With us last week was Mike Rosenkrantz, board president of Palms To Pines Parasports. Joining Mike were board members Mike Porter and Jerry Alcorn. Palms To Pines Parasports is a new organization seeking to provide sports and social opportunities to people with disabilities. There are very few activities currently in the Coachella Valley and this group plans to change that. Any sport can be adopted for the disabled and they are currently providing wheel chair basketball and cycling. Many more activities are in the works. According to Mike, there are currently no adaptive sports programs offered in Riverside so his group is also offering programs there. They plan to actively reach out to disabled veterans as well. Our club will be working with Palm Springs Parasports to come up with possible future volunteer and community service opportunities so stay tuned!
Face-To-Face Meetings
Have Been Cancelled Due
to COVID-19. We Hope To
See You Soon!
President
President Elect
Immediate Past President
Secretary
Treasurer
Sergeant at Arms
Club Service
Palms to Pines Foundation
Programs
Rafflemaster
Webmaster
Community Service
International Service Chair
New Generations Director
New Generations Director
RYLA
Club Bulletin
Vocational Service Chair
Vocational Service Chair
The Rotary Foundation
Membership
Bulletin Subscribe
Palms to Pines Rotary Club
Palm Desert’s Morning Club
Palm Desert's Palms to Pines is a unique and fun Rotary Club. We invite you to visit us and share the experience. We emphasize the fellowship that is a vital part of the Rotary experience and it is the First Objective of Rotary. Our motto is "Service above Self".
Rotary is a volunteer organization of 1.2 million business and professional leaders who have committed to give back to their communities and the world through "Service Above Self".
Palms to Pines Rotary Club is part of one of the oldest and largest service organizations in the world. We invite you to come and join the fun of weekly fellowship, the joy of contributing to our local community and the excitement of lending a hand to people. The projects undertaken over the years have been many and varied. Drawing from a base of experience within the business community Palms to Pines Rotary club has been able to have an influence that reaches around the world.
Last week, we learned we’re still looking for a location to project our End Polio Now logo on the evening of October 24 – World Polio Day. We also heard about Rotary’s new PolioPlus Society. A pledge of $100 per year to PolioPlus will earn you membership. An application is included with this week’s newsletter email.Laura Ahmed from Cathedral City Rotary joined us last Wednesday to talk about World Polio Day and Rotary’s new PolioPlus Society. Laura is our district’s PolioPlus Chair and she reminded Rotarians that October 24 is World Polio Day – a day to call attention to Rotary’s long-time efforts to eliminate polio. Laura also promoted the Rotary Foundation’s brand new way to recognize PolioPlus donors. Pledge just $100 annually to PolioPlus (which we all should be doing) and you’ll become a member of the new PolioPlus Society. You’ll receive a certificate and label pin to recognize your pledge. Please contact Foundation Chair Kay Van Zandt for additional information. Palms To Pines hopes to once again promote World Polio Day with another End Polio Now projection. Last year we projected the message on the side of the McCallum Theatre and this year we’re working on another site for the projection. Stay tuned!
Jennifer Castell with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was with us last week to promote the hospital’s second annual Dream Home Giveaway. Tickets priced at $100 will go on sale in January and they hope to better the $775,000 raised last year. St. Jude’s has raised over $500 million and given away over 600 houses over the past 30 years. Cancer remains the number one cause of death in children but the survival rate has increased fourfold since St. Jude’s opened in 1962.
With us last week was Rebecca Ruffing, program director of Joslyn Center. The Center has been in its current location since 1983 and serves 2,200 members aged 50 and above. Even with the pandemic, the Center still manages to offer some 85 virtual programs per week. The Center continues to provide Meals On Wheels to area residents and also still has its food pantry available. A televised fundraiser for Joslyn Center is scheduled for October 3 and this year’s Health Fair will be a drive-through event on October 14.Jim Brock provided us with his annual desert real estate update last week. Jim shared August sales statistics with members. Jim’s bottom line: Because of low inventory and higher than normal demand, now might be an excellent time to sell and, if you’re thinking of buying, you might wait a bit to see just how much distressed sales increase because of the pandemic. Also last week, it was announced that Kay Van Zandt has completed an update of the club roster. It will be sent to members. Please review and report changes and corrections!
With us last week was PDG Ricardo Loretta. Ricardo told us about a Global Grant project which is actually close to home. West Shores High School at the Salton Sea is Riverside County’s poorest school and the grant will provide funds to improve the school’s computer lab, purchase laptops for students and provide technical support for the equipment. Ricardo is seeking unallocated District Designated Funds for the project. Our club’s board has approved donating our club’s unallocated DDF funds totaling $483 to the project.
Jim Brock provided us with his annual desert real estate update last week. Jim shared August sales statistics with members. Jim’s bottom line: Because of low inventory and higher than normal demand, now might be an excellent time to sell and, if you’re thinking of buying, you might wait a bit to see just how much distressed sales increase because of the pandemic. Also last week, it was announced that Kay Van Zandt has completed an update of the club roster. It will be sent to members. Please review and report changes and corrections!
With us last week was Paula Simonds, new CEO of the Family YMCA of the Desert. Paula shared with us how the YMCA has been forced to modify or eliminate programs as a result of the pandemic. The end result is they are now only able to serve a fraction of the number of children as they served before the pandemic. Fundraising has also been affected. Their Y Be Fit fundraiser is virtual this year. Participants pay $20 and have 20 days to run, walk, cycle or swim 20 miles. Learn more at www.ymcaofthedesert.org.
Last week we talked about Pres. Kelli’s vision for Service Above Self. She reviewed the projects listed above and we also talked about how we’re planning to spend our annual Rotary Foundation District Designated Funds. According to Charles Riggs, our International Service chair, our club has $612 available this year for local projects. Your board has designated this money and our August Happy Dollars to Galilee Center. We had a total of 10 participants last week. Please plan to join us this Wednesday morning at 7:30 a.m.
Last week we heard from Past District Governor Rudy Westerveldt who brought us up to date on his ongoing dedication to peace. Rudy helped host a Rotary International Peace Conference in Ontario during his year as district governor in 2016 and he has gone on to help found the Rotary E-Club of World Peace as an offshoot of the conference. Worldwide, Rotarians help create and maintain peace through a variety of programs including service projects, grants, friendship exchange, vocational training teams, international conventions, Rotary Fellowships, Rotary Action Groups and Rotary Peace Fellows. While the concept of world peace can seem a bit abstract to many Rotarians, clubs within our district are working on peace projects at a local level including suicide prevention, human trafficking, bullying and spousal abuse. Rudy also told us that District 5330 has a Peace Fellow candidate this year. If selected, the candidate could receive a grant of approximately $75,000 from Rotary International for advanced peace studies. Rudy invites us to visit the Rotary E-Club of World Peace on Tuesday evenings at www.rotaryeclubofworldpeace.org.
Last week we took a virtual tour of the Humane Society of the Desert. Pres. Kelli visited the nine acre site Wednesday morning and member Kim Hardee, the Humane Society of the Desert president, led us on a tour. This no kill shelter is home to over 80 dogs and more than 40 cats. Adoptions during the pandemic have been brisk. Most of the animals are strays or have been picked up from other shelters. This was a great tour….thank you Kim and Pres. Kelli!With us virtually last week was Claudia Castorena of the Galilee Center in Mecca. Claudia and Gloria Gomez began providing food to low income families in a Mecca parking lot 10 years ago. After two years, a nearby building was donated and they have now grown to include a shelter for migrant farm workers and two resale stores which provide revenue for the ongoing weekly food distribution. They provided backpacks to school children last week and they are now beginning to plan for their Thanksgiving food distribution project. Our club is planning to participate in one of their weekly food distributions so stay tuned! Our July Happy Dollars were dedicated to Galilee Center and Pres. Kelli presented a virtual check for $865 to Claudia! We had a total of 14 people with us last week……..let’s get to 20 this Wednesday!
At our Virtual Meeting last week, Marilyn Sanderson, president of Rancho Mirage Rotary (and Jack Cottrell’s significant other), gave us impromptu insight into how her club picked up eight new members last year. Thanks Marilyn! Also last week, Pres. Kelli Cox asked each member to come up with a local charity which our club could help. To help, we need funds so Kelli also asked members to research various online fundraising activities our club could pursue. Finally, we’re also looking for some fun online games our members could enjoy each Wednesday morning.
Rotary District Governor Barry Valdez joined our club’s virtual meeting last week for his official “visit.” Barry is a 14-year member of Rialto Rotary and has already managed to “visit” 12 clubs in our district. Like so many things today, Barry’s Rotary year is in constant flux. He is currently planning a virtual District Assembly and he wants our district conference to take place on a three-day Mexican cruise in May. Another event he is planning is a motorcycle Ride For Polio to Nevada’s Primm Valley Resort on Oct. 10 and 11. Our own Jerry Kress is already making plans to fire up his Harley and join this event. Our district normally joins with four other Rotary districts to finance Rotary’s Rose Parade float but, with the cancellation of the event, that’s one major expense he does not have to worry about. Also last week, Sergeant-at-Arms Jack Cottrell continued to collect Happy Dollars for Galilee Center. This week will be our final collection for Galilee so make sure and bring along your virtual wallets!
Disease detectives: In a public health crisis, contact tracers are on the case
Contact tracing has been a cornerstone of public health for much of the past century, even before the novel coronavirus.
Major achievement focus of Rotary's World Polio Day event
Rotary’s World Polio Day Online Global Update on 24 October hails this year’s historic achievement in polio eradication.
History: Rotary becomes intercontinental
Rotary HistoryRotary becomes intercontinentalOn 1 August 1912, the Rotary Club of London, Greater London, England, became the first Rotary club in Europe. Although
How Rotary is alleviating the effects of isolation during COVID-19
Throughout the pandemic, members are discovering ways to connect, cope, and care for each other and people in the communities they serve.
For true economic development, women are essential
Here’s why these organizations and their Rotary club partners are supporting local women’s entrepreneurship with financial literacy, small business loans, and one-on-one advisors.