News for February 2011

Mel Honig No Comments Newsletter

In Brief

January has been another busy and productive month for Resource Centers International.

  • Four Mayan communities have been 'adopted' by the Findlay Rotary
  • With great appreciation donations were accepted from
    • Lima Rotary Club 12 computers
    • Findlay Rotary Club $2000.00
    • Oberlin Rotary Club $ 250.00
    • MESA shipping subsidy $1000.00
    • Home Depot $ 50.00
    • Sam's Club 1000 sq ft of exercise flooring sold to RCI at cost.
    • Private donations $ 225.00
  • Presentations were given to the Bellevue and Findlay Rotary Clubs
  • All the equipment and supplies for the March mission were shipped to Belize and will arrive on or about February 5th.
  • The March mission team is set and ready to start work.

March Mission

This coming March a team of Rotarians, Rotaractors and industry professionals will be going to the Toledo District of Belize to open 4 new Resource enters.

The Project Team is composed of:

  • Rotarians:
    • Robert Rustic: Findlay Rotary Club and advisor to the University of Findlay Rotaract Club
    • Susan Schafer: Sylvania Rotary Club and Branch Manager of the Sylvania Public Library
    • Mel Honig: Sylvania Rotary Club and project manager
  • Rotaractors:
    • Kara Elling: University of Findlay
    • Emily McMains: University of Findlay
    • Alyssa Ryerson: University of Findlay
  • Non-Rotarians:
    • Jeanne Rustic: Trainer and advsior
    • Susan Honig: Occupational Therapist, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
    • Justin Kendall: Owens Community College Computer Club
    • Dan McCormick: Owens Community College Computer Club.

 

The project team will help set up and then train community members in the operation of their Resource Center. The four communities that will have the new centers are populated by Q'eqchi speaking Maya.

In preparation for the mission, equipment and supplies have been either donated or purchased and then stored at the MESA warehouse. On January 22nd everything was staged for trucking to Camden, Alabama on the following Tuesday. From there the shipment was reloaded onto a container, trucked to Mobile and is now on a freighter that is scheduled to arrive in Belize on February 5th. Once the equipment and supplies clear customs and are trucked to the village of Silver Creek, everything will be stored in a community building. When the project team arrives, everything will be divided up among the four villages. To accomplish all of this took the work of many, many individuals….Rotarian and non-Rotarian, and many organizations. We need to especially mention two individuals who have donated much of their time and effort. Gary Davis, North Baltimore Rotarian, MESA Director of Operations, helped store the product and then organize the shipment, and Tim Hagen, of the Word at Work, coordinated the shipment from the time it left our warehouse to having it clear Belize customs duty free.

Staging everything for shipping Lined up and ready to go
Bob Rustic and some of the Rotaractors that helped stage the shipment. About 20 Rotarians, non Rotarians and Rotaractors helped get the load ready. The warehouse is not heated, but only Fausto, University of Findlay student and Rotaractor from Honduras seemed to suffer. Harold Bischoff, Lima Rotarian, traveled the farthest to help. On Tuesday another Lima Rotarian, Jeff Gast and Ron Stoner Bowling Green Rotarian came to help load the truck.

Donations

The success of Resource Centers International relies on donations from District 6600 Rotary Clubs, individuals, businesses and NGOs. These donations can be in the form of equipment and supplies, financial support and volunteerism. Volunteerism

There are no paid positions at Resource Centers International. All project team members who go to Belize to set up Resource Centers do so at their own expense. Many individuals have donated their time and effort, both here in the United States and in Belize, to make the March mission and all our other missions possible. If you would like to take an active part in Resource Centers International contact Mel Honig: email, mel@resourcecentersinternational.org

Equipment and Supplies

Most of the equipment and supplies are donated, but some have been purchased at auctions or at retail outlets. Sam's Club, Home Depot, and Friends of the Library helped us obtain much of the needed equipment and supplies at greatly reduced cost. For this shipment we received all our computers from the Owens Community College Computer Club and the Rotary Club of Lima, Ohio. Most of the school equipment (chairs, tables, televisions, carts, book cases, etc.) were purchased by Jeff Gast of the Lima Rotary Club and Mel Honig of the Sylvania Rotary Club at school auctions. MESA donated the desks and storage cabinets. Father Bob Haas, Galion Rotarian, donated the school supplies. For our next mission, planned for this coming December, we are starting the process of collecting again. If you have any donations to make we will be glad to pick them up or you can take them to the MESA warehouse. Please coordinate all donations with Mel Honig, email: mel@resourcecentersinternational.org< and Gary Davis: email: gbdavis@embargmail.com.

Financial

With the loss of subsidized funding for shipping, raising money to continue establishing new Resource Centers has become a priority. Many Rotary Clubs and individuals have helped with their generous donations. In the past month we have received donations of

  • $2000.00 from the Findlay Rotary Club
  • $1000 shipping subsidy from MESA
  • $50.00 donation from a non-Rotarian
  • $50.00 from the Home Depot.

Fiscal year to date we have received $1950 in donations from individuals (primarily Jeff Gast, Lima Rotarian) and businesses, $3250 from District 6600 Rotary Clubs, and $1675 from MESA. Click on the 'Get Involved Tab' on the home page of the Resource Centers International if you would like to make a donation.

-Mel Honig, Newsletter Editor