Thanks to donations from our club and the community, we have now shipped 58 solar panel phone chargers to Ukraine - and we are about to increase that number significantly! The club recently received a 2:1 matching grant ($5,000 total) from District 5440 that will allow us to send approximately 40 more chargers!  Ken Schreuder, the project chair, says that the emails and pictures we're receiving from the recipients in Ukraine demonstrate that these panels are greatly appreciated and are making a huge difference in the daily lives of those who are suffering because of Russia’s constant attacks on their power grid.  Volunteers will be needed soon to help convert, decorate, and package the panels for shipping to Ukraine ASAP.  Stay tuned for an email from Ken for times and locations to help send these panels where they are desperately needed.

 

Club member Ernie Over has authored and published a terrific article about the project in Wyotoday Media:  https://www.wyotoday.com/landerites-help-to-power-ukrainian-cell-phones-and-tablets/article_3940496e-414c-11ef-b024-ff3dd5899e24.html.  Check it out!

 

Maria Kidner and Cassy Venters landed in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, very early Thursday morning (July 11) to begin work on the club’s $123,096 Global Grant project to train village nurses to diagnose and treat strep throat and prevent often-fatal rheumatic heart disease in children and young adults. Tomorrow (June 15), national elections are being held in Rwanda, so the team is meeting with government officials in Lusaka, Zambia to discuss implementing a similar training program for Zambian nurses in the next year or two.  You can follow their work on Maria’s blog, https://www.leapleadership.org/blog, and on Cassy’s Facebook page.

 

Club President Shelby Rohrbacher has scheduled a special business meeting for July 31 to consider a handful of amendments to the club’s Bylaws.  If approved, the amendments would create a new type of membership (a family membership), set up an optional $250 “seasonal membership” for seasonal residents, and provide for dues reductions (if requested) for members who cannot eat the weekly meals because of serious medical conditions.  Watch for notice of the meeting and more details on the amendments this week.

 

Lander Rotarians (and other helpers) served approximately 1,025 meals at the traditional July 4 Rotary BBQ in City Park – a slight increase over 2023 but down from the two previous years.  George Case, who chaired the event, reported to the Board that nearly twice as many members showed up to work as had signed up to work.  Final expenses and income have not been tallied and should be available in August.

 

Thanks to numerous generous Lander Rotarians, the club met its $7,000 goal – set by President Mandy Fabel – for giving to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund in the 2023-24 Rotary Year...and then some!  Total Annual Fund giving for the year was $8,001, Foundation Chair John Brown reported.  The goals for the 2024-25 year:  $8,000 for Annual Fund giving and $1,500 for PolioPlus.  Jerry Venters has been appointed as Foundation Chair this year, as John moves into his role as President-elect.