This is a special week for our Club. We get to present deserving graduating Lake Stevens High School students with scholarships to help them further their education. The students along with their families will join us Friday morning for a light breakfast and presentations to each one. The Scholarship Committee, shepherded by Lance Morehouse, worked hard at selecting these students. We ask that you join us at this week's meeting to celebrate the students.
The link to our YouTube Channel is now available on our website and our weekly bulletins. You can view recent online meetings. If you watch any of them, you can count it as a makeup. Just let our Secretary, Gary O'Rielly know.
Our guest speakers on Friday, May 17th at the Buzz Inn were Skyler Manlan and Karen Schilde from NAMI-Snohomish County. NAMI Snohomish and Island Counties serve residents across our counties with free mental health support, online groups, resources and education.
Skyler serves as part-time interim Executive Director. When her child had mental health issues, she reached out for help and became involved with NAMI-Snohomish & Island Counties. NAMI is a nation-wide organization and one of the largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI stands for National Alliance on Mental Illness.
National NAMI provides strategic direction for the entire organization, support to NAMI's state and affiliate members, and engages in advocacy, education, and leadership development nationally.
In Snohomish and Island Counties, NAMI is an affiliate in Washington state. NAMI Sno-Isle offers free peer support, education and outreach programs, and engages mental health advocates in their communities. One of Skyler's points regarding stigma free is that Words matter: use person first language and don't use stigmatizing language.
Mary Toews, a former member of our Club, and the Executive Director/Founder of Mari's Place for the Arts along Joe Marine, gave a presentation at our meeting on May 10th. Joe is currently the President of the Rotary Club of South Everett/Mukilteo and Mayor of Mukilteo. they last visited us in October 2022 and returned to update us on Mari's Place for the Arts. (photos from October 2022).
Mari's Place for the Arts is a creative space for Children and Teens. Joe has been on the Board for the past five years. Their mission is to foster creativity and self-confidence in students through art and culture programs for underprivileged children. Several former students have returned after going to college to help Mari's Place for the Arts.
The youth that they serve represent 71% latino, 13% white, 13% asian and 1% black. The student impact: 89% increased self-confidence; 74% increased skills; 50% increased engagement and 58% improved grades. Their partners include Snohomish County, Everett School District, National Endowment for the Arts, Sea Mar, DSHS and the Lake Stevens School District.
Other partners are being sought with other schools, both public and private. How they are funded: In 2020 - $208,373; 2021- $327,972; 2022 - $242,945 2023 - $323.663 with a sustainability goal of $485,000. Originally, Mary started this using her own funds for over ten years. Over the years, the Board has been able to increase her salary and hire a couple of employees. An auction is scheduled in October in Mukilteo. Joe talked about "Ways to Get Involved" such as volunteering, serving on the Board, donating, internships, awareness and partnerships.
Raise for Rotary is The Rotary Foundation’s peer-to-peer fundraising platform.
Members, donors, and participants use it to create fundraisers for birthdays, athletic challenges, and events like World Polio Day. You can quickly post fundraisers and updates on social media to raise awareness about your favorite Rotary cause.
The platform is available worldwide in English and accepts U.S., Canadian, and Australian dollars, with more language and currency options in the works. Contributions from members are credited to them and contributions from nonmembers are credited to the organizer’s club.
Since Raise for Rotary was launched in 2020, more than 1,500 events have generated more than $1 million for the World Fund, PolioPlus, the Disaster Response Fund, and Rotary’s areas of focus.
A $100 donation to The Rotary Foundation provides textbooks for one elementary school in Zambia, hearing aids for a child in Pakistan, de-worming tablets for 112 children in the Philippines, cataract operations for three people in India, or 230 blankets for elderly people in Korea.
Can you commit to donating $100 or more per year to the Foundation to do good in the world?
On Saturday, May 11th, a beautiful day for working on the Rotary Skate Park. Instead of removing the graffiti so numerous in the park, that we undertook cleaning up around the entire skate park area. Pictured is Jak picking up litter and Brian and Don talking to a skate boarder who comes to the park often and has a major blog with fellow skate boarders. The discussion turned to getting the park cleaned up including the graffiti, mowing the lawn which will require a partnership with our Club, skate boarders, the City, the County and many others.
Interact is a service club for youth ages 14-18. The name is a combination of the words international and action. We join Clubs in over 120 countries around the world. The global youth network is dedicated to community and international service. Every Interact Club project, great or small, has a lasting impact on society worldwide.
The School Year has started up and so have our Club Meetings! Contact Mrs. Odegaard for more information!
Our regular Rotary Club Meetings are at the Lake Stevens School District Educational Service Center lower level Community Room located at 12309 22nd St NE. We start at 7:30 am. Click here for the online link. There will not be any breakfast served. However, coffee will be available. Visitors are always welcome.
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