Shareena Echavarria, Captain of the Bristol Salvation Army was our guest speaker
notes from the presentation:
* began in 1865 in London England
* Bristol Group is 132 years old
* original idea was to share faith, give hope, meet human need (food + soap - hard to worship when you are hungry + unclean)
* during the pandemic - operations turned to emergency mode - food pantry + rental assistance
* she shared those that have helped in the past - when Golic + Wingo (ESPN)
* Shareena + her husband have served this community for 7 years
* They run an after school program called CAM Academy - runs on Tuesday + Saturday - teach dance, drama, drums, feed children, drive them home, prep them for competition - star search, help them memorize their lines
* they have placed 1st in every category - Nationals in Hershey, PA - April 30th
* CAM academy is for ages 6-18, mostly 13 year olds - 90% female - they learn how to work on a team, grow their talent
* thankful for donors, Thomaston Savings Bank, ESPN, Main Street Community Foundation, United Way of West Central CT, private donors
* each year they rely on bell ringers - people carry less cash, less stores to ring at, cant ring out of district - but met goal this year!
* soup kitchen started in 1971 by major Lorraine Jackson
* KFC donates food, ESPN provides salads + wraps, 2 main volunteers (88 + 81) provide snacks in a bag - started hot meals to go
* they invite us to visit any Monday, Wednesday or Friday to see how program works
* clothes can be donated in 2 white bins in back of building
* they provided Christmas presents to 703 children this past Christmas
* best news - Shareena will be joining us as a new member!
Karl J. Schwartz Scholarship Update
* Scholarship America provide us with names of 10 winners and 4 alternates
* 11th alternate would get the 2k Richie scholarship
* Ten 10 $8,000 scholarships will be awarded
55 applications were sent into Scholarship America
* Bristol Central High school sent in most applications (26 of 55 applicants)
* All applicants had 4.0 + lots of community leadership
* Dinner will be on June 12th, DoubleTree
Jim gave an update on the Farmers Market Partnership for the 2022 season
Farmers Market runs from June 18th- thru the end of Oct
City filling in with Manager of the day (9:15-1:30), market open 10-1
Location: Other side of Hope Street
flower sale - time frame: Our club will collect orders for hanging flowers between March 22 - April 19, 2022 -
Pick up May 4 (4:00 - 6:00 PM @ United Way parking lot) cost $20 per hanging basket PLEASE SEE FLYER LINK BELOW
Our mini-grant applications are due April 15, 2022 - applications online - LOOKING for a Mini-Grant Chairperson (low time commitment - schedule a couple of meetings + send thank you notes)
Happy / Sad Bucks
Beth gave a buck for getting here!
Jim, happy to be here $10
Whit, happy Jim's daughter got married, sad wasn't invited, happy to see the Salvation army, happy Peter will be president
Lee, sad about the passing of Mary Etters father
Ken, buck for Salvation Army
Mary is on her way to South Carolina, sad buck for the passing of her father, happy for the opening of the Hidden Cafe on April 11th
Patty, Happy for Salvation Army
Dave, sad for Mary's dad, happy for Salvation Army
Judi Ann, sad for Mary's dad, good to see the happier side of organizations
Jim, daughters wedding reception in Lennox mass, sad for Mary's dad, sad for UConn girls
John, happy to be coming back to meetings, working a lot, tell people about Smooth Line limo, 90% repeat customers
Phyllis, nice to be back, sad for Mary's dad, happy for Peter as the new president, son getting married May 21st, the solo cruise was wonderful, happy for all Jims work on the Farmers Market, it's a beautiful day
Upcoming events