Inspiration:Catherine Varra-Nelson gave us a “Rotary Moment”about Rotary Peace Centers, which is a network of eight universities throughout the world training Global Peace Leaders.This is a program of The Rotary Foundation (TRF), whose mission is to “advance world understanding, good will and peace.”
IDEA: We all want something to offer. This is how we belong. It's how we feel included. So if we want to include everyone, we have to help everyone develop their talents and use their gifts for the good of the community. That's what inclusion means - everyone is a contributor.~ Melinda Gates
Upcoming Programs:Please see the side panel for upcoming speakers and be sure to invite your friends!
Rotary Cares:If you are aware of a fellow Rotarian who is going through a challenging time (i.e. personal or family health, family death, etc.) please let Sara Murphy know so we can let them know we are thinking of them and provide whatever support we can.Sara.jane.murphy1@gmail.com
Guests:
Heather Buoniconti
Peter Lange – Wendy’s husband
Collin Ochwart – second visit; guest of Joseph
Ria Kulenski – will be inducted next week
Program:Food Bank of Larimer County – Heather Buoniconti – Chief Development Officer
Mission:To provide food for all in need through community partnerships and hunger relief programs
Impact – 12 mil pounds of food benefitting over 55K+ unique people
Sources - over 50% of the food comes from Retail Donors (29%) and National Farmers (25%)
Individual donors account for 60% of the revenue of the Food Bank; the Government provides 18% of the revenue
Over 8300 volunteers have contributed almost 72,000 hours of productivity.This equates to 25 full-time staff members (they currently have 50)
600K people rely on SNAP benefit in Colorado; 34k people rely on SNAP in Larimer County.This benefit is going away Nov. 1
Please think about donating a frozen turkey on Nov. 20 – stay tuned for more information
Diapers are a priority need (they don’t have the same buying power for these)
Less than 8% of their participants are unhoused; there is a lot of fear in the undocumented community, but they have not had any ICE raids
Trying to increase funding to give emergency grants now; Federal cuts already enacted and current government shutdown is placing a serious burden on the Food Bank.
They do not expect to have to turn people away or run out of food
Heather shared the impact of federal cuts before the shutdown and after.For more information, see the Power Point presentation at this link:PowerPoints - Google Drive
Announcements:
John Sheltren honored three new Paul Harris Fellows:Kevin Rodriquez (his first), Michelle Marquitz (PHF+6) and Sara Murphy (PHF+2)
Michele announced that we are initiating a very short “campaign” to bring in new Community Supporters for the 2026 Field of Honor (this work is to be accomplished before the end of the year.)Carrie Levy (clevy@exodusmoving.com), Joseph Vander Linde(joseph@noblecapgrp.com) and Walt Grady (waltgrady@gmail.com) will head up three teams of people to compete to see if each can raise $4,000 in new supporters before the end of the year.Can you help?Please contact the person of your choice above to offer to be on their team!
Dan St. John announced that we are all invited to Centennial High School on Nov. 21 at 12:45 to share in a Thanksgiving Feast.To RSVP, call 970.488.4940.
Save the Date – Dec. 18 will be our Holiday Party!Children and grandchildren are invited!
Good News
Recent orientation for new members – welcome Sam, Lauren, Morgan, Ria and Kira!
Shelter Box is sending emergency response team to Jamaica to respond to hurricane damage
Ann Griffith – reading Chop Wood, Carry Water; three granddaughters qualified for state sports tournaments!
Walt Grady – has been gone for about 4 months helping friends, family and biking; there will be a Braver Angels Debate in Loveland this Saturday from 9-12.Please contact waltgrady@gmail.com for more details.These events are to help us bridge the divide when talking about political differences and “seeking to understand before pushing to be understood.”
Phil Murphy – thanked Leighanne and Keith for help on technology at meetings; he and Sara are just back from a few weeks in Canada
John Hintzman – thanked the club for their support for Books on Tap; they raised $170K for literacy in NoCo!
