Author: Fred Atchison

Michelle Shepherd, Community Education and Outreach Manager for the Parkinson’s Foundation, asked for a show of hands of people who had a friend or a relative affected by the disease. About half of the assembled Rotarians raised their hands. Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the dopamine producing area of the brain. Symptoms often take years to develop and may include tremors, slowness, stiffness and balance problems. In addition, depression, anxiety, apathy and cognitive impairment may be experienced. However, medications, lifestyle adjustments and surgery can improve the quality of life. The Parkinson’s Foundation supports research, treatment and education. The Foundation makes available a wealth of free information and supports a free help line. Michelle works for the Heartland Chapter of the Parkinson’s Foundation.

LCR Rotarian Lori Trenholm addressed the club in her role as President of the Lawrence Central Rotary Club Foundation. Lori is in charge of Community Investments for the Douglas County Community Foundation (LCRCF) and was a club member when the Foundation was established in 2017. LCRCF is a tax exempt public charity created to increase the capacity and community impact locally and internationally through grant making to entities in alignment with Rotary’s goals and values. The Foundation was created to receive donations and to manage revenue from the Lawrence Kids Calendar. The online calendar curates events and activities for kids and families in the Douglas County area, including classes, camps, and special events. The Calendar’s focus is on health activities, learning opportunities, arts and cultural events. It is maintained by eight LCR volunteer curators, advertising sales volunteers and a web master/engineer. A board of eight Rotarians, including the club President, preside over the Calendar and Foundation operation. Lori reported that Foundation assets are approaching ten thousand dollars. The Foundation has supported the annual Community Bike Ride and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards camp and the Foundation Board will seek input from the club on future projects.

Heather Schwenk is a former Peace Corps volunteer and a retired program administrator. Heather grew up in Iola and attended Kansas State University. Upon graduation she joined the Peace Corps and worked for two years in the Dominican Republic. She had a great experience and became a recruiter for the program, and then a Senior Advisor. One of her projects was revamping the organization’s application process. Volunteers have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a new culture, working on locally prioritized projects. Service areas include agriculture, community and economic development, education, environment, health, and youth development. Three months of training and a monthly stipend, travel costs, medical and dental coverage are provided. Presently, the program is struggling due to severe budget cuts. Heather noted that the Peace Corps shares a number of values and activities with Rotary.

LCR’s own Leticia Cole reported on the 2025 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). RYLA is a week long leadership camp fo high school students who will be sophomores, juniors and seniors next year. The program is designed for young people in the early stages of leadership self discovery. Participants learn to put leadership into practice by serving their school and community. RYLA will be hosted at the University of Kansas, Lawrence Campus June 8-12, 2025. Students will stay overnight in Ellsworth Hall and will attend sessions with Rotarians and other community leaders. There will be small group work, public service projects and recreation time. Local Rotary Clubs sponsor one or more students and pay the 425 dollar fee. Leticia noted that it was a struggle to find applicants this year and there was a good discussion about how club members could better publicize and encourage future participants. An application and further information may be found on the Rotary District 5710 website. Leticia works for Paul Werner Architects in Lawrence and has been club coordinator for RYLA for a number of years.

Sandra Siebert is a Master Gardener for K-State Research and Extension Douglas County. Sandra grew up on a farm in Pottawatomie County where she learned to love gardening. Master Gardeners are volunteers who wish to share gardening information and are trained in all aspects horticulture. Training consists of 40-50 hours of instruction from Extension agents and local subject experts. On completion, Master Gardeners donate back to the program in a variety of activities. The program maintains a speaker’s bureau free of charge on a variety of garden topics. Sandra spoke of her love of herb gardening and lore. Fresh home grown herbs are superior in every respect to herbs available in the grocery store and growing them is a very satisfying experience. She spoke of the characteristics and uses of time, sage, parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary and more. She also told of the numerous varieties of eatable flowers and urged people to grow herbs and flowers at home.