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“Welcome to Week ONE of RI’s Month of Rotary Fellowships.

No better news this week than one coming from the on-going international conference in Singapore.
The sum of $30m has been set aside by Rotary International in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and World Vision to fight deadliest diseases in four African countries including Nigeria. In a statement distributed in Nigeria by Ibim Semenitari (communications unit of Rotary) with the endorsement of Claudia Brunner (Rotary International), Nicole Harris of World Vision, and Gates Foundation leadership, it was disclosed that the USD$30 million program is to tackle ‘Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge’ and strengthen health systems and tackle leading childhood killers named as malaria, pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases.

The focus countries, according to the statement include the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Nigeria, and Zambia. Over the next three years, the Rotary Foundation, World Vision, and the Gates Foundation will collectively contribute US$30 million to fund large-scale, high-impact programming, with local leadership and organizations to improve health outcomes for children in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mozambique, Nigeria, and Zambia.

“Investing in community health workers is one of the best things we can do to bolster the fight against malaria and other preventable diseases,” said Philip Welkhoff, Director of Malaria at the Gates Foundation. “We are proud to build on our partnership with Rotary and World Vision and are confident this new initiative will help ensure that children in these four countries have the opportunity to grow up healthy and reach their full potential.”
Over the last 100 years, US $5.5 billion has been awarded through The Rotary Foundation.” – Submitted by: Christopher W Knapp, District 6000 Foundation Chair

#ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #TRF #rotaryinternational #fellowship

Brian Carlson will be hosting our guest speaker, Miranda Solem, Sanford Director of Behavioral Health Services at our 6/4/24 Rotary meeting at noon at the Legion in TRF.

ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #TRF #Sanford #BehavioralHealth

Thank you Hunter Bradley for hosting Karen Good – Red Lake Rosie’s Rescue at our Rotary meeting on Tuesday! https://www.redlakerosie.org/

It was fascinating to learn about the work they do and how many animals they help each year.

Did you know they have 13,948 total rescued and rehomed animals through 2023, 8,461 total spayed or neutered community animals through 2023? That’s a big impact.

#ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #TRF

Thank you to the Lincoln High School students who we sponsored to go to RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) for coming back to tell us about your experience! She enjoyed RYLA so much that she applied and was accepted to be a mentor at the next camp.

Plus, thank you to this month’s Student Rotarian for visiting us the past few weeks and keeping us updated on all things Lincoln High School activity related.

We are proud of what you both have accomplished and will accomplish moving forward.

We appreciate your time and are always excited to serve the youth in our community the best we can.

What is RYLA? Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where you develop your skills as a leader while having fun and making connections. https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/rotary-youth-leadership-awards

#ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #lincolnhighschool #TRF #Leadership #youth

Thank you Tim Benedict for hosting our guest today, Dave Odette who gave a great update on what’s going on at the St. Bernards church/school.

Come back again soon Dave. We always enjoy guests and new Rotarians to help us make a bigger impact in the community.

#ServiceAboveSelf#Rotary#TRF

“Welcome to Week TWO of RI’s Month of Youth Activities.

It’s the middle of May and very soon children in K-12 schools will be taking time off for the long-awaited summer holiday. Some lucky ones will go on vacation with their family members and loved ones; some will end up in camps and yet others will find themselves seated behind long benches at city parks for donated lunch bags provided by charitable organizations like Rotary International. The Minute this week, by Brad Webber, is culled from the current Rotary Magazine (May 2024) and is a testimony to how Rotary, through its Foundation, improves the lifestyle of all people, especially the underserved in poor communities of the world. According to the report, “a community kitchen built by the Rotary Club of Nuevo Santander at a local school is ensuring hundreds of children have meals in low-income neighborhoods of Nuevo Laredo, a city on the U.S. border. “Most of the houses in this area do not have running water or electricity,” says Club President Jorge Tello. The club launched the $150,000 project in 2018, and the kitchen at the Comedor Santa María school began operating in August 2020; meals were first served to-go due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the dining room opened in May 2021. “Operation costs for providing breakfast and lunch for 230 children every day is $9,300 a month,” Tello says. The funds are donated by businesses and individuals. Club members supervise the operation, and Rotarians are providing solar panels to the facility.”

Comedor Santa Maria School served more than 30,000 meals in 2023.” – Submitted by: Christopher W Knapp, District 6000 Foundation Chair

#Youth #ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #TRF

Happy Belated Birthday to Us!

On, Saturday May 11th the Thief River Falls Rotary club celebrated our 99th year.

Just imagine that for a moment…. 99 years ago, some men decided that Rotary sounded like a good club to start locally. Now 99 years later… we are grateful for all the lives we have been able to positively impact and look forward to the ones we can serve in the future.

We are proud of the members that came before us and are excited to meet the new ones who join in the future.

Thank you to each and every one of our current Rotarians and the community as a whole for making Rotary a great club for Thief River Falls.

#TRF #Rotary #ServiceAboveSelf #Birthday

We are looking forward to our next Rotary meeting tomorrow, 5/14/23 Rotary Meeting: Dave Odette is providing an update on St. Bernards hosted by Tim Benedict

Guests are welcome!

Other upcoming currently scheduled events include:
5/21/24 at noon at the Legion:
5/28/24 at noon at the Legion: Hunter Bradley is hosting Karen Good – Red Lake Rosie Rescue
6/4/24 at noon at the Legion: Brian Carlson is hosting Dave Doherty – Malawi, Africa
6/27/24 at 5pm at picnic shelter/garden behind the ODC building: We are having a family friendly social gathering to pass the gavel from our current president, Rhonda Stucy, to our next president, Drew Erickson. It will be a family friendly BBQ with food provided. Guests are welcome too.
8/16/24 and 8/17/24 at Riverfest: Rotarians will be volunteering in the Beer Garden to raise money for our club to donate to local projects.
8/17/24 9am-3pm at Riverfest: Rotary has sponsored a Kids Zone Book Swap. Kids are encouraged to bring a book to exchange for a new book, but Rotary wants to make sure no kid walks away without a book. Therefore, even if kids show up without a book, we will give them one. With that in mind, we ask Rotarians (and anyone else willing) to donate their unused books at one of our Tuesday Rotary lunches or directly to Rhonda Stucy at Wings Financial Credit Union so we can make sure no child goes empty handed.

#TRF #Rotary #ServiceAboveSelf

“Welcome to Week ONE of RI’s Month of Youth Activities.

This is May, the month of Youth activities. Through Interact Clubs, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, Rotary Youth Exchange and New Generations Service Exchange, The Rotary Foundation has funded numerous projects aimed at molding great leaders for the future of Rotary and the world.
·Interact clubs: Interact clubs bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills and learn about the world through service projects and activities.

·Rotary Youth Leadership Awards: RYLA is a leadership development program for young people who want to learn new skills, build their confidence, and have fun. Events range from one-day seminars to weeklong camps.

·Rotary Youth Exchange: Rotary Youth Exchange builds peace one young person at a time. Students learn a new language, discover another culture, and truly become global citizens. Exchanges for students ages 15-19 are sponsored by Rotary clubs in more than 100 countries.

·New Generations Service Exchange: New Generations Service Exchange is a short-term, customizable program for university students and professionals up to age 30. Participants can design exchanges that combine their professional goals with a humanitarian project.

“True leadership is about inspiring others to be their best selves.” Paul Harris” – Christopher W Knapp, District 6000 Foundation Chair

#youthservicesmonth #youth #Rotary #TRF #ServiceAboveSelf

“Youth Services Month

Can one week in the life of a teenager set the course of her life? That is question for the article in this month’s Rotary Magazine. Jennifer Chang from the Rotary Club of Cupertino, CA says a resounding yes. Her one week was attending RYLA in District 5170 where following graduation from law school she is now RYLA Chair. She says, “I wouldn’t be who I am if the Los Altos club had not invested in me”. “Investing in young people is how we grow Rotary, and it is how we change and improve the world”. Let’s be sure that we are investing in our youth with all of the youth service programs that Rotary has to offer; RYLA, Scholarships, Interact, Rotaract, Student Rotarians, Exchange Students, 4 Way Test Essay Contest, and Ambassadorial and Peace Scholarships. We will grow Rotary by investing in our youth.” – Mark Leutgeb, District 5580 Membership Chair

Our motto is “Service Above Self” and investing in children’s future is one of our favorite ways to do it. Are you looking to make a difference and meet great people while doing it? Come check out our Rotary club, we would love to have you.

#ServiceAboveSelf#YouthServicesMonth#Rotary#TRF