Link to Facebook
 
 
Site Pages
 
Club Executives & Directors
President
Dan Tibma
President 2020-2021 (PE)
Dan Tibma
Immediate Past President
Bill Paulson
Director
Marty Lindemann
Secretary
Kathy Whitney
Executive Secretary
Charles Nelson
Treasurer
Ryan Damaso
Sgt at Arms
Greg Cronin
SERVICE Chair
Libby Pero
Foundation Chair
Ted Shaughnessy
RYLA Chair
Ken Davis
Community Service Director
Libby Pero
Service Committee
Don DeVeuve
Service Committee
Karen Wetmore
 
 
 ENDPOLIONOW_4p
 

The Rotary Club of Needham - Welcome

Welcome to Needham! We are a great group of 30 members strong and growing. Men and Women, young and old – we meet for lunch every Tuesday. Our projects focus on giving back to both our community here and beyond.


JOIN US FOR LUNCH!
Tuesdays, 12:00-1:30pm
Needham Sheraton: 100 Cabot Street

With interesting speakers and an energized group
every week, you will come away inspired.

 

 

 
Home Page Stories
Charles River YMCA
Posted on Feb 11, 2020
Rotary Club of Needham Newsletter February 11th, 2020
 
Volunteer Opportunities
 
Meal Packing
"The Rise Against Hunger": packing 20,000 meals for the hungry on Saturday March 28th at the Masonic Hall from 10:00-2:00 with the Needham High School Interact Club.
 
In the Community
 
Needham High School Service Fair (see photo below)
Students at Needham High School are required to provide 60 hours of service to their community. On Wednesday February 12th, local service organizations, including the Rotary Club of Needham, held a "service fair" at the High School to explain their community service to the students while offering the students an opportunity to get involved and meet their service goals. 
 
Needham Free Public Library and the Boston Bruins Pajama Drive to Benefit Children in the Department of Children and Families System and Cradles to Crayons
The goal was 12,000 pairs of pjs. Our members donated new pajamas or funds to buy them, multiplying the impact of the Club's $500 donation. The combined Rotary donations were used to purchase 200 pairs of pajamas. 
 
Spelling Bee
Sunday March 15th at 3:00 at Needham High School Cafeteria
 
Civics Bee 
Sunday March 22nd at 2:00 at Broadmeadow School
 
Meeting: Charles River YMCA 
 
Speaking on behalf of the Charles River YMCA were Paula Jacobson, Executive Director (see photo below), and Julie Richmond, Business Director. The Charles River Y is one of 13 YMCA facilities serving the greater Boston community. The first Young Mens' Christian Association (YMCA) in the United States was founded in Boston by Captain Thomas Sullivan in 1851. Needham's Charles River branch followed in 1880. The YMCA has a distinguished history of nurturing the "triangle" of body, mind and spirit in this region. Springfield College, originally the School of Christian Workers, was founded to train YMCA leaders. It retains that role today. Basketball was created in 1891 when the director of the Springfield YMCA gave Physical Education teacher, James Naismith two weeks to come up with a game that could be played indoors in winter. Volleyball followed four years later. Northeastern University started off in 1916 as the "evening institute" for the YMCA. 
 
​​​​​​​Today's YMCA is open to people of all ages, genders and religions. The "Y" is dedicated to reducing the barrier to participation for less affluent families posed by fees. Membership dues and program service fees are designed to cover the cost of operation, while grants and donations (22% of Greater Boston Y's $77.5mm revenues in 2018) cover the cost of outreach to the less affluent. The Y promises to partner with others to create a community of caring people to improve health and to empower youth and families. Paula noted that the Charles River Y offers special programming with partners, including: the Charles River Center (developmental disabilities), Riverside School (behavioral health disorders), Walker School (behavioral, social and emotional challenges), Parent Talk and Needham Youth Services. Funding partners, who help to make the Charles River Y's programs accessible to all, include the Rotary Club of Needham, the Exchange Club, Needham Bank and Webster Bank. Julie Richmond pointed out that an important fundraiser for the Charles River Y' the Giving Gala, is coming up on March 21st at Powers Hall.
 
 
 
 
Citizens' Climate Lobby
Posted on Feb 04, 2020
Rotary Club of Needham Newsletter February 4th, 2020
 
Volunteer Opportunities
 
Meal Packing
"The Rise Against Hunger": Saturday March 28th at the Masonic Hall (details still TBD) with the Needham High School Interact Club.
 
In the Community
 
Circle of Hope
Circle of Hope is looking for coats for all ages. There will soon be a coat sorting event (date TBD) where volunteers can help prepare the donated coats for distribution to shelters.
 
Needham Free Public Library and the Boston Bruins Pajama Drive to Benefit Children in the Department of Children and Families System and Cradles to Crayons
The goal is 12,000 pairs of pjs. We're helping by encouraging our members to donate new pajamas for children of all ages or to donate funds for this purpose, multiplying the impact of the Club's $500 donation, which was used to purchase 84 pairs of pajamas. Pajamas can be dropped off at our club meetings.
 
Meeting: Dr. John Keller, Citizens' Climate Lobby: "How we can stabilize the climate and improve the Human Condition"
 
Susan Peghiny, Assistant Governor of Rotary District 7910, introduced meterologist, Dr. John Keller (photo below). John represented the Boston Metrowest Chapter of the Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL). CCL is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on developing the political will and organization to enact national policies to address climate change. The focus of CCL's advocacy is "The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019" (HR 763), which is a bill in the US House of Representatives that proposes a fee on carbon at the point of extraction with the revenue raised redistributed to households in the form of a flat, monthly dividend per household. The dividend is intended to offset the impact of higher fuel prices from the carbon fee.
 
Rotarian Marshall Saunders founded CCL in 2007 after seeing Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". He realized that his prior advocacy on behalf of people living in poverty could be wiped out by the effects of climate change: "There was a real danger of all our good works going for naught." Lots of the respectful, non-partisan culture of CCL can be attributed to him. When asked the question: "What should we do?", Marshall responded "What's needed is thousands of ordinary people organized, lobbying their members of Congress with one voice, one message, and lobbying in a relentless and unstoppable, yet friendly and respectful way."
 
Dr. Keller started off with the good news: the proportion of the world's population living in extreme poverty (< $2/day) has declined from about a third to about a tenth in the twenty-five years from 1990 to 2015. But economic growth is linked to consumption of energy, and 85% of the world's energy comes from burning fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a byproduct of fossil fuel consumption, and the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has been steadily rising from 270 parts per million (ppm) in 1750 to 410 ppm currently, and -depending on the path chosen by global leaders- could increase to 660 ppm by 2100 on our current path, to 540 ppm based on current international climate change agreements, and to 420 ppm, if all nations follow the Paris Accords. At 660 ppm the global climate would heat up to +4 degrees centigrade; at 540 ppm it would heat up to +3 degrees and at 420 ppm +1.5 degree. (Please see the graph below.) Dr. Keller noted that a 3 degree cooling resulted in an Ice Age, and a 4 degree increase in temperature could result in a 2 to 6 foot rise in sea level, while increasing the intensity of storms.
 
Here's the problem, the science of climate change is accepted, but the policy solution is not. Pollution is an externality to the cost of production: the private cost of production can be passed on to the consumer in the price, but the "external" cost of pollution is passed on to society. As a consequence, private cost is lower than societal cost, a market failure that can be addressed by government taxation or regulation. Carbon emissions were once free, and an effective policy solution will impose a price on those emissions throughout the world. CCL's preferred policy to fight climate change is a bill in Congress called HR 763. HR 763 would place a carbon fee of $15/metric ton on fossil fuel production, rising $10/year until emissions drop by 90%. The economic impact of the carbon fee on less affluent households would be ameliorated by dividending back the revenue raised on a flat basis per household. Studies estimate that about 60% of households would take in more from the dividend than they'd pay in higher prices. Imported energy, not subject to the domestic carbon fee, would be subject to a "border adjustment" reimposing the carbon fee.
 
CCL has 568 local chapters globally with 535 organized by congressional district in the US. There are five levers of political will that CCL uses to draw citizens into the political process and to provide training and support to ensure that their contribution is constructive:1) lobbying Congress, 2) media relations, 3) grassroots outreach, 4) grass tops engagement, and 5) group development and organizing. "Laser talks" on the CCL website offer intriguing examples of the organization's support of their volunteers. A laser talk is a powerful statement on a specific topic, including: climate science, policy design and impact and politics. CCL trainers offer webinars on climate advocacy twice a month. If you're ready to take action on climate change, the CCL website offers information on how to get started as a new CCL member or as a financial contributor (citizensclimatelobby.org).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Anaya Tipnis Foundation
Posted on Jan 21, 2020
Rotary Club of Needham Newsletter January 21st, 2020
 
In the Community
 
Circle of Hope
Given cold weather, Circle of Hope is urgently looking for coats for all ages. There will soon be a coat sorting event (date TBD) where volunteers can help prepare the donated coats for distribution to shelters.
 
Needham Free Public Library and the Boston Bruins Pajama Drive to Benefit Children in the Department of Children and Families System and Cradles to Crayons
The goal is 12,000 pairs of pjs. We're helping by encouraging our members to donate new pajamas for children of all ages or to donate funds for this purpose, multiplying the impact of the Club's $500 donation, which was used to purchase 84 pairs of pajamas. Pajamas can be dropped off at our club meetings.
 
Meeting
 
Trusted Referrals
In order to foster business referrals within our membership, based on trusted relationships, our members are encouraged to present brief biographies in order to make the other members aware of their careers and expertise. This week, Dan Tibma, our President, presented his life story. He was born in Indiana, and his parents separated when he was still quite young. His father was a developer in Tampa, Florida, and his mother was in the hospitality business in Aspen, Colorado. Dan would spend the school year in Tampa and the summers exploring the West from Aspen. He has been in the construction business since the 6th grade, full time since graduating from the University of Florida. His first wife was from Boston, which brought him here, and his wife, Sharon, taught him how to catch lobsters, which helps keep him here. For the last 15 years he has focused on design-build projects with a geographic focus in and near Needham. I am one of Dan's many satisfied customers: he renovated our kitchen and expanded both cooking and dining space by knocking down a wall separating the two rooms. He also helped us expand our closet space and improve the size of our bedrooms by eliminating and redistributing a tiny bedroom. Thanks, Dan!
 
Speaker: Monica Kachru, Board Chair, Anaya Tipnis Foundation (see photo below)
Monica founded the Anaya Tipnis Foundation in honor of her daughter, a graduate of Needham High School, who died in 2017 as an incoming freshman to MIT. Anaya's name means "God answered", and the Foundation's mission and ethos are hers. Anaya felt that all young people deserve an opportunity to prosper through higher education and a strong support system. The foundation's mission is to help low-income, need-based students succeed in college by providing them mentorship focused financial support along with access to internship opportunities. A network of mentors (counselors, educators and industry professionals) actively work with the scholars in their journey as they transition to college. The mentors strive to understand their challenges and help them achieve their goals.
 
The foundation's approach has three areas of focus intended to improve the college outcomes of low-income students:
1) financial: each year, each student receives a scholarship of up to $3000.
2) mentorship: mentors provide advice on academic, financial and other college transition challenges.
3) internships: scholars have the option to participate in a six-to-eight week internship at partner organizations, including research labs, technology companies, and financial institutions.
Ideal candidates will have demonstrated authenticity in their passion for entrepreneurship, science, technology, education, social justice or the empowerment of women or minorities. Passion and authenticity should be demonstrated by community service and leadership. Candidates also need to demonstrate financial need based on total family income. The foundation currently supports five scholars, and it is in the process of securing support to expand further. Current sponsors include Roche Brothers and Volante Farms.
 
Potential supporters can get involved in several ways:
  • help find deserving students
  • help with the application process 
  • connect the foundation with donors and help with fund-raising
  • mentor the scholars
  • help with events and administrative activities (the foundation is administered entirely by volunteers), and 
  • donate. The foundation is a qualified 501(C)(3) charity and donations are tax deductible.
For more information, contact: www.anayafoundation.org.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Posted on Jan 14, 2020
Rotary Club of Needham Newsletter January 14th, 2020
 
Meeting
 
Speakers:
 
Needham Select Board: 1) Dan Matthews (photo below) and 
 
Massachusetts Cultural Council: 2) David Slatery, Deputy Director and Needham resident (photo below); and 3) Timothea Pham, Program Officer for Local Cultural Districts (photo below)
 
Dan Matthews, representing the Needham Select Board, offered a brief description of Needham's Tax Assistance Program. This program offers assistance in paying property taxes to seniors and the disabled. The average, annual real estate tax bill is currently $10,000 in Needham. The annual program budget of $15,000 funds about 35 grants averaging $425. Elderly or disabled individuals with less than $55,000 in annual income and married couples with less than $67,000 of annual income are eligible to apply. Here "elderly" is defined as age 60 or over and "disabled" is defined as a person who has been determined to be incapacitated from working by a recognized source such as Social Security, the US military, workers' compensation or a retirement board. The grants can be matched with a circuit-breaker program that is appropriated by Town Meeting to offer greater tax relief. The Tax Assistance Program, however, is funded entirely by voluntary contributions, typically using the labelled envelopes found with your tax bill.  Dan asked us to consider contributing to the fund to boost this program helping seniors and disabled to remain in their homes. The contributions are tax deductible. Further information is available through the Town Treasurer's Office (781-455-7500 ext 208) or online at www.needhamma.gov.
 
Dave Slatery, the CFO and General Counsel of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), spoke about the many ways that the agency supports and enhances the cultural life of the 351 municipalities in Massachusetts. The MCC partners with local community councils across the state to expand access, improve education, promote diversity and encourage excellence in the arts, humanities and sciences. As a local partner, each dollar of MCC's $18mm annual budget ($16mm from state appropriation) is leveraged 152 times by other funding sources to fund the total budgets of grantees' cultural programs. To expand access: the EBT Card to Culture program has provided 258,000 free or discounted admissions to 140 cultural organizations to Massachusetts residents of limited means. MCC's cultural organizations offered 48,000 public events each year, including 200 festivals with free or low-cost admission. To improve education, MCC grantees engaged 102,000 children in creative youth development programs, including 6,100 at-risk youth. Students in the arts have lower dropout rates, higher GPAs and better scores in math and language on standardized tests. For more information on MCC and its programs: www.massculturalcouncil.org.
 
Timothea Pham administers MCC's local grants in our region. Needham's Cultural Council (NCC) received a $6,800 grant from MCC in FY2019. That money helped support performances and festivals including: Longwood Opera, Needham Concert Society, Needham Community Theater and New Year's Needham. Needham cultural groups are encouraged to apply for grants by October 15th annually to support exhibits, festivals, field trips, artist residencies and performances. For more information on NCC grants, contact: Kristen Mazzocchi (617-894-9967).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Needham Community Revitalization Trust Fund
Posted on Jan 07, 2020
Rotary Club of Needham Newsletter January 7th, 2020

Volunteer Opportunities
 
Circle of Hope emergency coat drive
They're currently looking for coats for all ages. There will soon be a coat sorting event (date TBD).
 
In the Community
 
Construction of the sensory room at Joseph Tynan School 
On December 30th, our volunteers assembled the sensory room for the Tynan School in South Boston (please see the picture of the finished room below). Why did we take on this project? According to the Center for Disease Control, one in 59 children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. The resulting difficulties with communication, social interaction and comprehension make it difficult for these children to thrive in everyday settings. By providing a sense of calm and comfort, sensory rooms help children with sensory disorders, like autism, learn to self-regulate their behaviors, which ultimately improves focus. 
 
This was our largest project year to date, the focus of our fund-raising. Other organizations and people helped by contributing generously to our funding: Capron Lighting and Sound Company, the Perfect Peace Project, the Weston-Waltham Rotary Club and Libby Pero. If our members remain interested, this project could serve as a template to help other schools with large populations of children on the autism spectrum. During the project, we learned that there are at least two similar schools in the Boston district.
 
Meeting
 
Speaker: Paul Good, founder of the membership-based, private coaching practice: "The Power of Intentional Living" and the Needham Community Revitalization Trust Fund
 
Paul is the founder of a private coaching practice called the Power of Intentional Living (TPOIL). It addresses the question: how do we decide what we should be doing with our lives? He points out that we start off following a path that others create for us, and then, randomly discover things that we like to do. We intuit that we possess unique competitive advantages, but sometimes they remain undiscovered. Once you identify the natural gifts that you have to work with, then you need to decide where to go on your journey. By building your own "owner's manual" you can start to create your own life, intentionally. TPOIL is a membership-based coaching service that helps its members identify their natural gifts and the experience of life that they will find most fulfilling.
 
The Needham Community Revitalization Trust Fund (NCRTF) has completed more than 30 public space revitalization projects in Needham since its founding in 1999. The Rotary Club of Needham has contributed to funding for  NCRTF's beautification projects. In my, admittedly subjective, review of the projects, I discovered that NCRTF sponsored the iconic sculptures on the town common called "Once Upon a Time" and the "Circle of Peace" (see the picture of Paul completing the circle below). NCRTF has also sponsored decorative banners, elegant trashcans, commemorative benches and bike-racks. It has obtained pre-approvals for projects that only require funding to be realized. For example: an art gallery for Eaton Square (the side of the Rice Barn facing the train) consisting of five, stainless steel frames to hold digitally imprinted panels with smaller frames below offering contact information with the artists. Then there's the "All Aboard" Locomotion Wall Mural Project for the rear walls of Kumon and CMC Systems (117-119 Chapel Street) to show a digital image of the original H.H.Richardson-designed train station (a space now occupied by The James) before it burned.
 
For more information on TPOIL and NCRTF, please review the business cards for both shown below. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Speakers
Zak Attenbourough
Feb 25, 2020
Riverside Community care and the Eliot house
OFFSITE MEETING: BID Needham
Mar 03, 2020 12:00 PM
John Fogarty, Pres. BID to give update of hospital status at new BID Conference Rm
Hearts and Noses Hospital Clown Troupe
Mar 10, 2020
Ann MacFate - Needham Public Library
Mar 17, 2020 12:00 PM
What's new with the Library
NO MEETING: Meet at Briarwood to Deliver Flowers
Mar 24, 2020 12:00 PM
Deliver flowers to seniors
Christina Raskin - Charles River School - Model UN
Apr 07, 2020 12:00 PM
Model UN Club
Scholarship Winner
Jun 09, 2020 12:00 PM
Award scholarship to Needham High School scholarship winner
NO MEETING: Summer picnic tomorrow
Jun 16, 2020 12:00 PM
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