Park at the Radisson, the parking ramp, or street parking where available
Allow for time to go through buffet line!
July 30 - Radisson Ballroom
This Week: Tony Ayala;
Bubba's Fund One Year In
In just one year, Bubba’s Fund has grown from an idea born out of unimaginable loss into a community-driven effort focused on improving the lives of children across La Crosse.
Founded in late spring 2025 through the La Crosse Area Community Foundation, Bubba’s Fund officially launched in August 2025 with the 1st Annual Benefit for Bubba’s Fund: An Evening with the Weber Brothers, raising more than $60,000 to support its first initiative. The initiative to put AEDs in state-licensed childcare centers in La Crosse was fulfilled in December 2025, when Bubba’s Fund partnered with 7 Rivers Cardiac Arrest Preparedness Education, The Parenting Place, and the La Crosse Fire Department to equip every state-licensed childcare center in La Crosse with an AED. This made La Crosse the first city in the country to ensure each state-licensed childcare center is equipped with these life-saving devices.
This presentation shares the story behind that impact, beginning with the life of Charlie Lonning Weber (June 21, 2024 - September 16, 2024), whose brief but meaningful life continues to inspire this work. It explores how a community came together in the face of tragedy to create something lasting, and how partnerships, trust, and a willingness to think differently made that possible.
Attendees will also hear how Bubba’s Fund continues to expand its reach through initiatives like Charlie’s Kids Fest and Bubba’s Youth Day (Jan 10, 2026), which brought together nearly 400 youth participants and more than 1,100 community members in a single day through a collaboration with UWL Athletics and UWL Women’s Basketball. The presentation will also highlight the 2nd Annual Benefit for Bubba’s Fund on July 18, 2026 at Copeland Park, in partnership with La Crosse Steam Northwoods Softball.
As a donor-advised fund, Bubba’s Fund operates through partnerships with nonprofit organizations such as 7 Rivers CAPE and Rising Athletes. This structure ensures that every initiative is rooted in collaboration and long-term community benefit.
Looking ahead, the presentation will outline what’s next for Bubba’s Fund, including the advancement of Bubba’s Law (WI SB437), which, if passed, will create funding opportunities for AEDs and related components for state-licensed childcare centers across Wisconsin. It will also cover continued investment in youth-focused initiatives, expanded community partnerships, and future event planning.
At its core, this is a story about turning grief into purpose, building a lasting legacy through action, and discovering what is possible when a community commits to doing good together.
Next Week: Housing Access, Insecurity, and Discrimination
Explore local history as you deepen your understanding of how past and present racism and inequities have shaped housing disparities. Learn actions that community members can take to improve housing access and affordability in La Crosse. This presentation began as a collaborative effort with Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Area and La Crosse Public Library Archives along with other local nonprofits and community members.
Presented by:
Natalie Heneghan, Community Outreach Director at Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region
Jenny DeRocher, Archives Librarian at the La Crosse Public Library
Anna Sprague, Executive Director at Shelter Development, Inc.
Meal for This Week
Lunch this week: Grilled burger Buffet with smokehouse potato salad, baked beans, and assorted cookies. Vegetarian meal is an impossible burger on a GF bun with chips.
Gluten Free Members - Please ask for a GF bun.
Vegetarian Members - Please get a vegetarian meal tag from Sue upon check-in to give to the serving staff who will provide a meal for you.
Coffee, ice tea, and water available at a beverage station.
Guests are ALWAYS welcome! RSVP in advance to Niki Pohnlby the end of day Monday for the meal on Thursday.
Hospitalizations
Diana Carey is having hip surgery early this week. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.
Youth Exchange Drivers
Our 2026-2027 youth exchange student will be attending Onalaska High School. If you are travling to weekly meetings from that direction and would consider being a driver, please reach out to Karen Abata.
July Club Social - Trolley/Dark La Crosse
What a great response to our July social! At this time the trolley is fully booked. Please reach out to Niki Pohnl if you want to be put on our waiting list.
New Member Proposals
The following community member has been proposed to become a member of our club:
Polly Fortune, proposed by Sue Durtsche
Benjamin Hein, Executive Director of Star Center, proposed by Mike Desmond
Shannon Raney, Executive Director of The Center: 7 Rivers LGBTQ Connection, proposed by Lauren Journot
According to club procedure, applicant names are to be published in our weekly email bulletin for two weeks. If there are no objections from the current membership, these applications will be approved. Please contact the Club Administrator if you object to these proposals by July 22th.
The Avenues of Service Event (also known as the Rotary Four Way Test Award Banquet) will be held on August 12th from 5:30-8:30pm. It is a chance for ALL area Rotarians to gather together to recognize and celebrate what the eight area clubs and interact clubs are involved in. The event includes a formal dinner and program recognizing nominated achievements in the last year.
Bring cash or reserve your raffle tickets for the many different raffle baskets provided by each club, with proceeds benefitting Rotary Works Foundation. We will also have a 50/50 raffle!
Tickets are $55.00 and include three-course meal (including a garden salad, dinner roll, dessert) with complimentary coffee, ice tea, and water. Type caption here
FOUNDATION MINUTE FOR July 20, 2026 Welcome to Week THREE of RI’s Month of Maternal & Child Health.
This week’s FM report is from Lindsay-Jo of Bowling Green Independent News. For more than 25 years, the Perrysburg Rotary Club (OH) and the Perrysburg Rotary Community Foundation have helped change the lives of vulnerable young women in Romania through their support of the Deborah House in Timișoara, Romania.
Since 2001, the club and its foundation, working with Rotary International and Rotary District 6600, have contributed more than $300,000 to the ministry, which provides safe housing, education, counseling, and hope for girls rescued from abuse and the threat of human trafficking. The Deborah House was founded in 1998, after Romanian ministry leader Lorena Rusovan rescued a 6-year-old orphaned girl from severe abuse. Recognizing that Romania had few resources for girls suffering trauma, Rusovan partnered with Mission Link International to establish Deborah House, the country’s first residential care and treatment center dedicated to girls recovering from severe physical and sexual abuse. Perrysburg Rotary became involved in 2001 after a club member witnessed the lasting effects of Romania’s communist era, when thousands of abandoned children were left to live their lives on – and under – the streets or in institutional orphanages, where they were vulnerable to human traffickers and a wide variety of other personal hazards.
Since then, the club has worked with two Romanian Rotary Clubs and helped fund different Rotary International grants that have strengthened the Deborah House’s mission. A passenger van now safety transports girls to school, replacing train travel that once left them exposed to traffickers. Additional grants funded computers, a security system with high-tech cameras, mandated plumbing upgrades, greenhouses, a fruit orchard, and an irrigation well.
Quick Facts about Rotary in Romania: 1. All Rotary clubs in Romania belong to District 2241 2. The first Romanian Rotary Clubs, Bucharest and Timisoara, were established in 1929. 3. District 84 (Bucharest) was founded in 1936, but officially banned during the communist era. District 2241 was re-established September 1, 1999. 4. Since its revival, Romanian Rotary clubs have invested over $15m into local and regional projects.
