A Meeting and Tour of Forget Me Not Farm by Nathan and Carole Rathmann
Our program for Thursday, July 13, 2023, was held at Forget Me Not Farm off Highway 12 in Santa Rosa. Carol and Nathan Rathmann were our hosts and tour guides for our tour of the facilities, including the new shed/garage, the animal barn, and the gardens. Nathan Rathmann, Carole’s son, provided an overview of the Farm’s operation even though Thursday was his last day at the Farm. He is leaving to pursue other opportunities in Red Hook, New York.
Forget Me Not Farm nurtures relationships between children, animals, and gardens and has helped thousands of at-risk children and youth to break the cycle of abuse. The Farm puts neglected children, gardens, and animals together to create bonding relationships; by letting children take care of abused animals and vegetable gardens they learn about care, compassion, and empathy. The Farm receives referrals of neglected children from agency-partners. The Farm has been at its current location for 18 years and has been in existence for 30 years!
Nathan, the Director of Operations, joined the Farm in 2005, although he had worked there previously while in high school. Nathan reminded us that our involvement with the Farm started about 2 years ago. It started with Nathan’s presentation to the Club on November 4, 2021, and his offer to provide us with a tour. We have had several work days at the Farm since that time, typically working in the garden. Sunrise member Leroy Carlenzoli, aka The Golden Hammer, helped with the permitting, construction, and contracting for the brand new shed/garage in which the first part of our meeting was held. We also provided a small donation to the Farm last year. The Farm sold many tickets for our 2023 annual fundraising raffle; we kept asking them to sell more and more tickets! The Farm’s persistence in selling tickets for the raffle helped us decide to make the Farm our main grantee for the revenue from the raffle. President Debra presented the Farm with a donation of $17,000 from the raffle’s income!
Our donation of $17,000 is a significant part of the Farm’s annual budget of $425,000. Nathan and Carole are especially happy to receive our “unrestricted” gift, since they can use it for any purpose they believe fosters their mission. They are in the process of expanding their programs, especially their ability to provide therapeutic care to children in the winter.
We had a great time touring the barn, and Nathan and Carole told us the histories of all of the animals. They maintain sheep, goats, small horses, and others, including an Emu!
Many thanks to Nathan and Carole for the wonderful program at the Farm and for doing so much to improve the lives of children in Sonoma County. Forget Me Not Farm is a hidden treasure!
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!
Harry Coffee led the Pledge of Allegiance in the Farm's new all weather outdoor classroom. As would become known, Sunrise Golden Hammer Leroy Carlenzoli was responsible for expediting permitting and completion of project.
Following Steve Zwick, Sunrise Director of Philanthropy's presentation to Farm Executive Director Carol Rathman of $17,000 from our Fundraising Raffle proceeds, the club and guests were treated to an introduction to the Farm hero's.
Forget Me Not Farm is an Animal Sanctuary. This distinguished it from a rescue or adoption site. Animals accepted have been abused, neglected or abandoned. From Emus to horses, alpacas, sheep and pigs find their new home and family here.
Shauna and Kelly display maternal instincts to equine arrivals.
Scott, sure footer climber greets another sure footer.
Neatly nestled in a shady corner, the Farm's Green House is incubator to produce now maturing and feeding resident animals and providing nutritious vegetables for the Farm's hard working 350 strong two-legged stewards who toil daily, utilizing modern sustainable green practices. For an more detailed look at the farm's extensive operations, check out
When it comes to fundraising, Interactors are crushing it
By Paula M. Bodah
Mehreen Rosmon isn't even out of high school, but she's already having a big impact on her community and the world. The senior from Fremont, California, leads Interact District 5170, one of Rotary's larger Interact districts. Launched in 1962, Interact brings young people ages 12-18 together to develop leadership skills and serve their communities.
The money raised by Interactors in Rosmon's district isn't chump change. The 123 Interact clubs in District 5170 are on track to raise more than $40,000 by the end of this school year, Rosmon says. The funds will go toward causes the Interact district has chosen for 2023: alleviating food insecurity in the San Francisco Bay Area and improving water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions in Honduras. "Clean water is a basic necessity, but some 829,000 people are estimated to die worldwide each year as a result of unsafe drinking water," Rosmon says. Her district is working with the nonprofit organization Water1st to fund piping, flushing toilets, and showers for 15 homes in southern Honduras.
Secrets for success
What makes for a successful Interact club? Representatives from some of the highest-achieving clubs weigh in on how to attract members and raise big bucks:
Involve the whole community in fundraising efforts. Pooja Patel, a high school junior who is vice president of the Honesdale Interact club, says her club's Karaoke night, which raised $12,000 last year for The Rotary Foundation's Disaster Response Fund, is a perfect example. The students partnered with a local brewery and reached out to other local companies for sponsorships and raffle prizes.
Let the Interact members take the lead. Mitty Chang, District 5170 Interact chair, says, "It's a safe environment to make mistakes — part of growing as a young leader. When you give them the leadership opportunities, you see that they can really flourish."
Take advantage of your local Rotary club. And Honesdale mentor Brian Fulp says don't stop with advice. "Whatever money you raise, go to your local Rotary club and ask them to match it," he says. "It's very hard for a club to say no to an Interact club they support."
It's not the only place where Interactors are making a difference. The 70 Interact students at Honesdale High School in northeastern Pennsylvania held a karaoke night in April 2022 that raised an impressive $12,000 for The Rotary Foundation's Disaster Response Fund, to support people affected by the war in Ukraine, according to Lynne Goodwin, the liaison to the club from its sponsoring Rotary Club of Honesdale. And in El Campo, Texas, Interactors raised more than $1,300 for polio eradication by selling rubber ducks to race at a District 5890 event.
Interactors research and choose the causes they want to support. Like the El Campo Interactors, many clubs devote at least part of each year to raising money for Rotary's polio eradication efforts. Interactors also decide what kinds of fundraisers to hold. They run the gamut from classic bake sales to more elaborate endeavors like Honesdale's karaoke night.
Today's Interactor is often tomorrow's Rotarian. Mitty Chang, the 34-year-old Interact chair for District 5170, has been involved with Rotary for more than half his life, beginning with Interact as a high schooler. He stresses that although Rotarians act as mentors and advisers, the Interactor leadership teams are in charge. "It's their vision and strategy for the year," he says. "We provide training and guidance, but it's their show."
Next year in college, Rosmon plans to study business, focusing on its social impact on communities. She also plans to continue her service work by joining Rotaract and eventually becoming a Rotarian. "Interact has allowed me to grow into who I am today," she says. "I hope to continue to share that through Rotaract and Rotary."
This story originally appeared in the May 2023 issue of Rotary magazine.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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