August 23 Program: Susan Dyckman gave an inspiring talk on NEW EYES for the Needy.

Karen Swartz (R) introduced Susan Dyckman (L), Executive Director of NEW EYES for the Needy. Karen’s father-in-law Tom Swartz, a member of the Milburn Old Guard, is a dedicated volunteer for New Eyes.

New Eyes was founded in 1932 by Short Hills resident Julia Lawrence Terry to help poor people get glasses. She solicited contributions of gold and silver framed glasses and huge numbers of unneeded eyeglasses were mailed to Short Hills. They were melted down and sold for scrap value. Income was used to give grants to agencies which provided eyeglasses with the correct prescription to individuals in need.

About twenty years ago, the process was changed to a voucher system. Individuals in the USA can apply for a voucher if they have had a recent eye exam and if they are poor. Old recycled eyeglasses are still collected but now they are sorted and distributed overseas (through other agencies) to developing nations where there is a need. Last year, used glasses went to 30 different countries.

In the United States, if someone is in financial need and needs a pair of glasses, they can apply to New Eyes for assistance. It’s a very simple application. New Eyes asks for basic financial information and evidence of a recent eye exam. Most applicants are in desperate financial condition and New Eyes issues them a voucher. Any optician can accept the voucher and will provide basic (value of approximately $60.00) eyeglasses in exchange for the voucher. Over 4,000 optical dispensers, including Walmart corporation's vision centers, will accept the vouchers and deliver a pair of basic, fitted eyeglasses to the client. The vendor submits the voucher to New Eyes. New Eyes sends a check to the vendor.

After the 1970s, the frames no longer contained enough precious metals to fund the vouchers. To get the necessary funds, New Eyes now applies for grants from foundations, asks for individual donations, holds special fund-raising events, and sells donated used jewelry and giftware at the “Fabulous Finds Boutique” in Milburn.

New Eyes receives special funds specifically for children’s eyeglasses. Ronald McDonald House Charity made a $30,000 grant. Last year a young woman organized a fund-raising event in New York targeting younger contributors. This year, actor Jake Gyllenhaal participated in the “See for Change II” event raising $15,000. The successful event was sold-out - standing room only.  A third source is the Kids Rock for Vision Concert. Middle school and high school bands perform at a “battle of the bands” event in Summit. A fourth source was related to a Bat Mitzvah, where contributions of $20,000 were raised. Because of successful fundraisers, New Eyes can deliver extended services for children in need.
 
New Eyes is taking the initiative to search out needy children who will be helped through improved vision. They are working with a school nurse association to urge them to enlist their help in identifying children needing the services of New Eyes.

The overhead for New Eyes is low. The paid staff is very small, with most work done by volunteers. About 250 volunteers help New Eyes over the course of a year. Some come as groups - others are steady, regular volunteers. All ages are represented (one woman has volunteered for almost 60 years).

Donors can drop of eyeglasses at three official New Eyes sites in Milburn/Short Hills. Eagle Scouts often organize collection programs. Lions Clubs have their own program but sometimes give used eyeglasses to New Eyes. Knights of Columbus donate glasses. Optometrist and funeral parlors provide some used glasses. Many people mail to New Eyes packages containing 2 to 500 pairs. People should contribute glasses regardless of condition because parts might be useable.

To learn more about New Eyes, visit the website at http://neweyesfortheneedy.org/. You can also visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#!/neweyesfortheneedy .

Dick Plambeck, President of Chatham-Madison Kiwanis thanked Susan Dyckman for her excellent talk on NEW EYES for the Needy.

Announcements: Kiwanis August 23 Meeting

President Dick Plambeck thanked Nancy and the rest of the “host committee” for doing a great job at the annual District Convention. Mary Anne Maloney reported that progress is being made on preparations for the September 20 Installation Dinner. Members should get all necessary information to Rich Behling for the Members Directory. Diane O’Brien thanked Tom Mullin for his excellent leadership and also others who worked on the Library Picnic. Dick said that many children attended. Tom also thanked all the workers who volunteered. John Eyre asked members to send greeting cards to Sam at his home address. 

Nancy Boucher reports: 2011 NJ District Kiwanis Convention

Nancy Boucher, who led host club support for the New Jersey District Kiwanis Convention, reported on the event. She acknowledged the work of Heather Alonge who printed the program, including an ad in honor of Governor Marc Litwack and Nancy. Nancy said that was very nice and a big surprise. She thanked other members of our club who helped with the convention: Nancy Holt, Betty Anne Keat, AD Dudderar and Joan May. They were the “host committee” and worked very hard. Over 250 people attended. A resolution was passed in the House of Delegates thanking Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club for hosting the convention this year.

There were a lot of workshops on the ELIMINATE project. In the Coin Donation contest, where club members put money in a jar at each meeting, our club came in third. Kiwanis has Zeller awards for ELIMINATE donations of $1,250. Mike Mulhaul was selling Zellers and sold about a dozen, with contributors photographed the last day. There were also workshops on training officers and other topics.

AD Dudderar ran the Basket Bonanza all by herself and the project brought in $1,260. This amount was contributed to Children’s Specialized Hospital.

Nancy reported outcome of election of officers for next year. In a close vote, Joe Teti from Trenton won Governor-Elect. Rudy Fernandez from Livingston will be Treasurer. Nancy closed by passing around the program and list of memorials from the Sunday memorial service. At the service, Nancy placed a rose for Cory Fuller, who passed away last year.

Zeller Awardees - 2011 NJ District Kiwanis Convention
(Photo by Larry Meegan)

“One World Many Stories” - Kiwanis Sponsored Library Picnic

The annual Library of the Chathams Summer Reading Program picnic was held on August 18, 2011 in hot, humid summer weather. Morning showers ended before the picnic, which was held in the afternoon in Memorial Park. (Photo shows Kiwanis Pres. Dick Plambeck and Children's Librarian Laura Weinbrom.)The park is behind the library which is located on Main Street in Chatham Borough. Food and workers were provided by Chatham-Madison Kiwanis Club.  Kiwanis picnic organizer Tom Mullin reported that almost 300 hot dogs were served.  He also reported that about twenty Kiwanis members were on hand to grill and serve hot dogs, chips, fruit juice and ice cream. 

 “One World Many Stories” was the theme for the Summer Reading Club at the Library of the Chathams this year.  The program ran from June 27 to August 18 and was open to all children living or attending school in the Chathams. Children, including pre-K youngsters, participated in the summer reading program by reading books or by having books read to them. 

 Children’s Librarian Laura Weinbrom reported that 126 teen volunteers, with backup from the library staff, listened to book reports made by participating children.  272 children who read and reported on enough books were invited to the Kiwanis picnic.  Weinbrom said that 548 children read and reported on 10,247 books. Volunteers who listened to reports contributed 1,388 hours with 59 volunteers giving over 8 hours and 37 giving over 20 hours.

 Entertainment at the picnic was World Music with Daria. Children enthusiastically danced and played instruments to the beat of rhythmic music. The Chatham Women’s Club sponsored prizes for readers and the Friends of the Library sponsored the entertainment.

 Library of the Chathams Director and Kiwanis member Diane O’Brien said “we were very happy that the weather cooperated and everyone had a good time.”

August 16 Program: Al Thomas, Boy Scouts of America, spoke on "Leadership Development for Teens"

Al Thomas, Senior District Executive, Fishawack District, Patriots' Path Council, Boy Scouts of America was introduced at the June 16 Meeting by Betty Anne Keat.  She said, “This summer Al spent 2 weeks hiking and camping with two other advisors and nine boy scouts at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.” Al gave a fascinating talk on leadership development opportunities for teens.
He pointed out that Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts are excellent programs for developing youth leadership skills because the activities are led by the boys. Chatham and Madison have the best Troops you can find. Eagle Scouts become leaders of a community project. All Boy Scouts are encouraged to be in service to others and they develop their leadership skills along the way.

Aside from traditional Boy Scouts, other programs are offered for teenagers that develop leadership: Venturing and Exploring. Exploring is career-oriented; for example, there is an Aviation Exploring Post at Morristown Airport. Venturing is more about hiking and camping in a high adventure activity. Venturing Crews can also specialize in arts or other areas. Both programs are led by the teenage participants, which gives them experience and the opportunity to develop and improve their leadership skills. Adult advisors help organize the youth and provide guidance along the way. Leadership training is provided. Ventures are organized into Crews - Explorers are organized into Posts. Both can be coed or single sex, as determined by the participants (most are high school age). Choice of uniforms is up to the particular group of participants. Service to others is an important part of both programs.

Venture Crew 77 sponsored by the Madison Elks Lodge emphasizes High Adventure and Community Service. Youth interested in this activity can contact John Kennedy.

Al suggested that Kiwanis consider starting a Venture Crew in Chatham. Since Kiwanis already sponsors the CHS Key Club, sponsoring a Venture Crew would be a logical extension of the club’s focus on supporting youth.

He also gave an overview of the Leadership Venturing program offered by the Patriot’s Path Council. It consists of 11 modules that can be offered in a variety of customizable packages. This could be of interest to the CHS Key Club. A program specialist could describe the program at a Key Club Meeting.

Another educational program offered by Boy Scouts is “Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience” (C.O.P.E.). Participants spend a day at Mount Allamuchy Scout Reservation building their leadership skills. Building teamwork is an important goal.

A special event at the Stanhope camp will be offered the second weekend this September: “Extreme Leadership, Climbing to New Heights”. It has been designed by and offered to members of the Boy Scouts and also to others in the community. Similar events will be offered in the future. This program could be of interest to the Key Club.

Kiwanis members thanked Al for his interesting, complete and helpful overview of the programs. For more information, go to website http://main.ppbsa.org/

Announcements: Kiwanis August 16 Meeting

Diane O’Brien announced the Children’s Summer Reading Program picnic will be held Thursday in the park behind the Library. In case of rain, the event will be moved into the large meeting room in the Library. Nancy Boucher announced the NJ District Convention to be held this coming weekend. She reported that the ELIMINATE project donation jar contained $115.42.

Program: Celina Baquiran, NJ District Key Club Lieutenant Governor for Division 14 spoke at the August 9 meeting

Celina Baquiran, introduced by Key Club advisor Karen Swartz, is the NJ District Division 14 Lieutenant Governor. She attended the 2011 Key Club National Convention held in Phoenix, AZ. The photo shows Karen holding the NJ District T-Shirt and Celina is holding the badges she collected from other International and National Key Club Districts. She thanked the club for helping send her to the convention, where she learned much more about the workings of Key Club.

Before the convention officially started, the Celina had a chance to tour northern Arizona places like the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff and Sedona.  Celina reported on preliminary bus tour followed by the daily events at the convention.

Dressed for a cool airplane and airport, it was a shock for her to walk into 110+ temperatures in Phoenix. Following a 3-hour bus ride to the Grand Canyon, she and the others went to view the beautiful sunset. She left the hotel the next morning at 4:30 AM to go see the sunrise and found that the temperature was a cold 45 at the Grand Canyon during sunrise. From there the bus went to Flagstaff, Sedona and then to the official hotel in Phoenix.

There was opportunity to meet other Key Club members during free time in the pool and while walking to the Mall. She was particularly impressed by the California-Nevada-Hawaii District.  Members of that district are spirited, wear black and yellow outfits and have a special Cheer. She passed around photos taken at the convention.

The “Meet and Greet” session was held on Wednesday. Everyone wore their District T-shirts and pins. Pins were exchanged. Fund-raisers and other activities were on the schedule. An ice-breaker was a huge “Twister” mat. At the opening session, Amy Meisner of the NJ District sang the National Anthem. Nominations were made for International President, Vice President and Trustees. Caucusing was held after lunch. Jared Greene from Tenafly, NJ was running for International Trustee and he made it past the first round. Celina attended the ELIMINATE workshop and the “Keys to Meaningful Service and Great Service Projects” workshop. She also participated in the candle-lit “ELIMINATE Charity-Walk”. The first day ended with a dance.

On the second day, there were more workshops and a “Service Fair”, where Districts could do things. NJ had a booth where they raised $80 for the ELIMINATE project.  Then there was more caucusing – NJ delegates lobbied for election of Jared Greene. Next was the recognition session. NJ District won many awards (click here to go the NJ website and read about the awards).

The next morning there were more workshops and Celina attended the Lieutenant Governor workshop. She also attended a workshop presented by NJ District on “How to Hold a Benefit Concert”. It was based on last year’s successful chain of “Generosity Rocks” concerts. The workshop drew a huge attendance with people sitting on the floor when all chairs were filled.

Next on the schedule was the “House of Delegates” meeting followed by election of officers and voting on amendments. Jared Greene was elected as one of the eleven Trustees. The 2012 convention will be held in Orlando, FL.

Celina said that she will try to get members of Division 14 more involved in the activities of Key Club. Members of Kiwanis loudly applauded the fine presentation made by Celina.

Announcements: Kiwanis August 9 Meeting

Tom Mullin reminded everyone about the Library Picnic on August 18. Nancy Boucher asked members to add their contributions of cash to the ELIMINATE jar. Next week will be the last weekly meeting before the District Convention. Dick Plambeck reminded everyone to vote for Chatham Borough for the free barn. He also asked members to forward the email (originally sent out by Ron) to all people in their email directory.  Mayor Vaughan passed out reminder slips for people to pass along to friends. Karen reminded members to collect toiletry items and bring them to meetings to give to NJAS.

Program: JoAnne Babbitt spoke about the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation

Karen Swartz introduced JoAnne Babbitt who spoke about the John Taylor Babbitt Foundation. John was taken from his family and community in 2006 when he suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest while playing basketball. His family directed its grief toward positive improvements to help others avoid having such a tragic loss. The family started the 501-c3 Foundation to prevent sudden cardiac death through increasing awareness, teaching CPR/AED and installing Defibrillation Devices in public places.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the U.S., killing more than 295,000 people every year. Only 6 percent of victims survive and survival rates decline by 7-10 percent for every minute defibrillation is delayed. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is not the same as a heart attack (similar to a plumbing issue). SCA is more like an electrical problem in the heart – the heart malfunctions. Cause is often genetic and usually shows up after puberty.

Many deaths can be prevented by fast action and treatment. Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s) and CPR are most effective at restarting the heart when used within the first few minutes of collapse. Survival rates have been known to increase from 6-7 % to 50-70 % in certain settings (for example Newark Airport has lots of AED’s). The American Heart Association estimates that as many as 50,000 deaths could be prevented annually with widespread availability and use of AED’s.

Goals and Objectives of the Foundation are to install Defibrillators in schools, athletic venues and public gathering places; to establish JTB Heart Clubs in high schools and universities to raise awareness and save lives; and to support research on genetic cardiac disorders that increase risk of sudden cardiac death.

Current successes include Community AED Programs in 5 towns and 3 schools with CPR/AED training. A Good Samaritan Legislative Initiative is under way to reduce liability of untrained people in New Jersey who try to help. There have been many high school and university heart initiatives at, for example, Villanova, Chatham High School and Pingry. More initiatives are under way.

The Foundation enlisted CHS Key Club members to help man a booth at the Fishawack Festival. One of the Kiwanis members suggested that volunteers from MHS Key Club and Drew Circle K could also help support the Foundation. More CPR/AED training in high schools is being requested as part of the NJ-required health education.

The Foundation holds a “Walk with Heart” every May and has raised $40,000 to $90,000 each year. Pingry students help operate the event.

The Chathams were among the first towns to put AEDs on the playing fields. A Guide was created to propagated the AED program to other towns, like Toms River. Continuing training is needed and maintenance is needed for machines.

JoAnne is very thankful for the support for the Foundation from the local community. She suggested that everyone go to the Foundation website, http://jtbfoundation.org/index.cfm, and view the video on the front page.

From Left: Mary Anne Maloney, JoAnne Babbitt, and Karen Swartz

Announcements: Kiwanis August 2 Meeting

Tom Mullin asked members to sign-up to work at the Children’s Reading Club picnic on Aug 18 in the park behind the Library of the Chathams. Tables and food need to be set up about 2:00 PM. The grill need to be set up and lit at 2:30 PM. Cooking of hot dogs will start at 3:30 PM. Kids start coming about 3:45 PM. Mary Anne Maloney announced that the Installation Dinner will be held at the Brooklake Country Club on September 20. The Pasta Dinner, managed by Gary Arnesen and Sharon Johnson will be held on October 20. The NJ District Convention, hosted by our club, will be held Aug 19-21. She also reported that we received a thank-you letter from New Jersey Aids Services for a Kiwanis contribution. Karen Swartz reminded members to bring in small toiletries items to donate to NJAS.
Mayor Vaughan asked all members to vote for Chatham Borough in “The Great Barn Giveaway”. Click http://www.greatbarngiveaway.com/ and then click on the “CLICK HERE” to cast your vote for the winner of the free barn. You will need to enter your email address. The barn will be set up at the site of the Farmers Market. Many more votes are needed to win!

Mayor Vaughan asks everyone to vote for Chatham Borough

Mayor Vaughan says, "Please vote for Chatham in the Great Barn Giveaway." Click on http://www.greatbarngiveaway.com/ and follow instructions. This will support the Chatham Farmers Market.

July 26 Program: Clyde Zukswert spoke on his “Prescription for a Meaningful Life”

Kiwanis Club member Clyde Zukswert gave us his “Prescription for a Meaningful Life”.  He was inspired by Edward McVaney of Denver, who wrote to his grandchildren about choices that will affect their happiness and success.

Clyde’s Prescription began with “A Positive Attitude”, followed by “The Importance of Honesty”.  The second one is illustrated by the many people in high positions who have lied when accused of wrongdoing, only to be exposed when the truth came out.  This has led to the resignations of our President, some Congressmen, and the head of a nationally distributed newspaper.  The next on Clyde’s list is “Respect (and Concern) for Others”.  He cited Princess Diana as an example of this in her public life.  Similar to this is the importance of “Doing for Others”.  An example of this in his life is the work of the volunteer fire fighter.  He also mentioned his admiration for the work of Jimmy Carter with Habitat for Humanity.

Clyde’s list continued with his advice to consider your job as a “Career for Life”, and you will find fulfillment.  This will be true, even when you change careers, as he did.  Next is “Keep Active for Life”, for which he cited the story of Joe Foss, a Marine pilot who later became Governor of South Dakota.  With “The Importance of Reading”, he told the story of his dad, who had to leave school early to help his family.  However, he kept up his education by reading his brother’s textbooks. He later returned to school and then earned a CPA.  The last prescription was to do a “Random Act of Kindness” every day.  For Clyde, this has brought hope, happiness, meaning and fulfillment to a life well lived.

After waiting for the applause to subside, President-Elect Mary Anne Maloney thanked Clyde for sharing his Prescription with our members, and gave him a Kiwanis pen as a token of our gratitude.