At the November 21 meeting of the Mesa West Rotary Club Board of Directors, President-Elect Logan Harper presented the recommendation of the nominating committee which consisted of himself, Colleen Coons, Pam Cohen, Ray Smith and Kayla Mudge:

 

Officers whose terms will expire June 30, 2024

Existing officers whose terms will expire June 30, 2025

 

At our December 14 meeting, Olivia will be selling cookies she will have baked, bringing a taste of Sweden to those who purchase them.  Her purpose in baking and selling the cookies is to raise some of the funds needed so she can afford to go on the youth exchange train tour of the United States following the school year, and before she returns to her home.

 

Be sure to stop by an ATM on your way to the meeting!

 

We began our  tour in a meeting room in the Administration Building at Sunshine Acres.  Much of the information we heard is available on their website:  https://sunshineacres.org/

 

 

We were transported to various locations on the campus.  We have photos of some of the more interesting sites.  Not in the photos is the maintenance garage where care is taken of the vehicles belonging to Sunshine Acres.  Occasionally cars are donated.  After they are put in good working order, if a teen resident has a part-time job and $1,000 in the bank, one of the donated cars just might become theirs.  We saw their solar panels which save utility costs.  We saw some of the 4H goats.  The residents who participate in 4H get to keep the sales price minus cost of their animal when it is sold.  There are horses on the property as well as someone who is qualified to provide equestrian training.  There is a very nice swimming pool on the property.  There is a small RV parking area.  Those who stay there get their space and full hook-up provided at no cost if they volunteer to work 30 hours each week.  

 

 

The homes are quite nice - a vast improvement over what they started out with in 1953.  They have sufficient housing available to provide homes for 70 children.  The children have strict expectations about making their beds and helping to keep their homes clean.  The house parents are caring roll models whose intent is to form life-long relationships with the residents.

 

 

Following the tour, participants enjoyed a delicious meal in the dining hall.  Parting gifts were received - brown bags containing produce from the garden, and a booklet telling the story of Sunshine Acres - Miracles In The Desert.  Coupons were received for discounts at the Boutique or the Mesa Resale Store.  Anyone who missed the tour can take advantage of tours which are offered regularly at 10, 12, or 2 Monday-Friday or 12-2 on Saturday.  Please call ahead at 480-832-2540.  They are located at 3405 N Higley Rd, Mesa, AZ 85215.

 

Members and their friends and family are enjoying the opportunity to greet individuals exiting Bass Pro while ringing the bell to help raise funds for the Salvation Army operation in Mesa..  Some of those who exit the store are with small children who are dressed in darling holiday outfits so they could have their photo taken with Santa.  Many of the adults accompanying the children give the little ones coins or bills to put in our kettle, teaching them to be generous.  Others leaving the store have lots of packages, and if they have spent money on themselves, they've been known to get halfway to their car and come back to make a donation - especially if you engage them in conversation as they walk past the kettle.

 

Be sure to watch your email.  When Don LaBarge has openings in the schedule, he lets us know when those openings are so that we can volunteer to fill them.  If you do decide to fill a vacant slot, do tell him.  Don is pretty amazing, but he does not have mind-reading powers.

Olivia - our Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Sweden has a bucket list of things she hopes to do while here on her exchange.  Review the list and see what you might want to do with her.  CLICK HERE or on the image to email Polly Cady so she can coordinate scheduling an opportunity to make that to happen!.

 

 

 

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 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.