Presentations:
Paul Harris Awards: President Paul presented Rick Kaiser with his first and Tom Grinstad with his (OMG!) fifth!! They were recognized with well-deserved standing ovations.
Bellingham Rotaract's invitation: Bellingham Rotaract's first event of the year! We are working with Maple Alley Inn- a local organization that supports Bellingham's food insecure population- to replace their garden beds before winter weather sets in. This is a high-priority goal for them as these beds are necessary to grow the food they prepare as meals for the community.
They have 11 beds, so the more people that can attend, the more we can complete! We are meeting at their garden, Faith Lutheran Church, 2750 McLeod Rd. at 9am-1pm on October 15th. Light refreshments will be provided. Please let me know if you are interested in attending or if you have any questions. We'd love to have you there!
Contact Lily Storbeck at Bellingham@rotaract.org to register or lstorbeck7@gmail.com
Program:
Today's program was a presentation of Proposition 5, The Healthy Children and Families Fund, which will be on all Whatcom County ballots this November. Program Chair Steve Ban introduced the three speakers: Ray Deck III spoke to our Club last week about Skookum Kids, so needed no introduction. Heather Flaherty is Executive Director of the Chuckanut Health Foundation, earned a BS and MBA at Western and loves taking photos of sunsets. Emily O'Connor is Executive Director of Lydia Place, earned an MSW from U. of Wahington and has spent her career, the last 22 years here in Bellingham, working on issues of poverty, inequality and child wellbeing.
All three of them enjoy long distance running and will be participating this coming Saturday in the Bellingham Bay Half-Marathon (Heather and Emily) and Marathon (Ray).
Emily began the presentation by outlining why our community needs the Healthy Children and Families Fund:
1. Only 46% of Whatcom County students, and only 25% of students of color, enter Kindergarten ready to learn. Studies show that, since 90% of the human brain is developed before age 5, kids who go to high-quality preschool are more likely to read well by third grade, graduate high school, be successful in life and less likely to be incarcerated.
2. Significant shortage (about 5,000) of quality and accessible childcare slots, causing 88% of Whatcom County businesses to report that their employees miss work due to lack of childcare. More quality childcare slots will address the current labor shortage and improve our economy.
3. There are at least 150 homeless families with young children in Whatcom County. These children need a stable home and their parents need support in order to successfully parent them.
Heather followed with a description of the proposed Healthy Children and Families Fund:
1. Paid for by an additional property tax of 19 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, starting in 2023. This would cost the average homeowner $95/yr, or $7.92/month and would raise about $8.2 million per year.
2. Provides high-quality, accessible and affordable early learning services and childcare by attracting quality providers with increased wages.
3. Provides parenting training, expanded mental health services and interim housing to get families with young children back on their feet.
Ray then concluded with a description of the transparency and accountability built into this program:
1. The fund can only be used for early childhood education, childcare services, and support for at risk families in Whatcom County.
2. The accomplishments of the program will be regularly published on the Fund's website.
3. The Whatcom County Child and Family Well-Being Task Force will evaluate and report on the effectiveness of the program every year.
4. An independent agency will audit the program every two years to collect, review and share progress towards goals.
During the Q & A afterwards, the following information was shared by the speakers:
1. Federal and State funds for social services often have many restrictions, greatly decreasing their usefulness; this Fund avoids those restrictions.
2. The administrative cost of the Fund is capped at 6%, with an additional 3% used for the program evaluations outlined above.
3. During the first two years of the program, no less than 55% of the Fund must be used for expanded childcare and no less than 20% must be used for vulnerable (ie, homeless) children. Changes to these percentages in the future will require the County Council's approval.
Closing:
President Paul thanked all those members who helped with today's meeting and reminded members to participate in the Rotaract work party on October 15. He rang the meeting to adjournment at 1:30 PM.
