The club was treated to a great presentation on Friday from Phil Dodson with Lunches for Learning Inc. which provides lunches to poor children in southern Honduras. The goal of the organization is to break poverty in this area of the world. Lunches for Learning was started in 2004 when founder Ron Hicks (a fellow Rotarian) was on a bike trip through Central America.
He noticed a lot of children begging for money were doing so in order to buy food and that they were of school age. He learned that 30% of children in this area drop out of school each year in order to find food. Ron had a vision that if he could feed these children, then they would be more likely to stay in school. Lunches for Learning provides lunch every day to children in elementary school. After the first year of the program, drop out rates dropped to virtually 0%. Lunch is served between 9:30 am - 10:00 am because they realized that children learn better if they have a full tummy. A lunch consist of a grain, protein, tortilla, milk and multi-vitamin. Everything, except for the vitamin, is sourced in Honduras and in order for a school to participate, it is a requirement that there is participation from parents. $150 a year feeds one child. Currently, Lunches for Learning serves 29 schools and 1700 students per day. Many more area schools want to join. The goal is to get children through 6th grade which is equivalent to a high school diploma in the United States. If you want to help, you can sponsor a school, sponsor a student, and/or spread the word.
Beth Ferencsik was initiated as a member into RCSE at the November 4th meeting. Beth has been a realtor with Keller Williams Downtown since 2010. She grew up in Washington DC and went to college at Duke University. After college, Beth went to work in marketing in NYC in book publishing and advertising. She moved to Savannah 25 years ago with her husband David when he came to work for Colonial Marine. Beth has two children who were born and raised in Savannah. Currently, her son is a senior at Duke and her daughter is a freshman at Georgia Tech. Beth is also a mom to Murphy who is a very funny and smart Goldendoodle. Beth is actively involved in a number of non-profit organizations including Design Hope (that builds schools and clinics in impoverished nations) and Sand for Life Solutions (bringing clean water to Ghana). In her spare time, you can find Beth walking, doing yoga, or meditating. Welcome to RCSE Beth!
Mark Sprosty has been a resident of Savannah for 24 years and is a native of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI. Mark is currently the Vice President of Finance and Administration for Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) where he has worked for over 5 years. As Vice President of Finance and Administration for SEDA, Mark is responsible for all areas relating to financial reporting, year-end audit preparation, budgeting and forecasting activities as well as developing and maintaining accounting principles, practices and procedures. He currently holds a CPA license in the state of Georgia and has more than 25 years of accounting experience. Prior to joining SEDA in 2011, Mark has worked for Savannah Air Center, Four Rivers Peterbilt dealership group, G&C Fertilizer and Colonial Oil Industries.
Mark currently sits on the board of directors of the CFO Council Savannah; Small Business Assistance Corp (SBAC); and Step Up Savannah.
He has been married to his wife Teri for 22 years. They have a child who is a Sophomore at Valdosta State University and another child who is a sophomore at Calvary Day School. His family attends the First Baptist Church of the Islands (Wilmington Island). In his free time, Mark enjoys spending time with his family; playing basketball; running; watching volleyball and the Green Bay Packers.
We Missed You on January 20 - Aldrich, Belford, Heeder, Herring, Hissam, Hollis, Kelso, Lester, Paddison, Silbermann, Smith, Tatum, Turner and White . 57% Attendance
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