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Rotary Kids' Cafe- In 1999 the Rotary Club of Sarasota received one of only several Children's Grants issued by Rotary International to clubs in the USA in the amount of $18,000. The Sarasota Rotary Foundation added $12,000 to that grant to design and build the Rotary Kids' Cafe. The facility was completed and dedicated in 2000 and was featured in The Rotarian magazine of June, 2001 as an outstanding example of local Rotary club projects. The project won the Rotary International Significant Achievement Award, the only one awarded to District 6960 in that year. This is a state-of-the-art kitchen at the Newtown unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs (located on public housing property) and is used to train at-risk youth in the culinary arts and to produce hot meals for the children at the Newtown facility and the surrounding community. Food is provided by the local All Faiths Food Bank and the curriculum is developed and taught by outstanding local chefs. Several local restaurants are committed to hire graduates of the culinary program. Pioneer Day Picnic - For 30 years, the Rotary Club of Sarasota has honored Sarasota's long-term residents at the annual Pioneer Day Picnic. The first picnic in 1974 hosted only 35 invitees; the list for 2004 has over 1400 Pioneers, of which nearly 500 attended the October event. With their guests, Rotarians and spouses, Interact Club members, and other volunteer workers, the club fed about 1,000 people an old-time meal of barbecue, hush puppies, black-eyed peas, cole slaw, and swamp cabbage. A "Pioneer" is someone who has lived in Sarasota for 50 years or more. Many Pioneers have attended ten or more picnics and all love to come and reminisce with old friends whom they may see only this one time a year. People who have lived here since birth eagerly await their 50th birthday so they can be called ³Pioneers² as well! Quite a few members of the Rotary Club of Sarasota are Pioneers.
Our longest-term Pioneer in 2001 has been here for 89 years, and the oldest participant was 101 years old! Beach Clean Up - The Rotary Club of Sarasota participates in Sarasota County's Florida Clean Up program, setting aside 4 times a year Saturday mornings a year to pick up trash on north Lido Beach. This is an occasion for fellowship and good fun as well as community service. Annual Food Drive - Once a year the club makes a special effort to aid the All Faiths Food Bank with a month-long drive for foodstuffs and monetary donations. Foster Angels - One of our members, Jack LeFrock, is founder of "Foster Angels", an organization that provides special treats, especially at holidays, for poor children. Many individual members are "Foster Angels", and the Sarasota Rotary Foundation is a large contributor. Bell Ringing - For countless years, the Rotary Club of Sarasota has fielded teams of "bell ringers" for the Salvation Army on one Saturday a year. In friendly competition with Sarasota's Kiwanis Club, we "win" about half the time by raising more money than they! This is a great opportunity to enjoy the company of another Rotarian for a couple of hours and help a great organization with their Christmas fund drive. International and District Projects - The club also participates in several projects sponsored by District 6960 and Rotary International, including the Blane Immunization Project, to educate the public on the need for and availability of immunizations for children and adults. - Fellowship - Parties This Rotary Club loves to have parties and does: for Valentine's Day, Cinco de Mayo, Halloween (Bal Masque), and the Holidays. We usually have a fishing trip and picnic once a year. There are also sports trips to see the Tampa Bay teams in action. Our most formal party is the annual Installation Banquet in late June, when we greet our new officers for the Rotary year. We also get together to attend such diverse performances as the circus and the opera. Vocational "Happy Hours" Each month one of our members invites all of the club to his or her business location for a Happy Hour party - light snacks and drinks - and to see how the business is run. In one recent month we visited the Rotary Kids' Cafe at the Boys and Girls Club, where one of our members is director. Golf Several die-hard golfers meet weekly to play golf and invite any Rotarians to join them. The 19th hole is enjoyed by all. We Care Rotary is like a family, and like a family, we keep track of each other. The We Care Committee sends cards to Rotarians who are ill and advises the members of their condition. The Committee also sponsors a monthly birthday table. - International Projects - A. Matching Grants: The Rotary Club of Sarasota recently has applied and received funding in accordance with Rotary International's matching grant system for the following projects:
B.
The Rotary Club of Sarasota provided a
computer and shipped dental and medical supplies and equipment to the Bernard Mevs Foundation Medical Clinic in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Most international projects are carried out with the help of funding from Rotary International, but the Rotary Club of Sarasota has also worked with local and regional businesses to carry out several projects on our own. The Bernard Mevs Foundation Medical Clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti We have been successful in providing several lots of equipment to this poor country. The Medical Clinic needed and got from us a generator, since electrical service in Haiti is chancy. We have also sent them a computer, beds, medical equipment, and supplies from time to time. Arrangements are made for donated transportation for the donated equipment. This is an ongoing project. The Mobile Eye Van in the Philippines In 1994-95 the Rotary Clubs of Sarasota and Makati, Philippines obtained a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International to install eye surgery equipment in a van which can travel to remote villages for eye surgery. The Philippinos have a high incident of cataracts and doctors working out of the van can perform as many as 400 operations a week. One of our members, Caridad Santos, an ophthalmologist and native of the Philippines, was the inspiration for this project, and she still makes several journeys annually to several countries to operate on the eyes of indigent residents through a program of Rotary International.
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