Stocking the Ridgely School Micropantry is an important service project for our club year-round, but especially in these cold, winter months when good nutrition is essential for health and maintaining body temperature. Volunteer for a two week shift (see the story on volunteer opportunities below).
I am looking forward to seeing everyone this coming Monday at Maldaners Upstairs and online after being out for a couple of weeks. We have an exciting year ahead of us in 2022 and many service projects planned and already in the works. These projects will help serve our community and others around the world.
Whether you come in person or participate online at our January 24 meeting, it will be a social night and we look forward to hearing from you during our brag-a-bucks section of the meeting. With the holidays just ending, I am sure there will be plenty to brag about.
Honoring MLK Life and Legacy
On January 17, the Frontiers International Club celebrated the 47th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast to honor MLK’s life and legacy. Two local speakers, Dr. William DeShone, the pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and T. Ray McJunkins, the pastor at Union Baptist Church, gave excellent presentations. The original speaker slated for the event was unable to attend, but the local speakers shared the important message that we all need to work together to move forward and bring more equality to everyone across the nation. Dave Kromphardt, Robert Moore, and I attended the breakfast and we were joined by many local community leaders from our area. We enjoyed the commentary from the speakers and the community leaders. The memorial booklet created for the event included an ad from our club supporting the Frontiers International Springfield Club for hosting this event and working with our club on important community projects.
Now that we are back to hybrid meetings, we will no longer announce the menu for dining at Maldaners Upstairs or for curbside pickup. The meal will be Chef's Choice as it was prior to the pandemic.
Please make reservations for in-person meals so we can estimate our seating and food needs and for curbside meals so Maldaners knows you are coming. The deadline for reserving dinner for the January 24 meeting is Saturday, January 22 at noon. Meals are $15 each. Please use the following link to make your reservations for the meal for indoor dining or curbside pickup by clicking:
For curbside users, please place your meal tickets or cash in an envelope with your name and “for Sheila Mack” on the outside of the envelope and give it to the Maldaners staff member that gives you your food. They will get the envelopes to Sheila Mack. Curbside pickup is between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. To pick up food, turn into the alley behind the building and pick up the food at the back door. It's easy to pick up your food an the food is delicious!
With the approval our Club Board, Loretta Meeks took the lead in writing a grant proposal to secure monies from the District's baseball literacy program and submitted the proposal by the December 31, 2021 deadline! The proposed project partners our club with the Springfield and Decatur Alumnae Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta (SDAAC) to provide educational backpacks for preschoolers who are experiencing homelessness. If funded, this project will provide volunteer opportunities for members of our club including helping to pack the backpacks with educational materials that will promote literacy. We certainly hope this project will be funded and will allow us to continue and expand our efforts to help homeless individuals in our community.
Planning is underway for a number of outside speakers and in-house programs. Some of these are subject to change depending on the status of the pandemic.
February 7: The Peacebuilder Club Assembly has been rescheduled for this date and will provide member's with our Peacebuilder Committee's specific objectives, research findings, and recommendations for 2022 and beyond that will help to address underlying causes that inhibit a fairer and more just community. We will also consider the cub's application to be an official Rotary Action Group for Peace and why this will be useful.
February 28: Joe Crain, Public Programs and Community Engagement Director for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, will speak about programs for low income students.
March: We will reschedule our annual Foundation Night for a Monday in March. On March 28, we will be bringing in Jennifer Thomas, a Williamsville School District Science Teacher, to speak about her experiences on two NASA flights. Stay tuned for more information on these programs.
If you have suggestions for future speakers, please let me know.
The 2022 This I Believe Essay Program is underway now. National Public Radio Illinois (NPR 919 UIS) has sponsored this program since 2007 with support from numerous sponsors (see logo above) including The Rotary Club of Springfield Sunrise and the State Journal-Register. The program invites high school seniors to write and submit an essay that expresses their beliefs that guide their lives. The essays are reviewed and finalist are selected. The Rotary Club of Springfield Sunrise provides a scholarship to selected finalists. The State Journal-Register publishes the selected essays in the Newspaper, and NPR runs and streams recordings of the selected essayists reading their essays on their website (nprillinois.org, Community Voices tab). Covid-permitting there is also an evening live and live-streamed event where the selected essayists read their essays.
The essays are always heartfelt and reaffirming of the potential of the younger generation. If you know a high school senior, who would like to participate, guidelines and instructions are provided under the Community Voices tab on the NPR Illinois website at the link noted above. Essays are due on January 27, and finalists are selected in early February, essays are presented in the SJ-R (Feb. 18 and 25) and on NPR (Feb. 14-18, Feb. 21-25), and the evening event is slated for March 30.
Harry Mitchell has suggested that our Club might consider ways to partner for this exciting program.
Volunteers are needed to monitor and stock the pantry for the last two weeks in February and for March. The image on the left shows the micropantry at Ridgely School. Thanks to John Loftus for monitoring and stocking the Ridgely School micropantry during the last two weeks in January and to Harry Mitchell for taking the first two weeks in February. Please consider signing up for a two week shift.
Little Libraries
There will also be opportunities to assist with our Little Libraries by sorting and stocking books. The image below shows the Little Library at Ridgely Elementary School. Details will follow soon from Nicole Kinkelaar. Barry Tobias needs help locating movable carts for two little libraries that are otherwise ready to be installed.
Let Vicki know if you have ideas for other community service projects. She reported that she is considering a project to provide Valentines Day cards for seniors through the Home Instead program.
Contact Vicki at megginson.vicki@gmail.com if you wish to:
Help stock the Ridgely School Micropantry or suggest new projects and Nicole Kinkelaar if you are interested in helping with the Little Libraries
We are repeating a list of suggestions of foods and other items to stock in the Ridgely Food Pantry. These suggestions came from people who use food pantries to help feed their families.
1. Everyone donates Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box. They can rarely use it because it needs milk and butter, which is difficult to get from regular food banks. 2. Boxed milk is a treasure, as kids need it for cereal, which they also get a lot of. 3. Everyone donates pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles. 4. They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies and soup unless you put a can opener in too or buy pop tops.* 5. Oil is a luxury and needed for Rice a-Roni, which they also get a lot of. 6. Spices or salt and pepper would be a real Holiday gift. 7. Tea bags and coffee make them feel like you care. 8. Sugar and flour are treats. 9. They fawn over fresh produce donated by farmers and grocery stores. 10. Seeds are cool in Spring and Summer because growing can be easy for some. 11. They rarely get fresh meat. 12. Tuna and crackers make a good lunch. 13. Hamburger Helper goes nowhere without ground beef. 14. They get lots of peanut butter and jelly but usually not sandwich bread. 15. Butter or margarine is nice too. 16. Eggs are a real commodity. 17. Cake mix and frosting makes it possible to make a child’s birthday cake. 18. Dishwashing detergent is very expensive and is always appreciated. 19. Feminine hygiene products are a luxury and women will cry over that. 20. Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing.
* At our November 29 club meeting, Ross Hodel reported that he followed this advice and stocked numerous can openers in the Ridgely Pantry. He noted that they were quickly snapped up.
Do you know or are you someone who has a passion to give back to your community? The Rotarians in this image are helping pack essential items for the Illinois Police Department to give to homeless individuals in our community. As a Rotarian, you adhere to the principles of the 4-way Test., which are:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Good Will and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
If you find value in these ideals and want to be part of a great organization, right click on the attached link to open our Membership Application in a new window. You can also download a copy of the Membership Application from our Club's website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) in the Download Files section. You can send the completed application to the Membership Committee at illinoisdelta@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please email images of service activities to Bonnie Styles at bonstyles@yahoo.com. It's easy to take pictures if you have a smartphone, but even an old style camera works just fine. Send me an email (bonstyles@yahoo.com) to let me know when you will be volunteering for a service project, and I will come out and take some images. The image to the right shows two RYLA students from Springfield Southeast High School and a flexible Vicki assisting with our "Bags of Hope" packing project for the 2021 District Club Grant project to assist homeless individuals in our community.
On January 17, the Frontiers International Club celebrated the 47th annual Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast to honor MLK’s life and legacy. Two local speakers, Dr. William DeShone, the pastor of Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and T. Ray McJunkins, the pastor at Union Baptist Church, gave excellent presentations. The original speaker slated for the event was unable to attend, but the local speakers shared the important message that we all need to work together to move forward and bring more equality to everyone across the nation. Dave Kromphardt, Robert Moore, and I attended the breakfast and we were joined by many local community leaders from our area. We enjoyed the commentary from the speakers and the community leaders. The memorial booklet created for the event included an ad from our club supporting the Frontiers International Springfield Club for hosting this event and working with our club on important community projects.
Now that we are back to hybrid meetings, we will no longer announce the menu for dining at Maldaners Upstairs or for curbside pickup. The meal will be Chef's Choice as it was prior to the pandemic.
For curbside users, please place your meal tickets or cash in an envelope with your name and “for Sheila Mack” on the outside of the envelope and give it to the Maldaners staff member that gives you your food. They will get the envelopes to Sheila Mack. Curbside pickup is between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. To pick up food, turn into the alley behind the building and pick up the food at the back door. It's easy to pick up your food an the food is delicious!
Volunteers are needed to monitor and stock the pantry for the last two weeks in February and for March. The image on the left shows the micropantry at Ridgely School. Thanks to John Loftus for monitoring and stocking the Ridgely School micropantry during the last two weeks in January and to Harry Mitchell for taking the first two weeks in February. Please consider signing up for a two week shift. 
Please email images of service activities to Bonnie Styles at .png)
