We encourage all Veterans to wear any part of their uniform as we will acknowledge Veterans Day.
This Week: Introduction to UFAH
The United Fund for the Arts and Humanities (UFAH) was founded in 1983 to campaign on behalf of its twelve non-profit members to support a diverse and large offering of arts and culture events in La Crosse and its surrounding area. It’s unique purpose is to provide an easy opportunity for businesses to invest in the programs of our local Arts and Humanities organizations. UFAH has been extremely efficient in its mission. Due to its lean structure, 93% of funds raised are ‘passed through’ to our membership organizations. In today’s presentation, we will be able to meet the organizations participating in UFAH and get a glimpse of their activities. It has been well documented that a wide range of cultural offerings bring people (quality employees) to our area, and support businesses through visitors and tourists partaking in these events. UFAH strives to be even more successful in supporting its members by pooling resources that facilitate our membership organizations to focus on their objectives.
Guests are ALWAYS welcome! RSVP in advance to Niki Pohnl if know you are bringing guests but last minute invites are also welcome!
Club Nominations
If you are interested in being on our Board of Directors, please contact Eva Marie Restel (Nomination Chair) by November 15th. At this time we have three vacancies. The Board meets in person the second Monday of each month from 11:30am-1:00pm.
SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
Ring bells for the Salvation Tuesdays in November.
All proceeds go to the Rotary Club of La Crosse and are used to support a wide variety of activities and initiatives.
Each box contains 8 apples, 4 oranges, 4 pears, and a bag of nuts. Fruit is packed in elegant and sturdy white boxes.
Pick up your boxes on Sat. December 14th or Monday, December 16th, or we will deliver to within a 20 mile radius of La Crosse!
Rotary Club of La Crosse-Downtown Rotarians: you are required to purchase 5 fruit boxes OR you may choose the $100 buy-out. If you wish to donate your fruit boxes to a nonprofit, simply note the appropriate delivery address in the field provided.
Early-Bird pricing through November 29th. ALL sales end on December 6th.
Our next STAR Meeting will be Tuesday, November 12 from 12-1pm. Location: Big Brother/Big Sisters Office Conference Room, 313 4th Street S., La Crosse. Hosted by Jodi Widuch, Todd Restel, and Jeanne Meyer
Theme for this month: Fighting Disease, International: Rotary and Polio, Local: Mobile Clinic
STAR - Specialized Training for Action in Rotary....you will meet other new Rotarians from the area. We will provide programs on the Avenue of Service, The Rotary Foundation, and the Rotary Works Foundation, along with other aspects of Rotary. This is a great time to ask questions you may have about our club or Rotary in general. Hope you will be able to join us.
Welcome to Week ONE of RI’s Month of The Rotary Foundation
FM came across an educational report highlighting why The Rotary Foundation remains a Four-Star Charity, scoring 100% in its most recent fiscal year (2023). According to the online report, “The Rotary Foundation is unique: it belongs to Rotarians and is dedicated to furthering Rotary programs that address the greatest needs around the world. Because Rotary clubs operate in nearly every country in the world, Rotarians truly constitute a global network of community
volunteers. In order to address the world’s most pressing problems, programs funded by Rotary must fit into seven areas of focus which are: Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy, Economic and Community Development and Protecting the Environment.
Rotary has three main areas in which they distribute contributions from the Foundation. There is the PolioPlus Fund. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for over 35 years. As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary has reduced Polio by 99.9 percent. Polio is endemic in only two countries at this time: Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it is crucial to continue to vaccinate polio free countries as well because if vaccination efforts ended, over 200,000 children could be paralyzed yearly. Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation have been working together to end Polio. Since 2017, every $1 that Rotary commits in direct support of polio immunization (up to $50 million per year) will be matched by an additional $2 from the Gates Foundation. This means contributions to the Polio- Plus Fund will have three times the impact.
A second focus is the Annual Fund. Contributions to the Annual Fund support Foundation activities in the seven areas of focuses earlier mentioned. The third major fund focus is the Endowment Fund. Gifts to the Endowment Fund are professionally invested, with part of the earnings used each year for purposes that the Trustees and donors specify. The principal portion of an endowment gift is never spent and is held in perpetuity. The endowment offers donors a way to ensure a strong future for The Rotary Foundation. Another important fund, is the Disaster
Response Grants which support relief and recovery efforts in areas that have been affected by natural disasters within the past six months. In 2022-2023, TRF approved 321 disaster response grants, and program awards totaling $14.8 million.
.png)
