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Each year Rotary District 5710 sponsors Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) for a week long summer camp on the campus of Kansas University. High school students are nominated and sponsored by District Rotary Clubs to attend RYLA for the purpose of developing leadership skills and an appreciation for civic engagement. Lawrence Central Rotary Club sponsored two students from Free State High School, sophomore Leah Anderson and senior Koree Shields. Leah and Koree shared their experiences from the June 2-6, 2024 RYLA week. They engaged in small group work on various topics and got to know student participants from Eastern Kansas and Western Missouri. They also worked on service projects like making improvements to area community gardens. Leah and Koree enjoyed the contact with students from other communities and have kept up with new made friends. They also described RYLA as a confidence booster and wished the program could be longer. Club member Leticia Cole was in charge of the club’s RYLA project.

The duo of Officer Kelsey Kemppainen and Civilian Investigator Megan Rubio represented the Blue Santa emergency fund. Blue Santa Program is affiliated with the Lawrence Police Department and is designed to provide emergency assistance to community members when police officers encounter a person in need. The program began as a Christmas gift program but has expanded to assist a variety of hardship situations throughout the year. Officers may for example make a request for assistance for an individual who is in need of groceries or a vehicle repair or has suffered a house fire. A volunteer Board approves the gifts and Blue Santa is totally donor financed. Since the programs inception in 2011, 1,576 families and 3,730 children have been served, $53,853 grocery gift cards awarded and $17,462 of other assistance provided.

Kevin Drewelow is the Director of the Combat Air Museum, located at Forbes Field in Topeka. Drewelow is retired from the Kansas National Guard, having served in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The Combat Air Museum is a nonprofit educational institution that preserves and displays historical combat aircraft and related artifacts. The Museum contains forty-seven aircraft, numerous educational displays, a flight simulator, and educational programs for all ages. Young Aviator classes and Girls in Aviation Day are well attended annual programs. The location of the Museum at an active air field is a particular advantage as it allows participation in active flying events, including Air Force fighter aircraft and Army Kansas National Guard transports. The Combat Air Museum offers a unique opportunity to be immersed in aviation history.

Lawrence Mayor Bart Littlejohn introduced Cory Wallace, Director of Communication and Community Relations for the City. Wallace provided an update on the City’s work to address homelessness. This problem has grown larger and more visible, frustrating efforts to address it. It is a problem with layers of complexity, including lack of affordable housing (1300 units needed), addiction, mental heath, and unsafe encampments. The City has identified a goal of making homelessness rare and short in duration by 2028. A data base has been created of the homeless and their needs, which has enabled the City to better manage the problem of people from other communities seeking services. However, the number of people “couch surfing” with friends or family is unknown.

The City has five committees working to increase affordable housing, and improve the Community Shelter and related services. Some accomplishments include improvements and policy changes at the Community Shelter, the opening of the Pallet Village, and mobilizing the community to address all phases of the problem. Wallace praised the community effort, and stated that if any community can successfully address homelessness, it will be Lawrence.