Events

Shared Action Africa is a nonprofit that works to build resilient livelihoods, enhance health, and advance environmental and climate justice for rural and refugee women in Uganda. We achieve our mission by using an integrated program delivery approach that leverages savings and lending groups and community-based organizations to create synergy and address the interconnected and complex community needs. Accordingly, we leverage women and girl led savings groups and community based organizations to support rural and refugee women access financial services to achieve economic self-sufficiency, promote access to sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and adolescents, while helping them restore degraded land and adapt to a changing climate.

Since our inauguration in 2014, we have helped over 22,000 rural and refugee women, adolescents and young adults  access financial services, contraceptives and cervical cancer screening, training, technical skills, and energy efficient cookstoves. 

Ahmad Thomas is the new CEO of SVLG. We've invited him to give us an update on SVLGs directions, accomplishments, fundraising in time of pandemic, etc.

Sylvia Witlock and her son Eugene will be speaking on the topic of "how to talk about race".

Brief Bio on Sylvia:
In 1982, while an Elementary School Principal in Duarte, CA., Dr. Whitlock was invited to join the history-making "Ex-Rotary Club of Duarte". She became President of that club in 1987, the year the United States Supreme Court ruled that the club be reinstated, thus making her the first woman in the Rotary International organization to head a club as President.

Dr. Whitlock's ‘Rotary resume’ is extensive, both in scope and the long list of awards she has received. The same goes for her activities and achievements outside of Rotary, including being named an NAACP Woman of the Year and receiving the Global Citizen Award from the United Nations Association (Oct. 2013)

Much of my work is in regard to COVID-19 vaccines and public health protocols. I serve on the COVID-19 Response Team of my company and advise my church, New Community Church, and nonprofit organizations on COVID-19 strategies. In particular, I have presentations that include timing projections on COVID-19 vaccine regulatory (FDA) approval and the start of vaccine distribution, public sentiment regarding vaccines, and when herd immunity might be achieved, as well as long-term scenarios. In addition, I suggest a number of suggested practices to help organizations succeed during this new coronavirus reality, which sadly will probably be with us for a number of years. 

 

Ken was introduced to the club as a potential speaker by Maya Sewald

The regular meeting of 1/20 is cancelled due to Inauguration Day. We'll resume our regular meeting schedule at 12:30pm Wednesday, January 27.

Host: Kay Johnson

Rotary Club of Menlo Park members will elect officers and directors for the 2021-22 Rotary year. Members are strongly encouraged to attend and cast your vote.

Joan was a pioneer in sports journalism as one of the first female sports columnists in the country. She covered every major sporting event from the Super Bowl and the World Series to the Olympics and championship fights. Her sports columns and features earned 13 Associated Press Sports Editors Awards, the National Headliner Award, the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Journalism Award, and the prestigious Edgar A. Poe Award from the White House Correspondents Association. Joan has been the senior media advisor to the San Francisco Giants since 2008.

She will discuss team chemistry, the topic of her latest book, which Kirkus Reviews describes as “Nuanced…complex…a mind-opening study that extends far beyond the confines of any ballpark.” 

Host: AB

James Eggers is the Director, Loma Prieta, Sierra Club

Brett Caviness, host

The Spirit of Sarajevo: A Story of Resilience

For centuries, Sarajevo was known as a crossroads of cultures -- a peaceful place that valued a variety of religious traditions and ethnic heritages. It was a vibrant capital city that shone on the global stage and even hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics. But the rise of nationalism within former Yugoslavia led to a brutal conflict that threatened to wipe away the city’s legacy of openness and tolerance. For nearly four years, Sarajevo was under armed siege--the longest one of any city in the history of modern warfare. When it was finally lifted, Sarajevo was left a broken city marked by crumpled buildings … the scars of mortar shells … and shattered families beset by grief. 

Yet still, somehow,   the spirit of Sarajevo never wavered. This book is a story of life under siege, created from unimaginable misery and degradation. It is a story about resilience and determination, which now, more than 20 years after the siege ended, serves as an example for all of us as we navigate a confused, frightened world of being “under siege” during this pandemic.

Host: AB

Host: Amy Boggs