Angelique and Erik participate in many Old Spanish Days activities including the Fiesta parade.
We’re just two months into the new Rotary year, and I couldn’t be prouder of our club and the way our members are already bringing our Rotary themes to life: Creating Lasting Impact, Powered by Purpose and Joy.
One of the most important things we’ve accomplished so far is adopting our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Code of Conduct and recommitting ourselves to creating a club where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued. Just as importantly, we have a thoughtful and fair process in place should a concern ever arise.
And our members have certainly brought the joy!
In August, so many Santa Barbara Sunrise Rotarians stepped up to volunteer during Santa Barbara’s historic Fiesta celebrations, helping preserve cherished traditions while bringing joy, fun, and fellowship to our community!
Our Old Navy back-to-school shopping event was another wonderful example of Santa Barbara Sunrise at its best. Watching our members help families shop for new school clothes showcased the warmth, diversity, and generosity that make Santa Barbara such a special community. It was also pretty cool seeing so many members put their bilingual skills to work!
I was incredibly proud to see our members in action, and it was a lot of fun! Serving together with purpose and joy is what Rotary is all about.
As we kick off September there is a lot to look forward to. Our first meeting of the month will be a fun program on tamale making! We will also check in on the online auction to see how our item collection is going. This is one of the most important fundraisers of the year. Please help us reach our goal of 100% member participation. Later in the month we will enjoy a program from the Santa Barbara Sunrise Foundation team to learn how the money we raised in 2024 fueled all the amazing grants and programs we accomplished last year here at home and around the world.
As we begin our giving season, we’re encouraging 100% member participation. Our suggested annual giving is:
- $300 to our Santa Barbara Sunrise Club Foundation, supporting the local and international grants and projects our members make possible.
- $200 to The Rotary Foundation, a portion of which comes back to our club as district grants to help expand the impact of our work.
- $50 designated specifically to PolioPlus, supporting Rotary’s historic commitment to the worldwide eradication of polio.
Every contribution, at whatever level is right for you, represents something bigger: our collective commitment to Service Above Self and to creating lasting change.
We have already accomplished so much, and the year is just getting started. Thank you for showing up, volunteering, giving, welcoming others, and bringing your talents and enthusiasm to our club.
I am so proud to serve alongside you. Here’s to a year filled with purpose, joy, fellowship, and lasting impact!
Yours in Rotary Service,
Angelique Springer
2026-2027 President Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise
PS. Do you have an idea for a fun volunteer project we can all participate in on October 3rd? Please let me, Christine or the Community Service Committee know!