February 18, 2004

This week’s Bulletin was written by Brad Benter

 

this week’s meeting

This week’s meeting started with President Frank’s uncustomary medley of various ways to say Gooood Morrrrning!! Call to order at 7:30 a.m., the Pledge by the Honorable Pat Cowett and an inspiring invocation from Larry Nuffer.  We sang “Take me out to the Ball game”, led by Jim Mulvaney.  Various guests were introduced as well as visiting Rotarians Gina Espinoza and Scott Carr.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ø      Rosalie Kramm and Carole Jensen reported on a very successful St. Valentines Day function at the Senior Center.

Ø      Lynn LaBreche-Hamilton reminded everyone about the 1st Annual (not Memorial) Frank De Francesco Bowling event to be held March 5th at Mira Mesa Bowl (8210 Mira Mesa Blvd) starting at 7pm till 10pm. $15/person to include shoe rentals. Family members are invited. If you are interested please RSVP to Lynn at llbhamilton@hotmail.com

Ø      Jim Mulvaney- as Vice President of St. Vincent De Paul’s Village, thanked all of the participant’s in the Job Fair.

Ø      Nancy Vaughan from the Community Service Committee, announced the Humane Society Telethon to be held on March 6th- needs assistance answering phones-a flyer was sent out for people to sign up.

Ø      Frank De Francesco announced that on April 3rd, the district is having a Night out to watch the San Diego Gulls play. More info to come.

Ø      Claire from the District unveiled the NEW District Banner and also announced an event to be held at Barona Casino with 5 other clubs.  The Event will run from April 23rd through the 25th and she is looking for Volunteers to help out with the Hospitality Suite.

Ø      Frank De Francesco, along with Tim Montague and Susan Davis (Fundraiser Co-Chairs) Came out Dressed in San Diego Multi-Sports apparel to introduce this years Annual Fundraising Theme- ALL STAR SAN DIEGO SPORTS. The event will be held May1st at The Hall of Champions in Balboa Park. We all were encouraged to attend the Fundraiser committee meetings to be held every-other Thursday. If any club members have pictures of themselves in sports (action or still shots) please mail or e-mail photos to Tim Montague 1974 Chalcedony St. San Diego, Ca.92109.  They will make sure the pictures are returned safely after they are scanned or otherwise incorporated in the presentation.

proposed new member

The following individual has been proposed as a new member of our Club and will be inducted under the classification listed below unless written objection is received by our Club Secretary within ten days of the date of this Bulletin:

Ø      Proposed Member: Gary Radel
Firm: Prime America
Proposed Classification: Financial Planning-Individuals
Proposer: Jay Sener

THIS WEEK’S SPEAKER

Matt D’Arrigo, Founder and Executive Director of A Reason To Survive (ARTS) was introduced by Pat Cowett.

Matt first showed us a brief video that took us into the lives of children who have been diagnosed with cancer. The video showed how Matt’s program helped cancer patients focus on music and art to get their minds off of the pain. Matt himself is an artist- a painter, receiving his B.A. in Fine Arts from Spring Hill College in 1995. While attending Spring Hill, Matt’s mother and sister were both diagnosed with cancer within a month of each other. Matt Took the following year off to help care for them. During this time, he relied heavily on his love of art and music to help him through that difficult time. His was then he first conceptualized creating ARTS.

The mission of the organization is to improve the quality of life for children that have been diagnosed with cancer. Their goal is to provide a comforting experience to help the children forget what is really happening to them. There are currently 11,000 children in the program and ARTS is partnering with other organizations such as:

Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Hospital, San Diego Hospice and the San Diego center for Children.

 Matt’s vision is to provide a free facility where children with Cancer can come and experience all aspects of the art world as well as experience the benefits and relaxation through music.

The biggest project that ARTS has done thus far, is to create a quilt for the 911 victims that was presented in New York on the first anniversary of the attacks. The organization has a $125,000/year budget gets most of it’s funding from private donations and grants.

They are currently looking for volunteers to work directly with the children on a six-month commitment. There are special training classes for the volunteers that are held by industry professionals. The focus is comfort in working with terminally ill individuals.

For volunteer or donation opportunities please call 760-815-2296 or visit www.artsurvive.org

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