The Rotary Club of
Ojai
 

Ojai Rotary Reminder Newsletter
July 24th, 2020

Therese Brown, Editor

Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. 
Our 1.2 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
 
In the beginning…

Patricia Anderson served as greeter and bantered with members.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
President Michael Scar opened the Zoom meeting at 12:05 p.m. with a warm welcome
 
Al West gave the pledge of allegiance.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Christine Golden gave the invocation sharing a poem and quotes from well-known authors:
 
Today’s invocation has two parts: an opening prayer of hope by John O’Donohue, from the Benedictus Book Of Blessings. This will be followed by three inspirational quotes on beauty, love, and purpose. Let us bow our heads:
 
“This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
 If you remain generous,
Time will come good; And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.”
 
Beauty: Mary Oliver:
 
“Hello sun in my face. Hello you who made the morning and spread it over the fields…
Watch, now, how I start the day in happiness, in kindness.”
 
Love: Maya Angelou:
 
 “We spend precious hours fearing the inevitable. It would be wise to use that time adoring our families, cherishing our friends and living our lives.”
 
Purpose: Barbara Kingsolver:
 
“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”   Amen
 
Michael thanked Patricia, Al, Christine, and Therese serving at Editor.
 
 
 
 
 
Guests:  Dr. Bob Skankey shared that an advantage of COVID is his ability to join our club for meetings.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Therese described upcoming programs.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sue Gilbreth shared details of fifth Friday, 7/31, Movie in Your Car event at Nordhoff High School. The movie Peanut Butter Falcon will be screened. Gates open at 7:30 p.m. Movie starts at 8:30 p.m. $25.00 per car. Tickets must be purchased in advance online at https://www.ojairotary.org. Thank you to the unstoppable team that is putting on the event. Special shout out to Bill Weyrick who convinced the City of Ojai to waive all fees. Donations can also be made to Ojai Valley Union School District Family Fund from the website.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Tara announced upcoming Taste of Ojai Zoom meetings, every other Tuesday at 5:30 pm inviting members to join the group. Next meeting is Tuesday, 8/4.
 
 
 
 
 
Bret Bradigan introduced Kerri Murray of ShelterBox, today’s Speaker.
 
Cathy Yee asked for help with clean up after movie night. 
 
Deirdre announced that PayPal is now available for paying dues. A link is accessible from the at ojairotary.org
 
Patricia asked if paying fines can be done through PayPal. The answer was not yet, but soon.
 
Christine announced that Robert at front desk of the Ojai Athletic Club passed away.
 
Jennifer announced that she is the point person for Family of Rotary. If members are aware of life events that need support, please let her know.
 
 
 
Confessions and Fining: Ren Adam
 
Ren Adam led the confessions and fining session decided to focus on Rotary history.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Suzanne confessed that someone special has a birthday and led members in a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to President Michael.
 
Frank Fink – In what year was Rotary founded?  1905
Cathy Yee – In what city was Rotary founded?  Chicago
Where was the second Rotary Club founded? San Francisco
Third Club was founded in Oakland
Alan West – How did Rotary get its name and what does its logo symbolize?  Rotation of members from place to place. Current logo depicts a cog wheel. 
Sid Cohn – What is the number of our Rotary District?  5240
Fred Coleman – Who was founder of Rotary? Paul Harris
Andy Gilman – In what year did Rotary admit female members? 1989
Bryant Huber – Name the questions of the four-way test. Will it be fair to all concerned?  Is it the truth? Will it build good will and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? 
 
 
Cheree –She is looking for additional Rotary photos for the pre-movie portion of the Movie in Your Car event.
 
 
 
The Program: Shelter Box--Kerri Murray
 
Bret Bradigan introduced speaker Kerri Murray, President of ShelterBox. Kerriserves as president of Shelter Box USA and is member of the Montecito Rotary Club. She has a 16-year old daughter. 
 
Shelter Box started 20 years ago by a group of Rotarians. The first consignment was the major earthquake that devastated Pakistan. There are only a few organizations that deal with emergency shelter and supplies. The mission still the same – shelter and supplies. There are more people displaced now than at any time in history. 90 million people have been displaced mainly by natural disasters and/or civil war. 
 
What is Shelter Box?  The organization’s premise is based on what is needed to sustain life – a family emergency tent.  It is double walled with privacy screens that can create rooms.  It includes a water purification unit, containers to store water, solar lanterns, a stainless-steel kitchen set, blankets, tool set and children’s activity set.  One ShelterBox for one family.
 
There are a variety of different tents but the purpose is always the same to   provide a basic structure for a family to call home. The organization strives to help start recovery.
 
How is it possible?  Via a SRT – Shelter Response Team. 30 people, all volunteers, make it through training program and are deployed all over the world when disaster strikes.  They are on the ground first, conducting assessments and helping with logistical challenges. They also perform beneficiary selection and are trained in reconstruction. Most deploy annually.
 
ShelterBox is an official project partner of Rotary to address emergencies. They have an MOU with Rotary. In disaster situations, Rotarians serve as local sources of information. 
 
ShelterBox has other partners such as Habitat for Humanity and the Red Cross.  They coordinate in a cluster system with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).
 
ShelterBox is one of the largest providers of shelter aid in Haiti. They responded to the Nepal earthquake and the Syrian crisis which is the longest response in history – from 2012 to the present. Seventy-five percent of displaced persons are women and children.  
 
Kerri shared picture of their Lake Chad Basin response. ShelterBox is looking to improve basic living structures. The area is home to 20,000 refugees from Nigeria. They work in the Minawao camp and are the only provider of tents.
 
Kerri discussed the importance of shelter in reducing the spread of COVID - hygiene, health and shelter are factors that greatly reduce its spread.
 
COVID has made their work so much more difficult. A lot of PPE is now in distribution including masks and soap and handwashing stations. They are now providing individual cook sets to prevent sharing. ShelterBox does have a COVID response fund.
 
ShelterBox’s aid is an unconditional gift. Each family receives a deed of ownership for the tent. To date the organization has sheltered 1.6 M people and participated in 300 deployments in 107 countries. They are rated 4 stars by charity navigator and have been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.
 
Questions…
 
Dr. Skankey shared his experience with ShelterBox in Niger.
 
Bret Bradigan commented that he was impressed with ShelterBox’s ability to operate from Club to Club

Patricia – Where does funding come from? From individuals and foundations.
How much does box cost? Roughly $1000. Shelter kit $100. 
 
ShelterBox is a model of pre-positioning.  They have eight staging locations throughout the world.  July is resupply month.
 
Kerri emphasized that Rotary is in the DNA in everything they do. She asked members to “Like” the ShelterBox Facebook page. 
 
Adjournment:
 
President Michael Scar ended with a quote from John F. Kennedy at 1 p.m.
 
 
 

You are invited to visit us at an upcoming meeting.

Please add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your safe sender list or address book.
To view our privacy policy, click here.
 
ClubRunner
102-2060 Winston Park Drive, Oakville, ON, L6H 5R7
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
ClubRunner Mobile