Lawrence Central Rotary

Author: Kate Campbell

  • Celebrating a Rotary Centennial

    Lawrence Rotary Club is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year!  Longtime member Andrea Norris outlined the distinguished history of the organization for Lawrence Central members.

    The Lawrence Rotary Club began in April 1917, just twelve years after Paul Harris and his business colleagues in Chicago began to meet to network and share business opportunities. Sponsored by the Topeka Rotary Club, there were 23 charter members. W.C. Simons was the first president. Numerous leaders of the Lawrence community have been members. In 1987, the club was among the first to invite women to join. Lawrence Rotary launched the two other Rotary clubs in the community: Jayhawk Rotary Club in 1994 and Lawrence Central Rotary in 2003. In 2015, they initiated Rotary Prime, an organization aimed at involving young professionals with Rotary.

    From the start, the organization eagerly promoted the aims of Rotary International, raising money and conducting service projects and fundraisers in addition to enjoying social activities.  Lawrence Rotary has contributed signiticant time and money to support the work of numerous non-profit organizations in Lawrence over the years. In honor of Rotary International’s 100th anniversary in 2005, Lawrence Rotary Club partnered with the other Rotary clubs in Lawrence and with the City to create the Rotary Arboretum.  In addition to local commitments, they have been actively involved with international projects and with raising money for polio eradication.

  • Primed for Service

    “My values are Rotary values,” declared Lauren Byrne.  These values explain why she and other young Lawrence professionals have joined “Rotary Prime.”  Initiated, sponsored, and subsidized by Lawrence Rotary Club, Rotary Prime offers flexibility and lower cost to young adults who share Rotary’s dedication to “Service Above Self’ but who are less interested in the formalities of the traditional Rotary meeting format.

    Lauren Byrne, Mathew Petersen, Emily Hail, and Christina Ostmeyer visited Lawrence Central Rotary to outline the program of service projects, monthly meetings, and social mixers that their organization has adopted.  Rotary Prime appeals to these four because of its focus on networking as well as service.  The club’s casual meetings occur every second Thursday in the evening at rotating locations in Lawrence.  Membership dues are set at $200 per year.

    Since organizing in 2015, Rotary Prime members have volunteered at Confabularryum; a Chili Ho-Down supporting United Way; a “Day of Creativity” at KU museums; Lawrence Public Library Foundation’s “After Hours” fundraiser; Back2School supply drive; Salvation Army bell-ringing; and the fall clean up at the Rotary Arboretum.

    If you are interested in visiting a Rotary Prime meeting, Lauren Byrne is the “go to” person.  Contact her at lawrencerotaryprime@gmail.com to find out more.

  • Dialogue that Builds Bridges at ECM

    Ecumenical Campus Ministries “offers welcoming and neutral spaces where the KU and Lawrence communities can open their hearts, minds, and spirits to one another,” according to Kim Brooks, Executive Director. ECM is well-located for this purpose at 1204 Oread Avenue, just across the street from the KU campus.  Supported by various Lawrence churches as well as individual contributors, the organization seeks to establish “dialogue that builds bridges” and focuses on providing answers to questions regarding vocation and career, sexuality, global and environmental justice, faith dynamics, cross-cultural awareness, and hospitality.

    A variety of gatherings encourage the dialogue, in particular the Interfaith Café, an informal discussion about life issues, and the long-standing University/Community Forum, a free talk on various topics that takes place every Wednesday at noon. ECM also maintains the Solidarity Library on its main floor, a collection of progressive books, journals, films, and magazines.

    ECM serves the body as well as well as the mind by hosting a food pantry and a Thrifty Closet of clothing and household items. Veggie Lunch, Soup and Song, Tai Chi and Chai Tea, and Yoga–Pure and Simple are all on the calendar this fall.  In addition, the facility will soon open its hostel, a dormitory-type space with bunk beds that can be rented by the day for a low cost.

  • “Keep Calm and Hope It’s Not Cloudy”

    The solar eclipse that will occur on August 21, 2017, is rare.  It is the first eclipse to even touch the United States since 1979.  The last eclipse to cross the United States occured in 1918.  The United States is the only country that will be touched by this eclipse. It is the first eclipse that is exclusive to the United States.  A total eclipse of the sun will occur in Lawrence every 400 years or so, according to Dr. Dave Besson, KU Physics professor and astronomy enthusiast.

    Besson explained that the view of the eclipse in Lawrence will be only 98% “totality” as the lunar shadow slides across the sun.  Many people are expected to travel to locations where they can see “totality,” a point where the sun is completely eclipsed by the moon.  The path of totality will be about 70 miles wide, arcing across the United States from the Northwest to the Southeast.  The eclipse will sail across Oregon, Wyoming, and Nebraska, cut across a corner of Kansas, go over Missouri, and parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia, and then pass over South Carolina.  Moving at 1,000 miles per hour, the eclipse totality will last about two-and-a-half minutes at any particular point on the path of totality.

    The phenomenon of total eclipse is rare because the earth and the moon are on different planes relative to the sun, Besson explained.  Eclipses occur when the moon is closest to earth.  Since the moon is receding from the earth by .8 cm/year and the earth’s spin is slowing down, eclipses will happen less often in the future.  Besson’s advice?  “Keep calm and hope it’s not cloudy.”

  • Sunrise Project Grows More than Gardens

    Gardens. Orchards. Cooking. Worms. All are ingredients to connecting people to good food, community and the environment, according to Emily Hampton, Executive Director, and Melissa Freiburger, Director of Programs, at Sunrise Project.

    Sunrise Project is an effort to “empower people to live healthy, self-determined lives through engagement with food and the environment to build a socially just community.” It’s a significant challenge, as some people in Lawrence do not know much about where food comes from or how to prepare it to eat.

    The non-profit organization is developing a center that includes workshop space, a community kitchen, and gardens. The group has also planted a small orchard. Community members are invited to enjoy the harvest by picking what they need to bring home.

    Healthy Sprouts provides programming to child care centers and in-home daycares that includes gardens, food-based curriculum, family engagement and farm connections. For older children, Sunrise facilitates a cooking and gardening club at Cordley Elementary and a cooking club at New York Elementary. Sunrise is also building a worm bin to demonstrate vermicomposting, the process of composting using worms.

    In addition to its outreach to young people, Sunrise Project has partnered with Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department to develop a health equity model. Eight Community Coordinators were hired and trained in food systems, local policy and civic engagement. They then went out to gather everyday stories and experiences with food in Douglas County. Those stories were incorporated in the Food Plan that will inform future decisions in the county for years to come.

    Ray, son of Lawrence Central Rotarian Audrey Coleman, stands with his sister Zea after the club meeting they attended with their mom. Ray was so inspired that he drew apples, cherries, and a tree while listening to the presentation.  The Sunrise Project hit its mark!

EMAIL
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
INSTAGRAM