Service Projects
Miracle Shop
The first annual Miracle Shop benefiting Wilmore-Davis and Vivan Elementary was a success!
Approximately 50 families shopped and over 120 children benefited from the Miracle Shop. Families loved the atmosphere, enjoyed choosing gifts and appreciated the wrapping station. Families and community members did a terrific job of donating time to manage the Miracle Shop each day. We're excited about the success and welcome any community input to make next year even better.
Thank you to our members, Liz Romero and Janace Fischer who worked tirelessly to create this and make it a success.
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Mobile Pantry
We partnered with Community Table to provide 90+ boxes of food to residents at Highlands West Senior Community in June 2021. The 20 lb boxes included frozen meat, fresh veggies and a few canned goods. We hand-delivered boxes personally to each resident.
Elementary Schools Project
Five (5) elementary schools in our community received donations of headphones, computer cables and chargers, water bottles, arts & craft supplies, as well as snacks.
An enormous and very special thanks goes to our member Janace Fischer, Principal of Wilmore-Davis, who connected with all the schools and put together the list of most-needed items. Plus we owe a great deal to Dan Brennan who headed up the project. He and Bob Timm delivered the items. Ordering was done by Dan, Bob, Mike Papantonakis and Carole Adams.
We couldn’t get into the schools, due to COVID restrictions, so we settled for outside pictures with the principals and/or school staff.
Scholarships
Each year, we award several academic 4-year and vocational 2-year college scholarships.
Washer/Dryer at Wilmore-Davis
For many years we have supported the elementary schools in our community. Some years we provide supplies for low-income students and families. In 2021 we purchased a washer/dryer which was installed at Wilmore-Davis to provide clean clothing for the children of homeless families at that school and others in the area. In addition we also provided laundry detergent and other supplies for this effort.
We partnered with Arvada Appliance for the washer/dryer. In addition, employees at 1st Bank in Wheat Ridge donated more laundry supplies.
Operation Warm
This program delivers brand-new winter coats for children in our local community schools. Along with the coats, we are distributing hats, gloves, Pull-ups, and cleaning supplies as well.
Valentine Boxes for Seniors
We fill boxes with non-perishable food items, cleaning products, and other essentials for seniors in our community.
Club members purchase items from a list and bring to our Monday meeting where the boxes are filled with their donations. Plus we add a VISA gift card.
Filled boxes are delivered to our partner on this project, the Senior Assistance Center. We also volunteer to help them distribute the boxes to seniors most in need of help.
Why do we do this for seniors? Because they are a vital part of our community and often forgotten. Many are below the poverty level and some can’t go shopping anymore. We picked Valentine’s day because many people feel generous at Christmas, but our seniors need help all year.
Rotary Roses
Handwritten cards with a 3D printed "Rotary Rose" attached are being gifted to senior living residents in the local area.
Over 200 cards have been created so far by our club members plus our friends at the Wheat Ridge Chamber of Commerce.
Team Rose: Hunter Owen, Jenny Garner, Greg Garner, John Altland, Joe Cassa, Judy Kingsolver, Mike Herman, Carole Adams, plus the project champion, Rebecca Jeffares.
Food for Thought Denver
Our members, including Rebecca Jeffares and Mike Papatanakis, joined scores of other volunteers at 6:30 AM to fill 3000 food bags for Title I schools in Denver. Rotarian Bob Bell started Food for Thought in 2012 and this organization now delivers food bags every week to 72 schools. The bag filling occurs every Friday morning. If you'd like to volunteer, register HERE.
Food for Thought is operated solely with volunteers and on donations. $5 will fill one bag of food. Food is purchased from the Food Bank of the Rockies. All other materials, delivery trucks and equipment are donated. Donate Here if you'd like to help.
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Feed The Future
The Wheat Ridge Rotary Club's Feed the Future service project, in collaboration with Community Table and Wheat Ridge Elementary Schools, provides supplemental food for children who are in need at participating schools in Wheat Ridge during the school year.
Each Friday, children take home a sack filled with food, including: breakfast, lunch, and snack items, along with fruit and vegetables to see them through the weekend when the safety net of the Free and Reduced Lunch program is not available. To be a part of this program, parents can register their children at their local school any time during the school year.
Contributions to fund this program are needed to maintain this needed and necessary service.
Holiday Project
Each holiday season, our club collects items to donate. The project changes with varying needs and climate (due to COVID restrictions.)
Flower Power
Our Annual Flower Power project helps bring Smiles to Seniors. This year we partnered with Echter’s Gardens, Jefferson Avenue United Methodist Church, and Food for Thought for lunch. It was a great success. Volunteers delivered 418 petite flowers in pots to 8 senior homes for residents and staff, and two larger plants for each lobby. We enjoyed lunch together afterward in the shade of a flowering tree.
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