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Zoe had a wonderful time on her west coast tour. She and Katie Johnson enjoyed their time at the Grand Canyon. Zoe thanks all of the Rotarians who supported her this year.

Zoe and her mother, Sabine Johansen

Posted by Tam Agosti-Gisler

You’ll have a chance to meet Zoe’s mother, Sabine, say farewell to Zoe at the July 5th lunch.

Message from President Paul

Posted by Paul McGuire

The calendar never lies. It shows that my year as President of Anchorage East Rotary is rapidly coming to a close. This may in fact be my last communication in the Eastwind as President.

As I look back on the year, I once again realize that Anchorage East Rotary is such a special Rotary club. And what makes it so special? It is our membership, in fact, that makes it such a wonderful place to be.

Arch Klumpf once said “No one knows for sure what Rotary will be tomorrow. But what Rotary will be tomorrow, depends on what we do as Rotarians today”.

Trust me, the Rotarians in our club are doing a lot! There are many opportunities to provide service in our club. I hope everyone finds a committee, or passion that they can serve. If you’re stuck for ideas, or just not sure, ask someone. We have many “veteran” members that are happy to share information and fill in gaps.

There is a lot involved in Rotary. So, maybe not at this point in your life, as you have lots of other demands on your time. But at sometime, those demands change and frees up more of your time. This is when you jump in. This unselfish “Service Above Self” is what makes Rotary so special.

I hope we have had some fun this year, I know I have. One nice thing about Rotary is the leadership changes very year. We get a fresh, different approach every twelve months. Congratulations to President Elect Lance. We promise to support you and make your year as President terrific!

In closing, allow me to say I am happy to have served as your President this year. I know in a perfect world, Rene Haag would be typing this and ending her exciting year as President. Our world is not perfect, but we all continue to strive to make a difference. Never lose sight of that.

Yours in Rotary Service,

Paul McGuire

Photos from Rotary International conference in Atlanta

Posted by Tam Agosti-Gisler

Photos from Rotary International conference in Atlanta. We've heard inspirational talks from Bill Gates, Ashton Kutcher, Andrew Young and Jack Nicklaus and others. Celebrating 100 years of the Rotary Foundation!

Update from Youth Services

Posted by Katie Johnson

Outbound class of 2017/2018 was trained and fitted for jackets this weekend

Your Anchorage East Outbound Jeffrey and YEO.

Photos from the Mobile Food Pantry

Posted by Barbara Swenson

Special thanks to our 16 AER volunteers who generously served 100+ client households at the Mobile Food Pantry distribution today. We welcomed more than 25 new client households during the event and were happy to see many return clients. :)

And, from Rich Dyson: "Baggin' Potatoes with Mr Spuds...Er, no, I mean baggin' potatoes with my buds!"

Thank you from Hope Community Resources

Posted by Heather Flynn

A big thanks to Anchorage East Rotarians from Hope Community Resources. You were out bright and early, checked in many many many runners, walkers and strollers and helped us raise more than $59,000. Thanks for your help and generosity.

Friends of Santiago Foundation

Posted by Heather Flynn

Santiago Foundation awarded grant from Rotary Foundation. The Santiago Foundation operates community centers in two small villages outside Manzanillo, Mexico. In addition to elementary and secondary education for orphaned and abandoned children, technical skill development is provided for adults to improve employability. Here are some recent graduates.

The annual graduation ceremony on February 23 was held at the Francisco Villa Center. Santiago Foundation Board members and friends were treated to impressive displays of carpentry, jewelry, pinatas, music, clothing, beauty (hair, nails), balloon art and cooking. Behind the tempting array of desserts, stood the cooking class sporting new aprons proudly displaying our logo. We also were guided to the various displays by members of the English class who explained what we were seeing and answered questions. We were very impressed and they enjoyed showing off their English skills.

Community Service Grant to Government Hill Community Council

Posted by Barbara Swenson

The Community Service Committee, on behalf of AER presented the Government Hill Community Council Board of Directors with a grant check for $1,400.00 for the Government Hill Gardens and Commons project today. This grant supports a community orchard as part of a neighborhood park and multi-phase project that includes the local school and organizations with far reaching programs to knit the community more closely together. Special thanks to Dr. Sylvia Condy for joining me on behalf of the AER CSC and Stephanie Kessler & Steve Gerlek with the Government Hill Community Council Board.

The Good News and the Bad News from Guatemala

Posted by Sandra Wicks

Let's get the bad news out of the way first so we can focus on the good. Our district grant for PETs (the three-wheeled mobility carts) for Guatemala provided the funds for 43 PETs. They were produced by the PET workshop in Kansas and shipped to our distribution partner. Our distribution partner packs PETs in containers with a lot of other materials for its work in Guatemala. Unfortunately, the container that got through customs in time had only 7 of our PETs in it. The other container is stuck in Guatemalan customs. So, the rest of our PETs were not here for distribution during my trip to Guatemala as the representative (at my own expense) of our club. The rest of the PETs are supposed to be available for distribution in June.

Now, the good news. When you have 7 PETs to distribute in two days at the remote distribution site, you have lots of time to talk to the families of recipients and, where possible, the recipients themselves. When I am back in Alaska, I hope to give a presentation to our club so our members can get to know the PET recipients a little and see how a distribution unfolds. We have wonderful partners to work with and coming to Guatemala on a distribution trip is an eye-opening and possibly live-changing experience for anyone.

Here are a couple of the PET recipients and a sketch of their stories.

This is Miguel (age 52). He worked in agriculture until 9 years ago when a truck taking him to the fields collided with another truck and he was thrown out, resulting in the amputation of his left leg. Since then he hasn't been able to work. He left very happy with his new PET to drive it 1.5 hours home.

Perhaps the most dramatic (at least to me) of the PET distributions was to Joel, a dwarf-sized person with multiple unknown handicaps. Below is Joel (in the red shirt) with the family members who came with him. Joel is 25.

From lack of experience, I at first thought there might not be much going on in this man's mind. Then, because a huge downpour started as he was receiving his PET and the family couldn't leave, I watched him working at learning to drive his PET in a circle in the small undercover space where the PET was fitted to him. I was amazed to observe how he was processing the obstacles and how to overcome them. It was a good lesson to me not to underestimate anyone's abilities. The family left in the pickup truck they had paid to bring them 1.5 hours from their community to the distribution site. I have no idea how they paid for the trip, since none of the family members have work.

(to be continued)

2016/2017 Review of Interact

Posted by Tam Agosti-Gisler

2016-17 Interact Report

The West and East Interact Clubs are wrapping up another successful year of service activities. Special thanks to teacher sponsors John Ruhlin at West and Kevin Ratliff at East as well as all of the Rotarians who attended a club meeting to give advice, support a project, make a presentation, or teach a skill. Thank to club presidents Evie Sorrell at West and Alex Stein and Celia Sheppard at East. Thank you also to Katie Johnson who will be taking over the leadership of the AER sponsored Interact Clubs in the new Rotary year.

West projects

• Held a Newcomer Center fundraiser to aid the integration of immigrant and refugee students and donated $200

• Made an Interact presentation to AER

• Ran a book drive and installed a Neighborhood Lending Library

• Prepared a video for newly arrived refugee students on how to open a locker

• Prepared care packages for troops overseas for the holidays

• Held a clothing drive for the CSS Refugee Assistance & Immigration Services (RAIS)
• Sponsored Hot Chocolate and Skating at Westchester Lagoon featuring free hot chocolate and a donation jar
• Developed a new officer position: Historian whose task is taking pictures of all events
• Picked-up trash at Westchester Lagoon

• 1 Interactor earned a President Volunteer Service Award - gold medal (over 250 hours of service)

East projects

• Project Peanut Butter campaign - Made peanut butter sandwiches for Kids’ Kitchen and Clare House

• Made a Rotary Polio eradication campaign awareness photo collage /poster to hang in school

• Random Pies of Kindness campaign - Delivered 150 surprise pumpkin pies just before Thanksgiving to shelters, food kitchens, seniors and distributed the funds earned for the following international humanitarian projects:

$200 towards water filters for distribution in Huichols, Mexico through the Anchorage East Rotary Service Fund; $175 towards a natural disaster emergency box to Shelter Box USA; $200 for adjustable shoes for Nepalese children through Helping Hands for Nepal, Inc.; and $175 for education support for HIV/AIDS orphans to the Malawi Children’s Village Foundation

• Operation Gratitude campaign - Wrote holiday cards to wounded warriors at Walter Reed Hospital and soldiers stationed overseas

• Ran a book drive, solicited a library box from a carpenter and installed a Little Reading Library in front of the CSS Refugee Assistance and Immigration Center (RAIS) @ St. Anthony's Church

• Crocheted baby blankets for Children’s Hospital and scarves for Covenant House with donated yarn from community

• Picked up trash around the school with other East HS service clubs

Other events that some East Interactors participated in:

• Helped at AER Mobile Food Pantry at the Fairview Rec Center parking lot

• Assisted at Trick or Treat Street at the Hotel Captain Cook

• Attended 1-day Alaska Hopes and Dreams conference - fall and spring

• Attended 5-day PYLI (Prudential Youth Leadership Institute) Training - spring break

• 2 Interactors earned President Volunteer Service Awards - bronze (100 hours of service) and silver (175 hours of service)

Toiletries Needed for AWAIC, Clare House, the McKinnel Shelter, and Covenant House

Posted by Rich Dyson

AWAIC, Clare House, the McKinnel Shelter, and Covenant House are in need of toiletries for their clients. Member are encouraged to bring shampoo, conditioner, lotion etc. to the weekly meetings and they will be distributed to the above organizations. Often times our fellow Rotarians travel and are able to collect travel size toiletries from hotels but regular size products are needed as well.

AWAIC is also in need of luggage or travel bags for their clients to use when they are able to leave that facility. These will need to be transported to AWAIC by the donor.

How to Create a "My Rotary Account"

Posted by Gideon Garcia on Aug 09, 2015

Easy instructions on how to set up your own account on the Rotary International website.