Visitors today included Wesley Board who works with Brian Hayes and our speaker, Cathy Campbell. President Chuck King noted that due to the coronavirus, we will not be able to hold the board changeover meeting at Benham’s Grove.
Sivaji Subramanium shared he talked to Kitty, who expressed her gratefulness for the beautiful planter, and all of the calls, cards, and support from Rotarians.
President Chuck King shared this is our twelfth week since we stopped meeting in person, and our fifth Zoom meeting. Since we started our Zoom meetings, we’ve had around 33 members join each week.
The club said the Pledge of Allegiance, recited the 4-Way Test, and then Reverend Harvey Smith gave a special prayer for Kitty Ullmer’s mom, Irene who passed away last week. Kitty’s dad passed away 34 years ago, and Kitty has been helping her mom ever since.
President Chuck King provided these updates:
- I sent Tree of Life Tribute planter in the name of Centerville Rotary to Kitty Ullmer for the loss of her mother Irene. Irene became an honorary member of Centerville Rotary June 2014, and was a regular attendee to our club meetings. Whenever we had service days, she participated along side with Kitty. Irene was 96 years old, and was a Paul Harris +6 fellow. She will be missed by all.
- We sent a Centerville Rotary Club Reopening Survey to everyone last week, to date have had 32 members take the survey, so if you haven’t, please do so. I will close the survey at close of business tomorrow. We will use the survey results to develop our transition plans to return to face to face meetings. But I will add, we will not return to face to face meetings until we have a high confidence that you will be safe to do so.
- Last week I sent out a list to our designated callers so they can call other members and see how they are doing, if you are not a designated caller, you can expect a phone call or email - we want to make sure everyone is contacted so we know how they are doing and if there is anything we can do for them.
- If anyone is interested in participating in a service project, the Dayton VA Grotto needs help spreading mulch , and another task is checking the donated trees, make sure they have their number tag and their marker is in good shape and weed removed and then mulch. In another month or so, they will be purchasing some new benches and will need help to assemble them. You will be able to keep social distance and it is all outside. If interested, let myself or Ron Hollenbeck know, we are there every Tuesday from 9-12
- Before we go to Happy Dollars, To keep connected as a club, please send a short note of any news about yourself or family to Carol Kennard at cgkennard@woh.rr.com so she can post it in our Centerville Rotary Club eBulletin. Text photos to 937-581-6744
General information:
- Our Happy Dollars for April – June are going to The Castle in Centerville that provides mental health services to people in need – please be generous with your Happy Dollars for this good cause. Then send a check to the Club mailbox : Centerville Rotary Club, PO Box 41431, Centerville, OH 45458
Boyd Preston called on Rotarians for their Happy Dollars and everyone gave in memory of Irene Ullmer and Kitty’s devotion to her mother.
Boyd Preston ($20); Jim Harris ($10); Frank Perez ($10); Ray Merz ($10), who also thanked Brad Huffman for helping him with computer issues; Peachy Metzner ($10); Terry Hanauer ($10); Harvey Smith ($10), who also thanked Elda for the delicious cake; Dick Hoback ($10), Elda Gotos Gay ($20), who also said she would bake a cake for anyone who comes to visit; Ron Hollenbeck ($10) who reminded Elda he is only 5 minutes away; Jack Durnbaugh ($10); Deb Dulaney ($10); Susan Schnell ($10); Brad Huffman ($10), who also mentioned he misses seeing Kitty and Irene at McDonald’s on Saturday mornings; Sofie Ameloot ($10), Carol Kennard ($10); Chuck King ($20).
Sofie thanked Gerry Eastabrooks and Don Overly for donations to St. Vincent de Paul and reminded all that she has a box at her house and Pat Beckel is also collecting at his Nationwide Insurance business. The deadline for donations is June 19. Cash donations can also be made - send your check to the Centerville Rotary PO Box, noting on the check memo section that it is for this donation.
Sofie has signed up for the Tour de Gem bike riding fundraiser again this year. Riders can choose from several routes to ride and can ride on their own time. She has a goal of raising $500 for the Ronald McDonald House and would love to have some Rotarians ride with her.
Today's speaker: Cathy Campbell, V.P. Strategic Partnerships, St. Mary Development Corporation
Frank Perez introduced our speaker, Cathy Campbell, with the St Mary Development Corporation. Cathy has over 25 years with nonprofit development work and is an Oakwood Rotarian who will serve as the club’s president this coming year.
Cathy noted the St. Mary Development Corporation (SMDC) started 30 years ago with the goal to provide affordable housing for seniors. The demographics are changing drastically, and by 2030 and for the first time in history, we will have more seniors than children. They focus on providing independent living communities for seniors, primarily those on social security.
SMDC serves 16 counties along the I-75 corridor. The average age is 71, with average income of $13,000/year. Rent is based on what you’re able to pay. 15% of the residents were previously homeless.
Twin Towers Place was the first affordable housing SMDC constructed. Other units in the Dayton area include: Lyons Place I and II, Riverside Senior Villas, Carriage Trails, Hoover Lofts, and Residences at Eagle Point. They had to get the laws changed to allow units on VA property that give preference to Veterans.
Units are constructed to be energy efficient and handicap accessible. Each unit has a service coordinator who helps connect the residents to valuable services, particularly health needs and anything involving computers. Last year they connected 578 residents to 26 different types of services, holding 2,200 one on one meetings. They also work to bring services to the properties and help provide and encourage socialization.
Since COVID-19 is targeted to this population, their efforts have been to make wellness calls, helping them to understand the mandates and risks of going out, dispel misinformation, and encourage them to stay home.
Many residents did not have the resources to stock up on food when the coronavirus first hit, and feared they wouldn’t have food. SMDC partnered with St. Vincent de Paul and had 3,000 boxes of food delivered to their residents. They have enough to get through the summer, but may need additional help in the fall if there is a resurgence of the virus. The boxes contain 30 pounds of food and cost $5 each to produce.
SMDC also partnered with Molina Health to provide isolation bags containing word searches, coloring pages, journals, and prayer books. Cathy said they have only had 3 cases of COVID across all properties. They have many partners that help lead them to success.
Future plans include getting wi-fi installed in all properties, adding Amazon Echo and iPads - they are looking for partners. They are helping renovate the Biltmore Towers in downtown Dayton. And will complete construction on McBride Place at the Dayton VA, and Riverworks in Riverside.
