6/2: Tosha Connors, My Sister’s House

June 2, 2020:

We continued to meet via Zoom this week, but next week will begin the slow process of moving back to in person meetings next week. You will still have the option to join the meeting via Zoom, and if you chose to attend in person there will be some changes to adjust for our current circumstances. Read more in this week’s newsletter.

We welcomed Tasha Connors, who runs My Sister’s House to our virtual meeting this week. 

At this weeks virtual Rotary meeting, we heard from Tosha Connors, CEO of My Sister’s House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. My Sister’s House is in the midst of its 40th Anniversary Year. In addition to housing, My Sister’s House provides counseling, education, and other support systems. The shelter currently has capacity for 36 women and children. However, it has been shut down due to Covid-19 since March. They are planning to reopen soon but anticipate that guidance from HUD may reduce capacity by 50%. 

Also, due the virus, many at-risk families have experienced loss of income and have isolated from family and other support systems. Tosha said they expect to see a spike in domestic violence and in need for services over the next 6 months. 

South Carolina has continually ranked in the top 20 states in rates of abuse of women by men. It currently is ranked number 5. In addition to the support services the shelter offers, My Sister’s House has an advocacy program to assist those victims who consider either pressing charges or filing for order of protection. Their goal is to provide support to victims both during the immediate crisis of the violence through the transition out of that environment and into a safe one. 

Donations can be made at https://www.mysistershouse.org/

Submitted by Jeff Webb,  Keyway Committee

 

IN OTHER MEETING NEWS 

  • Alan Burgreen gave the Invocation and led us in the pledge.  
  • President Sandy welcomed all visiting Rotarians & guests.  
  • President Sandy Morckel & Past President Patterson presented Health and Happiness live from Charleston Beer Works on upper King. 
  • Patterson encouraged all members to support local small businesses that were damaged during the recent riots. 

MORE IN THIS WEEK’S KEYWAY

June 9, 2020 | Issue 4965 | President: Sandy Morckel

COMING EVENTS
    • June 9 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom  (Kristopher King, Preservation Society)
    • June 16 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom (CCSD Teacher of Year/Rotary Scholars)
    • June 23 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom (Gracie & Lacy)
    • June 30 – Meeting @ Faber/Zoom (Presidential/Board Installation)
NEWS BRIEFS

Rotary Club of Charleston History Moment

At each meeting, President Sandy plans to share some of the snippets of our club’s amazing 100 year history and our impact on Charleston and around the world. It will be a fun trip down memory lane and will also be shared in the Keyway.

The 2000’s (2003-2007) 

We donated 176 units of blood in competition with the Columbia Rotary Club and we won 176 to 159. In 2005, we helped Rotary International celebrate its 100th anniversary and our 85th anniversary with a Black and White Ball at the Francis Marion Hotel. We became a sister Club with the Rotary Club of Brisbane, Australia. We raised $54,000 for charity including the Rotary Foundation, the Rotary Club of Charleston Fund, and the Low Country Food Bank. We donated $13,000 for Hurricane relief for Katrina. We continued with Adopt a Highway project and Rotary Readers. Some luminary speakers during this time were: Gov. Mark Sanford, Jim Clyburn, Jim DeMint, Lindsey Graham, Thomas Ravenel, Glenn McConnell, and Bobby Harrell.

Meeting this Tuesday at FABER 

We are excited to announce that while we will continue to offer our Rotary Meetings by Zoom well into the foreseeable future, we will be able to begin meeting IN PERSON starting June 9th, but with a few alterations to the way we have met in the past (see below).  Based on feedback from members, this should be welcome news for a majority of you.

Beginning this Tuesday, June 9, you will have the option of meeting in person or by Zoom, and our speaker will be Kristopher King, Executive Director of Preservation Society of Charleston, to recap their 100 years of impact on Charleston’s historic preservation. Carroll has emailed multiple Evites/reminders to all members with a request for an RSVP by Thursday, June 4, so, hopefully, everyone who is planning to attend has already RSVP’d.  No additional reservations will be taken at this point. An official RSVP is required for those attending in person, as we have a cap of 70 people for our in-person meetings for the time being. We will also offer the meeting on Zoom and that link is included in the weekly Keyway email. For your convenience, we will keep the Rotary Zoom Link the same every week for those of you who participate through that option. 

The following guidelines have been established for our in-person meetings that comply with state and local regulations for events:

ENTERING MEETING/REGISTRATION

    • Attendance is at your own risk and only those who are healthy are encouraged to attend
    • Wearing masks upon entering is optional
    • Entrance doors will be open
    • Marks on floor every 6 feet to registration table
    • Registration table located inside room past “lounge area”
    • Rotarians/Visitors/Guests wait in line to be signed in by Sergeant-At-Arms Committee
    • Sergeant-At-Arms committee will be wearing masks & gloves
    • No badges
    • No raffle
    • Hand sanitizer located at registration and in various locations in the room

SEATING

    • Lunch will be plated and served as Rotarians arrive at their tables – no buffet or drink station
    • Rotarians/Visitors/Guests will be encouraged to find a seat after being registered. Try to fill tables from the far wall (near the kitchen) outward to eliminate some of the brushing up against others while finding a seat
    • Tables & seats will be appropriately space to allow for social distancing
    • Hand sanitizer will be at each table

HEAD TABLE

    • 1 Head table with 2 seats – speaker and speaker introducer
    • Podium with table mic (wipes available on podium)

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS/VISITORS

    • No passing of handheld mic/members will stand-up and introduce guests without use of mic

RSVP REQUIRED TO ATTEND MEETINGS

    • Members/Visitors/Guests planning to attend weekly meetings will be required to RSVP through Evite to let us know if you are planning to attend as we are limited to 70 people at this time
    • Any dietary restrictions need to be noted on the RSVP

 

ZOOM / RECORDINGS

  • Meetings will continue to be available on Zoom and a recording will also be emailed out after the meeting for those not comfortable attending in person

We will continue to monitor the situation and any changing state and local ordinances to assure we are keeping the safety of all as our highest priority.  Because we are continuing to Zoom the meetings, we hope that those who are not yet comfortable attending in person will continue to log in by Zoom from the comfort of your home. No yummy lunch by Hall’s or the in-person camaraderie of your fellow Rotarians, but it is the next best thing to stay engaged and be connected to your Rotary family. And as we know, the impact of Rotary is felt through our volunteerism and support of one another and the community, especially during trying times.

 

Change in Membership Status Deadline

If you plan a change in your club member status by July 1, 2020 to Excused, Leave of Absence or if you are planning to resign, please notify Carroll in writing NO LATER THAN June 8, 2020.  This change will affect your July statement, which will be distributed in mid-June. All current members who officially resign after June 8 will be billed $52 to cover Rotary International dues, which are paid the first of each billing cycle.  If you have any questions, contact Carroll.

 

Youth Exchange – Farewell to Tobias

Our Youth Exchange student for this past year, Tobias Kauffman, flew home to Switzerland this past week.  We enjoyed hosting Tobias throughout the year and hope he’ll have an opportunity to return for a visit in the future.  We will miss him and wish him all the best. 

A big thank you to Mike & Toni Sottak, who welcomed Tobias into their home and served as his family host during most of COVID-19. Also, thank you to club members, Richard Sidebottom and Karen Clark, who served as Co-Chairs of the Youth Exchange Committee and spent many hours assisting Tobias, coordinating his visit and transporting him to and from Rotary. A special shout out also to his non-Rotarian host families – The Murrell and The Popes.  We appreciate all of you!

Global Grant Scholar – Madison Davis

Our Club is sponsoring Madison Davis, a junior at the College of Charleston, for this year’s Ambassadorial Global Grant Scholarship.

Rotary Foundation Global Grants are used to fund scholarships with sustainable, high impact outcomes in one of Rotary’s six areas of focus: peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development.  Madison is planning to attend the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine pursuing an MSc in Nutrition for Global Health.  Madison will be in competition with a number of other candidates within District 7770 vying for a cash grant of up to $50,000 to attend graduate study for one academic year abroad.  Good luck Madison!!

 

District Grant – Supporting Seniors at St. Patrick’s Church 

On behalf of our club, Past President Paul Stoney and his staff delivered 25 bags of food and other goods to the senior members of the parish of Saint Patrick’s church this past week. Each and every member was overly excited to receive this gift from our club. The vast majority of these members have not been out of the house for three months and were so happy to receive the support and gifts from the Rotary Club of Charleston. The funds to support the delivery was recently made available through our District Grants funds.  District Grant funds normally support the Y-Achievers program at the YMCA, but due to COVID19 this program was forced to end early.  The District allowed clubs to use any unused funds to support COVID relief in our area. 

 

Volunteer Opportunities

Any Rotarians and their family members who are healthy and able, we have several COVID-19 related volunteer opportunities that are looking for volunteers. Please understand these are opportunities to volunteer in the community for those who want to, but with the understanding that you will do so with careful consideration and discretion as to not put yourselves or others in jeopardy.

    • Adopt-A-Highway

Volunteers are needed for our next Adopt-A-Highway trash pick-up, which is scheduled for Saturday, June 20 at 10am. Volunteers should meet at the corner of Bee Street and Rutledge. If you are interested in helping, please contact Stavros Triantafyllidis [email protected].

    • Camp Happy Days Build-A-Box Event 

Rotarians needed to volunteer for this event to take place June 13th and 14th on James Island.  We will have 2 sessions (9:30am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-4:30pm) each day.  Volunteers can sign up for one or more sessions. We will be packing boxes that will be mailed to our campers. Since campers will not be able to attend camp in person this year, we are sending camp to them, in a box.  The boxes will be packed with arts/craft, fun activities, and projects based on age groups. We are going to be packing around 375 boxes during the two-day event. To volunteer, please let Kerby Teller know which shift you would be available by calling him at 843-709-3267 or email kerby.teller@csi-sc com. If you have any questions, please contact Melinda Slider at 843-571-4336 Ext. 25 or melinda@camphappydays.com.

    • LOWCOUNTRY FOOD PANTRY

Shifa Clinic’s Lowcountry Food Pantry is in need of Rotary volunteers. The pantry in Mount Pleasant has seen a dramatic increase in the number of families accessing the food pantry as a lifeline due to the economic impact of the Coronavirus containment efforts. Formerly serving 250 families per month, they are now serving 375 families per week. Volunteers are needed to sort, load, and unload food boxes for delivery throughout the region Monday-Friday for the foreseeable future. To register for a shift, go to https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/60b0d45aba72ba7fa7-covid1

    • CASC MEALS ON WHEELS

The Charleston Area Senior Citizens (CASC) has secured COVID funding to provide each of our current Meals on Wheels clients extra meals! Arriving this week are 10,000 shelf stable meals for our clients.

Now CASC needs a team of people willing to deliver a route once a week to seniors across Charleston County. Meals would be picked up from the CASC center on Meeting Street each week and delivered by a volunteer.

Volunteers will come to the center between 10-Noon to pick-up their meals and delivery can be made that day anytime. Volunteers will call each recipient and food will be left on the porch for a contactless delivery.

We hope to keep each route about 2 hours.

Would you be able to help with this?

If so- please email Donna Cool ASAP with the area you would like to deliver and what time you can come pick up your boxes.

Donna Cook at [email protected]

 

Update on 3D Mask Assembly Project

Since early May, Rotarians from the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston have been volunteering to help with the assembly of 3-D printer-generated components of protective masks for distribution to the healthcare workers at the Medical University of South Carolina.  Led by Rotary President Sandy Morckel, the Rotary Team augmented by National Guardsmen who were activated for COVID-19 support, worked with Citadel staff and faculty to complete for delivery hundreds of masks toward a goal of 1000!  Well done by all for providing tireless community support!   

The Guardsman will be able to continue full-time until June 13, when Rotarians will once again take over the volunteer duties with shifts on Wednesdays and Fridays, 9 am – Noon starting on June 17. Thank you to Rotarian and SC Guard Major Howard Chapman for making the connection, and our Veterans Chair Skip Fink for serving as liaison for the project. Rotarians who would like to volunteer for any shift beginning June 17, please contact Skip Fink at 703-994-7341 or by email at [email protected].

Also, our Rotarian and Ironman Don Oswalt is helping to raise money for Water Mission by doing a solo Half Ironman on Sunday, May 24th. He will be swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles and running 13.1 miles for a total of 70.3 miles! Funds raised will help bring safe drinking water to the 1.8 billion people around the world currently lacking access to safe water. Below is a link to the Water Mission donation page if you would like to donate to the effort. We know that things are tight for a lot of us but any small donation is appreciated. https://watermission.everydayhero.com/us/half-ironman-for-water.

If you are out there and helping in our community during this crisis, please take a photo of you volunteering and email it to Mike Sottak.  We would love to highlight the good works being done by our members. 

 

Club/District Emails

As a Rotarian and a member in District 7770, you are receiving emails from our club and the District.  Both the club and the District try to minimize the number of emails being sent, but in today’s world of staying at home and no contact, emails are the main way to get information out and keep Rotarians connected. Please do not unsubscribe from District emails as this also effects your ability to receive club emails. If you unsubscribe from the District emails,  then you are also unsubscribing from receiving club emails.

 

Contribute to The CART Fund On-Line

It is now easy to contribute and support The CART Fund electronically. The CART Fund has just rolled out a new portal www.mycartfund.org, which you can easily access. As a Rotarian and a DACdb user, you automatically have an account already set-up in your name. Your user name and password are the same as it is for the DACdb.

Our Club is on Social Media

Members are encourage to follow all of our social media channels and share posts with their followers too!  We also need members to send us picture of anything they do that relates to Rotary – service projects, meetings, events, etc.  We would love to keep our accounts full of smiling Rotarians! Photos can be send to Mike Sottak, [email protected], or Rob Byko, [email protected].

 

Member News

Best wishes for all of us to stay safe and continue to stay connected as we help those who are most vulnerable in our community.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to fellow Rotarians if we can help you in any way in the days and weeks to come!

 

Proposed New Member

The following membership candidate has submitted an application and signed letter of agreement to the Historic Rotary Club of Charleston:

Sarah Imam – sponsor:  President Sandy Morckel; classification:  Education/Military/College

In the event you know Sarah, please tell a member of the Board how he/she will serve the ideas of Rotary.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Barbara Walters

  • JOINED: 11/12/2019 
  • SPONSOR: President Sandy Morckel
  • MEMBERSHIP INVOLVEMENT: Operation Warm coat distribution, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, Rise Against Hunger food packing, 100 Year Anniversary Committee, Boat Raffle Ticket sales at boat show  
  • CLASSIFICATION: Commercial Banking
  • PROFESSION: Banking 
  • SOMETHING UNIQUE ABOUT YOURSELF: First (and, to this date, the only) pregnant President of the Delaware, Ohio Rotary Club (1998).  I have traveled to Ireland to meet relatives on my mother’s side of the family

Birthdays

      • 6/10 – Nick Galizia 
      • 6/11 – Trent Drafts
      • 6/11 – Vito Scarefile

By the numbers

    • Attendance on June 2, 2020:  45
    • Not in attendance:  Allen, Altman, Baggs, Beam, Berry, Bickley, Bini, Brack, Brady, Carico, Clark, Coghill, Cole, Cook, Cooper, Cooper, Coxe, Crouch, DeGraff, Diminich, Dopp, Drafts, Dunaway, Echols, Fellabom, Finniff, Frume, Galizia, Gill, Giovanniello, Goxhaj, Hanger, Holmes, Howard, Husser, Jamme, Johnson, Jones, Jones, Kaynard, Le, Leonard, Lietzow, Loredo, Lucy, Minson, Miracle, Morelli, Moring, Oswalt, Palmer, Patrick, Peters, Plotner, Ravenel, Riley, Rust, Savage, Seguer, Smith, H., Smith, M., Smith, M., Sottak, Staley, Strickland, Taylor, Tecklenburg, John, Tecklenburg, P., Uram, Vanek, Walters, Weston
    • Out of Town Make-ups: None
WELLNESS TIP

Work. It. Out.

Spending a lot more time at home does not mean you get to be a couch potato. Staying active not only keeps your body healthy physically (keeping your risk of chronic health issues down and lowering your chances of acute illness, like COVID-19), it also helps up your mood and well-being. Exercise releases endorphins (hormones that make you feel good!), sharpens focus, and aids sleep. Staying physically active also lessens the risk of mood disorders, boosts energy, and improves mood overall. Talk about a one-two punch against the mid afternoon slump!

AREA CLUB MEETINGS

Mondays

  • Summerville – Oakbrook: 7:30 a.m., Monday, Westcott County Club, 5000 Wescott Club Drive, North Charleston
  • North Charleston: 12:30 a.m., Monday, Hilton Garden Inn, 5265 International Blvd, North Charleston.
  • Summerville Evening: 5:30 p.m., Monday, Montreux Bar and Grill, 127 W. Richardson Ave., Summerville

Tuesdays

  • East Cooper Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Cooper River Room at Waterfront Park, Mount Pleasant
  • Charleston: 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Hall’s Signature Events, 5 Faber, Charleston
  • Goose Creek: 12:45  m. Tuesday, Gilligan’s, 219 St. James Ave., Goose Creek

Wednesdays

  • Daniel Island: 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Daniel Island Club, 600 Island Park Dr., Daniel Island
  • St. John’s Parish (John’s Island): 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, 2817 Maybank Highway, Unit 1, John’s Island
  • Mount Pleasant: 12:30 p.m., Wednesday, Harbor Breeze Restaurant, 176 Patriots Point Road, Mount Pleasant
  • Summerville: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sticky Fingers, Summerville

Thursdays

  • North Charleston Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Embassy Suites, 5055 International Blvd., North Charleston
  • Moncks Corner: 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Gilligan’s Restaurant, Moncks Corner
  • St. Andrews (West Ashley): 12:30 p.m., Thursday, Bessinger’s BBQ, 1602 Savannah Highway, Charleston.

Fridays

SOCIAL MEDIA 

Our Rotary club actively uses social media — and we encourage you to interact with us through social media.

  • We’re on FacebookTake a look at our page and be sure to “like us”.
  • We’re on Twitter.  You can follow us @chasrotaryclub.
  • We’re on Instagram.  You can follow us @ChasRotaryClub.
ABOUT THE KEYWAY 

The Keyway has been published weekly as a newsletter for the Rotary Club of Charleston for more than 90 years.

  • President: Sandy Morckel
  • Keyway editor: Don Baus [email protected]
  • Executive secretary: Carroll Schweers, [email protected]
  • Mailing address: Rotary Club of Charleston, P.O. Box 21029 ,Charleston, SC 29413-1029
  • Copyright 2018, Rotary Club of Charleston. All rights reserved