|
2021-2022 was the COVID year for our club. All 52 meetings occurred over Zoom. I continue to be impressed by what our club achieved in an unprecedently challenging year.
Some highlights from the year:
- Fighting COVID and assisting with vaccinations worldwide was one of Rotary’s key areas of focus. Kathy Chelminiak creatively found a way to insert Rotary (with our Rotary masks and Rotary safety vests) right in the middle of Josephine County’s vaccination efforts. In partnership with The Ausland Group and Valley Immediate Care, our participation in the downtown, drive-through vaccination clinic led to the vaccination of over 3,500 community members (almost 4% of Josephine County’s population).
- In one Zoom meeting, our club raised over $25,000 ($30,000 total) in response to the devastating fires in Jackson County. Guided by Quin Collins, a newly formed Fire Relief Committee awarded these funds to the United Rotary Clubs of Southern Oregon to provide 'Back to Work' grants for small business owners that lost their tools and equipment necessary to resume their employment, the Maslow Project to fund temporary housing, and rental down payment assistance, and Project Youth Plus to provide Christmas gifts and grocery gift cards to families that lost their homes.
- In partnership with the American Red Cross, our club sponsored 4 separate blood drives. The seed was planted for this new service project idea by Past President Bill Thorp. Marty Bauer and Jodi Simons made these wildly successful campaigns a reality.
- Spearheaded by Barbara Acosta-Hong we created a magical, winter wonderland at the Josephine County Fairgrounds. The “Letters To Santa” event allowed the youth (and some adults) to share their holiday wish lists with an actual Santa in a COVID-safe environment.
- The four Rotary Clubs in Josephine County decided to suspend the Rotary Duck Race. The suspension created a huge vacuum for our historical sponsors and hundreds of Rotary volunteers. With Jill Gleysteen leading the way, the Duck Race Committee developed the “Making a Difference in the Life of a Child” campaign focused on providing distance learning opportunities for our youth. All of our traditional Duck Race sponsors and some new sponsors agreed to support this campaign. The campaign was featured in print, on the radio, and television. Over $25,000 was raised to assist the thousands of families struggling with unmatched educational hardships.
- We carved out $1,000 of our club’s budget to seed a new project identified by and led by our newest club members. It was great to see this group work with one another to decide on a project with the Josephine Community Library. With an additional District Grant of $500, our new members donated $1,500 to fund distance learning and the creation of a College Prep Kit for high school seniors.
| 
