By: Tara Burchett-Maxwell
This was the 39th meeting of the 46th year of the Dublin-Worthington Rotary Club. 

"Happy Dollars"
1. Steve Payerle's daughter turned two and they had three wonderful birthday celebrations in her honor. He also was happy that he got in 9 holes of golf at the Memorial outing before it started to rain.
2. Tom Reis announced that he will be burning his mask today.
3. Jennifer Best spent Memorial weekend in Philly with her granddaughter and is already missing her grandbaby time.
4. Teresa Russell is excited that her daughter earned Gold in her first 2MM beach volleyball tournament. 

Announcement:
There will be no email registration for the June 9th hybrid breakfast meeting. Sign ups will resume with the next lunch meeting. 

Joe Patchen introduced our speaker, Laura Parker Roerden. She is the Executive Director of  Ocean Matters.
Ocean Matters is a not for profit which brings high school students to endangered marine ecosystems around the world for service projects performed on SCUBA. 
Ocean Matters has been operating for almost 10 years. Kids between the ages of 15 to 18 (pre college) can apply for the program. They run projects in Hawaii, Honduras, and Florida and like to take kids who they beleive will stay in their communities and give service back. The organization is financed mostly by individual donors and fees. The fee is $3500.00 per child but they do a split of 50% self pay and 50% scholorship. They work with groups of 12 to 20 kids per project and average 100 kids per year.
The number one challenge is getting the kids SCUBA certified. It usually takes about 5 days and then they can move on to the service. They have done clean ups, rebuilding, and restoration of habits. Each project lasts between 10 days to 2 weeks. 
The goal of Ocean Matters is youth empowerment. Laura explained that there are 4 foundational pillars for successful elements.
1. Self-efficacy
2. Grit and determination
3. Resilience and 
4. A sense of self belonging
This bonds the kids as it motivates them. They learn social responsibility, a sense of meaning, and a sense of place within the larger context. 
Arcadia Davies is the youth advocate leader for Ocean Matters in the Columbus area. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-H-5Yy-tOQ