Our club has a long history of service to Praying Hands Ranch, a therapeutic riding center.  In the past couple of years our service has focused on restoring/maintaining their sensory gardens.  Our main challenge with the gardens this summer has been staying on top of the abundant weeds brought out by our earlier cool, rainy weather!  Just look at the thistles trying to take over this garden bed...

We have three more Saturday dates set up in July/August to do garden work at Praying Hand Ranch, mostly weeding.  We will work from 8-10 a.m. each morning:

• July 31

• August 14

• August 28

Dress to get dirty, and please bring

• Work gloves

• A weeding tool if you have one

• A kneeling pad

• A collection bucket, such as a 5-gallon Home Depot bucket

Don’t worry if you can’t tell a weed from a flower – there are plenty of locations we can place you to keep you out of trouble!

The ranch is located at 11892 Hilltop Rd, Parker, CO 80134.  The green arrow points to the location of the gardens on the property; the blue arrow points to the area you can park.  If by chance the front gate is closed, continue to S. Delbert Road and use the side access road shown on the map.  Also, if you come in the front gate and past the indoor arena, you can ignore the No Cars sign to access the gardens.

You do not need to RSVP.  Feel free to bring along family members! If you have any questions, please contact Ron Sorlien (rssorlien@msn.com) or Susan Gustin (sjgustin@comcast.net).

The Rotary Club of Parker is taking orders for Colorado-grown Palisade peaches and pears.  We are offering

Click here to place your order online and pay with a credit card.

Peach/pear pickup date is Saturday, August 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Planet Fitness parking lot (SW corner of Parker Road and Main Street in Parker)

Thank you for supporting the Rotary Club of Parker and our community service projects!

The newest members of our club led us in creating a dynamite service project that will benefit many individuals/groups in our community.  We assembled 314 Care Kits with a variety of hygiene items, specialized for children (151 kits), women (91 kits) and men (72 kits).  Twenty-three Rotarians and guests came together on Saturday, July 24 to assemble the kits.   Thank you to Michael, Chau and family for hosting (and feeding!) us. 

Click here to view a slide show showing Rotarians in action.

The Care Kits will now be donated to:

Strive to Thrive (150 Kits) partners with local organizations to provide resources and increase awareness and availability of services for families in our community who are struggling to obtain basic needs. Care Kits will be donated during their semi-annual event on July 27. The Rotary Club of Parker will have a booth set up at this event from 4-6 p.m. to distribute the kits.

Winter Shelter Network (WSN) (55 Kits). The goal of the WSN is to serve the homeless of Douglas County by providing a temporary, safe shelter to receive REST, MEALS, and CONNECTION.

Eagle Academy High School (EAHS) (55 kits). EAHS is committed to providing students with a relevant learning experience that facilitates personal and academic exploration. EA embraces a caring and positive family model by empowering students to gain confidence and take initiatives building a fulfilling future founded on personal balance and healthy, nurturing relationships.

DC Student Support Center (DCSSC) (54 kits). DCSSC is a voluntary, 9-week, strength-based transition program and is intended to support students expelled or at-risk of expulsion for behavior, truancy and or substance abuse. In addition to regular instruction, students meet with licensed mental health, mindfulness (researched-based coping skill intervention) and substance abuse counselors an average of 4 hours a week to offer support around a variety of mental health and substance use issues.