It’s time to adopt a soldier

JIM DE BOOM

It’s almost been a year since Daily Pilot readers and the Interfaith

Council held its drive to collect much-needed items for the families

of Marines stationed at 29 Palms. If you are like me, it felt good to

help the families and the Marines, but I have done little except to

pray for members of our armed services every day since then. Here’s a

chance for each one of us to make a difference in the life of a

soldier we know, serving abroad or in the United States.

Doug Grow, columnist with the Minneapolis Star and Tribune turned

me on to the Adopt-a-Soldier website at

https://www.adopt-a-soldier.com. At this website, you can adopt a

member of Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines or Navy, stationed

here or abroad. Your choice. The Adopt-a-Soldier program was started

by Chico California Park and Playground Commissioner Mary Schreiber

as a result of her desire to make a difference as her son went to

serve in the armed services.

The plan goes like this: if someone knows of a soldier and sends

Schreiber the soldier’s name and address, she will find seven people

to adopt that soldier. Each person who adopts a soldier will take a

day of the week and on that day they will correspond with the soldier

they adopt. It could be a simple note of encouragement, a cheerful

card or a nice letter. All they have to do is commit to the

correspondence being positive, encouraging, informative, supportive

and thankful for having the soldier on our side and in our lives.

In a recent column in the Star-Tribune, Grow cites a business in

the Minneapolis area that adopted a Marine Corps sergeant, started

corresponding with him via e-mail, shipped him a care package and

then asked what else he needed.

The sergeant responded that he needs the rest of his company

adopted. Now, Schreiber needs the names and addresses of soldiers.

They have a waiting list of people wanting to adopt soldiers and need

the names of your family members, neighbors and friends who are

serving our country. You can go to the website and click on “submit”

to nominate a soldier to be adopted. If you don’t have Internet

access, you can write to ADOPT-A-SOLDIER Program at 119 Main St.

Chico, CA. 95926.

SEARCH FOR TALENT

Young toes will be tapping, young voices will be singing and young

hands will be playing instruments on March 5 at the Oasis Senior

Center Auditorium, when the “Search For Talent” contest starts at

6:30 p.m.

Presented by the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor, this contest is

open to children from 6 to 18 years old and trophies will be awarded

in each of three age groups. For more information, call Deane Bottorf

at (949) 673-8701.

STUDENT SPEAKER’S CONTEST

Harbor Mesa Lion’s Student Speaker Contest winner Tyler Blackney

was awarded $50 at the club’s recent meeting for his speech on

“Democracy, Is It For Everyone?”

Tyler is a junior at Newport Harbor High School. He will go on to

compete at the Zone Level in this annual competition sponsored by the

Lion’s International Student Speaker Foundation. According to Student

Speakers Contest Committee Chairman Marianne Allen, contestants can

win up to $20,500 in scholarship awards by competing in the region,

district and area finals.

The Zone level competition will take place on March 8. For more

information, call (714) 534-3791.

GOODBYE SPAM

Jeff Schwartz will present a new software program called “Goodbye

Spam” on Wednesday for Computer Friends of Oasis. Schwartz will

demonstrate how this program will eliminate spam and unwanted mail

from inboxes and keep adult content away from youngsters.

The meeting will be held at the Oasis Senior Club (corner of

Marguerite and 5th Avenue, Corona del Mar) and will begin at 1 p.m.

Schwartz will speak from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Raffle tickets will be

provided for everyone and refreshments will be served before special

interest groups. Everyone is welcome, from beginners to experts.

There will be a $3 charge at the door for nonmembers. For more

information, visit the Computer Friends of Oasis website at

https://www.vivianboulos.

tripod.com.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF SERVICE CLUBS

Geri Reno, who joined the Harbor Mesa Lions Club, was inducted by

the Lion’s District 4-L4 Vice Gov. Barbara Hayward. Reno was

sponsored by Janie Harris ... Former member and past President Bill

Gibson was re-inducted into the Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club.

WORTH REPEATING

From the Thought for Today, provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport

Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council: “Being considerate of others will

take your children further in life than any college degree.” --

Marian Wright Edelman

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK

TUESDAY

7:15 a.m.: The 40-member Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club will

meet at Five Crowns Restaurant to hear Newport Beach Fire Chief Tim

Riley (https://www.newportbeach

sunriserotary.org).

6:30 p.m.: The Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lions Club will meet at

the Costa Mesa Country Club.

WEDNESDAY

7:15 a.m.: The 10-member South Coast Metro Rotary Club will meet

at the Center Club (https://www.southcoastmetro rotary.org); the

Newport Harbor Kiwanis Club will meet at the University Athletic

Club.

Noon: The Exchange Club of the Orange Coast will meet at the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club for a Valentine’s luncheon.

6 p.m.: The Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa will meet at the Bahia

Corinthian Yacht Club with spouses for a Valentine’s Dinner and to

hear high school speech contestants. (https://www.newportbalboa.org)

THURSDAY

7 a.m.: The 20-plus member Costa Mesa-Orange Costa Breakfast Lions

Club will meet at Mimi’s Cafe.

Noon: The 50-member Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club will meet at the

Holiday Inn for a program on Abraham Lincoln (https://www.kiwanis.

org/club/costamesa); the 50-member Kiwanis Club of Newport

Beach-Corona del Mar will meet at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club

with spouses for a Valentine’s program; the Exchange Club of Newport

Harbor will meet at the Nautical Museum for a program by Eric Bezko

on Oliver Crest Youth Homes; the Rotary Club of Newport Irvine will

meet at the Atrium Hotel. (https://www.nirotary.org).

* COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Saturdays in the Daily Pilot.

Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655

or by e-mail to jdeboom@aol.com.