We are in an unprecedented time of turmoil and fear that spans the entire globe. We want to start a kind of “Hall of Fame” list for the members of Rochester Rotary to recognize each other when we see our members going above and beyond to help out an individual or organization. It may be a small thing, like giving an online speech to workers, or delivering food to a shut in. It could be a large thing, like volunteering to help staff a recovery ward. As we go through this time of discomfort and shortage, we will see countless acts of sacrifice as our members follow the 4 way test in responding to the challenges and demonstrating leadership.

 

Study Abroad- College at Brockport

 

Study abroad is a passion of mine and it’s something that I encourage every student to take part in-not just because it transformed my life as a student (I spent 22 years living abroad as a result of my initial six month sojourn) but because I believe it helps an educated person understand more about the world and their place in it. When hundreds of SUNY students went abroad this semester, none of us could have envisioned how their experience would be transformed within a few short weeks. In the early morning hours of March 8, students from different SUNY schools who had been studying abroad in Italy found themselves in Brockport. It’s safe to say that none of us had expected that as the outcome of their travels! Several days later, another group of SUNY students who had been in Japan and South Korea arrived on campus. All told, 34 students were housed in precautionary quarantine at Brockport. I’m very happy to report that they arrived healthy and they left healthy, and the college and local community together went out of our way to make them feel as welcomed and comfortable as possible. Members of the college coordinated with local community members and businesses, who volunteered books, games, puzzles, yoga mats, food, and much more in order to help the students stay active and entertained in their isolation. When we asked the students what they needed, we were surprised to find that fuzzy socks were the most common request! One of the students had her 20th birthday during quarantine, and many of us at the college helped her celebrate, with songs, presents, cake and cupcake for her fellow students. (There’s a video here: https://twitter.com/Brockport/status/1237469244859846657, but please don’t judge me for my singing!) We also arranged to donate 7,000 hospital gowns to the Monroe County Health Department. We like to say that we are a college engaged with our community: I can’t think of a better way to express that than to help both SUNY and Greater Rochester in our time of need.

 

Dr. Heidi R. Macpherson

President, The College at Brockport

Mask Making

 

Pictured above is Jeannie Wells a member of Women of Rotary, her father was a member of Rochester Rotary (Jim Deisenroth). Jeannie is making medical masks for anyone that needs them but also for the residents of an adult home for men with special needs, where she works as a nurse.

 

Important Zoom information

 

Rochester Rotarian Andre Godfrey, President/CEO of Entre Computer Services shared some helpful information regarding Zoom.

There are default Microsoft settings that can be hijacked through Zoom and other conferencing tools. Two of those Microsoft settings include the default NTLM (“New Technology” LAN Manager) setting and the Integrity Setting. In their default state, these settings can be leveraged to expose some of your Windows data. We recommend that these settings are adjusted to decrease your attack vector.

 

If you have any questions please contact Entre Computer Services.

 

Paying it Forward

 

New Rochester Rotarian Victor L. Wainwright, President/CEO of Security 101 would like to pay it forward and is offering his new friends at the Rochester Rotary a free network vulnerability scan to give them a health check of their computer systems. It can be done with minimum contact with their IT staff which is great during this time. Security 101 is still opened for business being a security company, they are considered essential. They are seeing an increase of 600% of cyberthreat indicators rise just since the release of COVID-19 in early February. If you are interested please contact Victor.

 

Helping Those in Need

 

Rochester Rotarian Scott Anthony shared his most recent volunteer service. “I donated blood last week at the Red Cross main office. If anyone is considering making a donation the Red Cross works by appt. only. They are following Covid -19 guidelines to keep the number of people in the clinic keeping a safe distance. The entire procedure seemed very safe to me.”

Donating Supplies

 

Rochester Rotarian Lisa Blakesley shared with us that Howard J. Grossman, Pencils & Paper – Program Coordinator assisted School No. 8 with envelopes per Principal Stephanie Thompson’s request. Principal Thompson shared that she had received a book donation from Rotary and that she was in need of large bubble mailers to mail the books to her students.

 

Mental Health Hotline

 

Thank you to Rochester Rotarian S. Dolly Malik, PhD. for sharing the following tip with her fellow Rotarians.

 

Some of the most frequent issues that are being raised in the news blasts from the Society of Human Resource Management are around the mental health of our fellow human beings during this pandemic. A simple but important thing an employer can do is to stay connected to his or her employees. An effort  to check in on your employees to ask how they are doing in the current situation is an invaluable gesture of caring. And it makes your employees feel that you value them as individuals. If they are struggling with emotional issues such as anxiety and depression, New York State has set up a free and confidential mental health hotline. Please refer them to this resource. The number is 1-844-863-9314. Over 6000 mental health providers have volunteered to field calls from those in need.

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