Updates and Announcements
Evening Meetings: The next evening meeting will be Wednesday, March 8th at 5:30 PM at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Conifer.
- A big welcome to our two newest members - Bridgett and Tim
- Remember to invite kids to complete the on-line application to Rotary Youth Leadership Awards RYLA & YRYLA camps. We are sponsoring four RYLA and two young RYLA, Kids in Fairplay are eligible. Visit the www.rmryla.org for details and applications.
- A Sergeant-at-Arms for April, May and June are needed - Join the fun at the Tuesday morning meeting by welcome members!!
- Volunteer opportunity - The Rotary Denver Mile-Hi Club will begin their tree planting campaign. This project is an ongoing project intended to address environmental issues by "greening" city areas over a ten-year period. It is being done in conjunction with Denver Forestry, The Park People, the Greenway Foundation and the City of Denver Climate Office. The Park People are providing a turn-key set up for volunteers – The volunteers need show up and place a tree in the pre-dug hole! On April 30th the goal is to have 300 trees planted. Members of the Conifer club will be helping with the tree planting on April 30th. The community is welcome to join. Please send us an email if you would like to help out.
- FUNdraiser - Evergreen Ice Melt Contest tickets on sale at the Mountain Foothills Rotary web site - https://mountainfoothillsrotary.org/
- If you have enjoy working on website, the Conifer club needs you! If you would like to be the new webmaster, please email Diana P. for information.
- We will be working on getting an article in the locale paper about all the literacy projects the Conifer club has helped with and funded.
Upcoming Club Socials - All are welcome!
Please join us for a Peacebuilder Party on Monday, February 27, 6-8 p.m. at Los 3 Garcias Mexican Restaurant, The Village at Aspen Park (near King Soopers), Conifer. Our guest of honor for this social is Tom Carlisi, a Rotary Action Group for Peace leader and Peace Chair of Rotary Columbus, Ohio.
This will be an informal meet and greet party, no host (order your own food and drink). Los 3 Garcias is reserving the entire back of the restaurant for our party, so that we can sit down to eat or stand up and mingle. So that Los 3 Garcias can plan on how many extra staff to bring in, please let me know if you will attend or might attend.
Upcoming Events:
Rotary District 5450 Conference - Saturday, April 29 @ The Cable Center. Visit the Rotary District 5450 web site to register. The Conifer Club will have a table at the ‘House of Friendship’ to showcase what the Conifer club has been up to this year.
Meeting Program: Tom Abood: Living Invested in Life for Future Generations
Came to DU Law School. Became an investor, penny stocks, then Wall Street. Finally divested and became an angel or impact investor. Now an impact first/community investor.
Looking at your four-way test, it’s aligned with this.
There’s an alternative to mainstream investing. Have you looked at where you have your bank accounts or CDs? At what these institutions invest your money in? Do we want to be parasites, destroying our world, to extract at all costs? Support the gross disparity of wealth in this country and globally?
He recommends Wendell Berry, “The Art of Loading Brush,” David Korten’s book, “Change the Story, Change the Future, A Living Economy for a Living Earth” and another book, “This Changes Everything-Capitalism vs the Climate.” Everything is changing in our economy right now.
We are just a thread in this world, but everything is because we humans did it. We need to really love this planet. Everything has a right to exist. We must recognize the worth and dignity of every being.
Our lives and investments and time should be focused on the positive, not the negative.
His recommendations:
First, divest from fossil fuels and re-invest in clean, renewable energy. Where do we bank? The Wall Street banks are leading the charge for fossil fuel investments. $268 billion by Chase alone in recent years. The wall in Wall Street was built by slave labor to prevent local tribe from reclaiming the land stolen by the settlers, and then became a slave market. Then Wall Street made securities based on slavery.
First, divest from fossil fuels and re-invest in clean, renewable energy. Where do we bank? The Wall Street banks are leading the charge for fossil fuel investments. $268 billion by Chase alone in recent years. The wall in Wall Street was built by slave labor to prevent local tribe from reclaiming the land stolen by the settlers, and then became a slave market. Then Wall Street made securities based on slavery.
Alternatives:
Cleanenergycu.org, formed by Namaste Solar. Has CDs.
Invest in solar on your home. Heat pumps, programmable thermostat, energy efficiency.
EVs, eliminate a vehicle and take bicycle, light rail and bus.
“A Finer Future, Creating an Economy in Service to Life” by L. Hunter Lovins
Second, he recommended looking at Community Development Financial Institutions, private financial institutions, around since the 1970s. They can be banks, credit unions, loan funds or venture capital funds. They provide tech assistance and financial counseling to loan clients. Mission is community development. Serve the communities of color that can’t get capital.
Examples: Self-help.org; hopecu.org, latinocu.org, nativeamericanbank.com is based in Denver;
Mycnote.com; rsfssocialfinance.org; coopfund.coop.
oweesta.org makes loans to other CDFIs.
Revision.coop; growhaus.org; gofarm.org; iroquoivalley.com etc
Buy a farm share of produce. Support regenerative agriculture, which is no tilling, cover crops and crop rotation.
Also can eat less meat. Reduce food waste, which is 400 lbs per person in US
What is our return on investment? Vs What is the impact of our investment?
The bigger banks are investing in fossil fuels. He suggested talking to your bank and asking.
He recommends community banks and credit unions.
Dean: Is it better to tear down the present or build the future? Abood said both. Dean elaborated afterwards that he was talking about combatting misinformation.
Stan: I’m not capable of managing my money, so I just let Fidelity do it. Speaker: I doubt they will help.
Sara Gardner: I work with Fidelity, go ahead and ask. They do have ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investments, and they do have partners such as my firm that place in such investments.
Morti: Vanguard also has a partnership with a socially conscious investment firms. Their return has been greater than my regular Vanguard funds for the last seven years.
Abood: Need to look at all the holdings of your mutual funds.