Be the Change

I am pleased to share the news that we have received a membership application for Jennifer VanWyck. Jennifer's sponsor is Jean Johnson.

 

Look out — Jennifer is very active in our community! As you may know, Jennifer is the Director of Strategic Growth at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis and our host/point person for our club activities. She is also the Current Resource Development Committee Member and Ability Bash Event Chairperson for MDI. She is involved in Open Arms, a driver and Development Committee member for Meals on Wheels, a booster and Banquet Committee member for the Maple Grove Girls Lacrosse team, a volunteer at the Minneapolis Aquatennial, part of Woman of Today, and an ambassador of Acacia Global.  

The 16th Annual Rotary Sunrise Forum was a huge success. Held on April 28th at the Woman's Club of Minneapolis, our experienced panel discussed ways to create and support a safe and just community together. In this conversation, we explored: What is our history of violence and public safety? What are our current issues? In creating a safe and just community, what solutions/problem solving processes would be fair and beneficial to all? How can we be allies with those working to build solutions that are fair to all concerned, build good will, and form better friendships that are beneficial to all? Watch it now.

 

After a two year hiatus, the Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Club sponsored five high school students to attend Rotary’s Camp Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) from April 8-12.  This is a weekend leadership development program for young people that emphasizes ethical leadership, citizenship and personal growth, held each spring at Camp St. Croix in Wisconsin. Camp RYLA is organized and sponsored by the Rotary Club of St. Paul. Here is a brief recap of the 2022 Camp RYLA experience from the St. Paul Rotary website.

 

The 2022 Rotary Zones 25B and 29 Institute will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 15-18.  This is the place to meet fellow Rotarians from around our Zone, network, learn from experienced Rotary members, and share your talents with others. You never know who you will meet, or how you will be inspired.  Our paired Zones extend from Canada down through the middle of the US to Texas.

 

RI President-elect Gordon McInally is coming all the way from Scotland. And we D5950 Rotarians can meet, visit, and learn from him at a special All-Club Luncheon chaired by our own District Governor-Nominee Designate Sharon Bloodworth (Mpls. #9). See more information and register at the Zone Institute website.

City of Lakes Rotary members have stepped up to help provide rapid humanitarian relief for Ukrainian refugees! Members donated more than $3,000 to the cause during our Happy Bucks collection on March 9, 2022, and the International Service Committee has designated another approximately $5,000 from their budget.

 

Half of this more than $8K donation will go to The Rotary Foundation's efforts to provide food, water, medical equipment, and shelter for refugees, while the other half will go directly to the Rotary Club Miskolc in Hungary, just outside of the Ukrainian border. Watch this space for more details on our efforts to help with this humanitarian crisis.

 

Couldn't make it to a recent meeting? Really wishing you could see what the speaker had to say? Now you can! All City of Lakes Rotary meetings are now being recorded (with speaker permission) and posted to our YouTube channel. Subscribe to our channel today to make sure you never miss a meeting again — and share with friends to show them why they should join the Best Rotary Club on Earth™!

For the 14th consecutive year, The Rotary Foundation has received the highest rating — four stars — from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.

 

The Foundation earned the recognition for adhering to sector best practices and executing its mission in a financially efficient way, demonstrating both strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Only one percent of the organizations Charity Navigator evaluates have received 14 consecutive 4-star evaluations.

 

 

The Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Community Service Committee has pledged a grant of $2,500 to ACT United to help underwrite the Mobilize MN Conference on ​Saturday, February 19, 2022. 

Huge thanks to Jonathan Hobbs for helping to put together our new City of Lakes Rotary Club Impact Statement! The new statement documents the amazing work City of Lakes members have done both in our community and across the globe. Click through to read all of the great statistics and to see more amazing graphics by Russell Herder.