Welcome to the Futura! Learn about upcoming speakers and events, last meeting's presentation, and other club updates.
Reminder: Meetings moved to The Chaska Curling & Events Center for the Foreseeable Future!!
Upcoming Speakers
November
4
Raj Khankari & Tim Mulcrone; Rotary Foundation
11 - 100% Zoom
Marianna Khauv; District 5950 Governor
18
Greg Boe; MN State House of Representatives
Upcoming Events
Thursday, November 11 will be 100% Zoom due to the new venue having a prior commitment on that morning
November 4 - First STRIVE Meeting: 9:00 AM
November 13 - District 112 Foundation Dinner/Dance
Last Week's Presentation
Greg Anderson introduced Mary Hernandez, a Community Action Partnership (CAP) project coordinator and co-founder of the group Esperanza. Mary was born in Mexico City and grew up in St. Paul, where she learned that her Hispanic background influenced her to “stay out of sight” to avoid trouble with neighbors and police. Fortunately, she learned there are benefits to being involved and active in her communities. She has been active in the Shakopee Diversity Alliance, a cultural specialist for school district 112 and Shakopee school. She is a member of the Scott County Community Development Agency, Shakopee Rotary, Love INC., and the Board of Directors for St. Francis Hospital.
“Esperanza” is the Spanish word for “Hope” and Mary’s actions have been rewarded by giving hope and allowing success to many who might not have achieved either without Mary and the dozens of volunteers she organizes and staff members and police of the area’s cities. Her focus on food distribution and nutritional equity are at the heart of many of her activities. She also heavily invested her time and community organizing to help children spend their energy on positive activities when not attending school.
The CAP mission: Assist and empower people to achieve social and economic well-being in partnership with our community.
The CAP Goals:
A strong, healthy, community of connected individuals and
families.
Accessible, high-quality education.
Safe and stable housing and energy support.
Fulfilling employment for all.
The CAP Agency helps people break down barriers to access by providing the tools and resources necessary to achieve success. It partners with businesses, schools, and other leading nonprofit organizations – like Esperanza and Together We CAN – to create vital and lasting connections. The staff relies on a generous network of volunteers to contribute their time and skills to support the mission and their neighbors, strengthening our community as a whole.
Through their work, CAP staff and volunteers are investing in each other and building relationships today for a better tomorrow. Together, we can make a healthy, safe, sustainable life a reality for all.
In 2019-2020, the CAP Agency:
Distributed over 1,000,000 lbs of food
Educated over 450 children
Provided food to over 1,100 people through mobile food distributions
Served over 800 seniors
Provided energy assistance to over 5,700 households
Delivered over 92,500 meals to seniors
Served nearly 38,000 people at the Shakopee Food Shelf
We were invited to help distribute food in the former Gedney parking lot on the 3rd Thursday each month during the lunch hour.
To contact Mary:
Phone: 952-496-2125
Website: www.capagency.org; the CAP website is the key to unlock volunteer opportunities and give donations to help them become more successful.
Club Announcements and Updates
INVOCATION: Wayne Ward’s invocation deserves a repeat for those not spending their holidays in Scotland: “From ghoulies and ghosties, And long-leggedy beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!”
FINEMASTER: Once again, Dan Keyport astounded us with outrageous photos of why
some Rotarians should never be allowed to be babysitters (Judging from his bizarre web searches, do you suppose Dan is on a Watch List in the National Security Agency???). Happy Dollars came out from a few folks who weren’t in shock: Gary
Goeman, Greg Larson, Mike Fahey, and Vic Benetti.
Vic Benetti and Gary Cooper have re-scheduled the first STRIVE meeting for Tuesday Nov.4, at 9:00 AM. They would like 6 more Rotarians to help with the STRIVE program as mentors. Two mentors will be assigned to groups of approximately 3 students. Meetings will be on Thursdays from 9:25 to 10:05 except for the Feed My Starving Children volunteer activity on 2 Dec. Regular meetings will be at Chaska Senior High with specific rooms to be announced weekly. Gary and Vic have been coordinating our STRIVE program for many years and would like to give others the chance to contribute their time and energy to continue its success. Please respond to Vic or Gary.
Sheryl Hough has put us all on notice that December 16 is fast approaching, and our Holiday Auction needs to generate lots of cash to match the expected laughter expected at this annual event. Char Weber, Paul Maahs, and various elves will be working hard, so we need to be supplying gift cards and raffle items. We will be meeting earlier than usual at the Event Center, and will be served an enhanced menu!
Volunteer/Sponsorship Opportunities
We are looking for volunteers and sponsors for these upcoming events:
Swimming Lessons (May '22)
Pond Hockey (Jan. '23)
All help and contributions would be greatly appreciated!
