VIEWING YOUR NEWSLETTER...You will notice at the top of the newsletter a statement... "Having trouble viewing this email? Please click here." This format will allow you to see any embedded videos and animated ads within the newsletter. Email newsletter will allow you to see your commitments at the end of your personal newsletter...online newsletters will not show this, the bulletin on the web site may have a more readable format...you can also view bulletins online.....www.rotarycluboflacrosse.org
Rotary started with the vision of one man — Paul Harris. The Chicago attorney formed the Rotary Club of Chicago on 23 February 1905 so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships.
Our club will have a ZOOM meeting again this week. We will be sending you a browser link via email Thursday morning. We will open at 11:30 and our meeting will start at Noon. If you have an announcement you would like to make...please contact Tami Woods at woodstami13@gmail.com. If you would like to have a guest attend, please let Tami know and YOU can forward your email link to them.
I know many Rotarians have been using Zoom the past few weeks....if you are not familiar with it here is a short video for you to view prior to next week's meeting. How to join a Zoom Meeting.
We have put together a Zoom cheat sheet....tips on how to make your experience with Zoom a littler easier. If you have a tip, you would like to share, please let us know. I will add to the sheet each week if necessary until we all become pros at this! ZOOM TIPS LINK added this week....virtual background and share screen.
B&E's Trees was founded in 2011, when Bree and Eric of B&E's fell head over heels for a small corner of land in Southwest Wisconsin. Since then they have grown in partnership with Central Waters Brewing Company, and are now aging their delectable syrup in bourbon barrels.
The resulting bourbon barrel aged maple syrup is rich, complex, and incredibly delicious. From a wild dream to an off-grid, delicious reality, B&E invite you to join them and taste the adventure!
Thank you to Rotarians Jodi Widuch and Mary Beth Hensel for presenting our "Wheels of Hope" project. This is an international project that our club in cooperation with other Rotary Clubs has set a goal to raise money to fund a bus and a van to safely transport girls to their schools in Afghanistan. LINK to PowerPoint Presentation.
Only 12% of women in Afghanistan are considered literate. The Zabuli Education Center is one of the few successful schools for girls that is working to change that sad statistic. The Wheels of Hope Project is an important support to expanding educational opportunities for girls and creating safety. This work is inspired by Razia Jan, last year’s District Conference keynote speaker and founder of the school.
Follow-up from Jodi Widuch...….
Thank you very much for the opportunity to talk with you about the Wheels of Hope Project.
As follow up here details of how to donate:
1. Here is the link to our Go Fund Me Page. This is the easiest way to used a credit or debit card. There is a small processing fee that you can choose to pay for. charity.gofundme.com/razias-wheels-of-hope
2. You can also donate by check, payable to Rotary Works Foundation, Wheels of Hope in the memo, and mail to Jodi Widuch, 2555 Edgewood Pl., La Crosse, WI 54601
Join this live event to hear stories of hope, inspiration and gratitude from Rotarians, Rotaractors and friends of Rotary from across the globe as they share what they are doing to help their communities.
Youth Exchange Committee: Our next exchange student will be Benson from Taiwan. You can read more about Benson and his parent's comments - LINK about Benson. Currently, Benton is expected to arrive in August. We already have his first host family with whom Benson will live until around December 1. The family lives in the Central school district. We invite any Rotarian interested in being the 2nd (December 1 to April 1) or 3rd (April 1 to July 15, 2021) host family to call or email Patty Nuttleman, Jim Salmo or Jack Haase by April 30th, after which non-club members will be invited to host.
Happy Birthday Terry Witzke (H) - April 26 Tom Brock - April 30 Andy Bakkum- May 1
Happy Wedding Anniversary Sheila (Ted) Riley - May 2
Rotary Anniversary Sondra LeGrand - April 28 - 16 years Jerry Ostreng (H) - April 28 - 54 years Sarah Arendt-Beyer - May 1 - 6 years Annette Mikat - May 1 - 23 years
Associate Membershipis a program to recruit younger members, millennials, to membership. Associate Membership is available to anyone who is proposed for membership who is 35 years of age or less. Associate membership will end when that member reaches the age of 38. They would pay for dues and $100 for meals per quarter no matter how many meetings they attend that quarter.
Corporate Membership is a program to allow multiple employees of a business Rotary participation under one primary membership. Each corporate membership is limited to a three-year term. After the three-year corporate membership term, the individuals are required to become individual members. View Corporate Membership Policy.
Family Membershipis a program to allow a second individual Rotary participation under one primary membership. View Family Membership Policy.
Honorary Membership is offered to members who have distinguished themselves by meritorious service in the furtherance of Rotary ideals.Unlike other membership categories that can be requested by the member, Honorary Membership is bestowed upon a member by election from the Board of Directors. View Honorary Membership Policy.
Excused Membership is offered to members if the aggregate of the member’s years of age and years of membership in one or more clubs is 85 years or more, the member has been a member of one or more clubs for at least 20 years, and the member has notified the club's secretary in writing of the member’s desire to be excused from attendance and the board has approved. Excused Members will pay the quarterly dues and only for meals when they attend a meeting.
Membership Proposals....we will no longer ask for three references when you propose a new member. This was a criteria that our club had set not RI. This will help us process new members into our club more efficiently. You can access the membership proposal form online, under the Club Information site page.
We are looking for nominations for "Rotarian of the Year" from our club....please submit you nominations to rotarylax@charter.net by May 1st. The board will review the nominations at the May board meeting and make a selection. The Rotarian of the Year will be recognized at our Changing of the Guard Meeting and the Avenues of Service Dinner on Tuesday, August 18th.
Scrip Kwik Trip cards are still available for purchase. We have them in denominations of $10, $20, $25, $50, $100. We have about a $1000 on hand we would like to sell. Send a check to Lyn Sheffer at N6945 Pine Lane, Holmen, 54636 and she will send you the cards. Our club gets 5% back + if you use the card in store we will get another 10% back. Thank you for support our club fundraiser.
La Crosse County Health Department is teaming up with iFeed, Rotary, and Rotary Lights to hold “Food Drive Fridays”, a drive-thru style food drive where donors don’t get out of their vehicles
Collections will be held every Friday from 11am-1pm starting on Friday, April 17th through the end of May 2020. (April 17 & 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29)
Valley View Mall parking lot (by former Macy’s location), 3800 Hwy 16, La Crosse Downtown La Crosse:
La Crosse County Parking lot behind the Courthouse & Law Enforcement Center, 333 Vine St:
Big Lots parking lot located at 3960 Mormon Coulee Rd, La Crosse
Non-perishable foods are running dangerously low at The Hunger Task Force, and with the postponement of the National Letter Carrier’s Stamp Out Hunger food drive, they are in desperate need of canned goods for the programs they serve. Canned items needed include meats (tuna, chicken), peanut butter, soup, fruit, boxed side dishes (stuffing, rices, potatoes), breakfast items (cereal, oatmeal, etc), canned ravioli & spaghettios, pasta & pasta sauce. We believe that everyone deserves to have access to food and essentials, especially in times of uncertainty.
Many Rotarians have been asking about ways they can be of service to the community during the Safer-at-Home order. The Great Rivers United Way has a website that connects volunteers with projects that need them, called UGetConnected (www.ugetconnected.org/need/). On the UGetConnected website, you can find established projects that need your help, including making cloth masks, emailing notes of support to healthcare and food service workers, and writing letters to people who are living in long-term care facilities. Many of these projects are great ways to involve your kids and grandkids, too.
UGetConnected is also a site where organizations with projects in need of volunteers can recruit from the community, including Rotary projects. Blood drives, food drives, and other donation needs can be posted here. This is a great resource for our community, and for those with time and talents to give, and families and individuals wanting to give back, we hope you will use www.ugetconnected.org/needs/ to find projects in need of your help.
We will be sharing the site with other Rotary clubs to post their projects*. Please share with other organizations you are affiliated with if you are in need of volunteers.
*only if we plan to do that—it would be great to share with the other presidents to promote their food drives if they aren’t already!
As scientists work to find a vaccine for the new coronavirus, we can do our part to keep our communities healthy by helping Rotary spread the word about the importance of vaccinations during World Immunization Week, 24-30 April. Immunizations save millions of lives every year and are widely recognized as one of our most successful and cost-effective health interventions. Yet outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases continue to put children’s health at risk around the world. Rotary knows firsthand that #VaccinesWork. Since 1985, we’ve contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children from polio. When children receive the polio vaccine, their pinkie fingers are marked with purple ink so health workers will know which children received the vaccine. Today, only two countries continue to report cases of polio caused by the wild poliovirus: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads uncertainty and hardship around the world and in our community, we as Rotarians have many opportunities to help others.
Rotarians are people of action. This is your opportunity to look over the following links to see how you best can help. Every small gesture will be appreciated, whether it is a monetary donation, a letter to a resident in a healthcare facility, a thank you to our essentials in the area, etc.
We have one Rotarian that we know of in a healthcare facility. Rotarian Elmer and his wife Lil are at Bethany St. Joseph, 2501 Shelby Road, La Crosse, WI 54601. Check your ClubRunner Membership App…. see if there is someone you might want to connect with and drop a note to.
LINKS (if you have another link you would like to share,
We received the following email from the Salvation Army:
During these uncertain times with the COVID-19 virus, policies and procedures continue to change but The Salvation Army continues to help those who are affected by the impact this pandemic has caused.
Beginning Wednesday, April 8th: The Salvation Army of La Crosse County will begin delivering packaged meals, food baskets, and blankets to members in our county affected by the COVID-19 virus to help continue Doing the Most Good in our community.
Deliveries will take place 7 days a week to remote locations during lunchtime hours (11am - 2pm) to be determined by The Salvation Army by Wednesday. We are looking for volunteers to assist with the delivery of these items to our community. The Salvation Army is following all CDC guidelines to ensure everyone's well-being and masks will be provided as needed.
Volunteers interested in assisting with deliveries of these items can contact Volunteer Coordinator Alex Riley at alex.riley@usc.salvationarmy.org
We know Mother's Day is going to look a little different this year. Here's an opportunity to celebrate mom -- or any woman in your life -- for the incredible contributions she makes every day! With a donation to the Women's Fund in her honor, you'll also be supporting other women in our community who need it now more than ever. Visit womensfundlacrosse.org to honor your mom! 💗ViVi
This club is open to all Rotarians who need to do a makeup or just want to read about great programs from around the world. Please join them at www.rotaryeclubone.org and click on makeups.
Rotary International Web Site- MyRotary...Rotarians can set-up an account that will give them access to their personal information, Paul Harris Fellows, Foundation Donations, etc.....https://my.rotary.org/en
District 6250 Web Site - Check out our District 6250 Web Site - Newsletters, Leadership, Programs, etc. LINK
Rotary Club of La Crosse Web Site - Check out our own club's web site....if you see something that needs to be updated....email rotarylax@charter.net - we have lost of info out there and your help is always welcomed - ways to update or let us know what info you would like out there. LINK
ClubRunner
Login to ClubRunner and make sure your profile is updated with the correct contact info. Cheat sheet on ClubRunner.
ClubRunner App
Do you have the ClubRunner App on your phone yet? You will LOVE IT!
ClubRunner Mobile App is now available for download! A great tool to stay connected with your club and fellow Rotarians.
The ClubRunner Mobile App is your key to connect to your ClubRunner website on the go! Completely, free to download and use, this app will let you access the key info you need while you're on the go. Password protected just like your website, the ClubRunner Mobile app is comprised of 3 main modules. You now will have the ability to view your member directory, view the articles posted to your website and locate the nearest club right from your iPhone or iPod, bringing you even closer to being able to connect, collaborate and communicate!
To downloadthe app from the Apple App Store or from Google Play, simply type in 'ClubRunner' in the search bar. Our mobile app is compatible with all versions of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch sets that have iOS 3.1 or later and with versions of Anrdoids that are 2.3.3 or better.
Click here for more information.Note the app is the one that has a blue background and has CR on it. It will give you easy access to all our member's contact information.
If you already have the app:On the membership module you will need to make sure and sync to update the membership directory with our new members. In the upper right hand corner you will see the circle/arrow sync icon
Professional development is right at your fingertips with the Rotary Learning Center, which offers members a range of interactive courses on navigating Rotary's online tools and developing leadership skills to prepare for new Rotary roles.
Anyone with a My Rotary account can take a free course in the Learning Center. Among the many courses available are How to Run a Webinar, How to Propose Legislation, Rotary Club Central Resources, and role-specific selections.
Get started by finding the Learning Center under the LEARNING & REFERENCE tab on Rotary.org. If you are already registered on the site, you will have a profile. If not, it's easy to create an account. From the MY PROFILE tab, you can modify your profile, find announcements about new and upcoming courses, and join a community to discuss what you're learning.
If you would like to volunteer for Rotarians in the News, be a greeter, a hospitality greeter, raffle ticket seller, scrip seller or announce guests, you can email the Monthly Duty Roster Coordinator that are listed above....just click on their name. If you would like to give your classification talk please contact Program Committee Chair Rob Palmberg.
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