At our last meeting we welcomed Frank Capozzi of Catholic Charities Finger Lakes.
Opening and Invocation led by Pat Albrecht
Wellness Report – none given
Guests: Frank Capozzi (guest speaker), member of Geneva Rotary; Garrett Jones, guest of Hannah Feeley
Announcements:
- Thursday, 8/29 Rotary Social Night at Marc and Holly Kreuser. 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Cost $15.00. RSVP: hkreuser@gmail.com or text 315-573-4994
- Family Fest – fast approaching. Please sign up to work a shift online. Sign up email was sent to all members.
- Silent Auction: need donations of themed baskets, also need donations of bottles of wine to add to baskets. Contact Michele McManus or bring donations to a Rotary Meeting
- President Jim thanked the entire club for all of the generous food closet donations over the past 4 weeks. Well done Rotarians!
- Newark Rotary Foundation Raffle – as of 8/1/24 184 tickets have been sold. Winners will be drawn on 8/9 at 7:30 pm at the Erie Shore Landing concert. Be sure to thank Joe Nicosia at Joey’s Northside – he has sold 30 tickets!
- Camp ONSEYAWA update: Thank you for all of the duct tape donations – the campers will put it to good use making their “personal flotation” creations! The carnival will be on 8/18 - thank you for those who have volunteered to help. Tear down is 8/24 from 9:00 am to noon. Could use a few more hands – especially those of you who own a pick up truck! Contact Gary Reilly if you are willing to help.
- Sad to report that Hannah Feeley, of the Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity Corporate membership will be leaving her position at the end of August. We are hoping that Garrett Jones will be taking her place.
- Pat Albrecht is requesting that everyone look for the “L” on your dollar bills and be willing to donate them to Laurel House this month. Please bring all of your “L” dollars to Rotary or contact Pat directly to make your donation.
Birthdays: Eli Coleman, 8/2; Clayton DePew, 8/8
Club Anniversaries: Scott Healy, 25 years
Queen of Hearts. Jim DeVolder did not pick the Queen - the pot continues to grow.
Program: Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes
Ted O’Toole introduced our speaker, Frank Capozzi, director of Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes. Frank is a member of the Geneva Rotary Club and is very involved in the Geneva community where he lives with his wife and 2 children.
Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes covers Wayne, Ontario, Seneca, Yates and Cayuga counties. They are focused on meeting the needs of the people in these counties and strive to focus on the dignity and value of each and every person using the Catholic social principals as their guide.
They are among the nation’s largest providers of safe, decent, affordable housing for families, seniors, veterans and others as well as providing temporary and emergency housing.
They offer services such as: Social security advocacy programing, emergency assistance, family case management, community lunch programs, community clothing centers, and more. They have a Community Clothing center in Wolcott that provided free clothing for over 8,500 people last year, they provide backpacks for school age children, and free winter clothing as well.
Their emergency assistance programs offers help with rent, utility bills, clothing and food vouchers. In Newark the receive 75 to 80 calls requesting assistance each year plus there are additional walk in requests.
How to help: Cash donations are always gratefully accepted. On Thursday, September 12 there will be a fundraiser at the Sodus Bay Heights Golf Club called “The Blast” starting at 6:00 pm. It promises to be an evening of food, fun, music, auctions and more!
Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes operates using it’s core value: Respect for others and accepting all persons for their unique gifts, circumstances and needs; believing in the inherent worth and sacredness of each person. We also recognize the incalculable worth and dignity of every human person.
Thank you Frank for sharing all the good work that your organization provides in our community.
Closing thought from President Jim: If you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong. Groucho Marx