We are neighbors, community leaders and global citizens uniting for the common good. With you, we can accomplish even more! - "Allentown Rotary Means Business."
I love the start of the New Year! I look back over the past 12 months think about what did I do? What didn’t I do? This is a great time for us as a club and just as Rotarians to really check in with ourselves.
As I write this I am sitting here in Denver, CO and looking out at the snow covered mountains. I am truly happiest when I am helping others. When are you happiest? How can we bring your happiest moments to Rotary so we can ignite that passion you had on that day you first joined?
I mentioned checking in with ourselves let’s think of the 4 way test. Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? How did you measure up on that over the last year? How did we as a club?
What can we do better in 2024 so next year we say “wow!” We were amazing! We have so many new valuable members! We now know this club will live on for another 100 years!
Hope to see you all at the post holiday party and celebrate our club and friendships.
It’s that time of year again……. Monte Carlo Night, March 4
For at least the last 25+ years our club has hosted Monte Carlo Night with the residents of Good Shepard. For those of you unfamiliar with the event (or for those club members who may be memory challenged), here’s what happens:
ARC members set up and man games of “chance”, e.g. roulette, bingo, black jack, spin the bottle wheel
Good Shepard residents, loaded with “monopoly money” bet on the various games.
Because of the extraordinary luck of the residents, they all win!
The residents then redeem their winnings for personal items donated by the club
SIGN UP!! Sign up, put it on your calendar NOW.
to be a croupier,
to assist the residents placing their bets (FYI…security cameras have been installed to insure volunteers do NOT pocket any of the residents’ winnings.)
to stand around and do nothing
The residents visit the “casino” around 5:30 PM after their dinner and play for about 1 – 1½ hours. All is finished by 7 – 7:30 PM. It’s a fun and rewarding time for all.
On Wednesday, March 27 via Joyful Giving, we will package Joy Maker gift bags for children who utilize the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown. Afterwards, more merriment is planned at Hunan Springs with an "order off the menu and pay for your own" dinner.
You may attend the gift packaging, the dinner, or both - you'll just need to RSVP to Kathy Frazier at bkfbu82@aol.com or 484-602-6611 by noon, Monday, March 25. Please indicate whether you will be attending both "events" or just one (and if so, which one!).
Here's what to expect - from 5:15 - 6:30 Joyful Giving will have all the necessary items for packaging the Joy Makers, which will be full of age appropriate items for children. The address is 4949 Liberty Lane, Suite 125, Allentown,
From 6:30 - ??? a space is reserved for us at Hunan Springs, 4939 Hamilton Street, Wescosville. The restaurant is a few short blocks north of Joyful Giving.
Sok Yi has received written notification that she will be admitted as a patient to Shriners Childrens Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 11, 2024. She will be receiving 8 months of medical treatments to help correct her severe congenital scoliosis. This will include at least 8 weeks of Halo Traction, Spinal Fusion Surgery, Physical and Recreational Therapy. Dr. Jonathan Pellet, MD, specializing in Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, is her doctor. Shriners Hospital is providing all medical treatments free of charge.
Mike Orbin has made arrangements to travel to Pursat Province, Cambodia, at the beginning of March, to escort Sok Yi and her sister, Sok An, who is Sok Yi's guardian/caretaker, to take them to Honolulu. As Sok Yi’s sponsor, Mike, along with Rotarians and friends through the successful Go-Fund-Me campaign, are providing the necessary financial and personal support, including covering all expenses for Sok Yi and her sister to come to the United States, and for their return trip to Cambodia, plus, expenses in the United States. Sok Yi and Sok An will reside at a residence building on the Shriners Honolulu campus, adjacent to the Hospital.
Sok Yi and her sister have applied to the US Embassy in Cambodia for medical visas and will be travelling to Phnom Penh for a scheduled interview with the US Embassy. Shiners Childrens Hospital and Mike have provided letters of support to the US Embassy for their visa approval.
Through Rotary’s Sustainable Cambodia contacts, Mike has been able to engage, Kanika Mak-Lavy, for her support. She has been living in Honolulu, working with the East-West Center for many years, which is near Shriners Childrens Hospital. Kanika is Cambodian, who left Cambodia with her family arriving in Florida, USA, in 1980. She grew up speaking Khmer, has been onsite at the Sustainable Cambodia schools (same school that Sok Yi attended -KBFC), and her family are SC supporters. Kanika is part of the senior staff team leading the EWC Education Program and serves as the program coordinator for several graduate student programs, in particular the EWC Foundation Scholarships program. She enthusiastically agreed to help Sok Yi and her sister while in Honolulu, and she has three graduate Cambodian students at the East-West Center who will also lend their support, doing periodic check-ins, purchasing of food and personal items that they may need, and helping connect them to a network of friends/helpers. Once Sok Yi and Sok An are admitted into Shriners, they will not be able to leave Shriners Hospital Campus until discharged.
Sok Yi is grateful to everyone that has and is supporting her, giving her an opportunity to live a more normal life and to help her reach her potential where she will be productive in her life's work and give back to her community!
Here is picture of Mike with Sok Yi and Chenda, another student he sponsors at the KBFC school, during his visit in November.
Since our Club has contributed to many beneficial projects in Cambodia, this is a chance for members to see for themselves the impact our Rotary dollars have.
Formal reservations are being taken now for the 2024 February trip (Sat. Feb 17 to Mon. Feb 26). Page 3 of the attached PDF details the trip costs (as low as $995/person, without airfare), and how to reserve. The cost to reserve the trip is $250 per single or $350 per couple (the balance of the trip cost is then paid by 75 days before the trip starts).
The Allentown Rotary Club is officially on LinkedIn. Please follow our page to stay in the loop on our upcoming programs, exciting events, and service projects.
Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Please give it a try and let us know your feedback. We may start recording our club's Zoom meetings in the future, so if you miss a club meeting, you can click the link and it's just like being there!
Rotary International launches celebrity ambassador programChampions include Kat Graham, Sibongile Mlambo, Gaby Moreno, and Archie PanjabiEVANSTON, Ill., USA
Rotary is committing US$500,000 to bolster the initiative, channeling these funds through a dedicated Polio Outbreak Response Fund. This contribution represents Rotary's sustained support to the World Health Organization in combating polio globally.
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