Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is staying warm in the freezing cold out there! First off, I want to say a big THANK YOU to all who came to Aspen Social on Monday night for our holiday party & toydrive with Rotary Metro. Everyone had a great time and we collected over 300 toys, including a bicycle(!), for the children of Fraternite Notre Dame.
 
There are members from two different Rotaract Clubs (one from Milwaulkee and the other from Italy) arriving in New York this weekend that would love to meet any and all of us from Rotaract Club at the UN. In order to give them a real NY Holiday experience while having a great time, we’ve decided to join them for ice skating this Sunday, December 20th, at Bryant Park (www.thepondatbryantpark.com) at 4:00pm.  It’s free to skate and skate rentals are just $12. There’s also hot chocolate and lots of holiday shops for anyone who wants to come along but not skate. We’ll meet at the carousel on the south side of Bryant Park near the entrance to the rink at 4. Please email Nicole@RotaractNewYorkCity.org if you plan to come and I’ll send you my mobile phone number. Hope to see you there!
 
Finally, thank you for the great turnout to our last meeting of 2009. We were inspired by the amazing work in first response disaster relief that Shelterbox (www.shelterox.org) is doing all over the world and by Yi Shun Lai’s passion for the organization. Yi Shun wanted me to thank you all for the terrific hospitality you showed her and let you know that if you have any questions about Shelter box that you can always send her an email at yishunwrites@gmail.com. 
 
Our next meeting will be Thursday, January 7th, and we will host NY Rotarian Fredlee Kaplan as she discusses her recent trip to Uganda with Gift of Life International. I look forward to seeing you then!
 
Cheers to a Happy Holiday Season and Great New Year!!!