It’s been a big week for Adopt an Angel! Our program cleaned up in the Rotary District Awards winning the outstanding Youth Service Award, Significant Contribution to Those in Need Award, and Volunteer in Community Service Award which was given to Gloria Quintero (a.k.a. Mrs. Claus) in recognition of non-Rotarian contributions to Rotary.
For background, our Rotary district is made up of 60 clubs within the state with roughly 3,000 members. Watching the district awards, there were some exceptional programs out there, including a club that bought palletized bulk foods and measured them out in a warehouse rented specifically for this purpose. Not only was it a jaw-dropping effort, but they were organized enough to make a video of the initiative.
All this to say that sixty clubs are all doing amazing things, yet they singled us out for our stand-up amazingness, and I feel it unfair that all of these accolades are directed towards me. Adopt an Angel really brought the community together. We needed loads of cash, shoppers, online shoppers, media partners to get the word out, places to pick up toys and people to pick those toys up. Then we needed loads of volunteers, Spanish speakers, coffee runners, delivery drivers, and the guts to step up at great personal risk during a pandemic.
Everything Rotary does here in Summit and internationally with our 1.2 million members is born of people seeing needs and taking actions. Thank you so much for seeing the needs and taking action. I wish y’all could hear just a fraction of appreciation that I’ve heard since that fateful Tuesday.
Next year, we’re going twice as big, and it’s going to be a breeze.
Very sincerely,
Stu with the Santa hat + the Rotary Club of Summit County