If you have fundraising event ideas or projects that we may be able to fund, ideas to toss around or if you just like the idea of “giving back” to our wonderful mountain kingdom and want to meet us and see where you fit in, join us at the Rock Cut, 6:15 p.m., Mondays.
Annual Youth Exchange Ski Weekend: Each year, one to two students from our area go to a country in Europe, the Americas, Asia or Oceania under a Rotary program called Youth Exchange. At the same time, a student from these countries is hosted in Rossland for a 10-12 month exchange.
This Exchange is done by region (“district”) and ours is a unique international district, making the activities offered to our hosted students all that much more interesting. At this year’s ski weekend in Colville, Wash., the students had the chance to meet one another and enjoy skiing, activities, and make new friends.
Rossland Rotary’s Youth Exchange student Caleb Nekrasoff in Sweden: Our Club’s Youth Exchange student is in Sweden this year and he is enjoying attending cooking school and new friends.
Adventures in Citizenship: Hannah Kroeker, Grade 12, will be fully sponsored by Rossland Rotary and NDCU to attend Adventures in Citizenship in Ottawa April 29-May 2, 2018. Only 200 top Canadian high school students attend this unique event to gain a better understanding of our country. They meet political leaders, senior officials and others, and they learn a great deal about the workings of our democratic institutions. Through meeting one another and having discussions among themselves, they learn to appreciate the diversity of Canada and the privileges and responsibilities of citizenship. Hannah has been in the Rotary Interact Club for six years and she is an active volunteer in the community. We feel that Hannah and Rossland will benefit enormously from her attendance. Congratulations, Hannah.
John Heintz Cup Relay Race: Hosted by Rossland Rotary for the Rossland Winter Carnival, this event is a relay race of 5-person teams (or individual entrants) who downhill ski, nordic ski, fat tire bike, snowshoe and run. The race starts and ends at Red Mountain, there are many prize categories for adults, teens, youth, and this year everyone got a prize and had a great time.
Fat Tire Bike Raffle: The Club’s largest fundraiser this year was a raffle that offered five great prizes — a fat tire bike, skis, avi transceiver, gift certificates. The draw was on Feb 26 and all proceeds from this raffle must go to local programs. Many congratulations to the winners (see www.rosslandrotary.org) and thank you to everyone who participated. Everyone is a winner because all proceeds go back into the community.
Panhandling for Polio: Global Polio Eradication was championed by Rotary International and is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative — World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary, Unicef and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Every year, Rossland Rotary panhandles for polio, asking for change and sends all proceeds to the Rotary Polio Plus initiative. The change added up to about $725, demonstrating the power of how much a little change can add up to a much more meaningful amount.
Club Leadership: Kevin MacPherson has lead the Club as President since July 1, 2016. On July 1, 2018, Cheryl Darrah will be Club President.
Our website is www.rosslandrotary.org and our Facebook page is called Rotary Club of Rossland. We meet on Mondays, 6:15 p.m., Rock Cut Pub in Rossland.
