Escondido Sunrise Rotary; Meeting to Serve our Community in Person and
“Maribel De La Rosa Villa from
Reading Legacies”
October 19th, 2023
As we all try to conduct our professional pursuits in new ways, it’s appropriate to remind ourselves of who we are as a Serving Organization… Our accomplishments, our fellowship and the reminder of our many successes is valuable as we seek new opportunities to serve…
We met again in person at the Chamber of Commerce… Great to enjoy the fellowship again and see all your smiling faces…
As a Club, we honored our nation with a salute to our Flag led by Travis Catania and, an invocation was offered by Kim Henson
Guests & Visitors:
Carlos Urbina
Maribel De La Rosa Villa – Speaker for today’s meeting
Special Occasions:
Happy Birthday to Marie Schwab (John’s beautiful wife) 10/24
Happy Wedding Anniversary to:
Tony & Connie Criss – 10/23
Happy Rotary Anniversary to:
Past President Joe Holtz has been a part of rotary for 17 years on 10/20
High 5 and Announcements:
Past President Rich Aeling shared with us about all the things ESR is doing around the community of Escondido:
2 saxaphones were donated to Miller School ($2600)
N.C. Food Bank asked for donations of peanut butter
ESR helped a student in Guatemala with a donation of $1,000 and the board appoved $2500 to be sent to that school to help with school books for the students
Past President Richard Agnew reminded us all to send any photos that we take to the link he had emailed us awhile ago. There have been no photos as of yet per Richard
John Boyce went to Austin and brought bac a gift for President Mark
Judy Fitzgerald talked about The Alabster Jar project (the organization that aids in helping with human trafficking.
Rich Aeling also reminded us about Judy’s first campaign election fund raiser that is being held on Sunday, October 22 at Sierra Madre in Escondido at 2:00pm
Rotarians Having Fun!!
Joe Holtz has been enjoying time away getting to know his newest granddaughter Josie May, congratulations to the Holtz family!!
Upcoming Calendar Events:
Program:
Guest Speaker, introduced by John Schwab
Maribel de la Rosa Villa
Reading Legacies
Maribel de la Rosa Villa has a unique story of how one can turn their life around, taking
the difficulties in life and using the experience for the good of others. She came to speak on a program that was made available to her during her four-year prison incarceration. Maribel was a single mother when she was separated from her family of four as the result of bad decisions she had made in her life. The incarceration turned her family’s life upside down as the children
now faced limited contact and interaction with their mother. Realizing the negative impact her choices had on her children, ages ranging from four to fourteen, she enrolled in a program offered to incarcerated parents to help the families stay connected.
The program was called Reading Legacies whose mission promotes parental
involvement and connection with the children during the parent’s incarceration. Reading
Legacies’ approach is to offer programs reaching children in their particular age categories. This approach includes four programs; Book Bridges, First Teachers, Storybook Inspirations, and
Youth Readers.
Book Bridges was developed to strengthen family bonds by facilitating read aloud
connections in families separated by incarceration and addiction recovery. Parents and other family members are coached to read to children on video, forming healthy and important lasting bonds while learning about the importance of reading aloud together.
The First Teachers Program was designed to empower parents as their child’s first
teacher through reading aloud regularly in the home. It provides family story hours to parents with young children at Liberty Station. Local children’s books authors read aloud to the families. Reading Legacies staff, community volunteers, and Reading Legacies Board Members provide personal research-based insights on the benefits of reading with children.
The Storybook Inspirations Program provides a unique opportunity to create
intergenerational connections through the magic of reading with a child. Through listening to their grandparents share personal memories while reading storybooks aloud, children gain a greater understanding of their loved one’s life experiences through creating special read-aloud videos created just for them.
The Youth Readers Program was developed for high school students to learn leadership
and public service skills by reading aloud to children in their community. The program focuses on giving high school students opportunities to create connections with children in their community by reading aloud to them. This also creates healthy relationships and gives the children an opportunity to gain a role model figure through the young adult. The young adults
value volunteering their time to support children’s development.
Maribel shared that she valued the programs because each one catered to the different
ages of her children. She especially valued the opportunity to have books made available to her that her high school age daughter was reading so they could create a special bond while discussing the book. Since serving her sentence, Maribel has joined the Reading Legacies team and has become a mentor and advocate for the women who are currently incarcerated. She
has turned her life around and serves as a role model for many who are now facing the
challenges she faced. She gives credit to the Lord, her Savior, for working all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
Maribel's call to action was for the ESRC to donate, volunteer, and spread the word. To
donate visit www.readinglegacies.org. To volunteer, visit www.readinglegacie.org. To spread the word you can follow and
share their social media page at www.readinglegacies.org.
Next Week’s Meeting:
Closing: President Mark Maus announced that we will be meeting at The Escondido Chamber of Commerce on October 26th at 7:30am……we will be hearing from Al Owens from PAL
Thanks for Attending Today’s Meeting….
Support for our Escondido Community …
Our great community and the success of its businesses is all of our responsibilities… Support the businesses that are doing all they can to survive this trying economy…….
The ‘Giving Arch’ on Grand Avenue and Centre City Parkway reminds us that Escondido is a caring, giving community…
To all; be safe and be well…. God Bless those men and women that carry the load at our medical facilities, and God Bless our first responders… May our governmental leaders be wise, thoughtful and smart as they navigate these times that have been difficult…..
The meetings will be technically managed by Past President Richard Agnew… Thanks for that Richard… And, Richard is prepared to support all of our attempts at joining the on-line meetings if needed….
SEE YOU SOON…… In Person … Next meeting; October 26th, at 7:30 AM
Check President Mark’s email for the reminder…
