VIEWING YOUR NEWSLETTER...You will notice at the top of the newsletter a statement... "Having trouble viewing this email? Please click here." This format will allow you to see any embedded videos and animated ads within the newsletter. Email newsletter will allow you to see your commitments at the end of your personal newsletter...online newsletters will not show this, the bulletin on the web site may have a more readable format...you can also view bulletins online.....www.rotarycluboflacrosse.org
Our club will have a ZOOM meeting again this week. We will be sending you a browser link via email Thursday morning. We will open at 11:30 and our meeting will start at Noon. If you have an announcement you would like to make...please contact Tami Woods at woodstami13@gmail.com. If you would like to have a guest attend, please let Tami know and YOU can forward your email link to them.
I know many Rotarians have been using Zoom the past few weeks....if you are not familiar with it here is a short video for you to view prior to next week's meeting. How to join a Zoom Meeting.
We have put together a Zoom cheat sheet....tips on how to make your experience with Zoom a littler easier. If you have a tip, you would like to share, please let us know. I will add to the sheet each week if necessary until we all become pros at this! ZOOM TIPS LINK
Thanks to Sarah Arendt-Beyer you can now view past Zoom Rotary Meetings - she will post each week on our web site......LINK.
This Week at Rotary:
Our Youth Committee will be recognizing nine "Extra Effort Students." You will meet the following students.
Top row: Shaylin Ancius, Aquinas; Danessa Brocks, Central; Will Olson, Central
In honor of Bike to Work Week our presenter is Matthew Christen, who runs the Wrench 'N Roll Collective - https://wrenchnrollcollective.com/ a bike shop and bike repair space on the north side of La Crosse. Matthew is an advocate of biking for pleasure and transportation, and teaches bike safety, do-it-yourself bike repair, and runs the "everybody bikes" program, providing bikes, training, and safety equipment to individuals in our community who need them for transportation (many of you probably heard him pitch at SOUP last year!).
The La Crosse Rotary Club has received a $700 Disaster Relief Grant from the Rotary International Foundation. Funds were made available to clubs worldwide and with over 35,000 clubs worldwide and limited funds made available, receiving the grant is especially exciting. “In Rotary we are “People of Action”, while physical action is challenging in these uncertain time’s we can still positively impact our community by providing funds to support those in need”, said Tami Woods, President. The club donated $300 so we can donate $1,000 to the Hunger Task Force - Together We Can: Drive Through Food Drive at the Valley View Mall on Friday, May 22nd at 11:30.
JOIN us on Friday, May 22nd at 11:30......we are asking members to come (stay in your car) and donate food/cash at 11:30.....this is a great way our club can support the Hunger Task Force - Together We Can: Drive Through Food Drive. Firefighters Credit Union will match up to $50,000 through May 31st.....double your money!
Some of our members work for non-profits, some members serve on boards, some members may know of a worthy cause or organization. Your Rotary BOD is reaching out to all of you for recommendations to be the recipient(s) of “Al Louis’s 2020 Musky Challenge Fundraiser”. Starting July 25 through August 25 Al will be fishing up at Lake Vermillion with the hopes of catching many Muskies. Al is contributing $100 per Musky he catches during that time frame and challenging our members to match any $ amount towards each Musky. If you want to challenge Al to $10 per Musky and he catches 7, your generous contribution of $70 would go towards the fund. Last year we raised over $4,000 which went to The Parenting Place for the 2019 Diaper Drive. This year Al would like to extend this fundraising event with another worthy recipient(s). Al’s minimum donation will be $500 and he will also be promoting this fundraiser at his honorary clubs in Arizona and Minnesota. Anyone donating $50 or more will receive a bronze Centennial coin. If you are interested in receiving funds for your organization or an organization that you care about please submit your request to Lyn or Tami.
Here are some things we would like to know:
What is the organization or cause?
How would the funds be used?
All requests would need to be submitted to Lyn or Tami by June 1st. The Board will vote on the top 5 and make a decision on the recipient(s) at our June BOD meeting on June 8th.
A huge “Thank You” goes out to Al Louis for initiating this fundraiser and being a “Person of Action” in Rotary.
Rotary District 6250 allocates $1,000 grants to five district clubs. The first 5 clubs to recruit four or more new members between July 1 and April 30 were eligible for a $1000 grant for these new members to use for a project of their own. These members must remain for 4 months for the club to be eligible. Our club was the recipient of this grant in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The new members were invited to a Zoom Membership Grant Meeting last week.
The guideline for the Membership Grant Program is for the new members to use the funds for a project(s) of their choosing.
Following their discussion, the decision was to split the funds four ways:
New Horizon’s Food Pantry: Their annual Postal Service Food Drive that usually contributed 60,000 pounds of food for their food pantry was cancelled due to the pandemic.
Gateway Council Boy Scouts: These funds would go towards kids that need a subsidy for camp this summer. They are planning on moving forward with limited camps this summer in line with state and federal guidelines.
YMCA: They suspended all membership dues through August, they will need funds to pay for youth activities to start up when allowed.
New Horizon’s DART Program: Their Victims Service Coordinator with the Domestic Abuse Reduction Team (DART) provides intense case work and follow up to individuals and families who have experienced repeated domestic violence incidents. The DART program pairs an advocate with an officer of the La Crosse City Police Department.
The areas of concern for this group were: youth, food, domestic violence and the elderly, their decision was to give the funds to existing programs that would be put to use now. All attendees agreed the four programs would be a good use of the funds. There will be a formal check presentation to each organization with social distancing guidelines in place. The total of $2,000 will be split four ways to give $500 to each of these worthy organizations.
La Crosse County Health Department is teaming up with iFeed, Rotary, and Rotary Lights to hold “Food Drive Fridays”, a drive-thru style food drive where donors don’t get out of their vehicles
Collections will be held every Friday from 11am-1pm starting on Friday, April 17th through May 29th.
Valley View Mall parking lot (by former Macy’s location), 3800 Hwy 16, La Crosse Downtown La Crosse:
La Crosse County Parking lot behind the Courthouse & Law Enforcement Center, 333 Vine St:
Big Lots parking lot located at 3960 Mormon Coulee Rd, La Crosse
Non-perishable foods are running dangerously low at The Hunger Task Force, and with the postponement of the National Letter Carrier’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive, they are in desperate need of canned goods for the programs they serve. Canned items needed include meats (tuna, chicken), peanut butter, soup, fruit, boxed side dishes (stuffing, rices, potatoes), breakfast items (cereal, oatmeal, etc), canned ravioli & spaghettios, pasta & pasta sauce. We believe that everyone deserves to have access to food and essentials, especially in times of uncertainty.
Andy Bakkum was chosen as one of our Rotarians of the Year. Andy's nominator's stated: He is a very active Rotarian with our club's events and he has been active in the Interact Program. Beyond that he brings fun and humor to the club. Another nominator stated he has been tremendously engaged as a leader propelling many of our Rotary initiatives forward. At PETS (President-Elect Training Seminar) Andy took the initiative to start a fundraiser for books for Razia's schools....over the weekend they collected $10,000+.
Lyn Sheffer
Lyn Sheffer was also chosen as one of our Rotarians of the Year. Lyn's nominators stated: Lyn has been deserving of this award for many years, and we can think of no one more worthy to be our Rotarian of the Year. Lyn emobies Rotary. She lives and breathes the Four Way Test and exemplifies Service Above Self. What we love most about Lyn is the kindness, respect, and compassion she shows to all of our members, and to our community. She greets us with a smile, listens patiently to our requests, and is always there to help. Lyn cares deeply about our older members and goes above and beyond to support their involvement. In a club where so many could be singled out for their service, Lyn stands out amongst us, and we are blessed to have her as a member and as a leader.
Andy and Lyn will be recognized at the Changing of the Guard and the Avenues of Service Dinner on August 18th.
Thank you to Rotarians Jodi Widuch and Mary Beth Hensel for presenting our "Wheels of Hope" project. This is an international project that our club in cooperation with other Rotary Clubs has set a goal to raise money to fund a bus and a van to safely transport girls to their schools in Afghanistan. LINK to PowerPoint Presentation.
Only 12% of women in Afghanistan are considered literate. The Zabuli Education Center is one of the few successful schools for girls that is working to change that sad statistic. The Wheels of Hope Project is an important support to expanding educational opportunities for girls and creating safety. This work is inspired by Razia Jan, last year’s District Conference keynote speaker and founder of the school.
Follow-up from Jodi Widuch...….
Thank you very much for the opportunity to talk with you about the Wheels of Hope Project.
As follow up here details of how to donate:
1. Here is the link to our Go Fund Me Page. This is the easiest way to used a credit or debit card. There is a small processing fee that you can choose to pay for. charity.gofundme.com/razias-wheels-of-hope
2. You can also donate by check, payable to Rotary Works Foundation, Wheels of Hope in the memo, and mail to Jodi Widuch, 2555 Edgewood Pl., La Crosse, WI 54601
Every year the nine area Rotary Clubs gather for a celebration of club projects and honor members that have lived the Service Above Self motto. Clubs will also honor their Rotarians of the Year. This year our Avenues of Service Banquet will be Tuesday, August 18th at the La Crescent Area Event Center, 595 Veterans Parkway, La Crescent, MN. A decision will be made on July 18th if we will have the event. The celebration will begin at 5:30 with a social. This is a fundraiser for our Rotary Works Foundation. We hope you will save the date. It is a great night of fellowship and celebration. More details coming.
We are now looking for nominations for the following categories: Avenue of Service Nominations for Club Projects, Lifetime Achievement Nominations and the Rising Star Nominations. More information and nominations forms can be found on the Avenues of Service Dinner page on our web site....LINK. Deadline to submit nominations isJuly 15th
MEMBERSHIP Active Membership 185 Resignation - Will Jedlicka
Honorary Members 27 Sharon Imes Michael Hartigan
Associate Membershipis a program to recruit younger members, millennials, to membership. Associate Membership is available to anyone who is proposed for membership who is 35 years of age or less. Associate membership will end when that member reaches the age of 38. They would pay for dues and $100 for meals per quarter no matter how many meetings they attend that quarter.
Corporate Membership is a program to allow multiple employees of a business Rotary participation under one primary membership. Each corporate membership is limited to a three-year term. After the three-year corporate membership term, the individuals are required to become individual members. View Corporate Membership Policy.
Family Membershipis a program to allow a second individual Rotary participation under one primary membership. View Family Membership Policy.
Honorary Membership is offered to members who have distinguished themselves by meritorious service in the furtherance of Rotary ideals.Unlike other membership categories that can be requested by the member, Honorary Membership is bestowed upon a member by election from the Board of Directors. View Honorary Membership Policy.
Excused Membership is offered to members if the aggregate of the member’s years of age and years of membership in one or more clubs is 85 years or more, the member has been a member of one or more clubs for at least 20 years, and the member has notified the club's secretary in writing of the member’s desire to be excused from attendance and the board has approved. Excused Members will pay the quarterly dues and only for meals when they attend a meeting.
Membership Proposals....we will no longer ask for three references when you propose a new member. This was a criteria that our club had set not RI. This will help us process new members into our club more efficiently. You can access the membership proposal form online, under the Club Information site page.
Scrip Kwik Trip cards are still available for purchase. We have them in denominations of $10, $20, $25, $50, $100. We have about a $1000 on hand we would like to sell. Send a check to Lyn Sheffer at N6945 Pine Lane, Holmen, 54636 and she will send you the cards. Our club gets 5% back + if you use the card in store we will get another 10% back. Thank you for support our club fundraiser.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads uncertainty and hardship around the world and in our community, we as Rotarians have many opportunities to help others.
Rotarians are people of action. This is your opportunity to look over the following links to see how you best can help. Every small gesture will be appreciated, whether it is a monetary donation, a letter to a resident in a healthcare facility, a thank you to our essentials in the area, etc.
We have one Rotarian that we know of in a healthcare facility. Rotarian Elmer and his wife Lil are at Bethany St. Joseph, 2501 Shelby Road, La Crosse, WI 54601. Check your ClubRunner Membership App…. see if there is someone you might want to connect with and drop a note to.
LINKS (if you have another link you would like to share,
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