~ Newberg Noon Rotary Club Newsletter ~

Rotary Club of Newberg, Zoom Meeting

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

 

~ Call to Order ~

President Shannon Buckmaster welcomed Rotarians and Friends of Rotary to the Hybrid Live/Zoom meeting at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 9, 2021.

 

~ Flag Salute ~

Ralph lead participants in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

~ 4 Way Test ~

Om lead participants in the recital of the 4 Way Test:

Rotary’s Four Way Test of the things we think, say and do:

#1 – Is it the TRUTH?

#2 – Is it FAIR to all concerned?

#3 – Will it BUILD GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

#4 – Is it BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

 

~ Announcements ~

• We are now doing hybrid virtual/in-person club meetings! We have returned to the Chehalem Cultural Center for these meetings going forward. An RSVP sent to Shannon by SUNDAY is required for a hot lunch! Contact her to sign up for a lunch, but you may attend in person without signing up for lunch as well if you want. The costs are $10 per meal, but you pay have 2020 credit that can be used to pay lunches in the meantime (if you were member who paid such dues pre-covid). Masks are required per the Cultural Center’s Policies. No more than 4 seats per table are allowed for social distancing.
• Scholarships update: Big thank you to Lynn and her scholarship committee team for their hard work this season on granting 19 Scholarships as well as their facilitation of other scholarship programs.
• Kathmandu Update: following the COVID outbreak in Nepal, various Rotary Clubs, including ours and other local clubs, spearheaded a fundraising effort and were able to rally $10,000 worth of Oxygen Concentrators to get sent to Nepal to help their medical teams save lives. Thanks to all who have participated in this effort, with a special shout out to Laura.
• There are still 2 seats left for the dinner and lecture event with the GFU president. Contact Geoff and Shannon K for tickets. It will be on Campus on July 17.
• We celebrated and congratulated 4 Paul Harris Society Members! These are members who donate $1,000 per year. Today we Celebrated the following:
  • Dan Keuler – PHS
  • Om Sukheenai – PHS +1
  • Geoff Gilmore – PHS +8
  • Eric Bergquam – PHS +8
• Please RSVP for the Installation Banquet!

~ Guests ~

Anna Hinkle, Guest, Interact President

Howie Harkema, Guest Speaker, ED of Encompass Yamhill Valley

 

~ The Rotary Duck ~

Jim: Mentioned that there are several Foundations in our Rotary world: The Local Club Foundation, the Rotary International Foundation, and possibly a District Foundation. He pointed out that the Paul Harris Society members were recognized for their donations to the Rotary International Foundation and that Jim donates annually to help global education efforts but also because he understands the comparatively low overhead/administrative costs this Foundation uses. It is a very efficient donation. Jim said he has seen firsthand during his travels all of the great work RI is doing.

Rick: Echoed the positive praise Jim had for RI.

Joe/Brandy: Congratulated the young graduates of Newberg High School and Catalyst High School this week. This has been a tough year and they worked hard to get through it.

Kathie: Is wrapping up a volunteering project making 1,235 Leis going into the Local Graduates. Fun!

Walter: Mentioned his Grandaughter is graduating and is a member of the UA womens soccer team.

Mike: Mentioned we reached 202% of our Polio giving and rank number 4 in the District for our donations to Polio.

Amy: Thanked everyone who came to the auction committee meeting. If anyone wants to help out, please reach out to Amy.

Jeff: Announced the Pancake Breakfast is July 24th. There will be some volunteering efforts needed that weekend including setup on Friday. Please reach out to Jeff or sign up at the live meeting if you will be available to help out.

 

 

~ Today’s Program: Encompass Yamhill Valley by ED Howie Harkema ~

Howie Harkema is the Executive Director of Encompass Yamhill Valley, a 501(c)3 Non-Profit located in McMinnville, OR. Howie grew up in Newberg and even went to George Fox College (before it was a University). He worked in Portland as a musician for 20 years, he has traveled across the US and Canada on National Band Tours and more. In 2002 he had a heart attack and decided to set out on an effort to make a difference in our communities by working towards improving our homeless populations.

A few key statistics:

• Oregon’s Poverty Rate was 13 percent in 2018-19 with a 6.4% unemployment rate (pre-covid).
• 19.7% of Oregon children lives in Poverty.
• 8.6% of Oregonians are uninsured.
• Over 500 School age children are affected by homelessness.
• Oregon in #4 in the nation with regards to their inability to shelter their homeless population.
• In 2020 the homeless count was just over 1,400 people.

In 2007, Yamhill County set out with a 10-year goal of ending homlessness, which Howie got naturally involved in. they set out to accomplish 40 action items over those 10 years and accomplished 37 of them, including the annual population counts and community connect programs. They had posters and baseball caps and other tools to spread the word, identify, and gain the trust of the populations they were working with. During that time they succeeded in getting countless homeless people living in tents/camping into temporary and eventually permanent housing.

Howie mentioned that they are lucky to have the Yamhill County Gospel Rescue Mission which has 15 beds in their regular facility as well as 35 emergency beds. They also have a Mens facility with 13 beds. The First Baptist Church then started a low barrier shelter funded through State grants. YCAP has 2 houses in McMinnville for sheltering and used to have one in Newberg. Newberg has Newberg Emergency Shelter, Helping Hands, and Love Inc, and YCAP Youth Outreach providing support locally. Howie started the Homelsss Overflow Program for inclement weather where they partnered with churches to ensure no more local homeless peoples suffer and in some instances, die from the freezing weather. That idea eventually grew into CWISH within 6 churches and were able to shelter 2,091 over 8 years. He is also the VP of the McMinnville Free Clinic which recently reopened. No insurance is required and everything is free for people suffering from poverty / uninsured status. Over the years they have seen 2,677 patient visits for people who consider them their primary physicians. Howie also worked serving dinner and providing live entertainment to the homeless population and to provide opportunities for the community to meet and get to know the homeless population. He also initiated the Turtle Dove Bike Shelter program and they will be adding homeless conistoga huts to provide for homeless.

For more information about their goals, activities, and the Compass Center Project, go to their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/encompassyv/about/. These programs and offerings are intended to provide opportunities for homeless population to re-learn the skills and habits needed to rebuild their lives and re-enter the workforce, thereby ending their unfortunate houseless situations. The fundraising effort has just begun and they will be looking for any and all donations.

~ Next Week’s Program: YCAP & Youth Homelessness Presented by Amber Hansen-Moore ~

Check your e-mails for Mike Caruso’s Zoom meeting access information.

~ Joke of the Day ~

“If you tell too many Dad Jokes, but have no kids: That makes you a faux pa”

~ Happy Quotes! ~

“It’s ok to fall apart sometimes…

Tacos do and we still love them”

– Unknown

 

~ Published 6/13/2021: Dan Keuler, Newsletter Editor ~