Byesville Rotary Hears about Employment Navigator service at Guernsey County DD

Pictured: Jennifer Oakley, Employment Navigator, Guernsey County Board of DD, and Tanya Hitchens, SSA/Medicaid Director, Guernsey County Board of DD.

Jennifer Oakley, Employment Navigator at the Guernsey county Board of DD, spoke to Byesville Rotary about the process used to help people with disabilities enter the mainstream job market, find and retain jobs. Oakley pointed out that October was DD Employment Awareness Month and she was glad to have the opportunity to speak to the club.

Oakley explained that the Employment Navigator (EN) serves as the point contact person for people with developmental disabilities who want to apply for a job that will help that individual became more independent. She went on to explain that the EN helps people with disabilities explore different careers as well as help them fill out applications, create resumes, and work skills.

Oakley emphasized that people with disabilities are not given special treatment by employers. Each person with disabilities applying for a job must meet the same requirements anyone applying for the job must meet to be employed.

In other activities, Byesville Rotary members are preparing for their annual Christmas Food Basket program. The club has sponsored this program for over 20 years. They held a 3-day sign-up for the food basket program last week. To date they have registered 115 families out of the 200 they will be able to serve. Club members continue to register families in the Rolling Hills School District by phone—740-260-8242.

Additionally, members are raising funds to purchase supplies for the program. The main source of funding is from the Rotary club. This is supplemented by individual donations and various fundraising efforts. Total costs of the program run to about $6000. A donation of $35 feeds an entire family. Donations can be made to: Byesville Rotary, PO Box 211, Byesville, Ohio 43723.

Connect with #ByesvilleRotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com , Twitter Byesville_Club, or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting. #6690

Byesville Rotary Kick-off Pennies for Polio Challenge

Pictured: Devvon Dettra, Principal, Meadowbrook High School; and Rhonda Stemmer, Byesville Rotary Co-Chair of the Pennies for Polio Challenge, counting pennies for the Challenge.

The Penny War Challenge has begun. Byesville Rotary members are collecting pennies in hopes of winning the trophy again for Meadowbrook. This is second annual “Pennies for Polio Challenge.” The Byesville and Cambridge Rotary clubs are using the challenge to raise monies to fight polio and to see which school—Meadowbrook or Cambridge has the most supporters. The school collecting the most pennies will have the honor of displaying the Pennies for Polio Challenge trophy for the next year. 

For the last year the trophy has proudly resided at Meadowbrook High School. Byesville Rotary expects the competition to be harder fought this year.

The rules are simple: pennies ONLY are counted toward the schools total; silver coins and paper bills are counted against the schools total. Meadowbrook supporters can help Meadowbrook retain the trophy by donating silver coins and paper money to Cambridge. 

What is going to happen to all the donations? It is going to be donated to the Rotary International project to eliminate polio. This highly contagious disease—which prefers to strike at children under 5 and older adults—can paralyze and even kill by attacking a person’s nervous system. There is no cure and recovery can be lengthy. Many people never fully recovery from the paralysis.

Polio can be prevented with a simple inoculation. Rotary, in partnership with the Bill Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization, uses donations to purchase the polio vaccine and vaccinates children around the world. Currently there are only 3 countries in the world where polio occurs

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You have never heard of polio cases in the United States? That is because we have eliminated polio in our country. And because we have eliminated the disease, fewer and fewer of our kids are vaccinated against it. That puts our kids at risk if an infected person happens to travel to the US.

A donation to the Pennies for Polio Challenge will help reduce that risk.

We just want your pennies—the ones hiding in your cup holder or laying around your house that aren’t any use to you. It won’t cost you much to make a donation—and both Cambridge and  Byesville Rotarians will thank you for your donation.

Penny donations are being accepted at the Rolling Hills Schools and at the Guernsey County DD.  Watch for collections jars to appear at other locations.

Connect with #ByesvilleRotary at: www.Byesvillerotary.blogspot.com , Twitter Byesville_Club, or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Byesville-Rotary/256548047818283. The club meets 7:30 am, Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Walk-ins are welcome at the club’s meeting. #6690