Activities
Rotary Club of
Service above Self
Community Service
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Fairgate: Each year, Club members participate in staffing the entrance gates
at
the Grant County Fair once again in 2014. The picture at right shows Kate
Watson and William Knuttinen at the West Gate during the Fair.
•
Food Pantry: Members of the Club continue to volunteer at the
Food Pantry. Shown here are Beth Selva and Peggy Hutchinson helping with food
distribution on July 31, 2013.
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The Club sometimes uses social occasions to generate support for local
non-
profit organizations. A dessert auction at the 2012 Christmas party raised
$600,
of which $300 was donated to the Volunteer Center for the Food Pantry, and
$300
was contributed to a Christmas food drive organized by The Children of
Grant
County. Also, a Valentine’s Dinner held on February 16, 2013, raised over
$2,000
from a silent auction. $1,900 of that amount was donated to tthe Volunteer
Center
for the Alimento Para El Nino (Backpack Program), which provides food for
needy
school children in Grant County. The accompanying picture shows Becky
Nell
Young,
chairperson of the Volunteer Center board accepting the check from
Mark
Richard, the organizer of the Valentine’s event.
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Charity Auction: The 2012 Charity Auction in April was a big success, raising over
$40,000 and making it possible to distribute $9,000 each to the Literacy Link Leamos
for the Let’s Read Program, the Mimbres Region Arts Council for the Youth Mural
Project, the Silver City Museum Society for the History Kit project, and The Wellness
Coalition for furnishing The Spot youth space in their Bullard Street facilities.
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Bike Safety Rodeo: Members of the club again joined with members of the Kiwanis
Club to sponsor the 2012 Bike Safety Rodeo for kids in conjunction wtih the Tour of
the Gila.
•
Food Pantry: Members of the club periodically volunteer to help distribute food at the Silver City Food Pantry. Shown
here are William Knuttinen, Sunny Yates and Christie Miller at the Food Pantry on a
chilly December 3, 2011.
•
County Fair and Gila Monster Challenge:
Silver City Rotarians had an active weekend from
September 28th to October 2, 2011, working at
the Grant County Fair and helping to staff the Gila
Monster Challenge Fun Ride. Shown here are
Dick Markley and Bill Harrison selling tickets at
the Fair Gate, and Judy Wheeler at one of the
Gila Monster Challenge rest stations. More
pictures can be found by clicking on the Galleries
tab above.
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Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA): Each year, the Rotary Clubs
in Rotary District 5520 select students from around New Mexico for the
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.
The RYLA program enables selected
students to participate in a one-week seminar at the Manzano Mountain
Retreat which is designed to identify, develop and improve leadership skills
of the participating students. RYLA aims to demonstrate Rotary's respect
and concern for youth, provide an effective training experience for selected
youth leaders, encourage leadership of youth by youth, and recognize
publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities.
RYLA is run by Rotarian volunteers and spouses. This year, Kathy Eaton
of the Silver City Rotary Club served as one of the counselors.
Students are selected for RYLA on the basis of recommendations from
high school guidance counselors. In (2011), the Silver City Rotary Club
was able to send six students to the RYLA camp. They are, as shown with
RYLA Coordinator Liz Sircy from left to right in the accompanying picture:
Serena Pack (Cliff); Shelby Marra (Silver), Meagan Moore (Silver), LIz
Sircy - Rotary RYLA Coordinator, Anthony Chavez, (Cliff), and Jenna Jenkins (Cliff), and Joseph Morales (Silver). All six are
seniors in their respective high schools.
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The Club provided seed money for construction of the downtown Arch on Broadway.
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The Club recently donated $1,000 to Literacy Link Leamos of Silver City.
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The Silver City Rotary Club has been a strong financial and volunteer supporter of El Refugio. El Refugio offers education,
counseling, a shelter for victims of domestic violence, legal services for children and their families effected by domestic
violence and sexual abuse. Provides service and specialized assessment, mental health evaluations, support services,
counseling, education and training, life and social skills, crisis intervention, and domestic violence shelter care.The Rotary
Club has contributed to the creation of a protective wall around the shelter and contributes from periodic fund-raising events
to the upkeep and improvement of the shelter.
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A History of Service
Over the years, the Rotary Club of Silver City has contributed to Penny Park, the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life,
Toys for Tots, Alimento Para El Nino (the food backpack program for kids), Literacy Link-Leamos, and the Grant County
Animal Shelter -- and has responded to many other requests for assistance. The Silver City Rotary Club’s Centennial Project
in 2005 was the creation of a Labyrinth at the Gila Regional Medical Center, where the club has also planted a peace garden.
Rotarians also maintained a stretch of the median on Hwy 180 as part of the “Adopt a Highway” program, and have
contributed to the funding of a new introductory town arch through donations to the Main Street Project.
International Service
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Education Center in Palomas: The Club has been working with Border
Partners to bring the Education Center Being built at the Palomas Library
to completion. The building of that library addition was spearheaded by
Border Partners, and the Club and Border Partners, with the help of
Rotary Clubs in Mexico, Rotary District 5520 and the Rotary Foundation
have raised a total of over $16,000 to furnish the Center. To contribute to
this project, the Club held a Casino Night in Silver City which raised close
to $1,000.
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On March 19, 2013, the Club held a public reception to raise awareness
of
and funding for the drive to finally eradicate polio once and for all.
District Governor Mark Glenn came up from Las Cruces and gave an
inspiring talk about the current state of the Polio Plus program and
about the importance of supporting the final phase of the anti-polio
drive. The reception helped raise nearly $2,500 for the cause. The
picture at right shows Mark Glenn, our immediate past president, Wayne
Barnard, Holly Hudgins, and State Representative Rudy Martinez at the
End Polio reception.
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A Rotary Group Study
Exchange (GSE) team
from South Africa
arrived on April 28,
2012, the date of the auction. They enjoyed the auction and were able to
learn about Silver City and environs and about New Mexico during their
three-day stay. Shown in the accompanying picture are from left to right,
Vienie McShane, Matt Haywood, team leader Robin Gilfillan, Simisha
Pather-Elias, and Thabiso Mokwena. Dave Baker of Bikeworks in Silver
City will be joining a Roatary District 5520 GSE team going to India in late
2012.
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In 2005, our club joined with Rotary clubs throughout District 5520 and in Guatemala in a project to bring clean water to the
people of a remote Mayan village near Uspantan. The project is a collaborative effort involving seven New Mexico