For four decades, the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise has rolled up its sleeves for this community, contributing significant funding and thousands of volunteer hours to local causes. On June 27, 2026, from 5:00–8:30 pm at the Santa Rosa Golf and Country Club, we will celebrate 40 years of service, partnership, and impact. As a friend and longtime supporter of our club, we would be honored to welcome you as our guest.
The committee working on this event will share the plans and build support.
The Elsie Allen High School Foundation, by Omar Medina
Omar Medina was our guest speaker for Thursday, April 27, 2026. Omar is the Program Manager of the Elsie Allen High School Foundation (EAHS) and a Santa Rosa City Schools Board Member. He graduated in the very first Elsie Allen graduating class and served as Elsie Allen ASB President. Omar is a long-term advocate for the Elsie Allen and wider Roseland community. He attended SRJC and Sonoma State University.
The EAHS Foundation was incorporated in 2013 to raise funds for scholarship opportunities for graduating Elsie students. The Foundation now has a significant endowment which will provide $120,000 annually for scholarships for many years. However, the Foundation also funds and supports several additional educational programs, including the Service Above Self Scholarship for community service participants, the NextGen Trades Academy, and a Certified Nursing Assistant (CAN) program with 30 students graduating on May 16th. He noted that the future of NextGen Trades Academy is uncertain and depends on funding decisions. Omar also discussed the Magnolia Project, which provides career exploration opportunities to 27 students through employer placements and healthcare-related experience, with plans to expand to 120 students next year. Omar mentioned that Foundation teacher grants funded an AVID field trip to San Francisco State University, a dance program performance at U.C. Berkeley, and classroom supplies, and noted ongoing efforts to explore college credit opportunities for volunteer service through SRJC's work experience program.
Omar also discussed upcoming changes at Elsie Allen High School, which will convert to a grade 7-12 school next year, creating a greater need for support. He highlighted the challenges facing the district due to financial constraints and resource limitations, emphasizing the importance of philanthropy and community support to help bridge the gap. He also mentioned his work with Health Equity Rising to support the healthcare pathway at Elsie Allen and expressed gratitude for the foundation's support, particularly acknowledging the contributions of club members Merle Hayes and Willie Billeter, and Elsie teacher Mr. Molloy.
Sunrise member Stacey Drucker-Andress explained that the initial Foundation organizing meetings were often held in her kitchen when her late husband, Ross Andress, was the club’s Elsie Allen H.S. coordinator. Ross was one of the original Foundation Directors!
Thank you so much, Omar, for the wonderful presentation of the Foundation’s efforts and for all the work you do for the Foundation, the school, and the community!
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Shoki Wafula did not know what to expect when he was forced to leave his birth country of Uganda for South Africa. What he found was a Rotary community that welcomed him with warmth and friendship. That experience inspired him to help create a Rotaract e-club where young leaders from around the world could connect, develop their skills, and serve together.
Today, that community includes members across multiple continents who collaborate on leadership development, peacebuilding, and service initiatives. For Wafula, the experience reinforced the lesson that meaningful service begins with people who feel connected, valued, and empowered to lead.
His story reminds us why Youth Service Month is so important. Through Rotaract and programs like Rotary Youth Exchange, young people build leadership skills, develop global understanding, and discover the impact they can make through service.
Rotary’s Action Plan calls on us to enhance participant engagement. At its heart, that goal asks a simple question: How can we ensure that participation in Rotary is meaningful and fulfilling for everyone? Youth programs and Rotaract provide a powerful answer.
When clubs mentor Rotaractors, host exchange students, or support youth leadership initiatives, they create opportunities for members to share their experience in ways that feel personal and rewarding. These connections deepen members’ sense of purpose and strengthen the bonds within our Rotary family.
They also create lasting pathways into Rotary. Thousands of young people complete Rotary programs each year, and they carry those experiences with them throughout their lives. Many remain eager to stay connected.
Organizations such as Rotex International, an association of former Youth Exchange students, help Rotary program alumni continue serving as mentors, leaders, and advocates for our youth programs. As Rotex co-founder Hans Lee wrote in a recent reflection on Youth Exchange alumni, “exchange doesn’t end when you return home.”
When we welcome these young leaders into our clubs and activities, we strengthen the continuity of Rotary across generations.
During Youth Service Month, I hope every Rotary club reflects on how youth programs can enhance engagement for new and longtime members. Collaborate on service projects and invite youth voices into your planning and decision making.
Rotary’s message to the world is that we can Unite for Good. Youth programs show us how that happens in practice — when generations come together, share ideas, and work side by side in service.
When we invest in young people, we are not only shaping future leaders. We are building a stronger, more connected Rotary today.
You can find all prior "RI President's Messages" at this LINK
Our largest program at The Rotary Foundation is PolioPlus, followed by a significant new initiative called the Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge, which emerged from the first Programs of Scale initiative in Zambia. Through this work, we are combating malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases — the three leading killers of children under 5 in Africa.
A healthy child still needs an education, and education is where futures are built.
Rotary is finding ways to invest in the next generation through partnerships and creative approaches. Johan Denolf, of the Rotary Club Damme, Belgium, and Nirmal Rijal, of the Rotary Club of Kathmandu Mid-Town, Nepal, share one remarkable example:
In the mountains of Nepal, the children of Melamchi Ghyang village had no school. In 1985, a teacher named Purna Gautam set out to change that, founding a school on the promise that no child would ever be turned away. For many girls and boys, it became a lifeline against threats such as child labor, early marriage, and human trafficking.
In 1999, Hilde Kuypers, a Belgian humanitarian, was so moved by Gautam’s mission that she founded KetaKeti, a nonprofit, to support it. KetaKeti and the Rotary Club of Damme built a partnership while the club helped the community recover from a 2015 earthquake.
In 2024, the Rotary Club of Damme — working with the Rotary Club of Kathmandu Mid-Town and 15 clubs from Belgium and Germany, with support from District 2130 — united around a $175,000 global grant.
The project brought solar energy to the school, eliminated dependence on firewood for cooking, powered a medical post, and launched reforestation and environmental education.
By 2025, enrollment had climbed to 440 students. Rotary clubs committed to three years of teacher salary contributions. By 2027, the school aims to be self-sustaining through an alumni fund, matched dollar-for-dollar by KetaKeti Belgium. What began as one teacher’s promise has become a story of global friendship and the power of education.
Through a Rotary Foundation global grant, hundreds of Nepalese children now have a genuine shot at the future they deserve. Most remarkable of all: The school’s own alumni are now helping secure that future for the next generation. That is the sustainable, generational impact Rotary endeavors to create.
There are countless such stories waiting to happen. With your commitment and The Rotary Foundation behind you, you can be part of one.
You can find all prior "Messages from the Foundation Trustee Chair" at this LINK
The deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century killed more than 100 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023. Searching for healing and reflection, the community group Aloha Amplified organized a twilight walk and ceremony this past September, supported by District 5000’s fire relief fund and the three Rotary clubs in Lahaina. Hundreds of people carried lanterns along a milelong route, joining together at the end in the revered song “Hawai‘i Aloha.” The event featured cultural entertainment and booths staffed by local groups, including Rotary clubs. Rotarians, many of whom lost their own homes and businesses, also volunteered at the event. “People know Rotary in Lahaina,” says Joanne Laird, of the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset.
Costa Rica
Lush rainforests and world-renowned birding help draw hundreds of thousands of travelers to Costa Rica every year. That backdrop belies many needs, including for children in the country. Stéphane Dähler, a Swiss expatriate who works in the tourism industry, reports his Rotary Club of Belén, northwest of the capital of San José, is committed to improving education and health outcomes. In February, members worked at the Español School to assemble, sand, and paint 112 desks funded by the club, District 4240 in Costa Rica, and Rotarians from District 5280 in California. The following month, Belén Rotarians visited the Santiago Alpízar School to drop off books. To help fill gaps in health care, the club held a medical camp in rural Puriscal in December to offer blood screenings and a toy distribution. The club “has become a bridge that unites Costa Rican industry with the common good, showing that the private sector and volunteers can generate a positive and sustainable effect,” Dähler says.
This story originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of Rotary magazine.
Rotary projects make a difference in communities around the world.
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Chop's Teen Club
The deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century killed more than 100 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses on the Hawaiian island of Maui in August 2023. Searching for healing and reflection, the community group 
Lush rainforests and world-renowned birding help draw hundreds of thousands of travelers to Costa Rica every year. That backdrop belies many needs, including for children in the country. Stéphane Dähler, a Swiss expatriate who works in the tourism industry, reports his Rotary Club of Belén, northwest of the capital of San José, is committed to improving education and health outcomes. In February, members worked at the Español School to assemble, sand, and paint 112 desks funded by the club, District 4240 in Costa Rica, and Rotarians from District 5280 in California. The following month, Belén Rotarians visited the Santiago Alpízar School to drop off books. To help fill gaps in health care, the club held a medical camp in rural Puriscal in December to offer blood screenings and a toy distribution. The club “has become a bridge that unites Costa Rican industry with the common good, showing that the private sector and volunteers can generate a positive and sustainable effect,” Dähler says.