https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85900479873
Doubletree, 1011 W Holmes
Mesa, AZ 85210 United States of America
Our hybrid meetings are held weekly on the 1st thru 4th Thursdays of each month. The meetings are broadcast via Zoom to include all, whether attending virtually or in person.
Start your Rotary journey HERE! Registration for Rotary Leadership Institute - 1 (RLI-1) is now open! (RLI-1 is being offered in conjunction with the Club Leadership Academy)
The Where & When: March 23, 8:30 - 4:00 at the Desert Willows Conference Center in South Phoenix; 4340 E. Cotton Center Blvd, Phoenix, AZ 85040
Registration: Click HERE & Select “RLI; full day, lunch included”
Why Attend Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI)?
Explore the wide world of Rotary
Learn from fellow Rotarians how, through Rotary, we change lives — including our own!
Share experiences with members from across northern and central Arizona
Come interact with fellow Rotarians about:
The Basics of Rotary
Rotary’s Impact Worldwide
Community Service Ideas
Leadership Styles that Work
Rotary’s Core Value - Ethics
Engaging Members
RLI is a world-wide organization that some refer to as Rotary’s “College of Knowledge”. RLI gives participants a ranging tour of the world of Rotary. The Institute consists of three one-day Sessions to give participants an overview of the reach of Rotary and what and how we accomplish life-changing projects worldwide….all in an environment of friendship, fellowship and fun!
Janice Walker welcomed the Mesa West Rotary Members and McKinney Vento program coordinators to Helen's Hope Chest Thursday, February 29. She explained that the facility provides help provide clothing for children in the foster care system. They can visit the facility once each quarter and pick out five outfits. If they are staying with a family that has biological children who are along for the shopping spree, those bio children can each pick out one outfit. The circumstances for each child are unique and often very heartbreaking. There are no generalizations that fit the majority.
In addition to the outfits, each child will get two books. The books they are given are new or like new. There is a wide variety to choose from. Some children treasure the books they've received in prior visits and want to go to the book room first. For them, the book room is the reward after they've picked out their outfits.
On their first visit, the children can pick out a home-made quilt. On their birthday month, they get to visit the toy room and pick something out.
About 375 kids visit their shop each month. Sixty to seventy of them are new. There is a lot of turnover in the Foster Care system as many are either adopted or returned to their birth family creating a "revolving door" as new children enter the system.
They serve all of Arizona. Foster families from rural Arizona bring their kids through when they are in the area for doctor visits, etc. Mesa West Rotary is very appreciative that Helen's Hope Chest is allowing our McKinney Vento students to enjoy the same benefits as the children in foster care even though they are not in the foster care system.
The clothing is displayed very nicely and gives the feeling of a nice department store. All clothing is washed. It is new or gently used. They do not have a problem getting enough clothes for girls in appropriate condition to give away, but clothing for boys is much more challenging. There is very little demand for boys "dress up" clothing. Boys' play clothes are often worn out before they are outgrown. Gently used is not a way they would be described. Consequently purchases are made to keep enough in stock to satisfy the needs. They have a huge need for boys jeans, tee-shirts and hoodies.
Donations which are needed are
New books
Hygiene items
New or gently used clothing from size 3T on up
Tee Shirts, Jeans and Hoodies
Money
As clothing is donated, it is washed and either placed on the sales floor or sorted into bins by size, gender and season and stored in the warehouse. Jim Schmidt indicated he had spent a lot of hours working in the warehouse.,
Companies that upgrade their laptops sometimes donate the laptops being replaced to be refurbished and "cleaned" to be used for charitable purposes. Helen's Hope Chest makes them available to foster care kids, and are also including our McKinney Vento students in that opportunity. They may have a lap top being provided through the school system, but they will have to give that one back at the end of the school year. The refurbished laptops will be theirs to keep.
Those participating in the tour posed to memorialize the $1,000 donation from Mesa West Rotary Foundation to Helen's Hope Chest. In the photo are: John Pennypacker, Lola McClane, Eric Silverberg, Logan Harper, Jim Schmidt, Janice Walker, Jeanie Morgan, Lisa Grant, Warren Williamson and Colleen Coons. Lisa Grant is the person we work with for McKinney Vento. She is our connection to homeless unaccompanied students. McKay (who took the photograph) is a social worker at McKinney Vento who works with Foster families. Both Lisa and McKay are with Mesa Public Schools.
Following the tour, box lunches were enjoyed at the United Way facility across the street from Helen's Hope Chest. President Colleen gave our tour guide a tray of cookies for the Helen's Hope Chest staff to enjoy.
Mesa West Rotary Club operates two separate legal entities. Our Rotary Club is a 501(c)(4), which is not a tax-deductible charitable organization, but is exempt from income tax. Our club operations income from dues, most happy bucks (unless otherwise designated), raffle income, etc. is used to pay for the cost of operating the club - our meal expense, supplies, education of our officers, etc.
The charitable work and giving that we do is funded through Mesa West Rotary Foundation. It is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is the fundraising and funding vehicle for our charitable endeavors: Donations to MWRF are tax deductible.
For the past several years, rather than have major public events to raise funds, we have quietly gone to our friends, family, current and past business associates, etc. and simply asked for sponsorship donations. We have averaged about $50,000 each year in revenue from our sponsorship drive. So our members will be better acquainted with those who are involved with the MWRF Board of Trustees, each of the five Trustees will be team leaders this year. CLICK HERE to down load a list showing who is on each Trustee's team. Traditional fundraising events are very time and effort intensive and rarely yield the kind of results this effort has produced. The Sponsor Drive has allowed Mesa West Rotary Club members to focus their Rotary effort on service projects. The other advantage is that our donors can be assured that their donation will go entirely to charity as there are no cost-of-fundraising expenses.
Sometimes donors hesitate to give to a fundraising dinner where names of sponsors are published because they don't want others knocking on their door asking for more money. There are probably many people we know who admire what we do that would like to be a part of it, but cannot afford the time to be involved. More people would admire what we do if we bragged about it outside of Rotary more often. You might be surprised that someone would offer to donate if you bragged about the fact that we don't waste our time and resources putting on lavish events. Some of those donors may have the opportunity to have their gift matched by their employer.
Have fun telling why you are proud to be a Rotarian, and get your "ask" in gear.
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
There are many different nonprofit organizations that AZ recognizes as authorized recipients of these tax funds. Mesa West sponsors the Interact Club at Westwood High School, and they are a qualified recipient of these tax credit funds in the Extra Curricular Activities (ECA) category. Here's how you can donate up to $200 as an individual or $400 as a couple filing jointly and deduct that amount from your state tax burden.
If you have children currently enrolled in Mesa Public Schools, you can use your existing login information. Otherwise, it's easy to setup a guest account.
Once you are logged in, select 'Items At All Schools'under the 'Shop/Donate' list on the Home page.
On the next page select 'High Schools', then select 'Westwood High'
Select the link for 'ECA Tax Credit', and then 'Programs G-K' on the following page.
Interact - ECA is under code 8646. Enter a dollar amount in the box, and click the Add button. That dollar amount should then appear in your cart (highlighted in green at the top of the page).
You can then proceed to the Checkout process and pay with a credit card. You will receive a receipt that you can print out and save for when you do your taxes.
Thank you for supporting Westwood Interact and all of our youth programs.
As Rotarians, we are regularly exposed to opportunities to support various causes with our time, talent and treasure. Sometimes it is hard to sift through all the information and decide where we are going to use our available financial resources.
It would be wonderful if every Arizona Rotarian would make the following BIG FOUR their Rotary charities of choice and support every one of them every year, we could make a bigger difference than we are making today.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Annual Fund - The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world." Giving a small amount each month adds up. CLICK HERE to download a form you can use to sign up for Rotary Direct, electing "Annual Fund - Share" for your recurring donation.
The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Polio Plus - Rotary's commitment to eradicate polio is so well known and respected that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches donations $2 for $1. To take advantage of this opportunity to multiply the effect of your giving, CLICK HERE and download a second Rotary Direct form, this time electing electing "Polio Eradication" for your recurring donations. Those who donate $100 or more annually to Polio Plus qualify in District 5495 as Polio Plus Society Members. If you would like to make that commitment, CLICK HERE to download the commitment form.
The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona (TRVFA) provides vocational education grants to Arizona Residents who meet specific low-income guidelines. The grants enable the recipients to lift themselves out of poverty, benefitting themselves, their families and the economy of our state. TRVFA is a 501(c)(3) charity. They also are a Qualifying Charitable Organization for Arizona Tax Credit Donations. Their QCO Code is 20698. Many Arizona Rotarians say giving to TRVFA is a "no brainer." If you can help someone lift themselves out of poverty and it won't end up costing you anything why would you not do it? Mesa West Rotary has the highest number of members who have signed up for automated monthly recurring donations by electing that option on the "Donate Now" button on the TRVFA website. Click the image to learn more or CLICK HERE to DONATE NOW.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:
Community Service
International Service
Vocational Service
Youth Service
The process isn't quite automated at this point in time, but we hope it soon will be. For now, you can email our executive secretary who can help you work out a recurring donation plan should you wish to make that arrangement to support our own club's charitable activity.
The charitable work and giving that we do is funded through Mesa West Rotary Foundation. It is a 501(c)(3) public charity. It is the fundraising and funding vehicle for our charitable endeavors: Donations to MWRF are tax deductible.
As most of you know, Arizona has a very unique state tax credit program. If you pay taxes to the state of Arizona, you can specify where your tax dollars go (state taxes only). These instructions are for your reference only. Please consult a tax prep professional with any specific questions about state tax credits.
Mesa West Rotary Foundation, Inc. is the funding and fundraising arm of our own Mesa West Rotary Club. It is a 501(c)(3) charity. We have had successful sponsorship campaigns the last few years enabling us to spend our energy on service rather than on holding fundraising events. Charitable grants that we get involved with are funded through our charitable foundation, Our signature Gift of Hearing Project in Guaymas Mexico is funded through this foundation. Scholarships are awarded annually to Westwood High School Students (the high school where Mesa West Rotary sponsors an Interact Club). Funds are used to support a variety of activities in four of the Rotary Avenues of Service:.png)
