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.
Two sets of toes belong to Mesa West Rotary Club Members. The third set belongs to an inbound Youth Exchange student in our district.
The photo was taken after the three ladies enjoyed a little pre- Mother's Day pampering last Saturday.
We thought it might be fun to see how many people are willing to guess whose toes are featured in this trivia exercise. Respond to this newsletter with your guesses, starting at Noon and going clockwise from there.
In a world where community support and generosity light the path toward a brighter future, the impact of kindness cannot be overstated. It is with heartfelt appreciation that we acknowledge the extraordinary support provided by the Mesa West Rotary Foundation and other generous donors in a significant endeavor that merges direct support with education and opportunity. At the heart of our initiative is the College Bound AZ program, meticulously designed to serve the most deserving yet underprivileged students, guiding them toward a college education that was once deemed a distant dream. Understanding the hurdles these students face, it became evident that an essential tool was missing in their educational arsenal—a laptop, not just a device, but a gateway to knowledge, opportunity, and empowerment. Through their contributions, a significant milestone was achieved—laptops were purchased and ceremoniously given out during the end of the school year celebration, Friday, May 10 at EVIT Graduation Ceremony marking a momentous occasion in the lives of these aspiring scholars.
President Colleen thanked the following individuals:
Steve Ross for serving as greeter
Jeanie Morgan for handling check-in
Ron Thompson for offering the invocation and serving as Sgt at Arms
Ray Smith for leading the Pledge of Allegiance
John Pennypacker for handling room setup.
Introduction of Guests
Allan Cady was welcomed on Zoom. He and Polly were on their boat in San Diego.
Marilyn Klingler introduced her soulmate, Larry Klingler.
John Nesbitt, Robin Tate and Amy Jones were welcomed from Homeless Youth Connection.
Warren Williamson introduced his guest, Robert Doenges. Warren was pleasantly surprised to hear from Robert recently. They had worked together in the past. It looks like they will soon be working together again.
Visiting Rotarians were welcomed. Harry Short was visiting from Seattle. Harry Grossman is transferring from the Sedona Village Rotary Club and will be inducted at the May 16 meeting. Colleen expressed regret that she would not be present for his induction but promised to toast him with a Mai Tai from the Big Island on her Hawaiian vacation.
Ace of Clubs Raffle - Chuck Flint
Chuck explained that the holder of the ticket drawn would win $20 plus the right to try to draw the Ace of Clubs from the cards remaining in the deck which would would entitle them to the big pot - which was up to $521.
Pam Cohen was the holder of the winning ticket. After briefly shuffling the cards, the card she drew was the Ace of Hearts.
Happy Bucks - Sgt at Arms Ron Thompson
Don LaBarge recalled a 2013 grant for Camp Geronimo. He remembered Ted Williams driving a tractor. Don and Jim McGown went the camp May 8. Everything had been freshly painted and looked loke new.
Pam Cohen gave $5 of her winnings to thank John Pennypacker for getting up early the day of our meeting to drive our inbound Youth Exchange Student, Olivia, to the Four Peaks Rotary Club to do a brief presentation about her experience as a YE student. She was also happy to have met with our President-Elect to work on a budget for social events for next year.
John Pennypacker said he had to be up at 4:00 AM so he had time to do his hair before picking Olivia up. John said it was always a privilege to go to Ron's office to have Tracy polish his teeth. He said he asked what the worst mess she's had to work with looked like. She described a youngster to came in without brushing after eating a pack of Oreos. He said Olivia dazzled the Four Peaks members. He really enjoyed interviewing her using the questions Polly Cady had prepared for him.
Jay Paulis contributed making favorable remarks about the good time at the District Conference in Mexico. He enjoyed the guests from Kenya they hosted in their home before the conference, saying they are now friends with Rotary at the core of their friendship. One of the guests has a homeless shelter which now houses 20 children. That inspired them to arrange for a tour of Sunshine Acres. When they saw the size of the rooms at Sunshine Acres, they said that is how rich people live in Kenya.
Warren Williamson told about a college friend of his who he knew at the University of Illinois, were married soon after graduation and moved to Phoenix where they raised their daughter, Elizabeth, a very bright young woman who left home to attend Doane College in Nebraska. As a college freshman, she called home frequently. They would always ask her if she'd had any new experience(s). One day she told her mom, "I did something for the first time last night that you and dad used to do, but don't do anymore." After an uncomfortable pause, she went on to say "I had to turn all my clocks back an hour."
Ted Williams did some more celebrating of the honors his grandsons were graduating with, one of them from Law School at USU. John Pennypacker graciously provided a free lesson in the correct pronunciation of some of the Latin words used in those designations of honor.
Eric Silverberg said that after today's new member induction, he would be gone for fourteen days. They will be travelling to Vancouver where they will board a ship to travel the inside passage to Alaska. They will get to spend 3 days enjoying the city of Vancouver as part of their adventure.
Harry Short was happy that he and his wife Nancy stayed with an old friend who is a new Rotarian while at the District Conference. He had been their best man 42 years ago when he and Nancy were married.
Harry Grossman had travelled to Sedona Saturday, May 4 to participate in the Sedona Village Rotary Club's open house at their community garden. They use the event to recruit new members and sell raffle tickets to benefit the VA hospital in Prescott. Back in the valley, they are trying to gentrify his neighborhood in Scottsdale near Camelback and Hayden. The local Fry's is closing the end of May. Whole Foods is taking over.
Noting that Pai Bethea was attending via Zoom, John Pennypacker invited him to attend an in-person meeting so he could receive his next level of Paul Harris Fellow giving recognition.
Announcements
President Colleen visited the Mesa Rotary Club hoping they might join us next year in serving needs of McKinney Vento seniors motivating and enabling them to graduate.
After driving the Kenyan contingent to Mexico, Jay found that he did not have a room. Thnkfully, John shared his living quarters.
After members expressed their preferences, $750 community donation will be given to the Center for Rights of Abused Children.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) will be held at Benedictine University Saturday, May 18. All three sessions will be offered.
We will not have an in-person meeting Thursday May 30. We will have an offsite gathering at the Mesa Public Library in downtown Mesa to get a preview of the virtual reality we will be providing for the library with our Meta grant.
June 3, will be a "plug-in" session for new members.
Sponsor Program Update - Steve Ross
Now that we have achieved our original goal of raising $50,000 this year, we are going to keep at it to see if we can achieve the new goal Allan Cady challenged us to at our May 2 meeting - $60,000
Induction of Marilyn Klingler
As Marilyn Klingler's sponsor, Eric Silverberg gave a brief introduction of Marilyn. She has been a nurse, has travelled to many continents. She has also been an educator and was motivated to participate in the service project promoted by Polo Santiago May 8 to give adult learners a chance to practice their conversational English skills. She is also an author. When asked why she chose Mesa West, Marilyn gave Colleen a gift that was close to her heart - a small Peace Pole sharing a quote she found on the rotary peace network site by Robert Fulghum, "Peace is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you are, something you do, and something you give away."
When asked, she said the book she authored was about and for people with lung disease, encouraging them to triumph over the disease. After going over the vision, motto and object of Rotary, Colleen asked Larry to pin our newest member as those present gave Marilyn a standing ovation to welcome her to the club.
Polo Santiago was very impressed with the great job she had done helping the ESL adult learners practice their English conversational skills the night before.
Program - Homeless Youth Connecton
Robin Tate spoke first. She is their Community Engagement Officer. Their goal is to help youth find hope, overcome obstacles, and earn their high school diploma. The Phoenix metro area is booming it is the 5th largest metropolitan area in the US. To continue to thrive, businesses need qualified workers and staff.
Homeless Youth Connection started in 2009 partnering with a local church. They found homeless youth didn't have essential items and didn't have access to a stable, safe home environment. Robin's own father was homeless. He never graduated. Guidance is needed.
Robin shared that in the schools in Maricopa County, there are 8700 unhoused youth. 1100 of them are "unaccompanied" meaning they have no parent or guardian. 142 are graduating out of 150 seniors. There are many causes. Divorce is among them.
John Nesbitt spoke next telling about their Host Home Family Program. He works with homeless unaccompanied students screened by the schools to meet McKinney Vento requirements. They have developed a stable model to make it easy and simple for the host family. Often the student has nothing - No ID, Birth Certificate, Immunization records, etc.. John is a former elementary school principal who has found his calling helping students create their own strong foundation. One of his jobs is to increase awareness and develop partnerships. One of the gaps homeless youth experience is in transportation. HYC provides transportation.
The age question always comes up. With so many programs doors close with no further assistance after the student is "of age". Support needs continue especially if they have access to continuing education. With the host family program, there is a small financial stipend to continue to provide support and help the young person grown in self-motivation and reliability.
Emma - one of the students in the Mesa West McKinney Vento program is one of their success stories. she is a wonderful, self-directed, focused individual. She has her head down, focused on where she is heading. College Bound helped her get a full scholarship. She plans to get her PhD. She is remarkably resilient.
When asked about in-home boundaries, there is a program in place that both the host family and the youth agree to. The family needs to be in close proximity to the school. There are several "get acqainted" meetings allowing the family and the youth to get to know each other. It's not like foster-care where the family gets a call and short time later a new person in their home.
Some of the students in McKinney Vento have given their stipend to the family they are living with to help pay for food.
Pam commented that Homeless Youth Connection provides the "boots on the ground."
One Final Announcement
Before the meeting adjourned, Don LaBarge announced he would miss the May 16 meeting. He will be in Tennessee for his Viet Nam reunion.
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.