ROTATELLER

 

Submitted by Will Arscott

 

 

The meeting was held once again in the Main Dining Room at the Saskatoon Club. The emcee for the meeting was Steve Wilson. We were all properly greeted at the door by Wilson Mnemba who also introduced visitors and guests. The meeting began with members singing O Canada.  Our singing was led by Gary Rusu who set a key such that none of our members were injured reaching for the high notes.  

 

The blessing was asked by Maureen Torr who asked us to pray for peace outside and inside of ourselves. Cashier was Donna Gauthier. Gary Rusu handled technology.

 

 

Our only guest was our guest speaker, Leanne Durand, who was introduced later in the program.

 

 

There was no report.

 

 

There will be three weeks until the next club meeting. This is because of the Victoria Day weekend. Our next meeting will be on May 27.

 

Donna Gauthier still has grocery cards for Sobey’s.  It would be good to get them sold prior to the end of the Rotary year. You can buy them with a credit card at the meetings. You can also phone Donna and arrange to get cards.

 

 

Steve Wilson read a very nice thank you letter the club received from Hope Restored. Jolene MacGill who had been our speaker several weeks ago wrote to thanks us again for our contribution and announce that they had found a second location and are now able the separate the education and program administration from the residence. The result is that they are now able to house up to twenty-one clients.

 

 

 

Our speaker was introduced by Kent Smith-Windsor. Leane Durand who is now chairperson of the RAP Board. Kent began with a bit of a summary of the recent Badge Sheild and Star Dinner.  The dinner was a success though sponsorships were down. This was partially made up by good attendance and a meal sponsor, though the final proceeds will be less than for last year. The meal sponsorship is already in place for next year as are several sponsors. Kent thanked the members of our club who worked on sponsorship.  The result did not come from a lack of effort, but it was just a very difficult year to convince sponsors to take part.

 

Leane Durand has been with RAP for 2 years. She initially joined to work on administration and fundraising but now has taken on the job of president. She seems to be settling well into her new leadership role. Leane is a graduate of our university.

 

Leane began by showing a video that was produced to be unveiled at the BSS Dinner.  I am sure all members will agree that it was an excellent video which featured many beneficiaries of the program explaining how RAP had become important in their lives. The production costs for the video were donated to RAP.

 

RAP is a going concern.  It is currently in eleven high schools over both the Public and Separate systems in Saskatoon. The program seeks to be student driven. There are many requests to expand the program, but the resources do not meet the demand. Hopefully it will expand to more schools going forward and even expand beyond the city.

 

Student anxiety and relationship issues are on the rise. This may, in part, be due to the rise in smartphone and social media use. Social media seems to leave students less connected rather than more connected. It also moves problems that would have only occurred at school into their entire waking lives. As many as 90% of the cases that RAP has been involved have a cellphone or cyber component. Students internalize what they experience on social media. Bullying is a real problem that has been made all pervasive with the new technology. Many kids today are deficient in social skills.

 

Leane briefly reviewed the three parts of the RAP program. The first goal is prevention through education. This part works towards awareness around issues such as bullying.  Leadership training is also a component in this part of the program. The second area is intervention which involves helping with resolving active issues in kids’ lives. These issues may be between the kids themselves, between the kids and the school or between the kids and individuals outside the school including parents. Before arbitration is begun both parties must agree to take part.  The process always begins with talking to each party separately before attempting any reconciliation.  The third area is reconnection, this means bringing a student back into the school community after an incident.  One initiative in this area is having suspensions served in school supervised by the RAP worker.

 

RAP works in conjunction with important partners. The two school boards, the police and Sask Justice are important partners in the RAP program. RAP also can provide a gateway to other programs such as addiction counselling and programs under Sask Housing.

 

The program is needed in more schools and would like to grow. It is more stable having completed three-year agreements with the Ministry of Education and Sask Justice. There is still a need to build capacity. The BSS is also important to raising the profile of RAP even more than for the money it raises towards the program. Leane thanked us again for our work on this project.                                                                                                                                                                             

 

Leane was thanked by Steve Wilson and the usual donation to the Bethany House was explained.  

 

 

Next meeting is May 27. Presenter is Morgan Wienberg – Little Footprints Big Steps: Child Protection in Haiti