Clubs in District 5500 reaching out and offering help to their communities in need at a rapid pace with COVID-19 Emergency funds and at the same time rediscovering who we are.

 

In PDG’s Kirk Reed’s words, “In times of crisis we discover –or rediscover—who we are. Do we gripe and moan? Or do we dig deep to find inner strength? Do we feel sorry for ourselves? Or do we say, I can’t do everything, but I can do something for my community and my world.”

 

On April 3, 2020 Rotary District 5500 issued a challenge to local Rotary clubs in Southern Arizona. “You can receive a gift of $500 today from District if you want to help your communities and neighbors in times of crisis.”

Well, the clubs immediately responded AND at a rapid pace. The Rotary Clubs of District 5500 are truly PEOPLE OF ACTION and demonstrated compassion, caring and kindness as they moved quickly to extend help in their communities. Look what they did.

 

Ten Rotary clubs decided to invest in their local food banks and pantries coming from Benson, Coolidge, Globe, Green Valley, Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke Sunrise, Sierra Vista, Superior and Valle Verde. Each of these food banks, when adequately supplied, provides daily life support for families. Rotarians said, “We can help.”

 

Eleven Rotary clubs remembered their most vulnerable neighbors and donated to local missions, foundations, community centers,  schools and youth programs coming from the Rotary clubs of Bisbee, Casas Adobes,  Dove Mountain, Fort Yuma, Marana, Mountain Empire (Sonoita-Patagonia), Pantano, Rincon, SaddleBrooke, Sierra Vista Sunrise, and Yuma.  These investments by local Rotary clubs will impact thousands of lives.

 

Ten Rotary clubs filled a need of providing urgently needed supplies by making or purchasing supplies: face masks, latex gloves, sanitizer, wipes, toilet paper, disposable surgical robes and more. These supplies came from Casa Grande Daybreak, Douglas, Rio Rico, San Luis Frontera, Sierra Vista West, Somerton, Tucson, Tucson Presidio, Vail, Yuma Crossing.

 

The Kino Rotary club said thank you to first responders and emergency room staff by delivering lunches and dinners to hospitals, police and firefighters.

 

Two Rotary clubs connected kids and families to online learning by purchasing hot spots and data plans. These actions came from Tubac and Old Pueblo clubs.

 

Willcox Rotary made sure cultural activities continue by empowering the Wilcox Historic Theatre to offer art lessons, concerts and STEM program online.

 

Two Rotary clubs helped keep shelters open by responding to a sewer system crisis at a local shelter that caused 99 women and children to be evacuated and by providing support for overstressed staff at a domestic violence shelter for women and children. These clubs were Sierra Vista South and Yuma Foothills.  

 

Two clubs recognized the need to care for homeless and unaccompanied youth making it possible for them to graduate. These clubs were Catalina (Tucson) and Tucson Sunrise.

 

 

   Announcements: Our very own John Zwick celebrated his 55^th (Yes, 55^th!) year in Rotary this month. Congratulations, John. Peter and Beckie observed birthdays this week. Happy Birthday! With only 29 days in February this month, it should be easy to wear your Rotary pin every day. Consider yourself challenged. Ever clever John Dooling noted that Peter, our resident stargazer, stabilized the precariously perched projector with tape and commented: “It still doesn’t work but we can see the farthest points of the universe.” Indeed!

   Happy bucks given for: our visitor Martin, Bob Bishop’s return, MCAT’s success (on track to have 100 grads in May), bicycle riding, shooting stars and the night sky.

    MCAT Principal Denise Coronado introduced Student of the Month Bright Cox, who attended breakfast with her mom Summer Cox. After struggling academically at MHS, Bright found her place at MCAT where she’s consistently been on the on Honor Roll. Bright thanked her mom for always being her ally. Bright has been a model of persistence and perseverance at MCAT. She hopes to  become a dental assistant after graduating from MCAT.

   Our final presentation about a microloan program in Hermosillo, Mexico came from our own Randy Brooks and fellow Rotarian Gary Friedman. Randy and Gary traveled to Mexico to learn more about the Sonora Mexico Rotary Microcredit program. They visited 10 businesses whose owners have used the microloan program to start-up various businesses, such as selling cheese, tortillas, cosmetics, and clothing.

   In existence for about 12 years, the program is the No. 1 microcredit source in Sonora, Mexico. FinReg, a for-profit financial institution services the microloans (up to $500). FinReg looks for potential borrowers in the rural parts of the northern Mexican state. A group of borrowers consists of five to seven aspiring entrepreneurs. The program teaches participants how to run a business, the cost of credit, product pricing, and how to calculate income, expenses and losses. Ninety percent of the borrowers are women; 70 percent live in rural areas, and 70 percent renew their loans.

Announcements: With four members celebrating birthdays, we opened the meeting with a robust singing of “Happy Birthday.” President Richie Benner noted that he, Denise West and Laura Clymer participated the Rotary Leadership Institute training on January 25, and Mary Straus served on the faculty. Richie and Denise have completed two of three sessions. Rotary Community Service Day will be April 25, so save the date and mark your calendar.

 

Happy bucks for: Our our guests, personalized “Happy Birthday” serenades from Carl Maes, beautiful weather (compared to Alaska this time of year), the approaching Gem Show, and an upcoming citizenship ceremony (2/21/20) for our own Peter Mack who somehow duped us ;) into letting him become a citizen. I will vouch that our country is getting the better end of this deal. Let’s just hope we can keep up our end in these precarious times.

 

Guest speakers: We welcomed back U.S. Border Patrol officers Jesus Vasavilbaso and Sergio Leones Jr. Both are assigned to the Tucson Sector, which runs for 262 linear miles along our border with Mexico from the Pima County line to the New Mexico state line. A total of 3,900 agents with the federal government patrol the sector.

 

Vasavilbaso and Leones noted some of the arrests and drug seizures that have been made recently and made public through news releases. Additionally, as of December 25, 2019, the Border Patrol had rescued 243 crossers for the year. The Tucson Sector has 34 rescue beacons, which can be activated by desperate or abandoned crossers.

 

Vasavilbaso also explained that drug cartels often control how, when, and where undocumented immigrants are going to cross the border. The cartels target vulnerable people who want to immigrate to the States for a better life, Vasavilbaso said. The population of crossers has changed as well with more people from destabilized and violent Central American countries. The officers also noted that they are seeing an uptick in dubious claims from the crossers seeking asylum with children, prompting immigration officials to conduct DNA-swab tests to verify whether the minors crossing with adults have familial ties.

 

Finally, the officers noted the decrease over the last 10 years in marijuana seizures as compared to the dramatic increase in narcotic seizures as drug cartels increase their efforts to push heroin and fentanyl into the U.S. Presumably this is to capitalize on the opioid crisis, fueled in part by the over-prescribing of pain medication that was marketed aggressively by pharmaceutical giants, as pain med-addicts turned to heroin and fentanyl.