A new year and a new member for Lawrence Central Rotary. At the club’s first meeting of 2016 we were pleased to induct Jason Walker into our club. Jason is a Trust Officer & Relationship Manager at The Trust Company here in Lawrence.
New to Rotary, Jason is not new to community service, he also volunteer coaches several youth sports leagues and spends time at his kids school as a W.A.T.C.H. Dog Dad volunteer.
Dr. Ed Berger, retiring president of Hutchinson Community College and chair of Revitalization Initiatives at the Kansas Cosmosphere told Lawrence Central Rotarians about the work of revitalization at the Hutchinson Cosmosphere, already called one of the eight wonders of Kansas and on the White House’s list of the project to Save America’s Treasures.
“The Cosmosphere is reinventing itself to become a world class museum that inspires education and innovation, “ he said. “Our vision is that the Cosmosphere will be recognized internationally for excellence in inspiring learning and innovation.”
The Cosmosphere already hosts 105,000 visitors per year, one fourth of them from out of state. Fifteen hundred campers per year attend field events there and a goal is to make field trips more rigorous and inclusive, Berger said. “We want to be part of the effort to improve math and science education for U.S. students. We want to get students interested in these programs as early as elementary school.”
The Cosmosphere now has the largest collection of U.S. space artifacts outside of the Smithsonian and the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Russia. Hollywood director and producer Ron Howard used the Cosmosphere to reconstruct interiors from Apollo 13 for his Apollo 13 film, saying the Hutchinson museum had more authentic information than NASA.
For the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 flight, astronauts Fred Haise and Jim Lovell came to the Cosmosphere to see the capsule and other astronauts have visited frequently.
“We’re going to need more and more highly skilled workers in technology,” Berger said “and through our work here we want to encourage students to get these skill sets.”
Justine Burton, the speaker at Lawrence Central Rotary on December 9, was homeless at 16. She faced a world where drug and alcohol addiction, prostitution and theft were everyday occurrences. But rather than give in to any of it, she completed an Associate’s Degree in Human Services from Kansas City Kansas Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Services from Ft. Hays State.
And then she began to give back to older teen-agers who needed help.
Burton founded StopGap in 2008. Children in foster care “age out” at 18. At that age they are no longer in foster care or in a group home. They are on their own to survive as best they can. StopGap gives them tools for survival.
“Sometimes they don’t know the basics such as how to cook, clean, find a place to live, pay rent, use a computer. They don’t know what family is all about, they don’t bond with siblings,” ” Burton said. “StopGap assists at-risk youth’s safe transition from dependence on a system to independence.”
With its Youth Empowerment Outreach Program, StopGap offers classes in life skills in donated space at Victory Bible Church.
“We went to get their feet on solid ground,” said Chela Ingram, StopGap volunteer community coordinator, who accompanied Burton to the meeting, “so they will learn consequences of actions. We want to give them knowledge that will stick with them.”
They offer an eight-week program with interactive workshops to give youth a hands-on experience with real world issues, as well as supplying information on health and giving them contacts in the community through speakers who come in.
There are currently 60 youth enrolled.
“My future goal is to establish a transitional living program where youth from 16 to 21 who are aging out of foster care or at-risk can live in an 18-24 month supervised transitional living program,” Burton said. “I want them to achieve their full potential.”
StopGap’s offices are at 1942 Massachusetts Street., Lawrence, phone 785-856-7833; email: stopgapinc.org@gmail.com
While the first weekend in Lawrence may mean the annual Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade in Downtown Lawrence, it also means a day of service for the members of Lawrence area Rotary Clubs. All three local clubs staff Salvation Army Red Kettles around Lawrence that day. As in previous years Lawrence Central was stationed in front of Weaver’s department store.
The weather cooperated on all fronts, it was a beautiful day to greet everyone out for the parade or just to enjoy the beautiful early winter day on Mass Street.
This year marks the 125th year that the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign that kicked-off Thanksgiving day. The Salvation Army has more than 25,000 red kettles being stationed in storefronts and on street corners nationwide. From its humble beginnings as a program started by a Salvation Army captain in San Francisco in 1891, the Red Kettle Campaign has grown into one of the most recognizable and important charitable campaigns in the United States. It provides toys for kids, coats for the homeless, food for the hungry and countless social service programs year-round. As part of the campaign, more than 25,000 Salvation Army volunteers throughout the country ring bells and solicit donations to the red kettles.
The kettles will be out for a while yet, but there are other ways to participate. You can use the Salvation Army’s Text-to-Give program for the mobile donor, it’s easy to give $10 by texting the word “KETTLE” to 80888 and replying “YES.”
You can also give online at http://redkettlereason.org
From nearly 40,000 emergency room admissions to over 1,000 babies delivered, regardless of your stage of life or place in our community, Lawrence Memorial Hospital is there to care for you and your loved ones. That was the central message conveyed by Lawrence Central Rotary guests Jean Shepherd, board member of the Lawrence Memorial Hospital (LMH) Endowment Association, Kathy Clausing-Willis, vice president and chief development officer, and Earl Reineman, foundation and corporate relations manager.
When Shepherd’s husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2002, she discovered the care provided by LMH to be “a true gift.” His cancer did not respond well to treatment, yet LMH was open minded and encouraged Shepherd and her husband to seek a second opinion. Other doctors confirmed what Shepherd suspected: they were receiving nearly the best care possible from their community hospital already.
LMH was gifted to the City of Lawrence in 1928 by Elizabeth Watkins. Today, it is technically considered a 501(c)(9) nonprofit instrumentality of the city. The endowment was formed in 1969.
The endowment exists to rally the community in support of LMH, and the primary way the public can help is through monetary donations. The endowment has two large fundraisers that the public should consider joining: the annual H.P. Penny Jones golf tournament and the biannual Hearts of Gold black-tie ball.
Funds raised by the endowment support new and upgraded equipment, hospital renovations to create a “caring environment,” charity care for the poor, and special needs of LMH.
Hospital leadership is particularly proud of LMH’s designation as a “Top 100” hospital in America, according to Truven Health Analytics. The hospital considers its core competencies cardiology, oncology, palliative care, women’s health, surgical services, and primary care. A current challenge facing the hospital is recruiting new, quality primary care physicians, due to attrition and increasing competition from concierge and direct primary care practices.
