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Program Summary: Cliff Lenz, “Music4Life”

By Nancy Bolin

Cliff Lenz

Our program on December 10, 2020, featured Cliff Lenz of Music4Life.

The purpose of Music4Life is to provide instruments for students who couldn’t otherwise afford them.  The instruments may be donated and repaired for new life or they may be purchased new.  The Music4Life Foundation is working with 10 local school districts.

“Why are instruments and music programs important?” Mr. Lenz asked.  The answer is that children who study music gain many benefits in addition to simply playing an instrument.   Studies have shown that children who study music do better in math, science and other subjects.  Additionally, learning an instrument builds confidence, patience and social skills.  Studies also show that the study of music by children in low income neighborhoods helped them steer clear of crime and gangs.

Mr. Lenz said that donations of instruments or money will help support this worthwhile program.  Go to www.Music4Life.org for more information.

Cliff is a member of the Governing Board of Music4Life.

You probably recognize Cliff’s name.  Cliff was a television host and producer for King Broadcasting for twenty-two years.  He was the co-host of “Seattle Today” for seventeen of those years.  He also hosted and produced the children’s television program about music called “Music Magic.”

Cliff is the recipient of eleven Northwest regional Emmies, as well as the National Education Association award for “Music Magic” that was selected as the outstanding locally produced educational television program for children in the nation.

He is an Emmy award winning composer, piano and guitar teacher in the Edmonds and Monroe School Districts and a piano and guitar teacher in a private capacity.

Rotary District 5030 Blood Drive

There is a District-wide Blood Drive /Promotion starting December 13, ending on Dec 31, 2020. 

HELP LOCAL HOSPITALS PREPARE FOR WINTER SEASON.

DONATE BY THE END OF THE YEAR

  1. Make an appointment at any donation site near you by going to https://dslnk.co/RotaryDistrict0530 (bloodworksnw.org/donate)
    or calling 800-398-7888
  2. Email your appointment confirmation to rotaryoutforblood@gmail.com with the name of your team (club name) – be the winning team!
  3. On the day of your donation tell the registrar that you are donating for Rotary District 5030 (code 5030) – this code measures the impact of Rotarians at Work!

The featured donation location is the Pop Up at Mariners T-Mobile Park which starts the week of December 13.  To make an appointment at this special location go to Pop Up @ Mariners T-Mobile Park appointment link
or call 800-398-7888 or go to bloodworksnw.org. 

The Mariners are generously giving away fun thank you gifts to donors, such as bobble heads and hats. And on December 17 there will be special guests there in anticipation of Washington State Blood Donor Day.

Donating blood is an essential, safe and encouraged activity. Pop-Up Donor Centers are being conducted in accordance with social distancing guidelines. No walk-ins, guests, or people under age 16 are permitted onsite. Donors are asked to bring a mask/face covering to your donation. For questions about eligibility or to make your appointment, visit bloodworksnw.org or call 800-398-7888.

Please see bloodworksnw.org/coronavirus for more information on steps we’re taking to keep our donors and staff safe.

Rotary is Out for Blood  

Program Summary: Sheila Edwards Lange, Seattle Central College, “Higher Education: What’s Being Done to Close the Gaps for Students of Color”

Our speaker on December 3, 2020 was Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange.

Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange is the President of Seattle Central College. She started her tenure at Seattle Central in August 2015 as interim president, and was named to the permanent position in May 2016. Prior to this, she served as vice president for Minority Affairs and vice provost for Diversity at the University of Washington. Dr. Edwards Lange earned a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine.

Here are Dr. Edwards Lange’s slides:

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Providing equitable access to opportunity is a key theme of the unrest observed in our country. Seattle Colleges are playing a key role in addressing this issue.

Seattle has three community colleges and a plethora of satellite facilities that provide $1.1 billion in economic impact. There are 44,000 students in the system.

  • The median age is 28.
  • 43% are non-white.
  • 36% are full time.
  • 20% have dependents.
  • 48% are first generation college students.
  • 49% are in career directed professional programs.

Seattle Colleges accept all applicants. They are focused on programs desired by employers and are a leader in innovation.

Dr. Edwards Lange noted that the Washington Roundtable forecasts that there will be 740,000 job openings in the next five years. Two-thirds will require a degree or professional certificate. Dr. Lange noted that students of color have lower rates of obtaining credentials; one of the results is that our region imports talent instead of hiring local talent.

Currently, students of color graduate at a 48% rate compared to 60% for all other students. Closing this equity gap is a key priority of the college.

To do so, the Colleges are committed to a Equity Can’t Wait program. This includes working with the City of Seattle’s Seattle Promise program that provides support and free tuition to students that enter the college programs right after high school. One third of Seattle Public School graduates are in the program and 64% are students of color.

Much has been accomplished the the Seattle College program–and there are many more challenges to overcome.

A Tour of Copperworks to Benefit Rotary (With Discounts!)

Join the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club on the 18th December 2020 for a Virtual Tour of the Copperworks Distillery. The Bellevue Club is offering some tremendous Rotary discounts on the Whiskey, Gin and Vodka as part of the event, which can make tremendous seasonal gifts for friends and family.  

Each purchase of a bottle will provide you with a free raffle entry to win some amazing prizes that include festive gift baskets full of goodies, an opportunity to actually tour the distillery with 15 guests, or win a trio of craft-spirits from Copperworks.

Check out the event site for more details! $75 Admission and Tour.

Dr. Hal’s Corner: How the Internet Started, according to the Gospel of Dr. Hal

Dr. Hal

Please do not Google or check this with Snopes.  They will lie to you.  Trust me!

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a healthy young wife by the name of Dorothy.   And Dot Com was a comely woman, large of breast, broad of shoulder and long of leg.  Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband, “Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?”

And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said,

“How, dear?” 

And Dot replied, “I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah’s Pony Stable (UPS).”

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums.  And the drums rang out and were an immediate success.  Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew  It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures – Hebrew to the People (HTTP).

And the young men did take to Dot Com’s trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung.  They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS  And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates’ drum heads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say, “Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others.” And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known.  He said, “We need a name that reflects what we are.”

And Dot replied, “Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators.”  “YAHOO,” said Abraham. And because it was Dot’s idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham’s cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot’s drums to locate things around the countryside.

 It soon became known as God’s Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE). 

That is how it all began. And that’s the truth.

 I would not make up this stuff.