Sock It To Polio stirred up a lot of conversation as Rotarians crossed the red carpet showing off their silly socks to publicize Rotary’s commitment to eradicating polio. After President Mark rang the opening bell Tom Strode warmed us up with The Star Spangled Banner. Phil Klintworth honored St. Crispans Day with a video of Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s Henry V, Act IV, Scene 3 speech which embedded ‘band of brothers’ in combat exhortations. Marlena Studer cooled things off, leading us in ‘Let There Be Peace on Earth”. President Mark introduced guests and thanked the people who make the meeting run smoothly, and Ben Bolen congratulated birthday celebrants.
Witch Barbara Eichmuller looked into her crystal ball to see the Twisted Witches’ Brew Ha Ha peopled with reveling Rotarians. The party is Sunday, October 29 at Joanne Pierson’s house, costumes not required. Spaces were still available.
Sarah Paspal-Jasinski asked the meeting for the many reasons they joined Rotary, and what they get out of membership. She then challenged us to form groups of 5 – 8 members to use that enthusiasm to recruit new members to staff our many projects that help the local and international community. We need at least thirty new members each year to keep the club fresh and vibrant.
Dave Keren talked about STRIVE and the changes in the program that have come as opportunities courtesy of covid. There are many roles to fill in STRIVE in addition to mentoring. Contact Dave to learn more about them: dfkeren@umich.edu.
And finally, the judges announced the winners of the Silly Sock Contest. Don Deatrick won first prize (what a shock that his wife didn’t recuse herself), and Carolyn Hiatt and Agnes Reading shared second prize with matching chicken leg knee socks.
Notes from the Program
Our speaker was Kristin Seefeldt, Professor in the UM School of Social Work. Her presentation was on the City of Ann Arbor’s Guaranteed Income Trial. The project involves faculty and both graduate and undergraduate students as well as other volunteers. The project uses some of the City’s covid relief monies to give a guaranteed income to families in a targeted group for two years, and to measure the changes in their lives as a result of the additional income. The city asked the citizenry what to do with the $24.1 million it received in relief funds, and poverty alleviation was one of the top choices. The city allocated $1.6 million to this project.
The guaranteed income is a direct cash gift, no strings attached. This gives the recipients more flexibility in determining what they deem most needed, may allow them to take more risk like changing jobs or going to school for training, and gives them more time with their families. It addresses income inequality and racial equity. These sorts of programs may become more necessary and common in this changing economy that demands more specialized training and ongoing education.
The project has strict eligibility requirements, including being limited to Ann Arbor residents only. The selection criteria included not only income limits but also focused on entrepreneurs and gig workers. The income limitations included moderate as well as low income earners because these groups were hardest hit by covid. The research design randomly selected 100 recipients to receive $500 each month for two years. Intensive interviewing of both recipients and non-recipients will be conducted. Since the project was only awarded in June and is a work-in-progress, no enrollment has occurred yet although more than 1000 applications were received. The first payments are expected in January of 2024.
President Mark closed the meeting leading us in reciting the Four Way Test. The November 1 meeting kicks off our celebration of Veterans with a presentation on transitioning from military to civilian life.
