Dear Fellow Charlotte North Rotarians,

 

Thank you for your continued support in selecting me as your President for

Charlotte North Rotary for the 2022-2023 year. This year is meaningful to us as

it marks the 70th anniversary of our Club.

 

We should be proud of the accomplishments, the meaningful impact on the lives

of the many we have served through the years, and the passion and teamwork

within our Club. We are fortunate to have a very strong board of directors who

are striving to have a notable year.

 

Here are some of our planned activities for the year:

 

1. Thank you goes out to Sean for applying for two district Grants: Grant 1

- Opera Xpress at Shamrock (requested $1,250, to be matched by our Club

$1,250 = $2,500 total); Grant 2 - TreesCharlotte (requested $750, to be

matched by our Club $750 = $1,500 total)

We will probably be notified in August or September if these grants are

approved by the district.

 

2. We will again be engaged with partners, some old and some new for

various service activities.

Shamrock Gardens Elementary School: Our year begins with a

collection of School supplies in August. It is appreciated if you could

purchase the suggested supplies to support this school. We also are

partnering with Opera Carolina to provide Opera Xpress at Shamrock

Gardens, a program that has been postponed the last few years. The

students truly enjoy this enrichening experience.

Interact Club at Charlotte Country Day School: starting with a food

collection in October, our Clubs will also participate in December with

their Helping Hands luncheon. A planned zoom presentation in January

with the Interact students, through the assistance of David Lynn, their

advisor.

 

TreesCharlotte: We will again be planting, hopefully in both the fall and

the spring when dates are determined.

 

Kids for Cribs: A new partnership, founded by Judy Bannon, a Rotarian

with the South Side Rotary Club (Pittsburgh) who were early supporters

of that organization in 1998. Through our partnership, we plan to share

the information with our members, Shamrock Gardens Elementary

School PTO, and the Interact Club at Charlotte Country Day. Founded in

1998, this nonprofit is dedicated to providing Infant Safe Sleep Education

to community members and Safe Sleep Environments (portable cribs for

families in need). Each year 3,500 babies die in their sleep. These deaths

are classified as SUID, (Sudden Unexpected Infant Death). Some of

these deaths are due to SIDS, (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), the cause

of SIDS remains unknown. SIDS is a sub-category of SUID. Many

infant deaths are due to suffocation or strangulation while in unsafe sleep

environments. Our first step as a club, we will be disseminating

information to our members on how to become a Sleep Ambassador, and

then proceed working with our other partners. Please visit

cribsforkids.org to learn more about their programs.

 

3. Adventures in Dining!: we will be holding a monthly (the last Monday

of a month) social dining adventure. Our first will be at Burtons Grill and

Bar at the Park Road Shopping Center. Please join us for fellowship and

fun. We will also hold a 50/50 raffle for the Cash for Alzheimer Research

Trust (CART) Fund with a $5.00 per ticket. Who knows, you might be

lucky.

 

But wait….there is always more…..

 

Our meetings will be on Zoom, so please check the calendar for speakers. We

hope to include activities with Heal Charlotte, and will keep you posted as they

develop.

 

Thank you for your continued participation, energy and passion for our Club.

Let us embrace life as active participants and make a difference for the

organization we support including our community as a whole. Marcia Vinci