Maple Grove (Suzanne Plant)
Tree Planting & Junior Rotarians
The Rotary Club of Maple Grove donated and planted 61 trees at Maple Grove Middle School Community Playfield, fulfilling Rotary International’s challenge to plant one tree for every member of the club by Earth Day 2018. Also, we focused on our Junior Rotarians who are great volunteers but very quiet at meetings. I invited them to be meeting greeters and lead the song, Pledge of Allegiance, Four-Way Test, invocation/reflection, and to help with the fines! (They continue to do school updates.) It has been incredible to have them be a part of the meetings!
Minneapolis (Bill Kuhlmann)
The Family Partnership
We have partnered with The Family Partnership, making it possible for them to create a full-time position providing counseling and support for individuals and their families who were involved in sex trafficking. The support needed is often multifaceted and different for every person and family. The employee was hired in early winter; the program of support builds on other work that The Family Partnership has done in the past. We made a three-year commitment to fund this position.
Minneapolis City of Lakes (Bill Klein)
Honduras WASH Project
Over a two-year period, the Honduras WASH project will provide potable water and sanitation facilities to 20 communities in rural Western Honduras. Nearly 6,600 people will receive clean water; 2,232 also will receive sanitation facilities. Within the 20 communities, clean water taps will be piped directly to several hundred homes, 21 schools, and nine health care facilities.
Minneapolis South (Fred Herron)
Hands on Science and Math in Assam, India
This project provides access to quality science and math education in the remote rural areas of Assam in India. Hands-on education through experiments and projects develops conceptual understanding and a mindset for the process of scientific inquiry. Besides working with area students, the project will also help science and math teachers develop their own hands-on sessions. A focus on girls will encourage them to take up science/math in higher education.
Minneapolis-University (Robert Margolis)
San Felipe Medical & Club Rebranding
Our cataract surgery project in San Felipe, Mexico, will bring vision to hundreds more in the town. Our hearing clinic in the same location is bringing hearing services to a region where none are available. And a reading program is bringing literacy to students in a school in our own neighborhood. But I am most proud of how we reinvented the club. Membership peaked at 52 in 2001, then dwindled to 16. We restructured our costs, renegotiated with the hotel, and created an affiliate member category for young people. There is a new spirit in the club that has attracted 11 full members and four affiliate members. They make our meetings more vibrant and attractive.
Minneapolis Uptown (Guy Johnson)
District Fieldtrip
A real highlight for Minneapolis Uptown this year was using a district grant to provide a field trip for all of the third and eighth graders at Jefferson Community School. About 125 students rode the city bus to Magers & Quinn bookstore to pick out their very own books. The event was covered extensively by the Hill & Lake Press. It also included giving dictionaries to the third graders and thesauri to the eighth graders.
Minnetonka (Jacob Millner)
Highway Cleanup
Our club gets together to clean up a stretch of highway we adopted. I also really liked our holiday project with Resource West, helping low-income families shop for presents from donated toys and gifts.
Monticello (Linda Mielke)
Bertrum Chain of Lakes
Our Bertrum Chain of Lakes Connection project is rewarding because we are protecting our environment and valuable natural resources. It incorporates tree planting and connecting the pathway systems of the City of Monticello to the pathway network of the Bertrum Chain of Lakes County/City Park, a stretch enjoyed by pedestrians and bicyclists. We are collaborating with the City of Monticello to plant approximately 100 bare-root trees of assorted species, and provide ongoing maintenance of the trail and trees. Rotary signage will be placed at each end of the trail. This project adds to the Natural Playground our Rotary Club built in 2015 at the Bertrum Chain of Lakes Park, as well as our in-process planting an edible garden and building nature discovery trails at the park.
North Minneapolis Club (Gloria Howard)
Community Int'l Peace Day
This year was our five-year reset. However, the best action was going out (impromptu) on International Peace Day and saluting our community with fruit, cookies and water on a hot, sunny, rush hour evening! We engaged people right where they were and just said Hi and Thanks!!
Plymouth (Jason Cardwell)
Fundraisers
We completed two successful fundraisers. We increase those trained on CPR to 4,697 (on our way to 7K). We put on a wonderful kids’ ice fishing contest, and we received a grant for our tree-planting project with the City of Plymouth. We did a quick-turnaround water project support in Honduras, and we host a Youth Exchange student. For a 34-member club, we contribute much to our community and get a lot done!
Redwood Falls (Denise Kerkhoff)
Landscape Project and Senior Day
The Redwood Falls Rotary Club has received several District Community Grants over the years. Typically, we focus on improving the community landscape with park benches, trees, bushes, etc. Our projects benefit large numbers of people and fit a Rotary focus area.
Hosting Senior Day has become our signature event. We gather at the local community center for a formal day complete with tablecloths and a great meal. Six students and two Rotarians sit at each table. The day begins with a light breakfast; opening remarks, the Pledge and the Four-Way Test. First is an interactive session on Networking. To get the students moving and practicing the skills they have just learned we play Human Bingo! The next sessions are Your Social Media Footprint and Dining Etiquette. Following lunch, local Redwood Valley alumni share the sometimes-rocky road their careers took, and how it led them to where they are now. The day ends with Goal Setting. We fully fund the day and it is a source of pride for our club.
Rogers (Kyle Sabot)
CornerHouse Fundraiser
Spearheaded by Rogers Police Chief Jeff Beahen, our club sponsored a fundraising concert to support the new CornerHouse satellite location within the Rogers Police Department. CornerHouse staff conduct forensic interviews and medical care for sexually and emotionally abused youth. Bringing a satellite location to northwest Hennepin County serves a growing need. The club was excited to support a project the chief is so passionate about providing.