Lawrence Central Rotary

Category: News

Buy a Wreath – Make the World a Better Place

If it were only that simple, but this is a good way to start. Again this year, Lawrence Central Rotary is selling wreaths and holiday decorations from Lynch Creek Farms and all the profits from the sales are going to the Rotary Foundation.

The Rotary Foundation transforms these funds into projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. As the charitable arm of Rotary, the Foundation taps into a global network of Rotarians who invest their time, money, and expertise into Rotary’s priorities, such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Rotary Foundation grants empower Rotarians locally and worldwide to approach challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition with sustainable solutions that leave a lasting impact.

You can contact any of our members to purchase in person, wreaths are $39.95 and $10 of each sale goes to the Rotary Foundation helping make the world a better place.

But there’s even an easier way! You can purchase a broader array of holiday decorations online by using this website. http://bit.ly/LCRWreath13 – It will direct you to the Lynch Creek Website and 25% of your purchase will come back to Lawrence Central Rotary to help locally and globally uniting for the common good.

Lawrence Central Rotary is proud to do our part locally and we encourage you to help us!

October 20, 2013
With World Polio Day on 24 October, it’s a good time to talk about polio eradication.

To mark World Polio Day on 24 October, Rotary and Northwestern University’s Center for Global Health will host a live streamed global status update on the fight to end polio. Invited guests include Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, celebrity ambassadors, polio survivors, and Rotary members.

We are at a “tipping point” for polio eradication. In 2012, polio cases were at their lowest levels ever. Rotary and its partners have to finish the job or risk losing long-fought gains entirely. Since the global initiative began more than 25 years ago, Rotary and its partners have reduced polio cases by 99 percent worldwide. There are only three countries where the wild poliovirus has never been stopped: Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

Rotary’s chief role is fundraising, advocacy, and mobilizing volunteers. Other partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UN Foundation, and UNICEF, along with world governments.

Every dollar Rotary raises (up to US$35 million/year) will be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for polio eradication efforts through 2018.

Rotary and Northwestern University’s Center for Global Health will host a live streamed global update on polio eradication on World Polio Day, 24 October.

You can join the “World Polio Day: Making History” live event from wherever you are worldwide by visiting endpolionow.org

October 18, 2013
Live Well Lawrence Celebrates 5 Years!
You are cordially invited to the fifth anniversary celebration of LiveWell Lawrence. The celebration will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15, at Abe and Jake’s Landing, 8 E. Sixth St., in downtown Lawrence.

LiveWell Lawrence is a coalition of more than 100 community members who are working together to make it easier for Douglas County residents to eat healthy foods, be physically active and live tobacco free.

The celebration’s program begins at 5:15 p.m. and will include:
- Welcome — Hank Booth
- Bringing the vision of LiveWell to life — Marilyn Hull, of Douglas County Community Foundation
- LiveWell, today and tomorrow — Cindy Johnson, chair of LiveWell Lawrence
- LiveWell, a state leader — Jeff Usher, of Kansas Health Foundation, and Robert Moser, MD, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment
- Community impact — Douglas County Commissioner Mike Gaughan and Lawrence Mayor Michael Dever
- Special recognition of Marilyn Hull
We hope you can attend the event and celebrate our community’s successes, which include passage of a Complete Streets Policy in Lawrence, adoption of school marathon clubs and school gardens, and establishment of WorkWell Lawrence, a network of employers who are working together to create a culture of health in the workplace.

There will be free food and beverages along with information booths about community activities ranging from school gardens and bicycling to workplace wellness and transportation planning. It’s a great opportunity to network and learn about LiveWell!

Lawrence Central Rotary and Ride Lawrence will be set up with information about local biking and other exciting giveaways!

RSVP on Facebook here.

Help us promote the celebration. Download and share the event flyer here.
September 30, 2013
Christina Phelps Discusses Kansas River Development Committee

Our September 18th meeting had Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau director Christina Phelps speak about her work on the Kansas River Development Committee.

The committee was launched to recommend ways to spur recreational use of the Kansas River and develop tourism and economic growth along the river. The committee’s work will build on the July 2012 designation of the Kansas River as a National Water Trail by U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Now that the trail has federal designation it opens the doors to potenial federal funding to improve the trail and the areas near it. Whether it be bank improvements in cities, better signage along the river so people can more clearly find and know how far upcoming ramps are. There has even been discussions of possible white water rafting features for local kayak enthusiasts and for fire and safety rescue training use.

There are currently 19 river ramps located in 15 communities along the river, and another ramp was recently completed at Belvue. The committee is also working with to add at least two more ramps between Belvue and Topeka.

Phelps said Lawrence is particularly placed well along this route as our two ramps are close to the city center while a lot of the other ramps are far away from transportation through private land.

For more information about the river trail, contact the Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau for copies of the new map about the trail or check out the Friends of the Kaw website.

September 20, 2013
Lawrence Central Welcome’s Two New Members

On August 25th Lawrence Central held an induction ceremony for our two newest members, Jessica Mortinger and Michael Steinle.

Jessica Mortinger ventured to Lawrence, KS in 2003 to attend KU, from Hays, KS. Graduating in 2010 with a Masters Degree in Urban Planning, she joined the City’s planning department as a Transportation Planner. In her free time, Jessica enjoys gardening, reading, weaving, mosaics, road trips and pitching horseshoes. As a lifetime member of Girl Scouts, Jessica also serves on the Douglas County Gold Award Advisory Committee and mentors Girl Scouts with their Gold Award projects.

Michael Steinle currently serves as a Principal Management Consultant for Arcadis and has over twenty three years of experience in project management, emergency response, and environmental, health and safety stewardship. He has served as the Project Manager on several large-scale federal, state and local emergency preparedness, bioterrorism and public health projects. He served as a task lead on the New Madrid Seismic Planning Project and recently completed a project developing Contaminant Warning Systems for water utilities in cities throughout the United States. Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Masters in Business Administration from Kansas State University.Michael is married to Dee Steinle and they have two children, Aaron 10 and Nora 6. Michael is also on the Board of Directors for Hilltop Child Development Center.

Lawrence Central Membership Chair Steve Kessler Interviewing Jessica and Michael after their induction ceremony

September 5, 2013