Lamplighter March 22 2023 (Mar. 22, 2023)

Heroes in Our Midst -- 2024 Parker Impact Award

We have heroes in our midst -- people whose service to the Parker area goes above and beyond the call of duty, who exemplify Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self. If you know one of those heroes (whether an individual or a group), nominate them for a Parker Impact Award! Our club sponsors the Parker Impact Award, which is presented at the State of the Town event every year (May 7, 2024). For more information, click here. The deadline to nominate someone is March 15. Questions? Contact Dan O’Neill.

Check Out the Website

Don't forget to check out the club's website at parkerrotary.org for the latest news and updates to our club calendar.

5th Thursday...No, Wednesday!

Rotarians & guests are invited to gather Wednesday, March 29 from 5:00 - ? p.m. at Takodo Tavern (12365 Pine Bluff Way, Parker). There will fellowship, fun, games & laughs.

Please let Kelly Young know how many will be attending. Either email her at hausseller@gmail.com OR click here sign up yourself and your guest(s) online.

You are responsible for paying for your food and drink.

2023 Parker Impact Award

Time is running out to submit a nomination for the 2023 Parker Impact Award, to be presented at the State of the Town event on May 23, 2023. Do you know a group or individual whose service to the Parker community exemplifies Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self? Nominate them! Deadline is March 31. For more information, click here. Questions? Contact Dan O’Neill at Odie2450@Comcast.net

Service Opportunities Spring 2023

Parker Task Force Food Drive – Saturday, April 15, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Our next date to collect food for the Task Force is coming up in April. Click here for more information or to sign up online for one of the two-hour shifts.

Project CURE – Tuesday, April 25 and May 23, 7:00-9:00 p.m.
We are once again able to volunteer at Project C.U.R.E., but the circumstances will be different than before. We will not be able to reserve an entire shift just for our club, but we are looking to volunteer together on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Project CURE is booked for March and April, but there are spaces available for May 23. Follow this link to sign up.

Save the Date -- Gazebo Maintenance -- Saturday, May 6

Stay tuned for more information on how YOU can help with the maintenance of the beloved gazebo in O'Brien Park.

Save the date -- Health Fair Coming to Parker Saturday, May 13

365Health (formerly 9Health) is bringing one of their health fairs to Parker on Saturday, May 13. The event will take place at Parker United Methodist Church (11805 South Pine Dr, just off Parker Road). The event requires a lot of non-medical volunteers -- everything from directing traffic to helping with registration. Stay tuned as Hal Gustin provides information on ways WE can help...

Youth Services – Some Deadlines Coming Up

Posted on Mar. 07, 2022

As we move towards the end of the school year, you can help spread the word about some opportunities for youth:

Scholarships for high school seniors. Deadline to apply is Friday, April 7, 2023. For more information and a link to the application, go to our website at https://parkerrotary.org/page/scholarships
Young RYLA/RYLA. Summer week-long youth leadership conferences in Estes Park for middle-school and high-school students. For more information and a link to the application, go to https://rockymountainryla.org/

Local Rotary Club of Parker raises over $22,500 in one week for Turkey and Syria earthquake relief

PARKER, Colo. — International disaster relief organization ShelterBox USA today thanked the Rotary Club of Parker, Colorado, for a record-setting effort that raised more than $22,500 in one week to help fund ShelterBox’s response to the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and Syria.

The fundraising total was the most the Rotary Club of Parker has raised for ShelterBox in its history. It will help ShelterBox meet the emergency shelter needs of thousands of people who have lost their homes.

“We are deeply grateful for the efforts of the Rotary Club of Parker,” said ShelterBox USA President Kerri Murray, who is also a Rotarian. “This is truly what Rotary is all about – Service Above Self. These funds will provide shelter and life-saving items to families across the world who lost everything in an instant during this catastrophic disaster.”

Since it was founded more than 20 years ago by a Rotary Club in England, ShelterBox has provided shelter and other essential items around the world to more than 2.5 million people forced from their homes by disaster and conflict. It is currently responding to the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, the war in Ukraine, flooding in Pakistan, and elsewhere.

The Rotary Club of Parker, Colorado, has supported ShelterBox for years, donating $1,000 annually and more through additional fundraising initiativeswhen large disasters have struck. Last week’s fundraising drive was also fueled by a member of the Rotary Club of Parker who pledged to match donations through his family foundation. The club’s successful fundraising effort was consequently achieved through contributions from individual club members and non-club members, matching funds, the Rotary Club of Parker Foundation and the club’s annual contribution to ShelterBox.

The club said that in the aftermath of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, many members were desperately looking for ways to help the families who lost their homes. They found ShelterBox to be the perfect avenue to support.

ShelterBox is the official project partner for disaster relief of Rotary International, a relationship that helps ShelterBox deliver aid quickly and effectively after disasters by drawing on the expertise of local Rotary Clubs.

About ShelterBox

Since 2000, ShelterBox has provided shelter and life-saving items following more than 300 disasters in nearly 100 countries. ShelterBox responds urgently to earthquake, volcano, flood, hurricane, cyclone, tsunami, or conflicts. It works with local partners and individuals to customize each response, which can include a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, a water filtration system, emergency lighting, and other tools for survival. ShelterBox was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and 2019. ShelterBox USA is based in Santa Barbara, California.

A Follow-on to the Shelterboxes for Turkey/Syria Story

Posted on Mar. 22, 2023

Alvaro Pisoni, Chair of the International Committee, thanked Bob Forbes and his family for their contributions to the fundraising effort to purchase ShelterBoxes in response to the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Donate Your Car!

Another way you can benefit our club's Foundation! We have reached an agreement with Vehicles for Charity so that our club can be the beneficiaries of a vehicle donation. Click here to go straight to an online form that gives you instructions on how to donate a vehicle to benefit the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Parker.

Many thanks to Steve Budnack who helped make this happen.

A Gift from Respire

This beautiful stamped-metal plaque is a gift to the Rotary Club of Parker from Respire Haiti. Our club has supported the mission of Respire Haiti through several projects since 2014, including:

a District International Grant that provided outside solar lighting for its campus
a Global Grant that provided a solar-powered system to provide electricity to its buildings
recently, a grant for computers for its computer lab, books for its library, and equipment for a laboratory for its medical center so the school can do its own laboratory blood analysis.

The tree represents the only tree present when the school was begun on its mountain-top campus in 2011 after the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

These projects for Respire Haiti show the power of many Rotarians coming together to make a difference across the globe. Thank you for your support!

Task Force Thank-you March 4

Posted on Mar. 05, 2023

It was a chilly day, but the Rotary Club of Parker was one of many community groups soliciting food for the Parker Task Force at local grocery stores on March 4. Thank you for the great community support from shoppers! We collected 63 boxes of food, 50 gallons of milk, 133 packages of ground beef and over $1000 in cash and gift cards just at our location!

District 5450 News Spring 2023

There are two important District events scheduled back-to-back in April:

Friday, April 28: 15th Annual State of the State Luncheon and Mental Health & Wellness Symposium at the Denver Marriott Tech Center. This is a terrific event if you are interested in pursuing projects to promote mental health in our community.
Saturday, April 29: 2023 District Conference at the Cable Center

For more information on the line-up of speakers and activities for each event, or to register for one or both of these impactful events, go to the District website at https://www.rotary5450.org/ There are club funds available to help defray the cost of the events once you have attended -- talk with Gail Lehrmann if you would like to learn more (glehrmann@aol.com).