West Covina Sunrise Rotary Club Newsletter , Wednesday December 21, 2005

“Reading is more than a pastime. In today’s world it’s a survival skill.
A child who can read, is a child who can learn,
and a child who can learn, is a child who can succeed”
Margaret Spelling, Secretary of Education.


Presidents Message: This is the last Newsletter of 2005. The New Year brings opportunity for new beginnings. Let’s make 2006 our most exciting, successful and fun year ever. With your participation our programs will not only be successful, but we will have fun in the process. Please leave room in your New Years’ resolutions list for Rotary. Plan to attend every meeting, participate in every event or as many as possible. Together we can make a difference. From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Nominations: It is time to nominate your fellow Rotarians to serve on the board for next year. Please send an email to Carolina Chacón with the names and positions for the people you would like to nominate. Nominations so far: Mark Tedesco for President Elect – declined probably! (Mark may be moving from our area in the next 2 years). Don Morrin for Club Service – Don, do you accept? Bill Tarozzi for treasurer, who accepted.

Golf Tournament: Please make sure you mark your calendars with the date of next year’s Celebrity Golf Tournament. April 24th, 2006.

Christmas Baskets: On December 17th we gave out this year’s Christmas baskets. Approx 80 families from Love Inc. came and enjoyed getting their basket with a turkey, stuffing, yams and other can goods & toys for the kids. Since we had prepared baskets for 100 families, the extra baskets went to families in the West Covina Police Dept’s program for Abused Women and Alex Rodriquez and Mark Tedesco took the last baskets to the Community Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where they were received with much appreciation.

Thank you to Kris Kelso and the YMCA for providing their facility for this project, and Thank You to Mark Tedesco for chairing this project.

There was a rather low turn out of Rotarians to help put the baskets together and also to help hand the goodies out to the families. We need to remember that we are doing projects such as the Christmas Baskets for the needy families in our community – not for our own conveniences – as Mark Tedesco so eloquently pointed out at our weekly meeting – which also had a low attendance!

Golf Tournament: April 24, 2005. Committees are forming now. Please contact Mark Tedesco and Marc Taylor to join a committee.

West Covina High School Golf Tournament: Please contact Gary Lawson or Luis Chacón for more info. We can promote our golf tournament here.

Chamber Breakfast: The West Covina Chamber of Commerce is hosting their First Friday breakfast of the new year on January 6th at 7:00 AM. The speaker will be our very own Chief Frank Wills. Please contact Gary Lawson at (626) 338-8496 for more info.

Wheel spinning: It seems the pin check works every time – as 3 members found out this week. Dave Harris also spun in honor of the, oh so special birthday we are celebrating this Sunday.

Program: Carol Henault, Executive Director of Reading is Fundamental of Southern California gave a very enlightening presentation about the effects of reading to and with our children. Especially the effects of not reading to our children are felt by society all around us.

• 82% of prison inmates are high school drop outs
• More than half of juvenile offenders read below 4th grade level
• In our inner city neighborhoods, 66% of the residents cannot read or have very, very low literacy rates
• In the Greater Los Angeles area, 53% of adults have low literacy skills ( that is 3.8 million adults )
• The estimate of how many prison beds we will need in the future is determined by the number of 4th grade students who read below their grade level
• Studies have shown that illiteracy is passed from parent to child

When we read to kids and spark a love of books and reading in that child, we are giving that child the ability to learn and to grow up and have success in life.

Reading is Fundamental is the nations largest children’s literacy organization and receives funding from the federal government as well as grants from many Charitable Foundations. These funds are distributed to the many local RIF organizations throughout the US. Reading is Fundamental of Southern California ( RIFSoCal) is one of the largest such local programs. In the 2005-06 school year, RIFSoCal will provide over 125,000 new books to children in the greater Los Angeles area. For many of the kids who participate in the program, they will receive their first book to take home and begin their very own library. One of the remarkable features of the RIF program is the reliance on volunteers which enables the program to utilize approx. 92% of all funding for the actual program instead of for overhead, salaries etc. so a donation of $100 will provide 50 new quality books to give to children.

Seasons Greetings Glædelig Jul

Merry Christmas Feliz Navidad Happy Hanukah

Best Wishes for a Beautiful Holiday Season and a New Year of Peace and Happiness


Calendar: The information below and more can be found on our very own web site.

Dec 28: No Meeting.
Jan 4: Speaker: Keith Jones (Pandas)
Jan 4: At 8:30 AM- Board Meeting
Jan 11: Fellowship/Important updates and club status
Jan 18: West Covina Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Gary Lawson
Jan 25: Speaker TBA
Jan 25: At 8:30 AM- Golf Tournament Meeting; Please mark your calendars and plan to attend, your participation is vital to the success of our programs.

Places you should visit regularly:
District’s Newsletter
Rotary International member website
Rotary International