at The Highlands clubhouse.
 
 
Guest Speaker:
Our very own Sulee Edwards introduced (most of) us to “More Than a Bed,” a local non-profit group that assists foster care
families.
 
The foster care system is in crisis in Pima County, caring for 4500 children with less than one thousand foster homes available. Of this number, close to 400 children are ready for adoption, and around 700 are living in group homes.
​Sulee addressed the question of how much a foster parent or family makes. They make about $25/day, or $1 per hour. Now, she asked, how much do you think it costs to raise a child? It works out to about $33/day on average. In other words, foster parents do not get reimbursed enough to cover their costs. Clint Kuntz shared with us that it cost several thousand dollars to have his home licensed to accept a child.
 
Sulee’s friend Grace Stockdale started More Than a Bed (www.morethanabed.org) specifically to help foster families gather the things needed to foster a child. This invaluable organization can be helped by direct donation or donation of goods. They 
can be found on Facebook as More Than A Bed.
 
Sulee reminded us that foster kids aren’t just someone else’s kids. They are everyone’s children, and every adult is responsible for each of them, because that is what our community is built on. Thank you so much, Sulee, for educating us about a heartbreaking situation, and yet leaving us feeling greatly inspired.