Stephanie Sweany is the Assistant Director at Stark County Hunger Task Force where she has been for 3 1/2 years. Part of her duties include the Backpack for Kids Program, Senior Box Program, and volunteer management and development. Stephanie is a 2005 graduate of Kent State University and is a proud Golden Flash. Stephanie is involved in her community in other ways: as a tour guide for Canton Food Tours and the First Ladies Library; as Vice President of the Kent Alumni Association-Stark County Chapter; and as founder of the Canton Kindness Coalition.
Subject of Stephanie's presentation:
Stark County Hunger Task Force has been fighting hunger in Stark County since 1981. SCHTF fights food insecurity through a county wide network or emergency food pantries, an onsite pantry, Backpack for Kids programs, and senior box programs. Our services have become more important than ever as more and more of our neighbors are feeling the financial burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have adjusted our services to meet the needs of our community and of our volunteers throughout 2020. November is Hunger Awareness Month, a month where we spotlight our programs and volunteers, and bring awareness to the ever growing issue of food insecurity in Stark County.
At our Zoom meeting on November 13, 2020, President Drew Pelger opened the meeting by welcoming a total of 24 Canton Rotarians (both 'live' at Bender's Tavern and virtually via Zoom), and our speaker, Jon Jacob, Owner and General Manager of Bender's Tavern.
Club Secretary Paula Mastroianni presented some interesting historical facts for the day and informed us that the following famous people were Rotarians: Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist and the first person to reach Mt. Everest; Past President Warren G. Harding; and Holly Compton, 1927 Nobel Prize recipient for physics (quite an accomplishment for a woman in that day and age).
Paula also received "Happy Bucks" from PDG, PP Dave Ewing, Becky Clark, President Drew Pelger and Rick Taylor.
Announcements:
President Drew reminded everyone about our club's "Brew Card" event and the Pack The Bus project (see articles below).
President Drew Pelger welcomed our speaker, Jon Jacob, Owner and General Manager of Bender's Tavern.
Which president refused to recognize Thanksgiving?
Thomas Jefferson was famously the only Founding Father and early president who refused to declare days of thanksgiving and fasting in the United States. Unlike his political rivals, the Federalists, Jefferson believed in “a wall of separation between Church and State” and believed that endorsing such celebrations as president would amount to a state-sponsored religious worship. Read more.
What does the poem, 'Mary had a little lamb,' have to do with Thanksgiving?
The first official proclamation of a national Thanksgiving holiday didn’t come until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln called for an annual Thanksgiving celebration on the final Thursday in November. The proclamation was the result of years of impassioned lobbying by "Mary Had a Little Lamb" author and abolitionist Sarah Josepha Hale.
How did a botched Thanksgiving order lead to the TV tray dinner?
In 1953, an employee at C.A. Swanson & Sons overestimated demand for Thanksgiving turkey and the company was left with some 260 tons of extra frozen birds. As a solution, Smithsonian reports, a Swanson salesman ordered 5,000 aluminum trays, devised a turkey meal and recruited an assembly line of workers to compile what would become the first TV tray dinners. A culinary hit was born. In the first full year of production, 1954, the company sold 10 million turkey TV tray dinners.
It's that time of year - yes, the Holidays, but also when we raise funds and deliver food to Canton City School kids to help ensure they and their families have enough food and other essentials.
We will once again be supporting Allen Elementary - now called Patrick Elementary.
Unfortunately, with the pandemic numbers increasing and showing no signs of slowing, Pack the Bus will look a little different this year. We will not be doing an in-person collection.
Instead, I am asking you to consider donating money so that we can purchase needed food and supplies to be delivered directly to the school. We do have the District Grant money this year, but anything additional, of course, will certainly help.
If you wish to donate money - or if you know someone who might - please click here. It will take you to our Canton Rotary donation page. Fill out the form and at the bottom, where it asks where you would like to have the funds directed, select "Other", then type into the box "Pack the Bus". Please make your donation by November 30th.
In the meantime, please stay safe and healthy! I miss you all.
Since our annual Canton Rotary Oktoberfest was cancelled due to COVID, we are selling the Canton Rotary Brew Card to raise funds for the Canton Rotary Charitable Fund.
The Brew Card provides discounts on food and/or merchandise at nine (9) local and regional breweries and brewpubs.
These cards are valid through June 30, 2021, so as vaccines roll out and folks feel it is safer to visit these breweries, the cards will still be valid!
Brew Cards are on sale now for only $20 via the event page on our Facebook page or through Eventbrite (see link below).
Make a difference this holiday. Shop for gifts at smile.amazon.com/ch/23-7353867 to generate donations forCanton Rotary Charitable Fund.
For those members who shop on Amazon, we ask you to instead go to the website Smile.Amazon.com to make your purchases. The Canton Rotary Charitable Fund is now a charity you may choose on this site and 0.5% of your purchase will go directly to the Canton Rotary Charitable Fund.
There is still time to make your reservation for the Rotary International Convention in June 2021. I know that it is difficult to think ahead to a time outside of the pandemic when you may be able to travel again. Hopefully, though, you will find yourself on a plane headed for Taipei in June!!
This month's Rotarian magazine has a great article about Taipei, so make sure you check it out!
December 15th marks the last day to receive your pre-registration discount. Make sure you sign up by then to receive the most money off your registration fee. Hotels also fill up fast, so you need to put your registration in quickly.
Finally, District 6650 is the ONLY district in Zone 30 that does not have a single reservation for the upcoming convention. I hope that at least a few of you can sign up before the deadline on December 15.
.jpg)
