Meeting was held online via Zoom and called to order at 12:30pm by Andrew Stearns.
Pledge of Allegiance was led by Jamie Hekkelman.
Inspiration – Today’s inspiration was provided by Jamie Hekkelman. In honor of National Librarian Day, Jamie shared a passage from her favorite book, “The Wizard of Oz.”
Greeter – Our Greeter of the day is Terri Trotter. Terri introduced our visiting Rotarians.
Visiting Rotarians – Ervie Smith from the Rotary Club of San Jose.
Announcements
Marty Fishman announced that Charlie Erekson is currently on hospice care and unfortunately, not expected to be with us much longer.
Marlon Smith announced the April birthdays. Happy Birthday was sung via a music video.
Member Spotlight of the Week – This week’s spotlight member is AnnMarie Valle.
Membership Minute – Terri Trotter has moved from her Red Badge to her Blue Badge. Her sponsor (and sister) Tina Orsi-Hartigan welcomed her and gave her the nickname of “Speedy” for getting through the process so quickly.
Gae La Torre announced that last week’s First Thursday at Flights in Los Gatos went well. 36 people showed up and it was a beautiful evening. If anyone would like to host our May First Thursday from their home, please let Gae know.
Our Annual Roast and Toast will be held on June 29, 2021. Save the Date!
Barbara Fishman announced that if you would like to donate any items to the Santa Maria Urban Ministry, they can be dropped off at Marty’s office, located at 431 Monterey Ave., Suite 3 from 9:00am – 5:00pm.
The District Training Assembly will be held virtually from April 24 – May 6, 2021. This is a wonderful opportunity for new and existing club officers.
Speech Contest update: Andrew read a thank you note from the student we sponsored, Dessy Bonev. For those interested in watching Dessy in tonight’s Speech Contest Andrew will send out the Zoom link after the meeting.
Leigh High School Interactors are offering help as personal assistants to help out with shopping, chores, etc… Contact Avis Le Grone or Doug Brent is you are interested.
The Zoom background challenge next week is, “Favorite movie scene or poster.”
St. Luke’s Volunteers – Thank you to the folks that donated and delivered food this week.
Reminder: You can sign in to our meetings from anywhere.
Twenty for Twenty
- Tina Orsi-Hartigan donated $50 to the Charities Fund because Gonzaga lost to Baylor in the National College Men’s Basketball Championship.
- John Colwell donated $100 to the Scholarship Fund and $5 directly to Andrew in honor of the March Madness Men’s basketball game between UCLA and Michigan.
- Paul Christensen donated $100 to the Scholarship Fund. He has been on a ski-the-Rockies trip all over Colorado. The spring skiing was beautiful.
- Tom Boyce donated $50 to the Scholarship Fund in honor of the Stanford Women’s Basketball team being the College National Champions!
- Sarita Johnson donated $20 to the Scholarship Fund. She had a wonderful visit with her granddaughter on Easter Sunday.
- Nicholas Welzenbach, joining the meeting from Joshua Tree National Park, donated $20 each for himself and Andrew Howard for both choosing to make their family Spring Break trips to the same location. Andrew and his family were hiking in the park and Nicholas’ family was enjoying the park from an Airbnb home.
- Doug Brent donated $20 and mentioned that his daughter was successful in finding a vaccine appointment in Bakersfield, CA where they have an abundance of appointments available for all folks 16 years and older.
Presentation
Our speaker today was Alex Tenorio, Executive Vice President of Development and Donor Engagement from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF). The title of his presentation was: Philanthropy Response in 2020: How SVCF Responded to the Crises. Alex shared an overview about the community foundation and how the organization responded to the multitude of crises that emerged in 2020.
SVCF is an organization that connects the resource and skills of donors, businesses, government and community to solve our regions toughest challenges. In 2020, they distributed $1.9B in grants. During the pandemic they raised $64M from their Bay Area philanthropic, government and corporate partners.
They have provided grants and support to: Communities affected by COVID, wildfire relief, 2020 Census community based canvassing and voter registration prior to the election. For 2021 they look forward to rebuilding Silicon Valley with an eye on equity and inclusivity by addressing the community’s needs in the wake of the pandemic and supporting healing following the divisive election.
Their website contains a plethora of information. Please see below for resources from their website that are pertinent to the presentation today:
- SVCF's COVID-19 response: https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/coronavirus-response
- SVCF's community resource guide to racial equity and social justice: https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/racial-justice
- SVCF's work on the 2020 Census: https://www.siliconvalleycf.org/census2020
Closing Announcement - Next week’s speaker will be Tom Geballe, Astronomer from the Mona Loa Observatory on Hawaii’s big island. His presentation title will be: “Why is the Sky Dark? What’s Happening between the Stars?”
Andrew closed the meeting at 1:30pm.