Next Friday, June 4th we will celebrate our 10th Birthday with friends and family, current members and former, with drinks and Chicken Q and live music from our favorite Tom Conrad. We will toast to the amazing accomplishments Rotary After Hours has achieved over the past decade. Whether you bought a ticket or not, come join us for any part of it and be impressed with the IMPACT we've had on the world.
I'd be remiss not to mention that May is Youth Services Month and part of our long laundry list of accomplishments, is our investment in Rotary's Youth Services (and beyond). Let's take a trip down memory lane!
Our winning sHARk Tank project last year provided a van for kids at The Good Fight Community Center. By doing so, we are helping the organization's mission of providing at-risk and disadvantaged youth with hope, encouragement, and a safe environment to develop personal goals, discipline, and values that help them lead productive lives.
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For several years, RAHtarians have served as counselors at RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards), a weekend long camp that transforms young people into more confident, focused individuals with a better understanding of the world around them. Not only does it impact the students, but it impacts the adult Rotarians who spend their weekend with the kids. It was the late Dave Knutson's favorite weekend of the year. Watch this video and see why!
Locally, the Interact Clubs in each of the area high schools are a glimpse into Rotary and what "Service above Self" means. iFeed is the big Interact project, taking place every November that benefits both local food pantries and hungry children in Nicaragua. Rotarian advisors, including our own Nick Ragner, mentor and guide Interactors as they carry out projects and develop leadership skills.
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And then there is Rotary Youth Exchange; a program that builds peace one young person at a time. Since 2016, our club has hosted a Youth Exchange student each year. Eugene came to us from Taiwan, Clara from Italy, Miki from Poland and Hagen from Austria. Students learn a new language, discover another culture, and truly become immersed in Western Wisconsin (and American) living. It changes their lives, but it changes our lives too. Each student has left their own unique mark on many of our hearts and our club is greater because of it.
RAH, we've done well when it comes to investing in Youth ... but our work is not done. As the wise Bill Pritchard says, "Be open to the opportunities working with young leaders in our communities by engaging them, mentoring them, and working side by side with them on meaningful projects. It’s an investment in their future and in the world they will live in after we’re gone. And it’s work that will forever enrich their lives… and our own."
Hope to see you at our 10th Birthday Bash on Friday (June 4th),
Marissa Dickinson
Rotary Club of La Crosse-After Hours, President 2020-2021
#RotaryOpensOpportunities
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The RAH sHARks have decided! Five equally worthy projects swam with the sHARks at our April 13 meeting, all vying for a bite at up to $5,000 funding from the club and a possible District Matching Grant to double the total.
After the pitches and voting, the plan to purchase solar panels for the Dignity Homes La Crosse project ended up as the front-runner.
The event provided entertainment, education and opportunity.
Here's a quick summary of the projects:
Dignity Homes is a Beer By Bike Brigade project that will offer permanent, affordable housing for individuals and families in our area experiencing homelessness. The buildings will be energy efficient and will be outfitted with solar panels purchased by Rotary After Hours!
AngelEye Cameras: A camera system that allows 24/7 live-streaming video of Gundersen's NICU, decreasing parental anxiety and promoting family bonding
Hope Restores Van: Purchase a 15 passenger van for Hope Restores allowing them to better support the African American community in the La Crosse area
HorseSense Pasture: Assist with the electrical, plumbing and fencing needs for the organization's new pasture, increasing their capability to provide animal-assisted therapies to individuals with disabilities and/or those feeling loneliness and anxiety or depression
YMCA Food Pantry: Purchase a commercial refrigerator and freezer along with shelving units and a table on wheels to meet the growing needs of fighting hunger in order to fuel futures
To see Left Fin sHARk surprise the winning RAHtarian, check this video out.
Congrats and thank you to our members who pitched five great projects!
Congratulations to Liz Evans, our May Rotarian of the Month!
Liz Evans has is a long time member of RAH after joining in 2015. She has been involved in a multitude of roles across our club and even our District. She has never been afraid to step up and go the extra mile for our community.
Over her 6 years she has been on the Board of Directors as Secretary and as Treasurer. Her attention to details, follow through and teamwork have always been appreciated! While being an active member of club committees, Liz Evans has also taken on the role of District Grants Chair for the last 3 years leading the process for almost a hundred thousand dollars per year in giving.
She brings a wealth of knowledge, perspective and good humor to any group she works with. One Rotarian shares 'It truly is a pleasure working with Liz on any project, she is a stellar RAHtarian'
Liz, Thank you so much for all you have done for our club, and our district and our community and congratulations on being our May RAHtarian of the month.
Your Party Planning Crew is Drumming Up a Fun Night to Celebrate our 10th Birthday!
Ten years is an important milestone to celebrate and we’re planning to whoop it up in true After Hours fashion!
Please JOIN US for our open-house Birthday Bash on Friday, June 4 between 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the La Crescent Event Center.
We’ll be hosting a family-friendly Chicken Q, live music, highlights of our club's accomplishments over the past decade and libations of course!
(A drive through pick up option for those wishing to grab dinner on their way home will also be available.)
We want to look back on all the fun we’ve had these past 10 years. We invite you to add your favorite memories to our RAH birthday photo album by uploading photos from your time in Rotary. Upload photos on our Google Drive Birthday Photos folder here.
A new life, born at a Rotary meeting! Yes, a sweet baby calf came into the world moments before our club walked up to the pen to see. Guided by farmer Louisa, we admired the little creature as it’s mama licked its fur. The baby tried to get up on spindly legs, wobbled, and lay back down.
We continued on through the Creamery Creek Holsteins Dairy farm. We saw a 5-million gallon manure pit, and we were told the smell only gets real bad when they agitate it before application to fields. The farm is pretty darn close to town so Louisa said they don’t agitate the pit during Homecoming week.
We saw hutches with brand new calves, their white and black fur still shiny and new. We walked all over the farm. Louisa pointed out aspects of the operation, how they produce the feed, how they milk the cows. The tour ended with a glimpse of the milking parlor where the mama of the new baby calf we saw was getting her ‘fresh’ milk ready for the baby. Then we got ice cream! A fantastic meeting for RAH!
If you'd like to watch the meeting in full, check it out here!
The band was back together for our first Highway Cleanup of the season. One of our club's earliest projects was the "Adopt A Highway" on County Road O (by Fox Hollow). As a member of the Adopt-A-Highway program, Rotary After Hours hosts several highway cleanup events throughout the year. It's always a contest to see who finds the most interesting item! Cigarette butts, plastic bottles, pop cans, oh my! Our highway is a lot cleaner thanks to RAH.
The helping hands grabbed drinks and food at Fox Hollow after and enjoyed each other's company!
From 80 degrees and sunny to 35 and rainy, from the banks of Lake Superior to the rock faces and rivers of the Sawtooth Mountains, RAHtarians Stephanie Doyle, Lisa Kobs, Josh Mansee and Bill Prichard spent a May weekend hiking and camping on the Superior Hiking Trail.
The Mobile Medical Clinic is a Giant Step Closer to Hitting the Streets!
Here is the update of the project.....
Rotary International has officially approved our grant!
"Congratulations! Your global grant application for funding to provide a mobile health clinic to the community of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, submitted by the Rotary Club of La Crosse-After Hours and the Rotary Club of Uithuizen, has been approved by The Rotary Foundation. The award is in the amount of US$ 230,174." ~Cecelia Walter, Regional Grants Officer | Rotary Grants
That right there my friends, is the power of our Rotary Foundation! Our first $80k raised was matched nearly 3:1. Unbelievable! Our $100 average per member per year is for this very reason.
On behalf of the RAHtarians on the committee, we want to thank everyone for their investment in this project!
The Luecke family has welcomed a new member to their family! Delia Claire Luecke was born on May 4th at 3:52 pm weighing in at 6 pounds and 3 ounces. Congratulations to Dustin and the entire Luecke family!
For over 100 years, Rotary's guiding principles have been the foundation upon which our values and tradition stand
The Four-Way Test, Object of Rotary, and the Avenues of Service express our commitment to Service, Fellowship, Diversity, Integrity, and Leadership- Rotary's Core Values.
CORE VALUES - Rotary’s core values represent the guiding principles of the organization’s culture, including what guides members’ priorities and actions within the organization.
SERVICE - We believe that our service activities and programs bring about greater world understanding and peace. Service is a major element of our mission. Through the plans and actions of individual clubs, we create a culture of service throughout our organization that provides unparalleled satisfaction for those who serve.
FELLOWSHIP - We believe that individual efforts focus on individual needs, but combined efforts serve humanity. The power of combined efforts knows no limitation, multiplies resources, and broadens our lives and perspectives. Fellowship leads to tolerance and transcends racial, national, and other boundaries.
DIVERSITY -We believe Rotary unifies all people internationally behind the ideal of service. We encourage diversity of vocations within our membership and in our activities and service work. A club that reflects its business and professional community is a club with a key to its future.
INTEGRITY - We are committed to and expect accountability from our leaders and fellow members, both in the results of our efforts and in the processes we use to accomplish our goals. We adhere to high ethical and professional standards in our work and personal relationships. We are fair and respectful in our interactions, and we conscientiously steward the resources entrusted to us.
LEADERSHIP - We are a global fellowship of individuals who are leaders in their fields of endeavor. We believe in the importance of leadership development and in leadership as a quality of our members. As Rotarians, we are leaders in implementing our core values.
All of these core values are reflected in the Object of Rotary and The Four-Way Test, which we use in our daily lives. They inspire us to foster and support the ideal of service for developing and maintaining integrity in human relations.
WHAT CAN YOUR $100 CONTRIBUTION TO THE ROTARY FOUNDATION DO?
Your $100 contribution to The Rotary Foundation can help provide textbooks for one elementary school in Zambia, provide a hearing aid for a deaf child in Pakistan, buy de-worming tablets for 112 children in the Philippines, pay for cataract operations for three blind people in India, or provide 230 blankets for the elderly in the winter months of Korea.
Will you commit today to donating $100 or more per year to The Rotary Foundation and start making a difference in people’s lives?
To sign up and donate via Rotary Direct, visit: https://www.rotary.org/en/donate
The 2021 Virtual Convention will be better than ever, opening more innovative opportunities to learn and to engage with the family of Rotary, near and far. You’ll be able to network in virtual lounges, meet new partners in service, and join fun activities with Rotary members from around the world.
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