Stories

Adolfo Jara, our exchange student, arrived on August 23.   Here's a picture of meeting him at the airport.  Kristin, on Adolfo’s left, is his first host mom. 

This week, the club warmly welcomed our newest member, Carol Parendo.

Youth Connections Drop-In Center located at St. Paul's (in partnership with St. Croix Family Resource Center)  will open September 13.  Volunteers are needed for this valuable community resource.

 

Stillwater Sunrise Rotary will be hosting Adolfo, a 17 year old young man from Ecuador. Adolfo will arrive in Minneapolis on Thursday, August 23rd,

At today's club board meeting, a grant supporting a sister club in Brazil to equip a surgery suite in their area was approved.

At today's meeting the membership enthusiastically affirmed Bob Gray as our President Elect Nominee.

We had a great holiday party at Reve in Stillwater on Tuesday, December 12.  Over 60 people attended: both club Rotarians and their guests.

On December 5, the Stillwater Middle School Chamber Choir performed holiday selections for our club.  Director Sue Gilsdorf was the guest of Bob Gray. 

 

Club raises $8,377 for Polio Eradication at one meeting!

Trip to Accra, Ghana, West Africa in October 2017 to participate in a polio immunization exercise, attend the 12^th Annual West Africa Project Fair, and engage in a hands-on work project.  October 03 – 12, 2017

For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.

 

After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug tests, and volunteered at every opportunity.

What is it like taking a large team to Africa?  It has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. In mid February, I began leading Rotary members from all over the East Coast of the United States through Ghana. I’ve tried to give the team a warm Ghanaian welcome like I’ve received on my earlier trips. A large trip is a real blessing because each person sees Ghana and our work in a different way.

A highlight for the team was greeting the chief of Sagadugu. The team got excited about buying goats and food for children in the villages where I support eight churches. It was good to see the pastors of most of the eight churches, and I had to explain that we were just passing through on our way to Bolgatanga.

Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."

 

The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to commemorate this victory in the global effort to eradicate polio.