Meeting Notes

October 20, 2004; LeFoyer Restaurant, Pawtucket

The meeting began with a social hour and buffet dinner with Jenifer Moskalenko, our new group leader, introducing herself and inviting us all to partake of the victuals for the evening. Following dinner, Jenifer resumed with discussion of the following topics:

Interest surveys

– Jenifer reviewed interest surveys completed in the past by members. The top 5 interests expressed were:

Jenifer requested suggestions on any and all of these interests. She proposed possibilities such as a canoe trip, a softball team, and hikes. Katie Dyer recommended the Sunday morning bird walks at Norman Bird Sanctuary, and the date of November 14 was set for this first outdoor event of the year. Jenifer will work on setting up a lecture series, while Virginia Paine will lead the fundraising committee. Spaces are available to participate on the activity committee and fundraising committee. Please sign up!

Fundraising

  • We sold all 125 calendars this year and an additional 25 have been ordered, since there was more demand. Please contact Virginia Paine if you need calendars.
  • The Funds Allocation Committee which was elected October 2003, met on October 6 and allocated $2000 which was a combined sum from the last 2 years. The decision was to donate money to a variety of grass roots organizations. The following awards were made: $1000 to Haiti; $300 Bridge House, $300 Namibia Library; $300 Malawi; $100 Lead Abatement, and $100 to the RI Foodbank. More information on this will be forthcoming in an email.

    • Outreach Activities:

  • Jenifer has been working to support community outreach activities with RPCVs participation. the first community service function of the year took place on September 25th assisting Pawtucket Citizens Development with planting flowers and bulbs, staining outdoor staircases, and cleaning up a backyard/driveway area. Photos of this community service can be found on the RIRPCV website.
  • Shelagh Goulis is organizing a Grenada Disaster Relief Project to collect school supplies and clothing for students 3-13. This will go to the elementary school she worked in that was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. Call Shelagh (401-419-0365), or drop of donations in Newport at Katie Dyer's store by the end of November.
  • Jenny Crooks spoke about Project Salvador. Project Salvador is a non-profit organization delivering aid in housing and education to people in rural regions of El Salvador. A Salvadoran team that coordinates summer and winter volunteers leads fieldwork. Contributions of only $10/month provide scholarships to students enabling them to be able to afford school uniforms, shoes, and books. Please contact Jenny for more information and/or an application.
  • Nanci Martin-Smith works at the Navy Marine Thrift Shop. At the end of the season, clothing must be cleared out to make room for the new season’s attire. Generally, the previous season’s remains are donated to the Salvation Army. However, if you know of any groups in need, contact Nanci.

    • PCV Update

    Faith Fogle's daughter, Amanda, has been in PCV training in Benin, West Africa for 2 months. Amanda’s training group has 42 PCV candidates including 15 like Amanda who are EFL teacher trainees. She is living with a local family. There is no running water in the residence, but there is a telephone. She sends her respect to all of the RPCVs, realizing how tough this is. Amanda celebrated her 24th birthday in country, and she is studying hard for her French proficiency exam, which she must pass before moving to the community where she will be teaching near the Nigerian border. Amanda can receive emails, but not send emails. Any emails would be appreciated as we all know how it can be out there in the field. Please send an email if you can to: AFD12345@hotmail.com.

    Administration

  • Please send dues to Barbara Fontaine, 801 Succotash Road, Wakefiled, RI, 02879, or to the National Office. If you have a question how much much youwoe, please contact Barbara Fontaine by phone, she is not on email.
  • Jenifer called for candidates for an Administrative Assistant and Pam Rubinoff kindly volunteered.
  • Thanks Pam! Mary Hughes offered to backup Pam. Thanks Mary!
  • Jenifer informed that Stan, Nanci, and Faith have been working on updating our database. If you are aware of any changes that should be made, please let Stan, Nanci,or Faith know. While not a typical case, Nanci supported the deeper importance of this work talking about a worst case scenario involving a parent of a deceased RIRPCV to whom mailings were still being sent at his parent’s address. Also, apologies to all those including Pat and Pete who did not receive the e-mail notification of the August get-together that Ginger Harkey hosted. Talk of the database spurred discussion of the group’s policy on mailings. Nanci pointed out that currently mailings are made to approximately 400 RIRPCVs. A decision was made to send out one mailing by US Postal service a year. All other updates will be done by email. Phone calls will be made to those who do not have emails. This will cut down on mailing costs and leave more funds for allocation. This proposal was supported by all members present and will be adopted as new policy. It was also pointed out that 15 new members joined through the National Association. The contact information for these new members is unknown, as the National Association does not forward it but only direct deposits the RIRPCV’s portion of the dues. If your one of the 15, please let Barbara Fontaine know.

    • Calendar of Events

  • November 14- Nature walk, Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown. Contact Jenifer for details or check the RIRPCV website
  • November 30 - last day to bring school supplies and clothing for the Grenada Disaster Relief. Contact Shelagh (419-0365)

  • February 9, 2005 - Pot luck-Getting know who RIRPCV’s are - at Nancy's House in Portsmouth. Details to follow. Contact Nancy.

    • Thank you to Pam and Mary for these meeting notes! You’re the Best!

    Those present:

    Also:

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