Our May 10 club meeting program will feature a pre-recorded video of Forest Resener describing StoveTeam International Projects with communities in Latin America.
Help us Beautify Downtown Springfield on Saturday Morning May 8
Our Club is the Downtown Club in Springfield. We meet at a great restaurant with a long and proud history, just like our Club. This Saturday we have the opportunity to work with several organizations to spruce up 5th and 6th Streets and get it ready for the warm weather season. This is a great “one and done” project for several hours, with a chance for fun while serving our community. Downtown Springfield Inc. has led the way with this, recognizing the importance of good appearance as a motivator for bringing people to the downtown area.
Join us and have some fun! We meet at 9:00 a.m. at 5th and Washington. Bring your Rotary bling and a pair of gloves. Didn’t sign up in advance, no problem. All are welcome to join in!
Mini-Libraries and Literacy
Loretta Meeks shared that another school is interested in a mini-library at their site, a school in an area that doesn’t have many in place, our target area. When library branches were closed, many children lost access to reading, and possibly lost the chance for the joy of lifetime reading that is instilled at an early age. Many children don’t have access to transportation to the library when it is open.
Mini-libraries help to restore that opportunity, and our Literacy Grant from the District is one way to reach out to children to encourage reading. We are intentionally placing them by mini-pantries with the idea of “one stop shopping.” Our Grant did not just include construction (image to right) of four new mini-libraries, but also stocking them with books. While we have received gracious donations of books and anticipate more in the future, we also have Grant money to purchase books, and would like to focus on new readers with small, short, easy to read and learn books.
We are seeking a club member or two to coordinate this effort of obtaining books and adding them to the mini-libraries. For new members, this could be a great chance for service and a way to work with other Rotarians. For more seasoned members, this could be a new outlet for creativity and a chance to teach someone the “Rotary Ropes.”
Please give this some thought, and contact me at dkromphardt@yahoo.com or 815-488-2787 if you have interest or suggestions for these roles.
Baseball and Literacy
The 300 tickets for the May 22 game went like wildfire, and the bus filled quickly (see article by Rod below). The good news is that the Cardinals have provided 1,500 tickets for the October 2 game!
This is the largest source of funding for Rotary Literacy projects, and our 17th year for the baseball program, with over a half million dollars raised for literacy projects throughout several Districts. Thank you for your enthusiasm, thank you Rod Buffington for your leadership in creating, building, and sustaining this program, and thank you for your continued support. October 2 is still a while away, but not too far away to plan to attend.
Join by video system, application or Skype for business Dial 1869512351@webex.com You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number. From the Cisco internal network, dial *777* and the 9-digit meeting number. If you are the host, enter your PIN when prompted.
If you are a host, click here to view host information.
Forest Resener, Operations Director for StoveTeam International, will describe collaborative projects with local communities in Latin America to provide fuel-efficient cookstoves to families (see lead image). To date, over 78,000 stoves have improved the lives of more than half a million people and prevented nearly one million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
Members are encouraged to bring a guest to the meeting to watch this pre-recorded video presentation with an interactive Q&A session. Be sure to reserve a meal for your guest. Visitors are welcome to join us online for this uplifting program. Forward this newsletter to friends who would like to join us online or tell them to use the meeting link in the May 6, 2021 Newsletter, which is accessible from our Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org).
The menu for indoor dining at Maldaners Upstairs and curbside pickup for the May 10, 2021 meeting is:
Roasted Chicken
Pasta with Spring Pesto
Chef's Choice of Salad and Dessert
The deadline for signing up for in-person and curbside meals for our dinner is Sunday, May 9 at 5:00 p.m. Please use the following link to make your reservations for the meal for indoor dining or curbside pickup by clicking:
Contact Dave Kromphardt at dkromphardt@yahoo.com only if you have a late change.
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 and the meals are delicious.
Thanks to everyone who purchased tickets for our traditional Rotary Day at the Ballpark. All 300 tickets have been sold. Proceeds from ticket sales support our District Literacy Grant Program.
I look forward to enjoying the game with participants. The game is on May 22 at 6:15 p.m. in Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It will feature the grand rivalry of the Cardinals vs. the Cubs. We will be occupying excellent seats in the right field loge in Sections 228 – 233. Seating is in pods of 4, pods of 3, and pods of 2. A roundtrip bus has been scheduled and filled and will leave from the White Oaks Mall Parking Lot in Springfield from the upper mall parking lot behind Macy's on the same side as CEFCU. The bus will be available for boarding at 2:00 p.m. and will leave promptly at 2:30 p.m. No food and no drinks (other than water) are allowed on the bus, and riders must wear a mask when boarding and departing from the bus.
If you could not join us this time, don't worry. Another Rotary trip to the Ballpark is being scheduled for October 2.
The Flag Service Committee is gearing up for Spring distribution beginning on May 24, and we can use some volunteer help in a few areas:
We have about 70 people to call and follow up with about renewal since they have not responded yet to the invoice. This involves calling 8-10 people per volunteer and using a script to inquire if they wish to renew.
We are in need of some folks to help with deployment of flags. A route usually takes a few hours, goes much more quickly with 2 people per route, and can be a lot of fun.
If you can spare some time to assist with these needs, please call or email Bill Smith (smithveld@gmail.com) or Marty Michelson (exdirector@rutledgeyouthfoundation.com).
We thank club and other volunteers for monitoring and stocking the Ridgely micro-pantry (image on right) this spring. We are looking for more monitors to check the pantry once a week for two week periods and stock items when it is low. Other volunteers are also providing food, and health, paper and cleaning items, and our task is to make sure it is well stocked. Contact Vicki Megginson at megginson.vicki@gmail.com to sign up or learn more.
Go the Extra Mile 5K We have some remote work volunteer slots still open to help with the Virtual 5K. These are spots that don’t require work outdoors or in groups. They are a great opportunity to perform service that honors the Front Line workers that have protected our community. Please contact Dave Kromphardt at dkromphardt@yahoo.com if you are interested in volunteering to help with the Virtual 5K.
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!
Loretta Meeks shared that another school is interested in a mini-library at their site, a school in an area that doesn’t have many in place, our target area. When library branches were closed, many children lost access to reading, and possibly lost the chance for the joy of lifetime reading that is instilled at an early age. Many children don’t have access to transportation to the library when it is open.
Forest Resener, Operations Director for StoveTeam International, will describe collaborative projects with local communities in Latin America to provide fuel-efficient cookstoves to families (see lead image). To date, over 78,000 stoves have improved the lives of more than half a million people and prevented nearly one million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
The deadline for signing up for in-person and curbside meals for our dinner is Sunday, May 9 at 5:00 p.m. 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 and the meals are delicious.
Ridgely School Micro-Pantry
Go the Extra Mile 5K 
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. Just follow this link:
