Join us this Friday at Washburn's Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center as Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Director John Knight, Horticulture supervisor Dave Bartels, and Advisory Board Member Jim Martin offer insight into the master plan for Gage Park, Tulip Time and the improvements planned for the swim beach, which will become the Lake Shawnee Family Adventure Center. The parks and recreation department maintains over 2,625 acres of parkland, 43 miles of trails, numerous sports fields, recreation centers and pools, and programs for adults and kids. They serve more than 1 million visitors a year.
It's nearing the end of another school year and Topeka South Rotary's commitment to helping those in need. TSR gives a big THANK YOU to Jamie Stafford, our gracious coordinator of many years for this project with our schools and children in need. Thanks Jamie!
On this flip side of that thank you came a special thank you from Janice Coleman, site coordinator for the Communities in Schools of Mid-America, Inc. who wrote, "Thank you, again for everything! The students really love coming to Payless and working with you guys. They said how nice everyone is and how much they love their new shoes. So, thank you again for everything you and all of the partners do. It truly does mean a lot!"
Similar to Sole Mates, our service project which services school children in need, our Lunch Bunch project provides an award and rewarding experience for the nominated students at Stout Elementary. Our fearless leader and coordinator is Doug Barrington and Topeka South Rotary gives a big thank you to Doug for coordinating the efforts with this new school, as well as the logistics of the monthly meetings. Thanks Doug for all you do!
RYLA 2018 is a five-day camp for incoming high school sophomores, juniors and seniors interested in developing leadership potential. The students will learn from business and community leaders about strengthening their leadership skills and abilities, promoting ethical behavior, and facilitating personal growth and self-awareness. There are several past participants of this program that stated their experience was life-changing and made them more aware of their capabilities. It is common to see a student become emotional when talking about their experience with RYLA. For many students, this is their first exposure to Rotary and what we, as Rotarians, can accomplish. The projects and exercises in this five-day camp are designed to get the students to think differently about certain situations and develop their own solutions with fellow students they may have not met before attending the camp. Many students worldwide, who have attended RYLA, have continued on to become members of an Interact, Rotaract, and eventually a Rotary club.
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