Project Pajamas is the brainchild of Santa Cruz Rotarian, Ari Symons, and has been an annual campaign of the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary club. In 2022 we are, once again, raising money and asking for donations.
UPDATE 10/24/22:
The 2022 drive was a success. We donated 986 pairs of pajamas to needy children around Santa Cruz County! Thanks to everyone who donated and volunteered.
The goal of Project Pajamas is to provide a new pair of PJ's to every child in a homeless shelter or other form of emergency housing in Santa Cruz County.
Children leave their homes when their parents are in distress, perhaps with a mother who is fleeing a batterer, or an addicted parent who seeks treatment. Or, perhaps they simply do not have a home at all. They often come to the shelters with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Whatever the cause of the distress, it is not the child's fault nor under their control. It must be very scary to spend nights in an unknown place. Project Pajamas believes that if the child is given a new pair of pajamas their very first night, they may feel a little warmer and safer and perhaps will sleep better.
To date, in 2022, the Club has raised over $1,600 which has enabled us to purchase over 170 pajamas for the cause. We can use more.
Those who want to help Project pajamas with packaging and distribution are asked to come to Twin Lakes Church in Aptos at 9:a.m. on Saturday, October 22. Please bring a few boxes of gallon plastic bags and a sharpie. We will spend time packaging the pajamas in bags, marking the size and gender on the outside. Then we will gather them up according to the groups that will be receiving them. After that, people will deliver them to the recipients. You can participate in one or all of those projects. We are low on volunteers, so please consider coming on October 22nd.
Pictures from the 2019 packaging can be viewed here - it is definitely a fun activity for kids to participate in and the hours can count towards community service or school service hours.
The 31st Annual Santa Cruz Sunrise Youth Scholarship Golf Tournament is "Golf for a Great Cause". Since 1999, our annual golfing event has raised more than $185,000, providing scholarships to over 50 local high school seniors.
Whether you are a seasoned golfer or just a beginner, join us for a fun day of Golf and BBQ on June 3, 2016
There will be great prizes for all skill levels. Scenic DeLaveaga Golf Course and Lodge in the hills above Santa Cruz provides the perfect setting for this non-profit golf challenge.
The requested donation for this charitable event is $150 per person. Your registration includes green fees, golf cart, BBQ for 2, and great golfer gifts.
Want to help sponsor the event and our local youth in continuing their education? Please contact Bill Buck at 831-476-7620 for hole and contest sponsorship information. Click to download the event brochure, the sponsorship packet or the hole sponsorship packet.
Thank You Sponsors!!!
31st Annual Youth Scholarship Golf Tournament - June 3, 1pm
Experience a full day at the world famous Cowell’s Beach & Steamer Lane surf breaks. Surf, paddleboard, team relays, sandcastle contest, & many more fun filled events. You can also spend the day at the Santa Cruz Wharf & the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Your paid registration includes: A surf design t-shirt, lunch, luau dinner, beach activities, surf competitions, awards, & beverages at Monterey Bay Exploration Center.
In their continuing support of Santa Cruz's outdoor art initiative, Sunrise Rotarians Keith Henderson and Creedence Shaw, along with friend of Rotary Bill Shultz, again rose to the occasion to give rise to downtown's latest art installation. The stunning new piece, called Upstream by Marilyn MacKenzie, sits on Pacific St opposite Church St.
Enjoy this fantastic video produced by Romney Dunbar (Dunbar Productions) and starring program co-creator Peggy Alberti showing the latest look at Arts in the Afternoon.
The event was a smashing success! Over $3,500 was raised for our beneficiaries while having a fabulous time. Thank you to all who participated.
See you next year at Wine Into Water II.
Tickets are going fast for the wine event of the year! Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to taste outstanding wines and feast on scrumptious appetizers.
Proceeds to benefit the Kasese Uganda Water Project, the Guatemala Health Fair and ShelterBox.
Featured wines will be available for purchase at a discount.
In case you missed this unforgettable tribute and celebration of the legendary President Darlene's year, and even if you were there and partook in the festivities, you'll enjoy watching this terrific video by our own intrepid handy-cam wielding storyteller, Jeremy Lezin.
For more information on our club, one of 33,000 Rotary Clubs around the world, feel free to peruse our website. You'll find much more information at the Rotary International website.
A HUGE thank you to volunteers, sponsors, donors and golfers participating in this years Youth Scholarship Golf Tournament. Although the weather presented the occasional challenge, the event was well attended and a great time was had by all.
Most importantly, the tourney was a tremendous success bringing in a record $25,000 to support our Annual High School Scholarship Program.
Please take a moment to view the tournament photos here and here.
The Santa Cruz Education Foundation's Eddy Awards provide an opportunity for the community to recognize the outstanding commitment made daily by the dedicated educators, staff and volunteers of Santa Cruz City Schools.
This year the Rotary Club of Santa Cruz Sunrise was honored to be the recipient of the Community Supporter of the Year award. The SCEF recognized Sunrise for it's many contributions to the Santa Cruz City Schools including the dedication of the new SCHS Track and Field, Arts in the Afternoon, Scholarships and Grants.
Why are you a Rotarian? What does Service Above Self mean to you?
How can you get more involved?
Hear answers to these questions and more from Rotarians around the world with Rotary Minute. Each month, Rotary International produces a unique video on topics of interest to Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike. Visit the Rotary International channel on YouTube to view past videos.
This Month's Rotary Minute - How can Rotary stay relevant to its younger members?
All I can say is... WOW!!! Nearly 30 Sunrise Rotarians, family members and friends came out for to give it up for Easter Seals Camp Harmon. According to Easter Seals Camping Coordinator Jennifer Highland and Chief Development Officer Tracy Chappell, this was the most ambitious event of it's kind at Camp Harmon... ever.
Jeanne MacLaren introduced our esteemed guest, District Governor Gary Citti. Gary was extremely complementary of our club and its achievements noting that "he was privileged to be here to learn more and offer a few humble suggestions."
The goal of Project Pajamas is to provide a new pair of PJ's to every child in a homeless shelter or other form of emergency housing in Santa Cruz County. Children leave their homes when their parents are in distress, perhaps with a mother who is fleeing a batterer, or an addicted parent who seeks treatment. Or, perhaps they simply do not have a home at all. They often come to the shelters with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Whatever the causes of the distress, it is not the child's fault nor under their control. It must be very scary to spend nights in an unknown place. Project Pajamas believes that if the child is given a new pair of pajamas their very first night, they may feel a little warmer and safer and perhaps will sleep better.
Originally the brainchild of Ari Symons, Project Pajamas has been adopted by Twin Lakes Church and the Santa Cruz Bible Church as part of their annual ShareFest program (www.SantaCruzFest.org). Over the years, they have delivered thousands of pajamas to kids throughout the county.
We are currenly accepting pajamas. Please drop them off with Club President, Penni Bengtson.
On April 1st, our Grand Isle Relief team will depart for Louisiana. Our goal is to spend the week rebuilding homes damaged by hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Grand Isle is the only inhabited barrier reef on the gulf and is inhabited by 1,500 residents. ...
Our 2008 High School Senior scholarship recipients were honored today and presented with the first installment of their 4 year scholarship awards. This year's winners, introduced by Scholarship Committee chair John Caldwell, were Vanessa and Jessica Silverstein, Megan Bradly, Eudenia Robles, Lara Rich and Trevor Sughrue.
Past Sunrise Rotary President and ShelterBox SRT Keith Henderson has provided the following fantastic report on his most recent deployment. Keith was in La Paz Bolivia following the devastating mud slides in the Spring of 2011.
The time is getting short to register for our Rotary Roundup with Trail Boss Ray. Let's start the year "kickin' up our boots, and having FUN" by joining President Ray at the Saddle Rack on January 2.
LAST DAY TO REGISTER IS ON FRIDAY, December 24, so click HERE to register NOW!
Lets give President Ray a warm Districk 5170 welcome!
How often do you have the opportunity to hang out with an actual Rotary International President? Well, this is it...
The trail boss, Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith is from Missouri and he ought to know, there ain't nothin more fun than a Rotary Round Up with folks who live by the Cowboy Logic. There'll be vittles a'plenty while you wet your whistle. And if you have a hankerin' to tap your feet, you'll have a chance to do a hoedown, the Texas two-step and line dancin' with the trail boss too.
It's the 2010 Santa Cruz Jingle Bells Rock - Toys for Tots - 5K Run!!!
Put a smile on a child's face. This is a REALLY great cause. Last year we collected over 300 toys for kids who would otherwise not have any holiday gifts. This year our goal is to reach 1000 toys.
The Henderson's (Past President Keith and Community Super-Star Regina) encourage all to come out for this holiday event to have some fun and support a great cause.
With the theme: Revitalizing your commitment to World Peace & Understanding, Preservation of the Planet, One Child at a Time and Rotary Within You! this year's District 5170 lived up to it's promise... and more.
A couple of weeks ago during our regular meeting, Samantha Green, Volunteer Coordinator for the United Way of SC County, and Maggie McKay with the Homeless Persons Health Project, spoke to us about an very significant upcoming event in our community: Project Homeless Connect.
The event is March 30th from 10am to 4pm at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium.
The United Way of Santa Cruz County is excited to bring Project Homeless Connect to Santa Cruz County.
In 2001, the United States government adopted a national goal to end homelessness in ten years. It is now 2010 and while our nation and our county have made great strides in reducing homelessness, the number of homeless individuals in our county is astounding. It is estimated that Santa Cruz County is home to at least 4,624 homeless individuals. Many of these individuals are homeless for the first time. They are unfamiliar with the services this community has to offer and they are ashamed of their need.
Project Homeless Connect originated in San Francisco California in 2004 to address the issue of homelessness. Since that date, projects have been held in more than 220 communities across the nation.
March 24, 2010 UPDATE: SCHS Interact Vice President Holly Borg reported that the fundraiser was VERY successful and wished to thank everyone that came out to support their efforts. The Interactors made $110 through the sales of their handmade, and very stylish, bracelets. This brings them to $837 toward the $1000 goal in order to sponsor a ShelterBox. They also were VERY APPRECIATIVE of the Surfrider Cafe's generosity in donating 15% of the day's receipts to Interact. This money will go into the Interact Club's general fund for future projects. Again, many thanks to all for your generous support of the Santa Cruz High School Interact Club.
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Here's a fun and filling way to support our Interact Club at Santa Cruz High School as they make their final push toward raising $1000 to purchase a ShelterBox for Haiti.
The Surfrider Cafe (429 Front Street, Santa Cruz, 713-5258) has generously offered to donate 15% of the lunch and dinner sales on Wednesday March 24 to the Interactor's cause.
These amazing kids have found their inner Rotarians and won't be stopped until they Make The World a Better Place... one creative fundraiser at a time.
Please try to make it down to the Surfrider Cafe on Wednesday to enjoy a great meal with your someone special and help our Interactors do some good!
Last weekend was the 34th annual Dick Linkey Rotary Ski Challenge, also known as the epic World's Largest Gathering of Skiing Rotarians, hosted by the Rotary Club of Tahoe City.
Team Sunrise was capably represented by the stalwart crew of Scott Pinheiro, Jim Cumming, Andy Hartmann, Karen Gosling and Mark Junod.
According to Coach Pinheiro, "Santa Cruz Sunrise took an astonishing 15th overall place. Under sunny skies and excellent new snow conditions, we not only skied but snowboarded to a very respectable placing." For some reason Scott failed to mention the hot tub, libations or that he won the Individual Silver Medal. Way to go Scott!
Keith Henderson just returned from a 2 week stint with ShelterBox in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. He related a number of stories and provided some first-hand details on the magnitude of the destruction and scope of the rescue efforts.
He also brought back these amazing photos taken by ShelterBox photographer Mike Greenslade.
Thank you Sunrise Rotarians for your wonderfully generous response to Keith's presentation yesterday. You gave nearly $2300 during the meeting!!!!
If you missed the opportunity to give, here's how you can make a secure donation online with recognition still going to our club and district:
Go to http://www.shelterboxusa.com/ Click on DONATE NOW Select "Rotary Club or Rotary-related donation" Enter "Rotary Club of Santa Cruz Sunrise" for the club name Enter "District 5170" for the Rotary District Complete the rest of the form, hit submit then feel great knowing you've just committed a selfless act of compassion!
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Ladies and Gentlemen of the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary,
We've all watched in horror at the devastation and suffering that's befallen those in Haiti as a result of the massive earthquake on January 12th.
What are we as Rotarians doing to help?
District Governor, Loren Harper, has suggested
ShelterBoxas the vehicle through which Rotarians of District 5170 should make a financial contribution to the Haiti relief effort. DG Harper has asked that each of the 4000+ Rotarian in our district give generously, at least $20 and much more as your means allow, to the Rotarian-founded ShelterBox program. At $1000 per box, that's more that 80 boxes. Each box provides shelter and supplies for 10 people for periods of weeks or months.
Our very own Keith Henderson, as you know, is one of just a handful of trained ShelterBox deployment specialists in the US. Keith has been visiting the other clubs in our Area and reports they have been extremely generous. For example, the Capitola-Aptos club raised over $3000 dollars in their meeting last week, the Santa Cruz Friday club gave generously, and Watsonville passed the hat and raised over $2500.
Keith will be giving a ShelterBox presentation to our club at the Tuesday January 26th meeting. He will also be looking to each of us to make our contribution to the relief effort. Please bring your checkbook and give as generously as you can.
Song, Santa and Sausage! Yep, it was another fantastic holiday breakfast meeting on December 22nd 2009.
Hats off to the hearty family members, especially those little ones, who got themselves out of bed and dressed up for Santa this morning. I'm sure all of their dreams for a wonderful Christmas came true.
On Octobert 13rd 2009 the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary celebrated it's 25th year of clubhood with a grand Gala and tribute to it's 26 Past Presidents. The food and wine (Vinehill, of course) were spectacular. The music was tops thanks to the rock'n stylings of DJ Joe Williams. But the highlight of the evening was the surprise presentation of the first ever SCSR Lifetime Achievement Award to the very humble, very appreciative and very deserving John Caldwell.
Video maestro Romney Dunbar is preparing a film documenting the event so stay tuned for that as well.
Finally, special thanks and appreciation to Nick Guerrero for spearheading the effort to make this fantastic event a reality. And of course, nothing involving a party and good times gets done without the organizational wizardry of the incomparable Darlene de la Cerna!
Jeremy Lezin reports on the successful Habitat For Humanity work day on Sunday Feb 28th. Present for the event from Sunrise Rotary were: Julie Forbes, Jeremy Lezin, Hilary Bryant, Dieter Ramaekers, Kerry Nehls, Jeff Kirk, Tom Stelling and Ari Symons. Also helping were UCSC Rotoractors: Ben G., Chris P., Clarence T., Carina L., Nick D., Jessi G. and Andrew C..
Here's Jeremy's report and photos:
We arrived and received an overview of the project, as well as a safety briefing (wear a hard hat and make sure we have your emergency contact info). The task at hand was to construct the little roof piece that the rafters sit on, an interesting junction of angles and holes.
Some of our members attached chicken wire over the holes, to keep birds from roosting in the attic. Jeff, Dieter and Tom cut two by eights to length with a balky cut-off saw that needed repairs during the first hour. The Rotaractors were tasked with drilling the holes in the roof pieces. Hilary and Ari slapped staples into the bird screens while JL routed out the holes. I think the routing was done to afford a more comfortable landing site for nesting birds.
In spite of the fact that we had all planned on working until 3, a pesky neighbor requested that we stop at lunch, the latter being a delicious turkey chili. But the good news was that due to the efficiency of the Sunrise Rotarians boosted by the Rotoracters, we finished all of our work by noon.
They did what comes naturally to Rotarians everywhere. They blended their passion with their Rotarian desire to have a positive effect in the community, and applied it with inspiration and compassion to an area of tremendous need. What resulted is Arts in the Afternoon, the latest brain child of Sunrise Rotarians Bruce McGuire and Peggy Alberti.
AITA is an after-school enrichment program for middle schoolers, provided at little or no cost to the school and students. In a time of diminishing academic budgets and decimated arts programs, AITA is filling a gap and providing school-based instruction not available anywhere else.
AITA brings together expert instructors (Peggy and Bruce included) from the community, Rotarian volunteers and motivated art, music and dance loving students to learn instrument building and performance skills in a fun, safe and challenging environment.
After this first very successful session, Peggy and Bruce have plans to expand the program in breadth and depth offering additional classes in new arts-related areas.
To see the students in class and performing please watch this video produced by Sunrise Rotarian Jeremy Lezin.
Community Service Chair Jeff Talmadge and his scraped knuckle minions are proud to announce the completion of the new Community Garden Fence Project at the Christ Lutheran Church in Aptos. After three long days of hard, but very satisfying work the 1000' long fence, including 4 man-gates and a vehicle gate, is complete!
Project organizer, Melanie Larson, was beside herself with thanks and praise for the efforts of the Sunrise and Aptos-Capitola clubs in making this community garden a reality. She currently has a waiting list for the more that 80 garden plots that will be created in this new space. Updates on the progress of the opening of the garden will be forthcoming.
Thank you to everyone who contributed their time for this project, and everyone else for their support.
Last weekend the installation of the latest addition to the SculpTOUR art on the mall display, "The Boys of Summer", a flock of 7 bronze emperor penguins created by artist Michael McLaughlin, was completed. View a slideshow of Sunrise Rotarians and others performing the installation. Read the Sentinel article on the unveiling.
The Second Harvest Food Bank Holiday Food Drive is on! Every dollar you donate becomes 5 meals for families in need. There are about 60,000 working poor families, children, and seniors in need of food each month, an increase of 20-30%. Half of those served are children with no other resource for a nutritious meal.
Your donation today will make a difference. If every person in the club donated $5 we could help provide upwards of 2,500 meals for this holiday season.
Click here to take you to the GiveZooks website where you may use a credit card to make a secure online donation in the name of Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary.
The Children's Hospice fundraiser spearheaded by President Michael Bethke received some pre-press on Monday 7/27. KSBW did a nice story featuring our very own Hilary Bryant and Michael Bethke which appeared on the 6 pm evening news. If you missed it you can watch it by clicking here. Stay tuned for more information regarding this upcoming fundraiser scheduled for Saturday September 5th.
Post-event Update: What an amazing event! Words can't describe the energy, joy and compassion that flowed through the nearly 1,000 people that joined together to celebrate the magical moment. View a slideshow of the day by clicking here.
Desiree Kosciulek , Rotoactor and Firelight Foundation staffer introduced our speaker Godfrey Kasozi, founder, visionary and Executive Director of CETRUD – the Centre for Environment Technology and Rural Development based in Uganda.
It's a wrap! Another fantastic Annual Youth Scholarship Benefit Golf Tournament is in the record books. It was a glorious day for golf and the 110+ registered golfers came out to play and to have some fun.
The proceeds of this fun day on the links funds our annual youth scholarship program providing financial support to qualified local high school students. Since 1999, our golfing event has raised more than $100,000 towards local scholarship gifting benefiting more that 50 graduating seniors from Santa Cruz high schools. Download the tournament brochure and enjoy the following short video clip about the event.
It was an honor and privilege to host Mr. Brad Howard as our speaker today discussing the topic of the polio eradication effort's "last mile".
Brad, a charter member of the Oakland-Sunrise club and Past District 5170 Governor (2002-3), has held a variety of club, district, zone and RI assignments. His many achievements include: being the Zone 24 Polio Challenge Coordinator; being an RI President's Representative to a number of District Conferences, being the District Rep to the 2007 Council on Legislation and being a recipient of the Rotary International "Service Above Self" award.
You've got to admit that at first blush the idea of recycling baby's disposable diapers is a bit of a mind bender. That is, until, you learn more about what it is, how it's done and why it means so much to the environment. Ladies, gentlemen and diaper lovers of all ages, introducing EarthBaby, the worlds first environmentally friendly solution to the dirty diaper dilemma.
Ari Symons introduced today's speaker, Rebecca Connolly a partner in the law firm of Grunsky, Ebey, Farrer and Howell. Ari shared that she and Rebecca have been friends and professional associates for many years. They both worked together in the Santa Cruz County DA's office where Rebecca was Assistant DA. The topic of Rebecca's talk was: Political Speech and the First Amendment.
"Save The Natives!" was the battle cry of the day. Remember back in January we had a contingent of volunteers make the trek out to the new Coast Dairies State Park at Laguna Creek to plant a slew - nearly 10,000 - new native seedlings in a former artichoke field. Today we returned to see how the little critters are doing and to give them a bit of help.
Rotary International Foundation's Polio Plus fund is now $4000 closer to reaching this year's goals; a whole bunch of garages and attics are a lot cleaner; and, dozens of shoppers are ecstatic about the bargains they found at this week's Sunrise Rotary Rummage Sale. A triple WIN! It was a monumental effort spear-headed by the inimitable trio of Randy Parker, Bernice Robertson and Darlene de la Cerna.
During the Tuesday April 28th Santa Cruz City Council meeting, as part of National Volunteer Week 2009, Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary was proclaimed An Outstanding Volunteer Organization 2008-2009. Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Mathews presented the award to President Keith Henderson, Past President Hilary Bryant and President-Elect Michael Bethke.
Isadora Quintanilha, our inbound Exchange Student from Brazil, has been in Santa Cruz for 8 months attending SCHS and learning the ins and outs of being a American kid. Isadora has attended many of our weekly meetings throughout the year, but we've never really had the opportunity to get to know her and her background. Today we had the pleasure.
Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary was heartily thanked in this month's Easter Seals Newletter for our work in March at Camp Harmon. View the article and be proud of our effort and accomplishments on behalf of this very worthy organization.
Our esteemed guests this week were Shakespeare Santa Cruz Artistic Director Marco Barricelli and Director of Development Ann Gibb. Marco became the festival AD in January 2008. Originally from Boston, Marco is a graduate of Juilliard School and has been an actor, director and educator for more that 25 years.
Tom Stelling introduced today's speaker, Dale Thielges. Ms. Thielges represents the local chapter of the Alzheimer Association (http://www.alz.org/norcal). She spoke to us today on this monstrous disease and the services provided by her organization.
A few weeks ago Peggy Alberti and Bruce McGuire introduced their Music and Arts in the Schools project by conducting a detective report of sorts. Among the many musical instruments displayed that morning, Peggy showed off one very unusual stringed item called a "Luo Harp." It turns out this harp has a fascinating origin that maps a path from a small African village through Peggy's grandmother directly to the White House. Peggy was good enough to put this cool story into words for us all to enjoy.
Scholarship Chair John Caldwell recently received updates from 3 of our outstanding scholarship award recipients: Colleen Carmichael and twins Vanessa and Jessica Silverstein.
Colleen continues to pursue her Econ major and is applying her education with on-site employment.
Today's speaker was Red Badge member Derrick Seaver who took the opportunity to fulfill his Red Badge Biography and share with us the fascinating story of how this engaging young man entered the world of politics at the barely legal age of 17.
Monday 2/16/2009 2:00pm. Here are a few photos I captured of the Amgen riders coming into town. These were shot as the riders rounded the corner at Empire Grade/High St onto Bay.
Last night was INCREDIBLE! I am writing to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the support the Beach Flats Community Center (BFCC) received at the Cypress Lounge event.
You helped to raise over $4,000 in one evening! The checks are still coming in and I cannot thank you enough for all of your efforts. This was the most incredible example of community supporting community. You are such amazing friends.
All the way from the frigid climes of southeastern Canada (not far from fabled Moose Factory Ontario - the home of the indomitable Sharks forward Jonathan Cheechoo), Nick Guerrero introduced today's speaker, Jean Cote, Professor of Kinesiology & Health Studies at Queens University at Kingston. Jean is the author of numerous books and papers on sports and coaching performance and psychology.
Today's speaker was SC Sunrise member and Development Director for Community Bridges, Bruce Christopher. Bruce took us through the evolution of C.B. from its inception in 1977 as the "Food and Nutrition Program" to becoming Community Bridges in the 90's. As an umbrella organization, C.B. provides admin, fundraising and executive management support for 7 key programs serving over 20,000 county residents.
SC Sunrise Rotary was one of several groups and community members to participate in a restoration project on January 10th at Laguna Creek beach on the old Coast Dairies property. Having recently acquired more than 10,000 acres of coastal and watershed property north of Wilder to Davenport, CA State Parks with the support the Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks non-profit have begun a multi-year project to restore the once pristine coastal lands to their native state.
The origins of the Santa Cruz High School Track and Field Project project began 11 years ago when two club members, Ken Whiting and Jon Sisk got together and decided to start a 3 day charity bike ride fundraising event to raise money for youth athletics in Santa Cruz. At that time they had no idea what the funds would be used for, only that they would commit to 10 years, and donate the funds to a worthy cause at that time.
Despite the worrisome economic times and the uncertain state of international relations, good ole' Santa didn't disappoint! It was a wonderful morning marked by beautiful wide-eyed children, gleeful singing and much holiday cheer.
Enjoy a few of the magical moments captured in photo by clicking here.
Dear Friends - At the beginning of "Inauguration Weekend," a time when many Americans are being called to volunteer for a National Day of Service and to work together to help others, I would like you to be aware of a very specific need right here in Santa Cruz, and am asking for your immediate help with an important challenge, and offering a way in which you can make a difference. Please read on...
Our Jan 6th and Jan 13th meetings will be held offsite due to renovation work at deLaveaga. Both meetings will be at the Happy Valley Conference Center at 2159 Branciforte Dr. Meeting start time is the usual 7:15a. Breakfast is buffet style. See you there!
Today's speakers, Val Cole and Randy Widera were introduced by Jon Winston. Val is Vice-Chair and Randy is Director of Strategic Development and Partnerships for the Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks (www.ThatsMyPark.org). "Friends" is local non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the appreciation and stewardship of our local state parks.
Nick Guerrero introduced today's speaker, Professor Robert W. Fairlie. Rob is the Director of Masters Programs in the Department of Economics at UCSC and the author of a new book "Race and Entrepreneurial Success: Black-, Asian-, and White-Owned Businesses in the United States" (MIT Press, 2008).
What a turnout! Thanks to the tireless efforts of Peggy Alberti this year's Speech Contest was the best ever. With 8 very well prepared contestants each presenting compelling speeches, it was a morning to remember.
Click here to view a slideshow of the students doing their thing.
Someone once described a commercial desalination plant as one where you pour money in one end and you get clean water out the other. (Then again, we happily pay $8/gallon or more for bottled drinking water and have all that plastic waste to deal with after.) Our speaker today, Heidi Luckenbach of the Santa Cruz Water Department, helped put it all in perspective. Ms. Luckenbach explained our area's need for a supplemental drinking water supply and why "desal" is a viable choice.
Filling in for our program today were two of our stellar new Red Badgers: Dave Campbell and Bruce Christopher. Kudos gents for stepping up to present your biographies, with virtually no prep time.
Andy Hartmann introduced today's guest speaker Mr. Dan Harder, Director of the UCSC Arboretum. A little known gem hidden just off Empire Grade north of Bay Ave, the 43 year old "arb" is an internationally recognized leader in global conservation research projects and home to thousands of native and imported species.
Tom Knottintroduced his friend and former club-mate from the Rotary Club of Monterey Peninsula, Mary Margaret Fleming. Today's talk, entitled "Vocational Service - Getting Back to the 1905 Basics" focused on the central role of Vocational Service as originally envisioned by Paul Harris and it's relevance to Rotary today.
Many thanks are due to Jack Western for bringing to us Michael Keith Olson, today's speaker. Michael, a local author, agriculturist, and news and media giant, has a long and diverse resume.
Earl Coutant introduced today's speaker Paolo Carbone. Paolo is one of the hubs of the youth and collegiate soccer scenes in the Santa Cruz area. Among other roles, he is head coach for the men's and women's teams at Cabrillo; coaching director for the nationally recognized Santa Cruz Breakers Youth Soccer League, and founding organizer of the Breakers National Premier Soccer League team - a showcase semi-pro team consisting of youth, collegiate and post-collegiate players.
On the second day of this year's J&K ride a fellow peddling traveler came upon one of our rest stops. In the true spirit of Rotary he was invited in for a drink and some protein. Turned out this well equipped biker wasn't out for just another Saturday ride... not by a long shot!
UPDATE: Jeremy Lezin presented his 1975 film Santa Cruz: Never a Dull Moment at our April 22, 2008 meeting (see full story below). The film was a big hit, with many of you acquiring your own personal DVD copies. Unfortunately, viewing the film at the April meeting was difficult due to poor projection conditions. To satisfy your craving to view and enjoy this marvelous 24 minute film in it's full splendor, it has been digitized and put on line. Simply click here to watch it from the comfort of your own computer screen.
Long time friend and Boardwalk associate, Ken Whiting, introduced our distinguished speaker, Matt Twissleman. Matt was speaking today on the Amgen Tour of California and his successful efforts to bring the prestigious race through Santa Cruz.
News Flash! After many hours of slaving over a hot iMac, Jeremy Lezin has completed editing this year's FC 10K race video.
It's a terrific 10 minute wrap of the day's events, including great race footage of the Kid's 1K and full 10K. Don't miss the cameo apperances by many of the club volunteers and the stunning pre-race Jazzercise warm up sequence!
Due to an ill-timed flat tire our scheduled speaker, Mark Huber, Executive Director of the SCC Symphony, was suddenly unavailable. Fortunately for us, Harold "Hal" A. Hyde, Watsonville Rotarian, who just happened to drop in for a visit, graciously agreed to fill in as speaker for the day. (I believe he described the experience as having been dragooned into speaking. :))
Tom Wichelmann opened today's program by introducing our speaker Russ Hobbs.Russ' presentation was both a pitch for the "magic" of RI matching funds for international projects, and a travelogue of his May '08 trip to China as part of a Rotarian and non-Rotarian humanitarian delegation.
"Special Days for Special Kids" is the motto for the organization presented today by Max Montgomery and Brooks Lambert, founders of the Best Day Foundation (www.BestDayFoundation.org). Each long time members of the locally grown Ride-A-Wave Foundation (www.RideAWave.org), Max and Brooks recognized the universal potential of such an organization and committed themselves to creating the BDF and bringing it to the world.
Enjoy these photos (courtesy of Jeremy Lezin) from last week's meeting at Dominical Hospital during which the lifesaving techniques of CPR were practiced. Special thanks to Brian Liddicoat for making this event possible.
(6/24/2008) Dave Mello introduced today's presenters, our Rotary Youth Leadership Award recipients fresh from their self described life changing experience at Camp RYLA.
Our four distinguished awardees this year are: Kelly Brokaw, Chelsea Heil, Keiko Kurita and Riley Sisk.
(6/13/2008) Couldn't have asked for a better day for a golf tourney! This year's benefit for the Sunrise Rotary Scholarship Program went off without a hitch. Congratulations to Bill Buck, Tom Knott and the entire golf tourney committee on a tremedous event. Together, this year's 104 golfers and our generous hole sponsors raised over $15,000.
Click here to view some great shots captured by Darlene de la Cerna.
Committee Chairman Bill Buck's offered this event description and wrap-up for this year:
"On Friday June 13th we held the 2008 Rotary Club of Santa Cruz Sunrise Annual Golf Tournament. This tournament is the club's only source for our scholarship program and when these young people attend our morning meetings to pick up their first years check (of four year scholarships) it's easy and very rewarding to see the great aspirations and abilities of our communities youth. And what a fun way to raise these funds, we had 25 foursomes and in true Rotarian style we had four first place teams (Overall, Men's, Women's, & Coed) but basically everyone was a winner, including the last place team which after all did post the highest score (nice job Jim, at least you guys rule on the bike ride). In the end all that seemed to matter was another great Bar-B-Q by Vince and his crew. Thanks to all our golfers, volunteers, hole sponsors and everyone else who donated gifts and prizes, for making this year's event was the most successful ever!"
They're something that most of us think about, hear about or unfortunately experience either directly or indirectly. They come on quickly and if unchecked do irreparable damage in literally a matter of minutes. Were talking about heart attacks and strokes, of course. Paramedic Scott Vahradian joined us today as part of Dominican's "Save A Friend" outreach campaign.
We couldn't have asked for a better day for the much anticipated return of the World's Largest Gathering of Surfing Rotarians and Family Fun Dayat the beach. Click here to view a 5 minute slideshow of the day. It was a blast!!!!
Mark Junod opened today's program with a quote from RI: "If every sophomore did an exchange the world would know peace. As Sunrise Youth Services Chair and District Long Term Youth Exchange - Inbound Chair, Mark knows of what he speaks. Mark introduced our exchange student from France, Ms. Alice Petiot.
The year was 1985. 23 years ago, almost to the month, a distinguished group of 33 came together to form our beloved Santa Cruz Sunrise club. How fortunate we are to have John Caldwell, club historian par excellent, to recount for us some of the momentous events and fun times.
Santa Cruz Rotary Sunrise Interact Club members Megan Bradley and Vanessa Silverstein announced a Charity Tennis Tournament for the benefit of the Rotary SCHS Track and Field Project. Download the registration form by clicking here. The tournament will be held on Saturday March 24th from 1-3pm at SCHS.
Filmmaker Jeremy Lezin comes out of retirement this week to present at our meeting his acclaimed 1975 film: Santa Cruz - Never a Dull Moment. (Click on the movie title to watch the film!) This was a unique opportunity to view an exceptional film and learn the unique history of our town, from the mouths of those who lived it. Read a terrific review written by renowned actor and historian Gus Van Gorder in 1990 - then 90 years old. Gus is now 107 and lives across the street from Jon Sisk!
What do you do after you've become a world renowned performer, a true master of your craft, a giver of joy to music lovers around the world? You bring it back home, of course. Rebecca Jackson is attempting the unthinkable: a series of 7 chamber concerts featuring world-class performers in various venues throughout our community... all for FREE!
On April 19, 2008 our Community Service committee went to work. Committee Chair Michael Bethke identified the need at the Harbor Light Church Loving & Learning Day Care School.
The induction of a new memberin the presence of a three past Rotary International Presidents was a treat .It was all done with great humor.Cliff Dochterman fumbled and dropped the Rotary pin he was about to pin on the new member, and it went into a plant.They looked for it briefly, and then he unpinned his own Rotary pin and gave it to the new member.
Simply Your Bestis a private educational organization providing classes and services to help their clients develop life skills to improve their personal lives and interpersonal relationships.
Member Jason Book introduced the founder and CEO of Simply Your Best, Jodi Harvey.
Jim "Homer" Holm, has been a part of the Santa Cruz marine community for a long time. He's sailed the seas and as an educator also had a huge impact here at home. His current passion and the topic of today's talk is "Plastics at Sea."
Piet Canin is a long time staff member who started with Ecology Action in 1989. Piet brings a life long passion and enthusiasm for bicycling to his main responsibility of directing the Bike to Work/School program.
Piet, our speaker today, presented the history and relevance of Bike to Work/School Day which this year falls on May 15th 2008.
The American Institute for Public Service was founded in 1972 to establish a nationally recognized award for community and public service called the Jefferson Award.
Dear Fellow Rotarians, The Annual 10/10 Food Drive is nearing the finish line (March 30) and unfortunately our Club is well below your very generous support of almost 5000 food and cash equivalents last year.
It's been in the news a lot lately so this timely presention was all the more meaningful. Joe Williams introduced our speaker Mary Hermansky of the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project (MBS&TP). Joined by Mary was Al Smith, Chariman, and Erik Sturm of the National Marine Fisheries Services. "Founded in 1976, the MBS&TP is a non-profit organization dedicated to the restoration and enhancement of the native salmon and steelhead populations of the greater Monterey Bay area."
Sara Winterburn, former teacher, mom, marathoner and extreme volunteer at the Santa Cruz Volunteer Center opened her talk with the unsettling news: Folks, We Have a Problem!
Founded in 1989, RotaCare has grown from a single free clinic in Santa Clara, CA serving those "with the most need and the least access to medical services" to a national network of clinics from Northern California, Washington state and New York. At the heart of this humanitarian effort is Aptos-Capitola Rotarian and president of the RotaCare board, Mr. John Fisher.
There is NO morning meeting on Tuesday Feb 12th. Instead, bring your sweatheart and join in a very special wine and cheese social that evening. Click here to view the invitation.
Always a wonderful way to end the year, today we celebrated the holidays with families, music and of course a magical visit from Santa. Click here to view a pictorial slideshow of morning.
SC Sunrise Rotarian Charles Leigh-Wood is heading up the effort to staff this year's Adopt-A-Family Santa Cruz collection center. He needs your help! Please read on...
Damon McGuire is a Registered Addiction Specialist. He runs Intervention Works! a consultancy through which he leads family and executive interventions.
Mary Haber introduced Ariadne Symons, our esteemed speaker this morning.Ari, aside from being a noted Rotarian, is Head of Trial Operations for the Santa Cruz County DA and runs the Homicide Unit.
The following wise and moving words from the heart were authored by Winston Whittaker. In preface, Winston shares that, "this message, from the office of the club's Vocational Services Comittee chairman, is for my fellow Rotarians, parents and those professionals who will offer Career Panel's mentorship, job shadowing, role model examples to our children this year."
This week we had the honor of hosting District 5170 Governor Dick Lohmiller.DG Lohmiller was accompanied by his wife Kay Lohmiller, who is also active in Rotary, and was introduced by Assistant District Governor Shelley Neate.
It's not just the junkies that have a Methamphetamine problem. Our speaker, Santa Cruz County Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (CNET) member Rich Westphal, made it amply clear that we all have a Meth problem.
It was a pleasure to meet and learn a bit about our latest Red Bader's in this installment of Red Bad Biographies. These three prospective club members each gave an excellent presentation on their backgrounds and the varied paths leading to Santa Cruz and their current lives.
Ed Mattson, Board Chair for the Rotary International Cancer Support Group and Rotary Ambassador at Large, accompanied by his wife Irina, gave a moving presentation on his life's work of improving medical care for underserved populations around the globe, especially children with cancer.
Our featured speaker was the impressive Westmont College senior and Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary scholarship recipient, Allison Trowbridge. Ms. Trowbridge, a 2004 Soquel HS graduate, returned to show her appreciation for Rotary's support and to provide an update on her recent study abroad.
August 13, 2007, Copenhagen - Rotary Club of Santa Cruz Sunrise member, Vivian Lewis, presented the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary banner to the Copenhagen International Rotary at an offsite dinner meeting following a club tour of the yacht James Cook.
Opened in 1986 by Lance Stackhouse, The K-9 Clinic (www.k9clinic.com) is a locally owned and operated facility located on 10 beautiful acres in Corralitos, CA. The K-9 Clinic offers quality dog training for dogs of all sizes and breeds.
Our assignment in Slidell, Louisiana (45 minutes NE of New Orleans) seemed rather simple at first: construct a wheelchair ramp and stairs for a community kitchen destroyed by Katrina.
In a very informative and conversational discussion about The State of The City Ms. Reilly demonstrated why she is so popular. This Mayor is very wise to the challenges and very positive about our future.
Howdy! As most of you know, I am the Incoming Youth Exchange Chair for the district. For the year 2007-08, we are sending out 14 students, and we are hosting 14 students. We are looking for a family to host a boy from Germany in the Scotts Valley or San Lorenzo Valley area. We are also looking for a host family for a boy from Argentina for either the Aptos High School District or the Santa Cruz High School District. A host family does not need to be a Rotarian. It can be any family that would like to be a host for 1/2 of the school year.
Guest Speaker Danielle Crook, an extremely impressive young woman, opened her presentation with a song unequivocally demonstrating why she graduated cum laude in Musicology from UCLA. Danielle explained some of the benefits she had experienced in the process of preparing for the Miss Santa Cruz and Miss California competitions.
2006 was a stellar year for the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary. We enjoyed many interesting and entertaining detectives and speakers. Who could forget the Red Badge Bios, the HS Girls Speech Contest, our Rotary scholarship recipients, our field trips to Giro and Second Harvest, Sam Nigh and the Doo-Wops, Bikers Against Child Abuse, DG Russ Hobbs, past RI President Rick King, and so many more.
The many club sponsored events such as the Second Harvest food sorts, the golf tourney, the Firecracker 10K, Jon and Ken's ride, Dictionaries for the schools, Adopt-a-Family and W.L.G. of Surfing.Rotarians, to name but a few, were both fun and very successful.
If you missed Jeremy's excellent slideshow presentation at the May 9th meeting, you can view it from the comfort of your own easy chair right here on your computer!
Note: Unfortunately, this presentation only works on Windows PC's. Sorry all of you Mac'ers out there. Also, the first time you try to view the slideshow you will be prompted to install the ProShow viewer on your computer. It is safe and virus free. Follow the prompts to install the viewer.
Welcome to the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary's new website! We are all excited to see how ClubRunner will revolutionize the way we manage our day to day club activities, as well as communicate more effectively.
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The 31st Annual Santa Cruz Sunrise Youth Scholarship Golf Tournament is "Golf for a Great Cause". Since 1999, our annual golfing event has raised more than $185,000, providing scholarships to over 50 local high school seniors.
