September 13, 2021

The meeting was opened at noon on Zoom by President Klark Swan. Thought of the day was provided by Lynn Dugaw. Colby Smart led the pledge of allegiance.

  • Rotary Blood Drive – Sept 25th 8am – 3pm. Call ahead and make appointments. Please sign up. You might win a basket of goodies in addition to helping our community.
  • Rotary Environmental Efforts – September 25th will be movie night. We will be viewing, “California on the Climate Restoration Frontier.” A link is available by contacting Klark Swan.
  • There will also be monthly meetings on the topic of Environmental efforts. The next one will be on 9/22 @5pm. Email Klark for more information.
  • Past District Governor, Terri Clark sent a request for funding to help fund a Library at Your Front Door van for the Humboldt Library Foundation.  Klark directed her to our Small Grants applications as funding has increased this year.  Please remember to encourage folks to go there.
  • Past President Brad Mettam will start providing a monthly Cal-Trans update because of multiple requests from members. Last Chance Grade – there are many questions about when it’s really open.  There was a slide that blocked the road and lots of repair work has taken place.  Delays are relatively short now with one way traffic happening each way.

ROTARY MOMENT

To mark the International Day of Peace on September 21st Rotary International is encouraging clubs to prioritize projects that improve the health, well-being, education and economic security of girls in their communities and around the world. Rotary Club of Eureka recently made a grant to a school based wellness center – a girl empowerment group.

UPDATES:

Fire Relief- looking for ways we can help.  Ideas?

Rosters are in! Please let Klark know if you need one.

RECOGNITIONS:

Kris Marquez- recently celebrated with a birthday brunch at a local restaurant.

Mindy Sehon – 3 year old Marina recently was brave enough to jump off the side of a pool

Annalise – Recently provided keys to a young family that bought a new home.

Jerry Reece – His son lives in Los Angeles and works with a group that holds game shows via podcasts.  He recently was asked to host one.  A link to the show was shared on Jerry’s Facebook page.

 

PRESENTER

Brenda Perez – Perez is an immigrant from Chalchicomula, Mexico, in Wiyot lands. She is the Executive Director of Centro del Pueblo. She is a member of the Humboldt County Sanctuary Law Committee. PhD student in Latin American Studies at the National University of Mexico. She has conducted research in Lyon, Montreal, Bolivia, Argentina and Mexico, which includes field work with indigenous communities affected by violence. In 2017, she was a visiting scholar at the Interdisciplinary Marijuana Research Institute at HSU. She is the host of two bilingual radio programs that highlight the importance of the immigrant community and the Indigenous Peoples of the South in the United States.

Karen Villa also with Centro del Pueblo talked about their Mission Statement – They are an immigrant rights organization.

They provide many things to the community including food distribution and food growing.  Covid-19 economic relief for immigrants.  Free community activities: Kayaking, theatre, painting, music.  Their outreach network extended from McKinleyvilile to Garberville

Immediate needs they have identified in our community include: Rent relief and food sovereignty

Community food gardens currently exist in Arcata, Loleta, Eureka and Fortuna. More are coming.

Support from organizations include: Humboldt Area Foundation, St. Joseph Providence, McLean Foundation, Grantmakers and more.

They dream of providing art programs in gardens. Gardens are considered safe places that can also provide healing space, meeting areas, etc.

They are working to encourage and educate about vaccinations.  100% of  staff is vaccinated.  Catholic Charities in Santa Rosa assist with immigration help. For more information about their programs please visit: www.cdpueblo.com

The meeting was adjourned at 1 pm. A recording of the meeting can be found here. (Use password M6BL1Cz+): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/08WyumF0tLhyx1KEfpD4TBHsQ0wH8fFd1b5RS0eSLNSAVu6SH7OS9k0g09y3RTQ.8D07Oxv1IJGKFL42