Sun Lakes Rotary stayed busy in November, December

CHANDLER — The Rotary Club of Sun Lakes members completed several community service projects in November 2022.

Rotarian Debbie Bailey, Chandler resident and RCSL Team lead, said the Sun Lakes club partnered with Sun Lakes Computer Booters, held its first electronics recycle event on Nov. 5 in Sun Lakes.

The event was a success — almost 250 vehicles dropped off goods; AZStRUT filled four18-foot trucks. Almost 20 RCSL members and Arizona State University Rotaractors volunteered, with some staying for the full 4 hours of the event.

The club is considering making this project an annual event.

During November, RCSL Rotarians pledged $4,000 to Rotary International’s Polio Plus Campaign. Peter Meade, Sun Lakes resident and RCSL lead for this project, said Rotary International, The World Health Organization, UNICEF and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Global Eradication initiative in 1988.

Since Rotary started the fight against polio, cases have been reduced by 99.9 percent and reached more than 2.5 billion children with the vaccine. Join RCSL in the fight against polio by visiting endpolio.org.

RCSL members and friends gathered in Sun Lakes to make wonderful goodies: cozy fleece blankets for young cancer warriors. The fleece, funded by Rotary members, blankets were donated to the Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels organization.

On Nov. 15, RCSL held its annual Veteran’s Day celebration to thank veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.

Event chair and RCSL member Maureen Alger facilitated the meeting in which keynote speaker Rotarian/U.S. Navy Veteran Kiamesha Guy shared her experiences as an aviation and damage control specialist.

Guy also gave an overview of Global Maternal Wellness, which she co-founded — a 501(c)3 for care of veteran mothers.

RCSL member Bill McCoach led the invocation. Chandler Unified School District student Elliana Friedlund sang the national anthem. The Hamilton High School JRAFROTC performed color guard duties.

An endearing slide program was presented, highlighting RCSL members who are veterans and friends/family members of RCSL members who have served in the military.

During November, RCSL Rotarians delivered dictionaries to 3rd graders in schools throughout the Chandler Unified School District.

The club has donated $9,360 to the National Dictionary program that has delivered more than 35 million dictionaries, of which 75,000 were sponsored by RCSL. The Rotary Dictionary Project is a nationwide effort to provide young students with their own personal dictionaries.

RCSL supports the ASU Rotaract Club projects and members. The club recently presented a $1,000 check to that to assist with community service projects. Rotaract is a service organization for people from the ages of 18 and above focused on local service, international relations, and leadership.

The club also supports an educational and community service project within Chandler schools called “A World In Motion.”

Aimed at getting K-8 students to consider a career as an engineer or other technical fields, RCSL provides recognition to the winning teams at the end of each session. The sixth-grade Gravity Cruiser mentoring started Nov. 14 with final competition held on Dec. 20.

For more information about RCSL meetings in Sun Lakes, the Club projects and membership, visit sunlakesrotary.com.