Last Tuesday Rotarians gathered at the Good Mojo shop as a community service project. We sorted clothes, tidied and straightened the toy and book shelves, and plucked outdated items from the clothing racks. This gave us an opportunity to get to know each other better while being helpful. Rotarian Marty Raiss summed up the volunteer activity by saying: “I really like doing this.”
Profits from Good Mojo benefit the families of ForKids, which was established in 1998 in Ocean View to provide housing for the homeless families. Over the years, the mission of ForKids has focused on homeless children and their families and expanded services to "break the cycle of homelessness." It does that by providing intermediate housig for homeless families and also supportive services for those families, including after-school tutoring and meals for children. Today, ForKids has five housing programs in Norfolk and one in Suffolk which provides housing for 39 families.
In addition to the families in the housing program, there are an additional 45 families for whom ForKids provides non-residential services, including services in schools.
Norfolk Rotarian and Civil War buff Steve Jones led a guided twilight tour through historic Elmwood Cemetery. Laid out in 1853, Elmwood is a quintessential Victorian cemetery. Designed by Norfolk bricklayer, John Ridley, the design combines the garden cemetery feel of a private landscaped park and the efficiency of a grid-like structure to its lots.
The cemetery spans 50 acres with an estimated 46,000 burials and 30,000 monuments. Lots were sold to both families and organizations. On the tour, we saw a variety of monuments including the Couper memorial designed by William Couper, a Norfolk resident who established Couper Marble Works. The eight foot high statue is made of bronze with a recording angel atop a six-foot granite base as a memorial to his mother. We also saw the Core Mausoleum which is constructed of Vermont granite and is graced by two bronze sculptures. The Core Mausoleum is the most expensive in Elmwood costing $100K in 1910 (estimated at $1.5M today).
Steve is pictured pointing out the various features of the Veith/Dalton family plot. This monument reflects the departed resting on the tree of life. There are two urns of buring flames which represents resurrection and it is topped by a funerary urn.
The Rotary Clubs of Tiel, The Netherlands and Norfolk continued the 40+ year exchange. We are delighted to have four Tiel teenagers visiting Norfolk for three weeks. They have enjoyed a variety of experiences including a baseball game, surfing, and a trip to Washington, D. C. They shared with us their hometown of Tiel where the mascot is "Flipje", a raspberry!
What could be better than a summer evening with a pleasant breeze listening to Big Band music? A group of Norfolk Rotarians met at Ocean View Beach Park and heard the sounds of the Khedive Notables Dance Band. We were joined by family including grandchildren and friends. Picnic dinners were eaten. Conversations were enjoyed. A part of the group took time out from watching Barbara and Donald Lipskis dancing. Come join us for the August Big Bands on the Bay on August 30 when the featured band will be Glen Boswick GHE Sounds of Swing.
Members and friends of Norfolk Rotary enjoyed an evening at Harbor Park watching the Norfolk Tides play the Pawtucket Red Socks. Although the Red Socks scored two runs in the first inning, the Tides came back to win the game 7-3. A portion of the proceeds from the ticket sales benefitted Rotary International's effort to eradicate polio from the world. Last year, there were only 27 cases.
Club Information
Leaders Making a Difference at Home & Abroad
Meets three Tuesdays a month at 12:15 p.m. See Calendar for details.
Scope arena meeting room
201 East Brambleton Avenue
Norfolk,
VA 23510 United States
