Education, Support, Guidance to StudentsProvided by Santa Rosa East Rotarians

Interact Club at Montgomery High School Reaches Out to Others

Santa Rosa East Rotarians guide a dedicated, enthusiastic, bright Interact Club whose members are committed to benefiting our local community as well as people and projects in other countries; thus believing through their actions, in the motto: "Service Above Self". Through Interact Club members efforts in fundraising, they most recently supported Kids Street Learning Center, helped child victims of land mines and HIV orphans, participated in creek and beach clean up projects, purchased and wrapped gifts for Handicapables, who are individuals bused from area care homes to receive gifts and a Christmas luncheon from Montgomery's Interact Club members at the Church of the Roses.

These students are tomorrow's leaders who are developing leadership skills, building self-esteem, learning teamwork and more importantly, reaching out to those who need help by supporting projects to make our world a better place in which to live. It is rewarding to see the growth of our youth. Each person CAN make a difference! Support the Montgomery Interact Club through their fundraising dinner event "A Night of a Thousand Lights".

Support to Local Elementary Schools

Eager smiles and bright inquiring eyes greet Rotarians when we gave a beautifully illustrated dictionary to every third grader at Bennett Valley Elementary School and Doyle Park Elementary School. For many students, this was the first book they have owned. I'll bet that most of us still have our first dictionaries! It is a lifetime gift. One student, after meeting Rotary President George Kemmerer, asked if he was The President! George sang, "Hail to the Chief" that day!

Parents at the Bennett Valley Elementary School noticed the poor condition of their flags. Santa Rosa East Rotary promptly replaced them and participated in a patriotic assembly replacing the old flags with new ones. Anyone remember how to properly retire a used flag?

Make a Difference at Home and Abroad

Like other Rotary Clubs, Santa Rosa East Rotary gives annual scholarships for higher education to seniors at Montgomery High School. Recipients are selected not only for their academic achievement, but also service to our community. They exemplify Rotarian goals and will benefit any community in which they live.

To better understand our world, the different cultures and to help those in need, Santa Rosa East Rotary has participated directly in several international projects. We supported Free to Be in Russia, the Festival of Brotherhood in Mexico and sponsored an exchange student from Switzerland for a year. We will be expanding our participation in Mexico next year and look forward to helping an orphanage and a local school. Our club believes that the youth are the future and work towards that goal.

Santa Rosa East Rotary Centennial Project: Boys and Girls Club of Santa Rosa

“Children Are Our Future”

In Santa Rosa today, 65,000 young people are alone and unsupervised in the hours after school, before parents return home from work. Needless to say, this situation places children and teens at risk for juvenile crime, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, as well as other problems. As a club, we decided to support an organization committed to helping Santa Rosa’s youth from all facets of economic, cultural, and educational backgrounds through an organization which supervises, educates, tutors, and instructs students in a variety of social, cultural, and sports activities. This is a WIN/WIN!

The Boys and Girls Club provides an opportunity for all children of any economic background to participate in sports, art, recreational activities, who might otherwise be home alone or participate in gang activities after school. It provides a safe environment, a learning opportunity, and social growth for not only those in need, but also for those whose parents work and cannot be home after school during that time frame when children often falter.

The Boys and Girls Club supports the parents who are not able to afford after school or summer programs for their youth. Think about these statistics from low income or underprivileged children:

** Only 32% of 4th graders from low-income families with low educational attainment scored at the base proficiency level in reading compared to 70% of children with college-graduate parents.

**39% of low income 8th graders scored at basic proficiency in mathematics compared to 21% of other 8th graders.

**Children from low-income families were three times more likely to drop out of high school than other children.

**Drug use among young teens is climbing rapidly & has doubled since 1991.

**13% of all US births are to teens and approximately one in four teen acquire STD.

To ensure children are positive members of our community, have self esteem, are resilient, and are educated and contribute to Santa Rosa, the Boys and Girls Cub provides activities such as homework assistance, tutoring, sports, games, arts and crafts, leadership activities, and character development not only on a daily basis, but an extended basis during holidays or summertime when parents are not able to be home with their children. The children at the Boys and Girls club know they are loved, supported, nurtured, and encouraged. From that solid base, they can contribute to our Santa Rosa Community.

“OUR ROLE AS ROTARIANS” - Paul Harris, founder of Rotary, in 1936, said that if you can answer in a positive way to the following question, you have been a successful Rotarian, “Did you leave this world a better place?” Santa Rosa East Rotary can offer a resounding, “Yes, we did!” in answer to Paul Harris’s challenge.

Santa Rosa East Rotary has committed not only money, but also labor, supplies, and support to the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Rosa. We are committed to helping those less fortunate, raising the bar of educational standards and providing a safe, healthy haven for all children.

Santa Rosa East Rotary has donated approximately $85,000 in materials and labor to the Boys and Girls Club over the past two years. Windows were replaced; new tires were provided for a donated van; a variety of sports equipment and computers were acquired and installed; executive desks, couches, and a hutch were donated; paint and hardware spruced up the 1950s building; a security system was installed; several vehicles were given to the Boys and Girls Club for auction; interior facility upgrades such as paint, water fountains, window shades, kitchen upgrades, shelving, and partitions were provided. The exterior of the building was painted, fenced, and repaved; gutters and downspouts were provided.

Rotarians believe the physical environment is as important as the social, emotional, educational environment since the Boys and Girls Club facility becomes their after school home for a few hours each week day. Santa Rosa East Rotary is here to help the wonderful staff of the Boys and Girls Club work their miracles. It is truly a WIN/WINb. The Rotarians are fortunate to work with the fabulous Boys and Girls staff with Dr. Mary Bates, the Executive Director.

There are many unfinished and on-going projects at the Boys and Girls Club and wonderful opportunities to help our community. Contact Santa Rosa East Rotary to offer support or make donations.

Santa Rosa East Rotary Sponsors Youth Literacy and Soccer Program


Santa Rosa East Rotary initiated an after school soccer and literacy program in two economically challenged school districts in southwest Santa Rosa’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program. The goal is to provide a safe place for kids to play in the critical hours after school, and before parents get home from work.

Over 800 youth have participated from the four elementary schools in the Roseland and Bellevue School Districts since the program began in 2001. Starting with only soccer, the program has expanded to include reading as a literacy component in 2004.

The Santa Rosa East Rotary coordinated essential resources from southwest businesses, other service clubs, the City of Santa Rosa, SRJC and Sonoma State University. “Through collaborative efforts with community partners, (the program has) made a significant and positive difference in the lives of 82 eager young students at our school,” stated Yancy Forest-Knowles, Principal at Bellevue Elementary School.

The after school program provides a safe haven for youth who are in an area which is highly susceptible to gang-related activities. The players are presented with values, skills, and sportsmanship from the volunteer coaches who care about our community and its young people. Ellen Bailey, Youth Advocate from the City of Santa Rosa has coordinated many of the resources and engaged the city’s Recreation and Parks Department.

The $3.00 registration fee assures that opportunity is available to every child who cannot afford other organized sports programs. The players receive t-shirts, medals, a family picnic, and personal attention.

The literacy segment began in 2004. Marci Murphy, the talented Reading Specialist from Mountain View School, structured it. Several hundred books about soccer and sportsmanship were purchased with the grant from the Exchange Bank Foundation.

In fall the players form grades 4-6 took a field trip to Sonoma State University where they were ushered on a campus tour by the SSU Women’s Soccer Team. The emphasis of the trip was the balance of scholastics and athletics. Comments from the young players who will be challenged to afford any college included, “I have never seen such big classrooms”, and “The gym is really big,” and “I would like to go to that school.”

These kids will have more opportunity because Santa Rosa East Rotarians, Jim Wieschendorff, and Bob Blanchard spear-headed this project and took an interest in the youth in our community.

Santa Rosa East Rotary Takes the Lead in Funding “Every 15 Minutes” Program

During the 1980’s, every fifteen minutes, someone in America died in an alcohol-related traffic crash. (It is not logical to call such an incident an “accident”…no one “accidentally” drinks alcohol, and then chooses to drive.) America started fighting back. M.A.D.D, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, was formed and the Every 15 Minutes Program was developed to focus on High School students. The combined success of these and other programs are working. If started today, it would be called the “Every 30 Minutes” Program. While improvement is heartening, driving under the influence remains a major problem.

This intense two-day program, spear-headed by volunteer police, fire, medical, emergency-response, school and other personnel, dramatically demonstrates to an entire high school student body the impact of an alcohol-related traffic death. Each program needs approximately $8,000 per event. Members of Santa Rosa East Rotary have been proud to lead the funding efforts for the five public high schools in Santa Rosa for several years. We have also provided volunteers for the intense overnight counseling/discussion activity that helps high school student learn to make safer driving decisions.

For more information about the program, or how to increase your Rotary Club’s participation in it, contact Tom Croft at 526-0542