COMMUNITY & CLUBS:Groups work together for success

In a joint effort among the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise, Working Wardrobes and the Salvation Army, eight of the 12 clients provided by the Salvation Army finished a series of six Steps to Success Workshops.

The Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club donated an entire van full of working attire to Working Wardrobes, and the members acted as the coaches for each of the Steps to Success Workshops. There were six weekly workshops focusing on identifying job skills, “elevator speeches,” elements of the job application, interviewing techniques, budgeting and the next four steps to finding a job.

Working Wardrobes provided the curriculum for the workshops and training for the Rotary coaches. In addition, the Newport Sunrise Rotary Club sponsored a Self-Esteem Day, hosted by Working Wardrobes and Men’s Wearhouse. Members of the Rotary Club acted as personal shoppers and assisted the clients in the selection and fitting of their working wardrobe right down to the tying of neckties.

The Salvation Army provided the clients who were enrolled in Salvation Army’s Work Therapy program. Each Saturday ,three to four Success Coaches from the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise conducted 90-minute workshops designed to teach and build confidence in the clients for their job search. Following the final workshop, a graduation ceremony was held, and each client who completed the workshop series was awarded a certificate from Working Wardrobes and a plaque from the Sunrise Newport Beach Rotary Club to remind them that our club members were all behind them.

Forty of the 49 members in the Rotary Club participated over the course of eight weeks by donating suits, serving as Success Coaches during the workshops, acting as personal shoppers during the Self-Esteem Day or attending the graduation to show support for these men. By any standard, that is extraordinary participation from a volunteer organization, stated Tim Brown, club vocational service chair.

“The results from this project will be carried on for a lifetime for some of these men. For others, it will take some more time. Not all attempts at recovering from drugs, alcohol and felony convictions meet with success the first time. Our club members touched their lives in a way that few in our society ever have.

“At graduation they were grateful to our club, but interestingly enough, our club was also grateful to them for letting us become part of their success,” Brown added.

EXCHANGE CLUB BRINGS HOME AWARDSBill Bechtel, president of the Exchange Club of Newport Harbor, brought back to a club meeting a number of district awards that were presented at the recent district convention.

The awards included first place for the club newsletter, the “bell” award for the most dollar contributions to Exchange Objectives, the Freedom Shrine Award, and Awards for American Citizenship, Community Service, Best Display, and Search for Talent program.

The Exchange Club of Newport Harbor remains one of the top clubs in the Exchange District and one of the top clubs in Newport-Mesa! Congratulations.

TEXAS HOLD ‘EM TOURNAMENTThe Rotary Club of Newport Irvine will hold a No Limit Texas Hold ‘em Poker Tournament on Friday, July 20, at UC Irvine’s University Club, 801 East Peltason Drive, Irvine.

The $50 buy-in includes a light buffet that opens at 5 p.m., with the first hand being dealt at 6:30 p.m. A no-host bar will be available throughout the evening.

There will be prizes for the top nine players, including a championship bracelet. Proceeds from the event will benefit Rotary Charities, according to club president Diane Pearce. More information and a registration form can be downloaded at www.nirotary.org.

WORTH REPEATINGFrom the Thought for the Day, as provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council:

“To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what they have already achieved, but at what they aspire to.”

— Kahlil Gibran