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The Rotary Club of Amigos de Milwaukee After Hours is a multilingual club with a passion for diversity in Milwaukee
Service Above Self
We meet Tuesdays at 5:45 PM
Milwaukee Athletic Club
758 North Broadway
Milwaukee, WI  53202
United States
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Rotarians Giving International Service

ROTARY SCHOLARSHIPS - Opportunities you won't want to miss!  Please share this information far and wide and with those who may be working but have their undergrad degree.

Rotary clubs of Southeastern Wisconsin (District 6270) will award one scholar a $30,000 Global Grant Scholarship (GGS) formerly known as a Rotary “Ambassadorial Scholarship” for matriculation Fall 2018. The purpose of the Global Grant Scholarship, a graduate-level study opportunity often outside the US, is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas, within one of Rotary’s six areas of focus.
 
Additionally, several Scholarly Stipends (SS) may be awarded throughout the year ($2-3000) to provide an opportunity for the applicant to:  travel to attend a conference to present an accepted paper, fund coursework, or fund a short-term volunteer opportunity, all within one of Rotary’s six areas of focus.
 
To learn more about the scholarships’ criteria, process, eligibility, etc. go to the Rotary District 6270 website   OR contact Rotary District 6270 Scholarship Chair, Karen Plunkett 414-403-4878  scholarshipchair@rotary6270.org
 

SERVICE ABOVE SELF - VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES SUPPORTED LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY - ENCORE WEEK - 

Rotary Club Amigos de Milwaukee After Hours members recently participated in various International initiatives and service.

Amigos Rotarian and co-founder of We Build Dorothy Krupa was recently in Haiti. This organization improves lives of Women in WE BUILD HAITI. The mission of WE BUILD is to establish and empower female entrepreneurs through financial and educational tools to ensure business prosperity and success. To empower women to generate income, educate, feed and give shelter to their families.  Dorothy came to know of the need and the early beginnings of this project through Rotarian Ken Schumann.
 
Amigos Rotarian Carrie Reichartz started an organization Kenya Give Hope and works with a crisis center in Kenya.  They provide for the lives of Kenyan girls who were raped, molested, impregnated, and thrown to the streets.
Mercy’s Light: House of Hope  and Give Hope organization provides:

1. shelter
2. food
3. pregnancy crisis and trauma counseling
4. vocational training
5. medical treatment
6. The reminder that they are loved, to have faith in God, and to believe in the spirit of hope even in the darkest of times.

 

Alissa Fiorentino, Amigos Rotarian, previously lived in Valparaiso, Chile and came to know the great work of the YMCA (ACJ).  The Milwaukee YMCA has had a partnership with this Y for over 30 years and recently the Kettle Moraine YMCA has also entered into the partnership.  Amigos Rotarian Angie Rester has been involved first as staff and then as volunteer for 32 years.  Alissa attended the International Partners Conference with Chilean, YMCA of USA staff, and staff and volunteers from 8 USA YMCA partners.  

 

 

 

 

 

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Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Don Cohen
February 25
 
Phillip Golden
February 28
 
Daniele Calasanzio
December 12
 
Paul Berger
December 13
 
Russell Hampton
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Programs This Week and Upcoming Programs

Programs

Tuesday, December 12th - 6 to 7 p.m. - Milwaukee Athletic Club  

ROAD to RECOVERY - Alecka Weber, Program Director - American Cancer Society

Program:

The American Cancer Society Road to Recovery program relies on volunteer drivers to take cancer patients to and from their treatments. Lack of transportation is often a major problem for cancer patients when either they have no transportation or are too ill to drive. Family and friends may help, but are not always available. We are looking for more volunteer drivers to help cancer patients in your area. Time commitments vary but rides are generally during the weekday and each Road to Recovery volunteer driver decides how much time he or she contributes. Requirements for participation include a valid, current driver’s license, a safe driving record and proof of insurance, as well as completing the application process and a brief training session. For more information on volunteering as a Road to Recovery driver, contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org/drive.

Bio: Alecka Weber is a Program Manager for the American Cancer Society, overseeing transportation and lodging for WI. Prior to this role, she was an American Cancer Society Patient Navigator located at Columbia St. Mary’s hospital in Milwaukee, WI- working with cancer patients throughout their continuum of care. Alecka has an Bachelor’s in Social Work and a Master’s in Urban Studies- Health Policy, both from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Alecka has spent her career working with underserved populations, and has worked with all realms of cancer, from prevention to diagnosis to survivorship and end of life.

 
 
Tuesday, December 19th - 5:45 to 8 p.m. - Home of Rotary Club Amigos de Milwaukee After Hours President Rosa Golden & Phil Golden - contact us for directions - Wales, WI    

Join Rotarians and guests for a Holiday Gathering!

 

 

 

Tuesday, December 26th - No meeting - Happy Holidays!!!

 
SAVE the DATE - Tuesday, February 20 - Paul Harris Celebration and the Birthday of Rotary!!  Join us as we celebrate "Service Above Self" within Rotary and with those who are not Rotarians but giving of their time in the community.  Details to be announced soon including ways to nominate those you believe should be recognized!

Rotary members in Harvard, Illinois, USA, have teamed up with community groups to help alleviate hunger and bring the community together.   By Photos by 

On a sunny morning in July, two dozen preschool children from Brown Bear Daycare inspect a bed of milkweed plants for monarch butterfly eggs, holding magnifying glasses to the underside of leaves in search of the tiny, off-white objects.

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Preschool children from Brown Bear Daycare plant a young tomato plant. The class visits the garden every Monday morning spring to fall.

Curiosity stoked, the five-year-olds and their teachers move to the shade of a large tree to listen to a master gardener explain the role these butterflies play in gardens. The preschool class visits the community garden in Harvard, Illinois, USA, every Monday from spring to fall to learn about garden-related topics and even help out. 

“They get to taste the vegetables, some that they have never even seen. They get to experience what it is like to plant a garden from the planting to the picking to the eating,” says Sheila Henson, executive director of the day care center and a member of the Rotary Club of Harvard. “At the end of the summer, we have a parent night where the parents come and get to see the different things their children have been involved with.”

With the goals of alleviating hunger and educating the community, master gardeners from University of Illinois Extension planted the garden in 2001 on a half-acre parcel donated by the city and adjacent to the public library. Over the years, the master gardeners have enlisted the support of many businesses, organizations, and clubs, including the Rotary Club of Harvard, making the project a community-wide effort. 

As many as 250 needy families benefit from the 10,000 pounds of vegetables that are grown and donated every year to the local food pantry. The fresh produce serves as a safety net for many families. 

Roughly a quarter of the community’s 9,200 residents live below the federal poverty line, a result of the limited employment opportunities in small farm towns across Illinois. The already fragile economy was further affected by the closing of a Motorola  plant here in 2003 after only seven years of operation.

“In this community, the only way we can get by is by helping each other,” says Dave Decker, site director for the Harvard Community Food Pantry. “Everybody needs a little help now and then.”

The Rotary Club of Harvard took on the project seven years ago, looking for a way to address hunger and help the community. With only seven members, the club has had an impact far beyond its size, amplifying its efforts by working with the master gardeners and other groups.

“Harvard is definitely a better place because of the members of this club, and that is what keeps us going,” says Mike Morris, the club’s president. “It’s the expertise of the master gardeners, individuals in the community, farmers who help, and the education provided through the day care that makes this an amazing team effort.” 

The Rotary club has provided $400 to buy seeds and starter plants from a local nursery every year since 2011. It also purchased plastic drip irrigation tubing and fertilizer valves after a drought threatened the garden in 2012. This year, it provided a letter of support needed by the master gardeners to secure a $5,000 grant from the McHenry County Community Foundation for an organic compost mix that will add nutrients back to the soil and help keep weeds at bay.

Morris has made the garden his special focus and enlisted every member of the club to help with planting, weeding, and harvesting. Henson also recruited day care employees to volunteer. 

https://youtu.be/_bUOpW2XRwg

The garden needs everyone for planting, says Dale Nelmes, one of the master gardeners who volunteer every week.

“Many of us master gardeners are up there in years and can’t get down on our hands and knees like we used to,” he says. “I was so impressed with Rotary and Sheila, who brought all these young volunteers in. It was incredible how much we accomplished.”

The Harvard Rotarians also used a Rotary grant to buy a new freezer, which allows the food pantry to store vegetables longer. 

Last winter, Morris secured another Rotary grant  for $2,000, which, when combined with $5,000 from club funds, funded seven weeks of food deliveries from the Northern Illinois Food Bank. A mobile unit from the food bank set up at Brown Bear Daycare once a month from October to April, each time distributing 9,000 pounds of meat, vegetables, boxed goods, breads, and fruits.

Morris says growing up on a farm in northwestern Illinois played a big part in his interest in fighting hunger. 

“I know we can produce more than enough food to feed everybody in the country,” he says. “It’s just a matter of the logistics of getting it from the farm to their table.”

On a July morning, about 20 people – Rotarians, master gardeners, and community volunteers – are scattered among the 14 rows, each 125 feet long, pulling weeds and picking vegetables. The garden is behind schedule this year because of heavy rains, and today’s harvest is smaller than normal. At the food pantry, Nelmes weighs each crate: 9 pounds of broccoli, 6 pounds of kohlrabi, 8 pounds of peppers, and 22 pounds of zucchini. Later in the season, many more hands will be needed to harvest.

Reina Montes began volunteering at the garden after a back injury forced her to stop working temporarily and she had to go to the pantry to supplement her groceries. When she learned about the garden, she persuaded her daughter, Elizabeth Sanchez, to join her on Mondays to help plant, pick, and weed.

Montes moved to Harvard from Mexico City more than 20 years ago and fell in love with the smaller town. Her daughter now has two college-age daughters of her own, whom she hopes to teach the value of community service. 

“Thanks to the garden, we can feed people who can’t afford to buy fresh food at the supermarket,” says Sanchez. “I believe it is everybody’s responsibility to help the community. If our children see that there is unity, love, and support, they are going to do the same thing. We are leaving them a legacy.” 

 
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