Sunrise bulletin for the week of March 20, 2013
The calendar says that spring starts this week, but you sure wouldn't know it today. Cold, lots of rain, wind -- enough of this! But there are encouraging signs, too, in the jonquils in bloom and some early-bird trees starting to blossom. We can only hope.
Abigail Turner says she's involved in a major court case in Victoria that will keep her away for some weeks. But, we note that there's a new bar/restaurant in Kitsilano called "Abigail's Party." One wonders...
Meanwhile, back at the Coast Coal Harbour this morning, 14 members braved the spring(?) weather to gather for breakfast and Rotary in the big ballroom. President Julie Mantle needed a megaphone to be heard. We all had an opportunity to meet Georgina Hargreaves, the King George student who will be going to Sweden on Youth Exchange in August. Visiting Rotarian Shail Mahanti from the Vancouver Arbutus club was with us again. And, we welcomed first-time visitors Milie Taing from Paris and Jose Riga from Toulouse, France. Both have relocated to Vancouver. Jose was a Rotarian in France a few years ago. Milie starts work next month at SNC-Lavalin in Vancouver.
Club news
100 Years of Rotary in BC will be celebrated on Saturday, April 20, at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Our club will have a booth to build enthusiasm for our Strathcona Youth Programs. Club members will be needed to staff this booth, so mark your calendars.
The Hoop-a-Thon is scheduled for Saturday, June 15, and will benefit the Strathcona Community Centre's sports programs as well as funding scholarships for post-secondary education. Teams of club members and round-ball "ringers" are forming now. Every member needs to be involved as a team member, donor, sponsor-finder, or all of the above, if we are to reach our ambitious goal of $50,000. Start now to let your friends, coworkers, and others know about this very worthwhile effort.
Cam Scott will be hiking in Nepal for the next few weeks, so we need members to help with finding speakers and programs for meetings starting April 10. Email your ideas to Cam this week, before he hits the trail. If you miss Cam, send them to President Julie.
Today's program
Our speaker this morning was Barbara Kirby, a friend of Cleo Perez. Barbara was a stockbroker in Vancouver until she found it necessary to be a caregiver for her unwell father and, later, her mother. As a result of the problems she and her parents encounted in the seniors' care system, Barbara became an advocate for seniors, eventually starting a consulting business in this specialized area. Her business is called BJK Senior' Advocate and provides personal support, planning and advocacy for seniors and their families. She also works on contract with the BC Association of Community Response Networks as an outreach to service providers. CRN operations are being formed in a number of Vancouver neighbourhoods, as the needs of seniors and the services available vary from area to area. Education workshops and mentoring are some of the services offered to service providers.
Through these organizations, Barbara works to prevent seniors' abuse (financial, physical, sexual, psychological), neglect and self-neglect -- all of which are too common among seniors these days. CRNs are bringing people together to raise awareness, educate, build relationships and work toward prevention. There's a rumour that some of US are going to get older, so we should be pleased that BarbaraKirby and others are working to improve the quality of life for older people.
That's all for today. Next week's speaker is former member Richard Rees, who will give us the Institute of CAs' view of the provincial economy as we think about the provincial election in May.
Rob