At the Aug 29, 6 pm , meeting, Lynwood Club President –Elect, Victor Gomez, called the meeting to order.
Before the speaker, President Elect Victor Gomez , talked about the planned Fiestas Patrias event at Martina’s home on Sep, 13, and each member present received 10 raffle tickets ($10.00 each) to sell, (with a $100.00 check to the club being due) Also, again there were copies of a letter for distribution to the community, requesting donations for this event, to include requests intended to be made to businesses. (The purpose of this event is not just to raise funds, but also to serve as a way to attract people in the community to become more aware of the purpose and accomplishments of our club, and to increase our membership.)
Daniel mentioned the fun event enjoyed by the large turnout of Rotary Youthact and some of their parents at the annual District 5280 Picnic and boat races held on Sat, Aug 24, 5pm – 9pm at the Seaside Lagoon, Redondo Beach. Joe Wang again helped construct two cardboard boats for the boat races. Daniel noted that he will present at a coming meeting, photos of this event, including Youthact participants racing in the two cardboard boats that Joe Wang again constructed.
Fernando Millan mentioned a series of events through the fall and Thanksgiving and Christmas that the Roosevelt ES Youthact will be involved. Rotary member Raj reminded all members that he distributed ticket books to each member for the Rotary Foundation Annual Event, to be held on Sun, Oct 27, at a Hollywood event center. Every member must write their check for $100 to the Rotary Foundation. Also Joe Wang mentioned that the Vision To Learn Program has scheduled four days for checking students on their eye conditions at FHS on Sep 16, 17, 18, 19 (Mon – Thur). Several Lynwood Rotary members are needed to help out on these four days. As an additional note, Yolanda Ramirez received a Rotarian of the month award.
Daniel had Fernando Milllan introduce the Speaker, Maria G. Rendon, since Fernando and his wife Tila, have a very personal knowledge of Ms. Rendon. Fernando explained that Maria Rendon is a graduate of LUSD Wilson ES, Hosler MS, and LHS. Maria noted that she remembers Tila through their attendance at St. Emidyius Catholic Church. Her parents still live in Lynwood. Maria is a graduate of UC Irvine, with a Ph.D. From Harvard in Political Science, and is now a professor at UC Irvine, in the Urban Planning & Public Policy Department. Her book is in the process of being published, entitled: “Stagnant Dreamers –How The Inner City Shapes The Integration of 2nd Generation Latinos.”
Maria noted that 2nd Generation means children of immigrants. Through her investigations and assessments, Maria got acquainted with young men in the community of Lynwood, to determine how they are doing with their educations and careers. She also spent time with their parents. Statistically, Maria explained that the median income for LA County is around $50,000, compared to a median income for Lynwood of around $32,000. Maria assessed how neighborhood factors are important in influencing the progress of these young men. So to empower these young men, it is important to focus on resources within the community, and to identify and connect resources outside the community, to help these young men advance in their lives. Maria stated that the activities of Rotary members in this community can be and should be important positive sources of help.
At the end of her presentation, Daniel suggested that Maria Rendon be scheduled for a second presentation, after her book is available. The month of Nov or Dec was suggested when Maria would again be our speaker at one of our weekly meetings.
Daniel Miller Public Relations/ Community Outreach Lynwood Rotary Club