Coffee Oasis Update
Daniel Kluth gave Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians an update on the Kingston Coffee Oasis at their September 4 meeting. It is scheduled to open (???). Dates have been hard to pin down, given this Coffee Oasis opening is being done for the first time through county, not city, regulations. Daniel thanked Kingston Rotarians for all their hours in getting the building ready. One out of every thirty Washington students are homeless. The Coffee Oasis provides programs for such youth, with support programs, a safe place to hang out, job internship training, and positive reinforcement. The staff has been hired for Kingston’s center. Still a few loose ends to tie up.
Meet New Member Dr. Jon Sunderland
Dr. Jon Sunderland gave his “classification” talk at the September 4 meeting of Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians. Such a presentation about one’s self is a step along the way to becoming a blue badge Rotarian. Jon spoke of his upbringing in California, obtaining his doctorate at the University of Oregon, joining the Gonzaga University school of education faculty, and becoming its dean in the final years of his forty-year career there. He then told the members a story about a project GU School of Education pursued in Africa, advancing both the mission of Gonzaga and the interests of students in Zambia. It involved delivering a masters degree program to twenty-eight students who were teachers there. Having a masters degree would allow the students to teach at the high school level. From vetting the program, to securing seed money from benefactors, to selecting most-qualified faculty, to delivering the program over a two-year period in a country twenty-four airplane hours away proved to be a challenge. Happily twenty-four masters degrees were awarded at events both in Africa and in Spokane at Gonzaga’s campus. Welcome Jon Sunderland to Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club.