Please join us each Wednesday at 7:15 AM for fellowship and engaging speakers. Learn how.

Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Club is a vibrant community of energized people, working to create change both at home and around the world. Welcome.

Upcoming Speakers

November 30, 2022
Superintendent Rochelle Cox

Rochelle Cox

Superintendent
Minneapolis Public Schools
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December 7, 2022
National Christmas Tree

Jodi Massey

A Ruby for Christmas: The Story of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree
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December 14, 2022
Ryan Taylor, Minnesota Opera

Ryan Taylor

Minnesota Opera’s DNA
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Our Impact

By the Numbers

What's Happening at City of Lakes?

CES Food Shelf Thanks COL Rotary for Our Continued Support
 
We received a very nice “thank you” letter from CES for our annual $4,500 donation to help with their mission (and to help fulfill our Community Service “feed” initiative). From the letter: 
 
CES is serving more of our low-income neighbors across the Phillips-Midtown neighborhood who are struggling to make ends meet and put food on their table.… Your grant will provide nourishing food, hope, and stability to our low-income neighbors who are struggling. That is a powerful gift!
City of Lakes Rotary Members Rake Yards for Seniors
Rake Rattle & Roll 2022
 
On Saturday, November 5, 34 City of Lakes Rotarians and their guests raked yards for 13 seniors in South Minneapolis. This is an annual, family-friendly event that has been an ongoing community service project for over two decades. Though a little chilly, the weather was perfect for raking and all of the homeowners expressed their thanks (sometimes with cookies, power bars, coffee, and hot chocolate) for a job well done. Following the event, most of the group adjourned to the nearby Blue Door Pub for delicious food and beverages. Thanks to all who participated for making this another successful event!
 
Click through for more great photos.
 
 
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COL Rotary Holiday Gift Drive 2022
 
For the holiday season this year, we are partnering with Way to Grow and their Adopt a Family program.  Every December, they are able to reach even more families by providing basic needs, special treats, and a great start to the new year.  This year, for the safety of their donors, staff, and families they are requesting that gift cards are provided instead of wrapped gifts.  To make this convenient for everyone, you can either bring your gift cards to one of our meetings or drop them in the mail to Lynn Otis (address provided below.  These need to reach their office no later than December 7 to allow for families to purchase items before the holidays.
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Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Club Purchases and Distributes 650 Hats, Gloves, and Scarves
Warm Hands, Warm Heads, Warm Hearts
 
With cold weather just around the corner, the Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Club again purchased and distributed hats, gloves, and scarves to six social service and homeless shelter organizations in the Twin Cities. The October 27 distribution through the Club’s Warm Hands, Warm Heads, Warm Hearts program is now in its 27th year. This year’s distribution included 600 high quality hats, 600 high quality pairs of gloves, and 50 hats and scarves hand knitted by a local church knitting group. As with many other community service projects, this program is funded through contributions by Club members to the Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Foundation.
COL Rotary Club Volunteers at Community Emergency Service Food Shelf

COL Rotarians pack food and deliver donation to CES Food Shelf in Minneapolis

On Saturday morning, October 29, 15 Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotarians, their family members, and guests fulfilled food and hygiene requests for 85 home delivery program clients of the Community Emergency Service (CES) Food Shelf in the inner city of Minneapolis.  This is a regular, bi-monthly club project that is now in its 17th year.  Special thanks goes out to members Toni Yeamans, Gayle Noakes, and Gayle’s guest, Jane, who organized ongoing food and hygiene product drives to make sure that the shelves were well stocked in advance of our packing event.

While participating in the packing event, a check in the amount of $4,500 was presented to Mike Lloyd, Executive Director of CES, from the Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Foundation, which is supported by contributions from Club members.  Mr. Lloyd thanked the Club for the generous donation and indicated that the need for their services is great in the community and that the donation will be a great help to CES in fulfilling their mission.

Click read more to see additional photos from the event!

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Bluebirds and Blooms Event
Bluebirds and Blooms event with COL members
 
We had a fun and successful community service event this week with the non-profit, Bluebirds and Blooms that repurposes event flowers to give to those in long term care or hospice to brighten their days. This organization came in and showed us how to rework the flowers into arrangements. COL members Maria Bavender, Cindy Lennie, Gayle Noakes, Jennifer Vanwyk, and Lynn Otis had fun making 50 floral arrangements during our session! As an organization, Bluebirds and Blooms produces and delivers 500 arrangements in the area each month. 
Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary Sponsors Five High School Students to Attend Camp RYLA
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.
COL Rotary Donates More than $8K for Ukrainian Refugee Relief
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.
Missed a meeting? Watch it on YouTube!
COL Rotary YouTube video
 
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™!