A Fresh Approach to Health, Environment, and Immersive Learning

Meetings
Written By Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley

MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF Sept 22, 2025

This Meeting at a Glance:

Program: A Fresh Approach to Health, Environment, and Immersive Learning

Speaker: Shemecka McNeil

Is this your first time visiting us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!

To properly attend this meeting, please:

  1. Read and watch the content below in its entirety.

  2. Complete the attendance survey.

Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.

Greetings Members, Rotarians, Friends and Guests:

Want to Learn More About Us? - Who We Are, What We Do, Why We Do It

Want to become a Rotarian? - Join us in helping to make the world a better place!

Thanks for joining our weekly meeting!

Terri Schinkel - Club Secretary

WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS

We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!

Sorry, Teacher...

Teacher: "Kids, what does the chicken give you?" Student: "Meat!" Teacher: "Very good! Now what does the pig give you?" Student: "Bacon!" Teacher: "Great! And what does the fat cow give you?" Student: "Homework!"

Inspiration

TThis week our speaker is a visionary who finds creative ways to help people in the rural Carolinas learn about nutrition. One tool is VR!

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Here's How...

That Annoying Fly Dodges Your Swatter!

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Members, be sure to read our Weekly Club Bulletin, which is sent separately to your email address from ClubRunner each Monday. In it, you will find updates and information about what our members are up to, club activities, projects, Happy Dollars, news from District 5170, and various ways you can support The Rotary Foundation. We also send your Dues notices using ClubRunner email.

Our Weekly Bulletin, sent every Monday, provides club information. To stay informed, please ensure your email is current on ClubRunner and add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your address book so it does not go into Spam.

PROGRAM: A Fresh Approach to Health, Environment, and Immersive Learning

SPEAKER: Shemecka McNeil

We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.

SLICE 325 is a nonprofit using immersive education, food literacy, and sustainability to empower all communities with a focus on those historically underserved. Led by this week's speaker, founder Shemecka McNeil, you'll learn how SLICE 325 combines hands-on cooking, virtual reality, and environmental education to address chronic disease, food insecurity, and digital inequity. Their approach uses scalable, evidence-based strategies that merge cultural knowledge with health outcomes and climate resilience.

We'll explore how SLICE 325's initiatives like VR classrooms for older adults, culturally inclusive cookbooks for managing diabetes and hypertension, and no-power-needed storm survival guides are educational, transformative, and accessible. With a proven track record of community-driven impact, SLICE 325 offers a replicable model for anyone seeking to invest in innovative, culturally grounded, and inclusive approaches to learning, wellness, and sustainability across all communities.

Shemecka McNeil has a deep understanding of the relationship between food and health. Growing up in a family with a long history of preventable health conditions, she developed a passion for promoting good health through a nutritious diet. With over a decade of experience in the health sector, Shemecka speaks about the importance of healthy eating for overall well-being. She founded SLICE 325, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating low-income individuals and families on how to create healthy meals using affordable ingredients.

Shemecka's expertise extends beyond health education; she is also a trained chef, healthcare professional, farmer, subject matter expert, immersive learning educator, and author. Her varied skill set allows her to approach health and nutrition from a variety of angles, making her a resource for anyone seeking to improve their eating habits and overall health.

As the Executive Director of SLICE 325, Shemecka is committed to making a difference in the lives of others, one meal at a time. She believes that every family is unique and that there are countless creative ways to prepare healthy meals that are both delicious and affordable.
Shemecka's dedication to promoting health and wellness has earned her recognition as a PSA Grower and a Paul Harris Award from Rotarians. She is an inspiration to those around her and a true advocate for healthy living.

Members and guests, please welcome Shemecka McNeil!

A Banner featuring our 3 PodCast Series: Inspiring People, Inspiring Solutions, and Inspiring Women

Our Three Podcast Series

Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as many other platforms.

Our weekly podcast is now called:

Inspiring People - Stories of Innovation and Service

Inspiring Solutions for a Better World

Our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.

 Inspiring Women: Celebrating Trailblazers

Our newest podcast celebrates trailblazing women. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and many other platforms.

UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE

All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.

Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).

If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.

THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY

Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.

We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.

Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeup.

Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.

For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!

Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!

Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
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Sport in Mind: Transforming Mental Health Through Sport & Physical Activity