Activities Rotary Club of  Service above Self Community Service • 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. • 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. This year (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. • Members of the Club participated in a Bike Safety event for children during the 2011 Tour of the Gila. Other participants were members of the Kiwanis Club, Sheriff’s Deputies and members of the Silver City Police Department. • The Club provided seed money for construction of the downtown Arch on Broadway. • The Club recently donated $1,000 to Literacy Link Leamos of Silver City. • 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. • 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 • 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 Rotary clubs, the Rotary Club Nordeste, Guatemala, Rotary District 4250 in Guatemala, and the people of Tierra Blanca.  Utilizing Rotary resources and municipal contributions, the project will install a chlorinated water system to dramatically improve the quality of life for the people of this village.  In April 2006, Rotary President Kathy Eaton participated in a site visit to Guatemala to assess progress and to meet with local leaders to discuss future projects. • The club recently made a donation to Border Partners in Deming, NM, to support a school breakfast program in Palomas, Mexico. The program provides burritos each school day for about 200 children at a cost of only about $0.15 per burrito. The Club’s donation has been supplemented by in-kind and financial donations from Club members. Donations to Border Partners for the school breakfast program or other programs should be addressed to Border Partners, 406. S. Granite Street, Deming, NM 88030. The picture at right was taken at the check presentation in Palomas. From left to right are Peter Falley; Rosio Qintana, a Border Partners volunteer; Judy Wheeler; Luis Garcia and Marisol Guillen, Border Partners coordinators in Palomas; and Peter and Polly Edmonds, Border Partners founders • Rotary International Youth Exchange Rotary Youth Exchange Program allows students of high school age to spend periods ranging from few weeks to a full academic year with a host family in another country.  The program is one of Rotary’s most popular programs to promote International understanding and develop lifelong friendships.  In recent years, more than 7,000 young people have participated annually in Rotary-sponsored exchange programs.  During the 2005-06 academic year, Anna Howell of Silver City lived in Japan, and Imke Nehmiz from Delmenhorst, Germany lived in Silver City, through exchanges sponsored by the Rotary Club of Silver City.  In 2010-11, Benjamin Snaafs (shown above at a Club meeting), from Finland, has been our Rotary Exchange Student in Silver City.