Sunrise Rotary, with the assistance of the Fergus Falls Noon Rotary and a Cochabamba, Bolivia Rotary Club, sponsored a library in Wayapacha, Bolivia in 2003. Sunrise Rotarian Paul Nelson’s son Micah Nelson, a Peace Corps volunteer in Wayapacha, coordinated the project. He was also involved in a new water well and other educational projects. A celebration of the project was held in November 2003, when Paul and his wife, Sandy, arrived with funds for the library's books. The Bolivian Rotary club, with Micah’s help, had renovated a building and readied it for the books, which arrived with the Minnesota funds. The community gathered as a whole for the project's grand celebration.
|
Bolivian Library Project
|
|
2026-01-24 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
In September 2025, Rotarians from District 5580 's Sunrise and Noon Rotary clubs, Duluth
Harbortown Rotary, and Thunder Bay-Port Arthur Rotary traveled to Bolivia. Their trip began
in Cochabamba, covering approximately 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) through the high
desert, on switchback roads through the Amazon Valley, and across the Altiplano plateau,
ending in La Paz before returning to the United States. While there, the Rotarians attended the dedication and opening ceremonies of two fully
funded projects: the Cesarzama Clinic and the Rocha Rancho School. They also checked
in on Anchallani Clinic, where Mano a Mano and the community had just begun pouring the
concrete for the building’s foundation. Rotary District 5580 clubs have funded 14 medical clinics in Bolivia. The Bolivian
government staffs these clinics after the projects are complete, making them sustainable,
with over 64,000 patient visits annually.
|
Building Up Bolivia
|
|
2026-01-24 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
In partnership with Lake Region Takes Root and Partnership for Health, Sunrise Rotary assists with harvesting vegetables each summer and fall, which are distributed to local food shelves in Fergus Falls and the Salvation Army. Additionally, Ashby and Battle Lake, MN, food pantries receive excess pounds of produce. On average, each week produces 500 pounds of cucumbers, tomatoes, greens, carrots, zucchini, squash, melons, and other produce, which are distributed to those in need.
|
Community Garden
|
|
2025-11-19 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
Zimbabwe Farm Security: Started in 2012-13, Sunrise was catalyst to raising about $135,000 in cash and donated items including two tractors plus enough supporting equipment to fill two containers all sent to Mt Selinda, Zimbabwe to help them farm and supply food for Mt.Selina orphanage, hospital, and individuals. Zimbabwe Food Security: 2025 Project to raise $8,700 for tires, repairs and supplies for Mt. Selinda, Zimbabwe. The tractors are now under the control of the Mt. Selinda Highs School Ag Dept. who will see to the repair and appropriate use of the equipment.
|
Farm Security Project in Zimbabwe
|
|
2025-11-19 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
During COVID-19, Fergus Falls Sunrise Rotary started a program to honor our healthcare workers. Due to the extreme working conditions they were enduring during that time, we approached seven local food establishments and purchased treats for the healthcare workers. From June 15th through August 27th, 2020, treats were delivered to Lake Region Healthcare, LB Homes, Pioneer Care, and the Vets Home, and distributed to 1055 workers.
|
Honoring Our Healthcare Workers
|
|
2025-11-19 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
Sunrise Rotary works with United Way to stuff backpacks so kids facing food insecurity have enough to eat over the weekend. Once a month, club members go to the Fergus Falls United Way office and prepare the backpacks with donated food. Backpacks are dropped off at the schools each Thursday and sent home with the children each Friday.
|
United Way Backpacks for Kids
|
|
2025-11-19 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
The Fergus Falls Sunrise Rotary purchased an eBike and sold raffle tickets to fund bikes for local children in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The children (some with help from their families) filled out a simple form to get a bike. The children were so excited to pick out their own bikes after riding them around the local Walmart store. The raffle was a success, raising enough to pay for the eBike and 25 bikes. Mike Heikes, a Fergus Falls native, provided bike helmets for each child. Mike previously suffered a brain injury from a car accident and knows full well how an injury can impact the body. He wants to protect others from having to deal with the struggles he faces every day.
|
Bikes for Kids
|
|
2025-11-19 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
 Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.
During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter. Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
|
Rotary at the Start of the United Nations
|
|
2020-11-05 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|
Women are active participants in Rotary, serving their communities in increasing numbers and serving in leadership positions in Rotary. The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary.
“My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world,” said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01. The vote followed the decades-long efforts of men and women from all over the Rotary world to allow the admission of women into Rotary clubs, and several close votes at previous Council meetings.
|
History of Women in Rotary
|
|
2020-11-05 06:00:00Z |
0
|
|