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Fund-raising Machines
Members of the Putnam Rotary Club were everywhere and raising money in dozens of ways to benefit local organizations and an international project, as well. Courtesy photo.



Before the COVID 19 virus put the brakes on the Putnam Rotary Club’s fund-raising, the club was able to raise an impressive $110,000 for local groups and an international water project.
Club President Richard Naumann said the club recently made donations totaling $110,000.
The funds came from the Lobster Fest, the ever-popular Rose Sale, its 2-20 game, the golf tournament and grants awarded by the Rotary Foundation, Rotary District and Rotary International. In addition, each Rotarian has made generous donations to the club throughout the year, in various ways.
Beneficiaries include: Arc of Eastern Connecticut, Camp Quinebaug, Community Café, Daily Bread, Day Kimball Healthcare, NECT Cancer Fund, NOW, Richard Franklin Memorial Fund, Scouting, Shelterbox USA, TEEG, United Services, Windham-Tolland 4-H Foundation, Hale YMCA, scholarships. In addition to those local beneficiaries, the club is helping to fund an international project — the Ecuador Water Project. The Woodstock Volunteer Fire Association and the Bungay Fire Brigade also received donations for equipment.

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PUTNAM — Day Kimball Healthcare (DKH) has sought donations of medical supplies from organizations and individuals across northeastern Connecticut in the wake of shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the original call for materials just three weeks ago, DKH has received donations of variety of PPE supplies from more than 85 individuals, organizations, businesses and manufacturers.
“We continue to be humbled by the generosity of the community as we all navigate this difficult situation together,” said Kristen Willis, director of development, Day Kimball Healthcare. “Support has come to us in a number of ways including donations of PPE, restaurant owners and individuals preparing and delivering meals for our staff, and monetary donations with messages of gratitude and inspiration. The outpouring of support has been amazing, but we still need the help of our community.”
In collaboration with the Northeast District Department of Health for the procurement of these critical supplies, DKH continues to accept PPE donations from the community to keep colleagues, patients and families safe during these unprecedented times.
Donated items must be in original, unopened packaging. Equipment being accepted by DKH include: disposable head covers; disposable gowns; disposable gloves; N95 respirator face masks; disposable face masks; face-shields/goggles; coveralls/scrubs; shoe-covers; disinfection wipes and liquids; and general-purpose hand cleaners and hand sanitizers. DKH is also accepting homemade face masks.
Visit www.daykimball.org/donatePPE for information on donating supplies.
In addition, DKH is accepting monetary donations to the DKH COVID-19 Response Fund which will be put to use immediately to provide critical supplies, equipment and resources in response to this rapidly evolving pandemic.

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PUTNAM — The Hale YMCA Youth & Family Center has partnered with the Project Pin, TEEG and Interfaith Human Services of Putnam to host a food drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 24 at the YMCA at 9 Technology Park Drive.
Bring non-perishable food items. Critical food items needed include cereal, peanut butter, jelly, macaroni and cheese, bread, chicken noodle soup, baked beans and rice.
Amanda Kelly, the executive director of the Hale YMCA, said: “While we have always hosted food drives, we recognize that during these difficult times there is an increased strain on both the health of the community and on local families. We have heard that there is critical local shortage of food, and the Y is thrilled to be able to continue support the community, even when our facility is not open to the public.” The YMCA has procedures in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of participants, including social distancing and cleaning practices for all donated items.

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We are a society that has become accustomed to being able to handle most of the needs and wants of our daily lives, virtually.  We have apps for car maintenance, insurance, banking and travel. We can schedule an appointment or attend a meeting through our laptop or iPhone, which can also be programmed to function as our alarm, doorbell and security system.
However, lately, due to the shut-down of the world, as much as we are using and rely on our technology, it has become necessary to make a phone call when we need to cancel or reschedule an appointment or a trip, or to connect with a company about a payback or missed payment or future payment or altered payment.  Whatever your particular need is, today, we are spending more time than ever on the phone and, quite frankly, on hold!
Lately, whenever I have to make a phone call because a website or agency or company directs me to “please call the customer service number”, I am greeted with the pre-recorded phrase: “We are experiencing a higher call volume than normal. Please hold and we will be with you in the order in which your call was received”. This is often followed by a set of button-pushing instructions to further define why I called.  I press “1”, hoping that my kind and gentle button pushing request to “change or cancel my reservation” will, somehow, move me up in the “order in which my call was received” line. Then there is music for a long period of time, followed by a pre-recorded person telling me that she is “sorry and unable to complete my call as dialed and to please try again at another time.” 
An hour later, I try again.  This time, I listen to ALL of my options in hopes that there is an option to press “8” in order to speak with a live person.  No such option exists, so I hold again, starting to enjoy the music that is playing from speaker on my phone and desperately searching for the charger so that my battery doesn’t die. Eventually, I try calling at 12:15 a.m., thinking that my placement in the “order in which we received the call” line will be higher.
This doesn’t work so I try setting my alarm to call at 6 a.m.  The recording at that time is somewhat rude, telling me that I need to “call back during appropriate business hours”.  I no longer know what appropriate business hours mean since I am now in the business of trying to be in the top three (or at least 50) of callers so that my time on hold will be minimized, and this business does not have specific hours.  After several days of trying to reach someone, I finally do, which means, I can cross it off my list and move on to my next item: Calling the cable company… Your call is important to us and will be answered in the order it was received. Please do not hang up. We’re sorry. We are unable to complete your call as dialed. Please hang up and…
“TRY!” “AGAIN!”

Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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