January 9, 2017 - Today Collin Cunningham, the Executive Director of the Welcome to America Project described her organization's operation and mission.  The following mission statement is taken from their very impressive website.

 "The Welcome to America Project is a nonprofit organization that creates community connections and builds bridges of neighborly understanding by providing furniture, basic necessities, education, and additional resources to newly arriving refugees.
We offer a simple welcoming gesture, but it is one that lasts a lifetime."

 Collin told us that there are over 20 million refugees world wide and over 60 million displaced people. Refugees come from all over the world and Arizona is the 6th largest resettlement state. Her organization helps people to get oriented and prepared to be successful after the initial Federal 90 day adjustment period.  The site is full of good information - check it out by clicking here.

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  Dec 19, 2016 - Club member Machel was asked to fill in and explain RYLA (Rotary Leadership Youth Awards) because the student who recently attended RYLA had a last minute scheduling problem. She explained how students were nominated and selected. Machel also related the benefits of the program and the positive reactions students had.  Members were encouraged to nominate high school students that they knew in their community.

There are several RYLA web sites for various districts that provide details of the program.

 

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 Dec 14, 2016 - Training for the "A World in Motion" (AWIM) project at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School was held at the school today. Our club is sponsoring the project and funding is being provided by GM. Volunteers from our club will be participating with 7th grade students for an hour every Friday to help students experience engineering and science by building motorized toy cars. Club members and teachers are all very excited about the project and are looking forward to interacting with the students.

 

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 Dec 12, 2016 - Four members of the ASU Rotaract club described their club's past and planned activities. They completed 4 major projects this fall semester and have planned 7 Service Events in the Spring 2017 semester, along with visits to 3 local rotary clubs. During the fall semester the club increased their enrollment from 15 to 25 - a great accomplishment! Alice Phan, the club president told us of the need for some financial help and a few club members committed over $300 on the spot. The club as a whole contributed another $50. We were impressed with where the ASU Rotaract club is going and encouraged them to keep up the good work.

 

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