Chad Maender is the Executive Director of Mid Valley Family YMCA and an honorary member of our club. He enlightened us about the great work the YMCA is doing in our community in particular and in the United States in general and the world.  The YMCA is the nation’s leading non-profit organization that is committed to helping people in our community.  He went further to say that the YMCA is an association of powerful men and women, as well as children, joined together by a shared commitment to nurturing the potentials of kids promoting healthy living and fostering a sense of social responsibility. Some of the great work the YMCA does within our communities are: Youth Development, Healthy Living, Social Responsibility. He informed us that in 2015 alone, the YMCA provided 5,900 free showers to the homeless within our community at no cost.  These are just some examples of what the YMCA does within the community.  The YMCA is more than just a swimming and gymnasium facility.  It is the center of our community.  For a comprehensive information on the YMCA and how you can donate, please log onto their website at ChadMaender@ymcala.org

 

 

Raffle: Ron Wolf was the winner.

 

Meeting ended at 1:15 PM

 

It was great to welcome Marie Valencia to our meeting.  The Greater Van Nuys Club has a fund-raiser on Thursday evening and Karen, Lona and Barbara will be attending.  President Robert Ryans from the Crenshaw –Watts Rotary Club will also join us.  Crenshaw-Watts is holding another fund-raiser on March 19^th to raise funds for fighting sex trafficking here in L.A.  Marie told the group how she had visited Panama with District 5280’s trip to work on projects, and had time to talk with Governor Elect Collette and Incoming Governor Greg about that project.  They are making it a District Project for the next 3 years.   So meeting Robert Ryans who is the president of Crenshaw-Watts Rotary will be good for all of us.

Marie told us about the need for a tattoo removal machine for the children who have been freed from sex trafficking, but still have the tattoos put there by the gangs who originally trapped them.  Our speaker, Samantha, reinforced that need.

Samantha Teslik from Food Forward came to speak with us.  The group began in 2009 with a free-lance photographer noticing the quantity of fruit that is wasted in our area each year.  Using Craig’s List he got friends to harvest 300 pounds of donated tangerines, and since then the group, Food Forward, has harvested 16 million pounds of food in three different recovery programs. 

Backyard Abundance is the original program where local landowners donate fruit that is harvested by volunteers.  MEND has accepted fruit for years and is one of now 50 agencies that take the fruit. 

The Farmers Recovery Market group cleans fruit and vegetables that are left in 18 local food markets in L.A. at the end of the day.  This provides a tax write-off for the farmers who donate their produce and everyone “wins.” – Most especially the customers of local food banks.

Farm Gleaning has begun with the McGrath farm in Camarillo permitting volunteers to take left behind crops.  They even have “Jamming sessions” now where “private picks” of strawberries are used to have volunteers make jam.   Some corporations help the community by having a group of employees work together on an event like this.  At the moment, they are looking for kumquats for beer making.

The group now has all the equipment to give the volunteers, and trucks to deliver the produce.  Soon they will have a “Spring Melt” fundraiser with a big silent auction. 

Samantha passed around a sign-up sheet and got information from at least 6 of us who might be able to donate fruit. 

 

Rotary Day of Service at Haskell Creek is the same day as the Santa Susanna Park. Clean-up is scheduled on April 16.  The Club will need to decide how we manage this conflict.  The Track Meet on April 23^rd at Birmingham High is also an extra Rotary Day of Service and several members are going there.