Lawrence Central Rotary

Category: Service

  • Elvis Visits Lawrence to End Polio Recap

    Joseph Hall rallying the crowd before the 5K
    Joseph Hall rallying the crowd before the 5K

    Here’s a repost of a great story in the LJ World about the Elvis Visit to End Polio  Below the story is a gallery of photos of the event taken by Lawrence Central’s own Lynn O’Neal.

    More than 100 people gathered at Watson Park on Saturday morning to run a 5k and grab lunch during the kick-off to the weekend-long event, Elvis Visit to End Polio Now.

    Several Elvis impersonators and other runners participated in the Visit to End Polio Now 5K walk and run Saturday.  Kids in Elvis masks and sequined scarves ran alongside Joesph Hall, an Elvis tribute artist and finalist on season three of “America’s Got Talent.” The day continued with tours of Old West Lawrence, an antique car show and Hall’s Rock ‘N’ Remember tribute concert at the Lied Center.

    Ten local Rotary clubs organized the event, which is a fundraiser for Rotary International’s PolioPlus fund, a campaign that began in 1985 with the goal of eradicating polio worldwide.

    Lawrence Rotarian Bob Swan brainstormed the idea of introducing the King to the campaign.

    “Rotary is international, in more than 200 countries. Elvis is a phenomenon, known all around the world in just as many countries,” Swan said. “He is loved and respected by many, many millions.”

    Swan said there is a potential for his idea to spread, and for Elvis to act as a symbol in Rotary events throughout the country. He has spoken with Hall, who is officially recognized by Elivs Presley Enterprises, about arranging other qualified Elvis impersonators to visit multiple communities. The event’s website and schedule, Swan hopes, will act as a template.

    Swan is also optimistic that the event will become a fixture in the Lawrence area.

    “There are 34,000 Rotary clubs, and hundreds that could take this idea,” Swan said. “And we hope that in Lawrence or KC, wherever the site will be, that it becomes an annual event.

    Mary Jean Eisenhower, a granddaughter of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and polio survivor, was the chairwoman of the event, and attended the tribute concert last night.

    The fundraiser continues today with Hall’s visit to First Christian Church, 1000 Kentucky Street, and Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Avenue. Hall will sing gospel and ask for prayers and offerings for the eradication of polio in the three remaining endemic countries: Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

    Swan said that Rotary’s goal is to completely eradicate polio by 2018.

    “Our workers are getting killed in Pakistan and their guards are being murdered in Nigeria,” Swan said. “If people can be that brave, then we should at least raise some money for them.”

    How to help

    To donate to the PolioPlus fund, make checks payable to Leawood Rotary Charitable Fund and mail to: Elvis Visit, PO Box 1776, Lawrence, KS 66044. You may also donate online at rotary.org.

  • Central Lawrence Rotary Unveils Another Bike Rack!

    Ribbon CuttingAs a part of our biking initiative Lawrence Central Rotary identified bicycling as an avenue to a healthy lifestyle.  To that end we sponsor the yearly Community Bike Ride, but we also have raised thousands of dollars to fabricate and install bike racks around Lawrence.

    We’re happy to share that the latest creation was unveiled recently at the new Theatre Lawrence building on Lawrence’s west side.

    Even the bicycle racks for the new Theatre Lawrence have a theatrical theme. The city requires bike racks to be installed for new construction. and rather than purchase generic racks for a very un-generic building. the theatre sought out Lawrence blacksmith artist Kate Dinneen to design something more appropriate for the theatre’s beautiful new building.

    Kate Dinneen
    Kate Dinneen admiring her vision installed.

    Kate, an artist both in a blacksmith forge and also in a symphony orchestra, graciously donated her time and talent to design and fabricate two metal bike racks for Theatre Lawrence.

    One suggests actors holding hands and bending forward in a company bow at the end of a performance, and the other is a representation of theatrical spotlights on poles.

    The Lawrence Central Rotary Club generously donated the materials, powder coating and installation for the project.  Thanks to the interest and participation of Kate Dinneen and Lawrence Central Rotary, the theatre has pieces that not only are fully functional bicycle racks, but also are pieces of sculpture that add to the exterior beauty of the new building .

    The backstage rack suggests actors holding hands and bending downward in a company bow at the end of a performance.
    The backstage rack suggests actors holding
    hands and bending downward in a company bow at the end of a performance.
    Lawrence Central Members
    Lawrence Central Rotary members (R-L) Lynn O’Neal, Eva Wagner, Scott Wagner, Carolyn DeSalvo, Steve Lane and his son Grant.

     

     

     

     

    Theatre Lawrence Program
    Scanned page from the event’s program talking about the building and the bike racks.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Lawrence Community Bike Ride Set for July 20th!

    Ride Lawrence and our partners are excited to present our third FREE community bike ride Saturday, July 20th 2013 to promote cycling as a part of a healthy lifestyle at the The Rotary Arboretum at Clinton Park (by the YSC Soccer fields).

    There are three rides to choose from and they all travel along the South Lawrence Trafficway bike path, a paved surface that is a “car-free” environment:

    • Ten-mile ride. It begins at 8 a.m. and travels near I-70 and back.

    • Three-mile family ride. It begins at 8:30 a.m. and goes to the Clinton Lake Overlook and back.

    • One-mile easy loop. It’s available anytime between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. and circles around the arboretum.

    Other activities from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. include:

    • A Training Wheel Takeoff. Experts will help children who are ready to take off their training wheels in a safe and fun environment.

    • Safety Zone. Safe Kids Douglas County will help outfit children with helmets and other safety gear while supplies last along with providing cycling safety tips for kids of all ages.

    2013 Lawrence Community Bike Ride Sponsors

    Lawrence Central Rotary organizes and sponsors the event. Last year’s event drew about 200 participants.

    We’re really excited and want to thank all those who are helping us to do the ride this year.  Our 2013 Sponsors include: Anderson Rentals and Lawrence Central Rotary

    The 2013 partners include: The Merc, TeamGP Velotek, Bev West Creative, McDonalds, and the Lawrence Bicycle Club.

    And the 2013 Friends of the ride include: Booster Print, Sunflower Outdoor & Bike, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, EconoLodge Lawrence, Ortho Kansas and Safe Kids of Douglas County.

    We’ll have them there, but if you want to pre-print a release to be a part of the ride you can download this form, print and fill it out and bring it to the event.  It’s that easy!

    Here’s more information and Ride Maps.  We look forward to seeing you!

     LCBR Flyer 2013 Print HR_Page_1LCBR Flyer 2013 Print HR_Page_2

  • Lawrence Central Rotary to Help Support Willow Domestic Violence Center

    Willow Domestic Violence CenterSupport for Willow Domestic Violence Center was identified by the Community Service Committee as a project for 2013 to be recommended to the Lawrence Central Rotary Board. The proposal was discussed and approved at the March 20 board meeting.

    The Willow Domestic Violence Center provides safe-shelter, peer counseling, advocacy and other services to survivors of domestic violence in Douglas, Franklin, and Jefferson counties. The Willow Domestic Violence Center works towards the elimination of violence in our communities.  Therefore, The Willow Domestic Violence Center is dedicated to the empowerment of women and children, providing a safe environment; the promotion of equality and respect for all people; the appreciation of difference; and the social action necessary to achieve these goals.

    Willow Center Certificate of AppreciationLawrence Central Rotary sponsored Willow for the month of May 2013.  Items like soap, tooth paste and cleaning supplies were collected at each of the May meetings.  The board also voted to make a $100 cash donation in addition to any funds raised to Willow to be delivered with the supplies.  Rotarian Fred Atchison was the coordinator for the project.

    Over the course of the month hundreds of pounds of personal care items were collected as well a cash donation.

    We recently received a thank you from them along with this certificate of appreciation. We’re honored to be able to help!

    Willow is truly a great cause and for more information about how to help the Willow Domestic Violence Center contact one of us here at Lawrence Central Rotary or go to Willow’s Website.

  • Karin Feltman Discusses Medical Mission Trips to Lawrence Central

    Courtesy of Karin Feltman.
    Above, Karin Feltman, a Lawrence Memorial Hospital nurse, performs an eye exam on a boy while serving in Haiti on a 10-day mission trip, one year after a devastating earthquake rocked the country.

    Lawrence native Karin Feltman  told Rotarians at Lawrence Central Rotary on May 22 that she has a “heart for service.”  Feltman, a nurse, has been on 15 medical mission trips between 2005 and 2011.  Now she’s raising funds and making preparations for a medical mission in Nepal that she believes will last five years.

    “I’ve been  to Kenya, Malawi, Honduras, Haiti,” Feltman said. Every trip has  begun because she was listening to her “little voice” that gave her a sense of what she needed to be doing to find meaning in her life.  Now the trip to Nepal will be longer lasting because, she said, that while help with emergencies is good, there is a need for sustainable service that involves truly living in a place. “I want to work with wellness, teaching, and to improve family life there. “

    Feltman will work through  Evangelical Alliance Mission TEAM  at Dadeldhura hospital in the Himalayan foothills.  TEAM is an organization that has pioneered medical work in Nepal since the 1960s. It has grown out of a mission movement begun in the United States in  1890 by a Swedish immigrant, and has sent out thousands of workers.

    Fund raising is important as she will need to support herself, which costs approximately $3600 per month. Several fund raisers have already been held in Lawrence and she said donations are welcome.

    Feltman, (whose first name is pronounced Car-in; her mother was Belgian, she said, and pronounced it that way) is studying to  learn the Nepalese language. “It’s difficult and very different from the romance languages  common in this country. I  do my best to adapt to the customs, the language  and the food wherever I am,” she said, although she admitted to having a hard time on some of her trips with the native wildlife, primarily spiders.

    She plans to leave for Nepal in January 2014.

    “I walk by faith and not by sight,” she said.

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