Sold By:  Nicholas Helides

Sold To:   Nicholas Helides

Calendar #0358

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Sean Stellato was a guest of Rinus Oosthoek.

Adria Leach was a guest of Mickey Northcutt.

Marisa Cote was a guest of Liz Bradt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mickey Northcutt expressed thanks to the members that participated in the Youth to the Point clean up day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Liz also expressed thanks to those who helped...although we should all be thanking Mickey and Liz!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nick Helides announced that our fellow (humble) member, Jim Robinson, has completed 51 years of perfect attendance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Leavitt spent a week in Hilton Head, SC.

 

 

 

 

Chris Casey spent a long weekend in PA and did a college visit in Delaware with his daughter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Neely was in Washington DC for a wedding.  He enjoyed the late blooming cherry blossoms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruce Whear spent a week on a cruise (a first for his wife, Heidi).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juli Lederhaus paid a post-vacation fine for her travels through Spain and France.

 

 

 

Happy birthday to Dick Moore on the 17th and to Mike McLaughlin on the 19th of April!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rotary District Conference is May 2-4 in Portland, ME.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our speaker this week started with a classification talk from our own Ann Richardson of Life Bridge.  Ann shared with us that she had grown up north Salem in a household where she was one of 9 children.  This taught Ann the importance of relying on those around you for support.  She has 2 children, one of whom made national news a few years back as one of our country's first openly gay high school football players.  This groundbreaking news was highlighted by a 20/20 interview with Anderson Cooper.

 

Ann has been a long dedicated employee of Life Bridge in Salem where she manages the second-hand store.  For her it is a touching experience to work for the less fortunate who don't have a safety net underneath them.  Ann certainly lives and upholds the Life Bridge mission to provide stable housing, income, and the first steps towards self sufficiency.  Her dedication to the volunteer-run Life Bridge store resulted in $375,000 in revenue last year.  Ann is involved on a very ground level in helping gather donations, and is clearly very grateful for the extreme generosity that keeps the store's shelves full.

 

Socks!!!  We asked Ann what the store needed most...her reply was that the store didn't need anything in particular, but the dozens of folks that utilize Life Bridge need socks.

 

 

 

 

 

Our second presentation was from the Northeast ARC ( www.ne-arc.org ), whose mission is to provide lifelong support for people with disabilities.  The ARC organization has a large footprint with 700 ARCs nationwide, although the Northeast ARC is the 4th largest in the country, and the largest in the state, serving approximately 7,000 people each year.  The ARC has a comprehensive array of programs, including autism services, day habilitation, deaf services, early intervention, employment services, family support, recreation, and transition.

 

The majority of this presentation was about the "iPads for Autism" program that has proven to be an enormous success.  This program has a profound impact on children and adults with severe/non-verbal autism that otherwise have to communicate using the cumbersome (but still effective) method of large picture/icon books.  For some, the iPad has provided these individuals their first opportunity to effectively communicate with anyone...think about that for a moment.

 

We watched a video of this working first-hand with two local pioneers of this technology, Jenna and Isaiha.  Please take the time to watch the video if you missed the opportunity at this week's meeting.  Here is the link:  ne-arc.org/services/autism-services

 

 

Next week, John Andrews of Salem Photo Stream will be the speaker.

 

 

This is a poignant anniversary for our city and country.  Brenda found some quotes on Buzzfeed about a project photographer Robert X. Fogerty put together with images and quotes from survivors and families.  Here are some of the messages that touched her:

 

"What happened that day was terror.  Terror happens when love is absent.  Boston is a city of love stories now..."

 

"My name is Sydney Corcoran, I am 18 years old and I live in Lowell, MA.  My message is 'You can scar me but you cannot stop me.'  I think everyone has scars and we should embrace them.  I have learned that we can overcome obstacles that gave those scars to us."

 

Heather Abbott:  "My message is 'Less leg, more heart.' And the reason I chose this message is because since I lost my leg at the marathon, I have become what the world considers a handicapped person.  That's a very new concept for me...I think the experience of losing my leg made me more compassionate, so I may have less of a leg now, but I think my heart is bigger."