Soundings (3/3/11)

Bucks in the Bay

• Lance said Scot Swanson going to Las Vegas this weekend to play with his semi-pro Bellingham soccer team at the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!
• Steve Beringer happy for the Couger basketball win!
• Bill Geyer said March 17th there will be a Fireside (for new Rotarians, and board members) to explain to new members how Rotary works;
• Dr. Curt Smith had $76 in birthday bucks!
• Christine Palmerton missed meeting last week, glad John Ferlin and Bill Gorman are candidates for Business Person of the Year, and proud husband Chris is a third candidate! (his company is "Coastal Industrial Services").
• Stan corrected a mistake in last weeks' Soundings (Eisenhower was the only president born in Texas!)
• Mark Turner happy to attend NW Garden Show in Seattle last weekend (see his blog for a photo slideshow), also working on a new photo book!
• John Templeton glad for all the help from Rotarians during the tough years, this year he will give $100 to our Foundation for every transaction involving a club member;
• Glenn Groenig saw son Matt in Idaho last weekend, it was a tough trip driving home because of the snow!

Sergeant at Arms by Jane Carten
Fines for birthdays, Stowe for wearing Bill Geyer's badge, Stan for being a subversive influence, owners of rental property, Eddie went to Whistler at Kaiser family residence, Bill Gorman (three of the four candidates for Biz Person of the Year are related to our club in some way), Scot for the upcoming national soccer championships.

Program
Dennis introduced Bliss Goldstein, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Whatcom County.  Bliss explained that BBBS works with children facing adversity in Whatcom county. It helps them build character so they can overcome challenges. By matching children with adult mentors in one-to-one relationships, BBBS helps transform the life of a child (a Little), the life of an adult (a Big) and together transform schools, neighborhoods and communities. Simple acts of mentoring yield powerful results: Data show that more than 97% of the BBBS-matched kids avoid contact with juvenile authorities.

BBBS offers several programs:

• Community-based Mentoring: 6-12 hours per month;
• Mentoring Children of Promise for mentoring children of incarcerated adults;
• "School Buddies" program: Just 1 hour per week.

Colleen Haggerty is the program director at BBBS and she talked about her "little sister" who is 11, same age as her own daughter. Her little sisiter comes from a challenging family background where there is not a lot of room for fun or just being a little girl. So Colleen tries to teach her to have self-confidence and speak out for herself and her own needs.

Jason Redmond is a volunteer recruiter for BBBS; he has a "little brother" in the School Buddies program who is very shy. Jason senses a great need and urgency in our community for big brothers and sisters. Everyone needs someone in their lives, a positive role model. It's been a rewarding experience for both parties.

Ways to give financially:

• $1500 / year supports one match;
• $9900 / year to provide matches for an entire school;
• "Bowl for Kids" day is a fundraiser at Park Bowl on March 27.

To find out more about BBBS and its programs, talk to Jason or Colleen.

Respectfully submitted,
Stowe Talbot