Addison Midday Rotary - Newsletter - Archive (Sep 11, 2009)

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Addison Midday Rotary - Newsletter - Archive (Sep 11, 2009)

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Newsletter - Archive

Sep 11, 2009

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Speaker Profile: Choose a Name Charity!

This week we will hear from Tracey Bruce, Neil Hewitt, Robin Moss, Darci Neuzil, Cindy Palmer and Tom Walter

Tracey Bruce, Communities In School
Communities In Schools Dallas Region, Inc. was founded in 1985 to address the growing number of high school dropouts in Dallas and surrounding areas. As experts in collaboration and in providing comprehensive case-managed services, CISDR’s professional staff brings community resources into schools to work in the interest of at-risk children in a coordinated, caring and cost-effective way. Currently, CISDR operates in 74 schools in 10 school districts in Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson and Rockwall counties. This includes Carrollton and Farmers Branch ISDs.

CISDR’s programs have a direct impact on more than 47,000 students annually. Nearly 80% of the students served by CISDR are economically disadvantaged and at-risk of academic failure according to the Texas Education Agency.

Students are referred to the program by teachers, counselors, administrators, parents, friends or are self-referred. CISDR case managers work with each child to develop a holistic plan to prepare students for successful lives. This means that CISDR not only works with students to address academic concerns, but also with parents, teachers and administrators who are involved with these students each day. By using this holistic wrap-around approach, distractions and disruptions in the student’s life outside of the school environment are addressed, allowing the student to focus on his/her schoolwork.

Robin Moss, The Mary Kay Foundation

The Mission of the Mary Kay Foundation is two fold: to eliminate cancers affecting women by supporting top medical scientists who are searching for a cure for breast, uterine, cervical and ovarian cancers; as well as to ending the epidemic of domestic violence by providing grants to women's shelters and supporting community outreach programs. Since the Foundation began in 1996, it has granted $25 million dollars to organizations fighting cancer and violence against women.

The Mary Kay Foundation is in a unique position to allow our race to grow by helping to provide unparalleled publicity to the Resolution Run. They could also provide unlimited volunteers and runners. We could easily double the size of the run, with the Mary Kay Foundation as our Name Charity. If we want to really grow the run, this is a way to do so.

Robin Moss, WayCoolAngels

Mission Statement:

WayCoolAngels is focused on Missions, Education and Children. We create high level, high impact events that bring peace and forgiveness in the Lord. We provide mentoring and scholarships to talented students in need. We create bridges between Christians and Messianic Jews in peace, in love, in the Messiah.

Two current projects that would be positively impacted by the Rotary Club:

1. We are mentoring a student coming from a bad environment and broken home, with no plans for college or a future, who has turned his life around as a result of targeted care and mentorship. He is now enrolled as the youngest student to attend SWBTS, with straight A's, in his 3rd semester and
he just turned 17 years of age. We are working with him to develop his talent in writing and has just completed his third "J's Journey's" Daily Devotional book. He is planning to be a missionary and teacher. We need funding for his education and also to offer a similar scholarship to another student. This type of charity makes a huge difference in one child's life, his family and those who meet him, and all those he will positively affect after he graduates and becomes a productive member of society.

2.    We are developing a online mentoring management system that can be used by higher education and others which will enable mentors to measure the effectiveness they are having on the mentees over time. Until now, only "hard skills" have been measured such as classes or tasks completed. Higher education, particularly seminaries and training of Godly leadership are in great need of a system that helps them to qualify students with a measurement of "soft skills". Our system will enable them to measure the growth of soft skills such as leadership, conflict resolution, friendliness, helping others in need, etc. This system will be the first of its kind and we are needing funds for its completion. The Rotary Club would have a significant impact and fame for assisting us with the completion and launch of this revolutionary system. This system is based on several years of experience and teaching in the executive coaching arena and an extensive background in leading edge technologies.

Darci Neuzil, The Metrocrest Medical Foundation

The Metrocrest Medical Foundation (MMF) is a charitable organization supporting the health related needs of people in Addison, Carrollton, Coppell and Farmers Branch who are uninsured or underinsured. Funds raised are distributed to the following programs:

Lifeline for medical emergency assistance for the elderly

D-Tag tattoo removal for area youth leaving gangs

Prescription assistance for area residence unable to afford their prescription medications

$11 mammograms

The MMF is located in Farmers Branch but Addison is included in their service area. The organization has a strong group of volunteers and can assist with fundraising.   Any money raised would be used to fund one or more of their programs listed above.

Cindy Palmer, Parenting Alone

The vision of Parenting Alone is to walk hand in hand with single parents and their kids to bring help, healing and hope, and to impact and encourage current and future generations towards healthy, vibrant families.   We are dedicated and passionate about the cause because of the incomprehensible number of divorced families and children being raised in single parent environments in this current culture and economic downturn.   Approximately 50% of all children are now being raised in single parent homes.   48% of single moms live below the poverty level once a breakup is complete. Parenting Alone is a 501c3 charitable nonprofit resource and relationship center established in 2008 with over 100 volunteers.   Free professional counseling, financial crisis coaching, budgeting, grief recovery, legal and career counseling and support groups are just some of the many free services offered to single parents.   Building healthy home seminars and family fun activities are also available for all ages.    Free childcare and a simple meal are provided during all workshops. Parenting Alone also serves as a resource center to help single parents identify where their critical needs can be met with our partners. (example: Metrocrest Services)   Parenting Alone is serving approximately 300 in the Addison, Carrollton, Farmers Branch and Coppell area.   We hope to open additional Parenting Alone Center’s in the metroplex in the next few years.   Our growth has been steady over the past 12 months, and with recent channel 8 coverage and coverage in the Carrollton Leader newspaper, we anticipate our growth to continue.

Funding is needed to support the many workshops and counseling/coaching services provided to single parents.   Not only do we offer many different workshops, but we also provide age appropriate activities, play therapy and curriculum for kids as well.

Tom Walter, Special Olympics Texas

The Mission:

The mission of Special Olympics Texas is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, (Mental Retardation), giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

Competitions:

Special Olympics Texas offers 21 sports from Aquatics, to Kayaking, Powerlifting, to Volley ball. They hold more then 240 competitions annually on the area, regional and state levels. Each Participant receives a medal or ribbon following his/ her event.

Volunteers:

Volunteers are the lifeline of the Special Olympics Program. More than 40,000 volunteers in Texas currently dedicate their time to Special Olympics.

The Need is Great:

Special Needs Kids need confidence in themselves and an ability to excel in other areas besides scholastics; their need is great because they simply don’t read or do math or do other things like their normal friends and siblings. They have an urgent and compelling need to build their self esteem and excel in the physical area so they can feel worthwhile. Their learning experience can be more frustrating and they need to get these feeling out in healthy ways and find their place to do well.

“Building Them Up” is paramount to their success as human beings. Special Olympics gives them the confidence and creates the friendships they need to meet life on life’s terms.

Past Speaker Profile: Denise & David Brewer, Career Quest

Denise and David Brewer started Career Quest in 2006. They started the company after finding there was no one to filling a void in their own children's quest for guidance. Career Quest is a career guidance business for high school and college kids. It is an independent business with referrals mainly through parents.

David Brewer is the owner of an electrical business in Gainesville. His wife, Denise, created Career Quest. She has ha bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene and a Master's degree in Education.

Speaker Change of Venue: Cavanaugh Flight Museum, September 29, 2009, Speaker Profile: Doug Jeanes

Doug Jeanes, Museum Director, of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum will be speaking to us from the museum. This will be an excellent opportunity for us to see the "War Birds" and to hear about them from their care taker!

Address: 4572 Claire Chennault, Addison, TX 75001

Phone: 972.380.8800

Map: Google Map Link

Special Event: Detergent Drive Event Change, Saturday, September 12th

The event now starts at 9 a.m. Saturday instead of 8 a.m. as earlier announced. They will start from Terry Center at Jesuit which is the separate building next to the football field.

Apparently no one in the club has access to a truck so the club has agreed to pay for a rental truck for the day to deliver the detergent. We didn't show too well on donating detergent either. I only received two boxes from other club members. Thanks Tom and Neil.

Jim can be reached at jfdgroup@flash.net or 972-998-5078.

Special Event: Oktoberfest, September 17, 5:30pm

Come join us at Oktoberfest with the Addison morning club and other Rotary clubs at Oktoberfest. We will be meeting under the big top, look for the crowd of Rotarians!

Special Event: Worldfest, October 24th and 25th

We will be selling kettlecorn at this event

To volunteer contact Tracey at traceyabruce@gmail.com

traceyabruce@gmail.com