Lawrence Central Rotary

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Rotary International Signs Project Partner Agreement with ShelterBox
Lawrence Central has been working to raise $1000 to endow a ShelterBox, currently we're 3/4 the way there! There's been some new great developments we'd like to share.

There was an interesting story on the national Rotary site.

By Ryan Hyland Rotary International News – 30 March 2012

Top: Tom Henderson, CEO of ShelterBox, and John Hewko, RI general secretary, during the signing of a project partner agreement this month. Bottom: ShelterBox teams distributed more than 550 tents to Madagascar for families left homeless by a powerful cyclone. Photo by Angela Spencer-Smith/ShelterBox

Rotary International and ShelterBox, a grassroots disaster relief organization, signed a project partner agreement this month, allowing the two organizations to collaborate more closely to provide relief and temporary shelter to survivors of natural disasters.

“Project partner” is a special status RI gives to groups started or managed by Rotary clubs. The agreement will build on the strengths of both organizations in responding to disasters all over the world.

“Our Rotary friends have always been there ready to assist – from generous donations to direct operational support on the ground Rotary has always been part of our DNA,” said Tom Henderson, ShelterBox CEO. “I feel like we have 34,000 ShelterBox offices around the world working together to help those who have lost everything when they need us the most.”

Saving lives

RI General Secretary John Hewko said the agreement will enable Rotary club members to have an immediate, lifesaving impact in communities hit by natural disasters. “ShelterBox will be able to ensure that local Rotarians are provided an opportunity to participate in the distribution of ShelterBox containers,” he said.

Each ShelterBox typically provides a bespoke tent designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, stove, water purification kit, blankets, tools, and other necessities to help a family survive for six months or more after a disaster.

Henderson, a civil engineer and former search-and-rescue diver for the British Royal Naval, founded ShelterBox in 2000. Its response teams of trained volunteers have brought lifesaving supplies to victims of more than 175 disasters in nearly 80 countries.

Mutual goals

“For more than 10 years, ShelterBox has given light to over one hundred thousand families worldwide in their darkest hour,” said Hewko. “This project partner agreement represents our mutual goal of helping those in need. It gives RI a forward-facing approach to immediate disaster relief.”

Noted Henderson: “This partnership with Rotary International is a formal recognition of our good work over the past 12 years. It will help Rotarians get a better understanding of what we do. I hope Rotarians worldwide will see us as a coherent and able disaster relief organization.”

Earlier this month, a ShelterBox team distributed more than 550 tents to communities in Madagascar where powerful cyclones left more than 250,000 people homeless.

For more information:
- Learn more about Shelterbox
- Learn more about who Rotary works with
April 2, 2012
Peddling Against Polio

After 25 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious disease, but a strong push is needed now to root it out once and for all. It is a window of opportunity of historic proportions.

Reaching the ultimate goal of a polio-free world presents ongoing challenges, not the least of which is a US$535 million funding gap through 2012. Of course, Rotary alone can’t fill this gap, but continued Rotarian advocacy for government support can help enormously.

As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk. The stakes are that high.

In an effort to raise funds for Polio Plus and the non-profit foundations of The Rotary Club of Lee’s Summit, the Blue Springs Rotary Club and the Raytown Rotary Club, the three clubs have combined to create Rotary Ride: Pedaling Against Polio. We look forward to your involvement and support in helping raise money and raise awareness.

For more info check out http://kcrotaryride.com/

March 28, 2012
Lawrence Central Inducts Four New Members

On February 15th Lawrence Central Rotary welcomed four new members to our family.

From left to right: Fred Atchison, Kate Campbell, Roberta Suenram, Paula Gilchtrist

March 1, 2012
Lawrence Central Rotary’s Humble Beginnings 9 Years Ago

At the February 15th meeting club member Lynn O'Neal had a copy of a story from February of 2003 announcing his intention to create a new Rotary Club in Lawrence. A link to the original story by Chad Lawhorn is here, but we've also re-posted it below.

CornerBank leader forming new Rotary club

February 4, 2003

Area business professionals interested in joining a Rotary club should have a third choice by May, according to the leader of a group interested in starting a new Lawrence chapter of the international organization.

Ed Samp, president of Lawrence's CornerBank, is leading a group of area residents who hope to form the Lawrence Central Rotary Club.

It would be Lawrence's third chapter of Rotary International, which is a service organization comprised primarily of business owners, managers and professionals who meet weekly to support charitable causes.

Samp and several other area residents began talking in November about the idea of forming another chapter. They had heard of several people who were interested in joining a Rotary club but the meeting time, location or size of the existing two chapters wasn't appealing to them.

Both clubs meet each week at the Hereford House at Sixth Street and Wakarusa Drive. The Lawrence Rotary Club meets at noon Mondays. The Jayhawk Breakfast Rotary Club meets at 7 a.m. Thursdays.

"I had talked to several people who were a little reluctant to come all the way out to the west side of Lawrence for lunch," Samp said. "That's why we thought a club that met somewhere more centrally located might be popular, hence our name."

Samp said the group, which has grown to 17 people, meets at noon each Wednesday. The group hasn't selected a permanent meeting place, but it is considering the Lawrence Holidome, 200 McDonald Drive; the Eldridge Hotel, 701 Mass.; and the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 N.H., Samp said.

According to Rotary International rules, the new group needs at least 20 charter members before it can become an official chapter. Samp said he expected the group to get its 20th member within the next week, allowing it to file the formal paperwork this spring.

He said the chapter hoped to be officially chartered by Rotary International in May.

The presidents of Lawrence's two existing Rotary clubs said they didn't have any objections to the new chapter.

"Rotary is always interested in increasing its membership, so my thinking is the more the merrier," said Vickie Randel, president of the Lawrence Rotary Club. "We understand that a lot of why a person decides to join Rotary has to do with the when and the where of the meetings."

Ron Hurst, president of the Jayhawk Breakfast Rotary Club, said he also understood that some people were interested in belonging to a smaller club. The Jayhawk Club has about 90 members and the Lawrence Rotary Club has slightly more than 200 members.

"When we started our club about nine years ago, the thinking was that the original club had grown pretty large and it was difficult to get to know everyone," Hurst said.

Samp said the new group hadn't decided what membership fee to charge, but he said it likely would be $100 a year or less, in addition to a weekly meal fee of about $10.

Originally published at: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/feb/04/cornerbank_leader_forming/

February 16, 2012
Colonel Gary LaGrange of “Help us Learn . . . Give us Hope” Visits Lawrence Central
Colonel LaGrange is a retired army officer who commanded Fort Riley during Desert Storm. He served for 28 years including multiple tours in Viet Nam and Laos. He has a passion for helping children in difficult places. He has been in leper colonies, refugee camps, orphanages and children’s hospitals around the world. He firmly believes that education is an essential ingredient in bringing about the stability and order that we seek. He firmly believes that helping children learn properly and gaining their trust helps the society that they are part of mature and move toward order.

He has formed “Help us Learn . . . Give us Hope” whos mission provides school supplies to Big Red One (Fort Riley) soldiers for children in conflict areas of Afganistan and Iraq.
- Based on a successful effort in Viet Nam 40 years ago, the corporation has multiple objectives:
- Supports Iraqi and Afghan school aged children by providing basic school supplies and sponsorship. Their education is the greatest hope for their future and the stability we seek.
- Enables soldiers to win hearts and minds by focusing on children. Good will builds through direct distribution and relationship building.
- Directly engages US citizens in the process of assisting children and our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. You can make a difference while helping our country achieve its objectives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Builds on a similar Viet Nam experience. Focusing on children has a profound effect.
Endorsed by the Governor of Kansas, all 50 National Guard armories state wide have been opened as collection points and a statewide marketing campaign is underway.

The vision is to provide each child with a back pack filled with basic supplies and to provide the teachers of the schools with sufficient basic stock to sustain them for a period. The items included are: Back packs or book bags, pencils, sharpeners, erasers and pens, paper ( notebooks, reams of paper, writing pads), crayons, coloring books, construction paper, scissors, rulers, calculators, chalk and blackboard erasers, tape, staplers, small toys that fit in a back pack (beanie babies, stuffed animals, cars, Frisbees, jump ropes, chess, checkers, soccer balls), tooth brushes and tooth paste.

For more information or to contribute to “Help us Learn . . . Give us Hope” visit their website at: http://www.helpuslearngiveushope.org/
January 25, 2012