West Liberty Community Hygiene Supply Drive thru Nov 26
WLSCD FREE Mobile Clinic
D6000 EVENTS
Rotary International:
Foundation Minute 10/30
Polio Minute 10/30
RCWL Membership
Membership RE-NEWAL details for the 23-24 Rotary Year
2023-2024 Rotary Year Meeting Format
Updates from Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking (INAHT)
Upcoming Meeting details...
*Special note from Chair Cliff McFerren -
The noon lunch bunch would like to remind everyone to get out and vote for your favorite school board candidate and if applicable, your favorite city council member and mayoral candidates on Tuesday Nov 7th. Polls are open till 9pm. Polling place is the West Liberty Community Center for all precincts.
Friday noon club, or the "Lunch Bunch" will meet at @ Liberty Public House (LPH), starting at 12:00pm.
A note from Chair Cliff McFerren: "The Lunch Bunch has been having great attendance. We have been averaging 12 members per week. Therefore, I will be getting food for 12-14 members and guests. Instead of letting me know you are coming, just let me know if you will NOT be attending by Thursday noonish. Everyone is welcome and it is great to see so many enjoying the fellowship and exchanging "what's happening" in West Liberty."
Dates are as follows:
November 17th
NO MEETING FRIDAY NOVEMBER 24th
Note from the President Ken Brooks
Dear Rotarians and West Liberty Community,
I am filled with an immense sense of pride as I reflect on the successful events that have recently graced our community, thanks to the dedicated efforts of our Rotary Club members. On October 25th, we witnessed the West Liberty Community School District Board of Education Candidate forum unfold with remarkable efficiency and professionalism. As organizers, we aimed to facilitate a transparent and informative dialogue, and the event surpassed our expectations.
A special commendation is due to Rotarian Allie Paarsmith and West Liberty Education Association member, Dan Stevenson, who moderated the forum with exceptional skill. Their ability to guide the conversation ensured that the event was not only enlightening but also a testament to the democratic spirit that thrives within West Liberty.
Furthermore, our own Rotarian Jake Burroughs, who is seeking reelection on the school board, participated with the utmost integrity and insight. His contributions were invaluable and reflected the high caliber of candidates dedicated to serving our educational community.
Moving into November, we continued to demonstrate our club’s commitment to civic engagement with the City Council and Mayoral Forum held on November 2nd. Again, our very own Jake Burroughs provided leadership that greatly contributed to the event’s success. In addition, we extend our gratitude to Rotarian Charles Brooke, whose moderation was nothing short of exemplary, guiding the discussions with poise and purpose.
I would also like to recognize City Council Member Cara McFerren, a fellow Rotarian, who participated in the forum as a candidate. Her articulate and thoughtful discourse was a credit to herself and to the Rotary Club.
As we approach the holiday season, our spirit of giving shines with Project Warm, our annual coat drive that exemplifies the heart of our mission. I call upon your generosity to aid in this endeavor. Contributions for new coats can be entrusted to Krista Lanier at Midwestone Bank. We are also collecting gently used winter coats at three locations: with Sara Sedlacek at Edward Jones, Bill Koellner at this downtown office and myself at the WeLead office.
Volunteers are the backbone of our success, and your hands are needed for coat distribution from November 18-21 at St. Joseph Catholic Church and from December 1-2 at the West Liberty Public Library. Your time and efforts will wrap our community members in warmth and kindness.
As Rotarians, we live by the ideal that service to others is the rent we pay for our space on this earth. In this season of giving and gratitude, let us rally together to make a difference, to warm bodies and hearts, and to strengthen the bonds within our community.
Pictured Left to Right is: PDG John Ockenfels and West Liberty Rotarian Ken Donnelly. Celebrating together, Ken Donnelly class of 1959 with John. John was recognized this year and Ken is 2008 Distinguished Alumni of Regina High School. More about Ken...
Ken joined Rotary in 1968 as he was asked by a local elementary principal at the time. His favorite memory is helping serve turkey tenderloins during fair week at the rotary stand because he was in AC and he got to see people you haven't seen for awhile to catch up.
November is Foundation Month... by Bill Koellner
The Rotary Foundation
Rotary has two groups of leaders – The Board of Directors of Rotary International manages everything in Rotary. Under the Board of Directors are a Board of Trustees who manage the nonprofit portion of Rotary International.
Annually Rotarians contribute to The Rotary Foundation. The Foundation has multiple funds they manage – We are familiar with the Annual Fund and the Polio Fund. Most everything our club will ever do is in these two funds. The number one goal of Rotary is to eliminate Polio. The Gates Foundation matches $2 for every $1 we give as world health is one of their goals.
Our donations to Annual Fund is divided into 2 parts at Rotary Foundation – District Funds and World Fund. If our club donates $10,000 annually, $5,000 comes back to the District and $5,000 goes into the World Fund after 3 years. In the 3 years the interest from our $10,000 is used in operation at Rotary International.
We then can get a District Designated Fund Grant to be used for Community Service grants. We have done this most years and the funds are used for local projects like bike racks, trail lights, library books, trees, playground equipment, picnic shelter, Ron-de-voo park accessories, and many more. In addition, we could do an international grant with the up to $25,000 (our $5,000 plus other clubs donations) and the matching funds would be our money in the World Fund. We have done this several times in the past – 5 water wells in Haiti, wells in India, water wells and reservoir for a town in Nepal, cancer treatment center in Brazil, MRI in hospital in Columbia, school bus for orphanage in Mexico, new kitchen at orphanage, sleeping beds and school desks at orphanage and books for their school. Music instruments for homeless population in a community center in Mexico, community center in Africa, school desks in Nigeria, shoes for children in Africa, and more.
In addition, one other fund is used for bequest. That is if a Rotarian dies, they can leave a living legacy to carry on the work of the Foundation. We have 4 of these in our club.
Allie Paarsmith is part of the literacy committee in D6000, and they are planning a Reading Summit which will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2024 in conjunction with the District Learning Assembly. There will be two breakout sessions featuring a program regarding the importance of literacy and literacy projects from 5 Rotary Clubs in our district. Be on the look out for more details to come!!!
Interact Club - Check out what they did 10/31
Making up candy to give to residents @ Simpson Home
Visiting Residents
#SeriviceAboveSelf
WeLead Quarterly Meeting 11/10
12pm @ West Liberty Community Center
RSVP to Ken Brooks, WeLead Executive Director
Hello Chamber Members and Friends,
Attached you will find our November Chamber Chat full of events and a showcase of what you will see for our Annual Holiday Open House November 18th and 19th in downtown West Liberty.
Have a great Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Charles Brooke
West Liberty Community Hygiene Supply Drive
Dear West Liberty Community Member,
Local families need your help! Today, 6,300 Muscatine County households are struggling to meet their most basic needs. Over 4,300 of those households consist of adults who are working and earning more than the federal poverty level, but less than the basic cost of living for Muscatine County.
This year, as part of Giving Tuesday, United Way of Muscatine is hosting a Community Hygiene Supply Drive to help ensure local families have basic hygiene supplies. We are requesting that local businesses, civic, and faith-based organizations collect hygiene supplies for the community-wide drive from November 13th - November 26th, 2023. Supplies will be available for distribution to local families on Giving Tuesday, November 28, 2023. Needed items include: laundry detergent, dish soap, toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, conditioner, body wash/soap, Kleenex, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, deodorant, feminine products, combs/hair brushes, and lotion.
The supplies collected can be picked up on Monday, November 27th or dropped off at the West Liberty Food Pantry located at 1100 N. Calhoun Street between 12:00pm-3:00pm. If you prefer to make a monetary contribution, please note that the funds are to be designated to the West Liberty Community Hygiene Supply Drive. We will then purchase needed supplies. West Liberty Food Pantry personnel will distribute supplies to those in need. All donations will stay in the West Liberty School District!
If you would like to host a Community Hygiene Supply Drive or make a donation, please fill out this electronic pledge form or call Hilary at 563-279-4237 to register your drive. Please contact Hilary at 563-263-249-4237 or hilary@unitedwaymuscatine.org with any questions.
When we choose to Live United, we can create a better tomorrow together.
Kind Regards,
Hilary Henke Community Engagement Manager | United Way of Muscatine
Our friends at the University of Iowa Free Mobile Clinic will be holding a clinic on Saturday, November 18th from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. at
First Church United
1100 N Calhoun St.
West Liberty, IA 52776
This clinic is free, open to the public, and operates on a first come first served basis (no appointment needed). They will offer flu vaccines at this clinic, there is an interest form to fill out if you wish to receive a flu vaccine, so they can get an estimate of the number of vaccines they need to bring. If you plan to get a flu vaccine at this clinic please fill out the survey by scanning the code on the poster or by clicking on this link: Flu Vaccine Survey Please help us to spread the word about this free clinic!
In Sympathy - Past District Governor Corliss Klaassen
To all District 6000 Rotarians:
It is with sadness that we notify you of the death of Past District Governor 2005-2006, Corliss Klaassen, on Monday, October 30, 2023. Jeanne and Corliss were members of the Rotary Club of Chariton until they moved in 2022 and joined the Rotary Club of West Des Moines. Visitation will be 2-4 PM Sunday, November 5 at Pierschbacher Funeral Home, 914 Roland Ave., Chariton with the service at 10:30 AM on Monday, November 6, at First United Methodist Church, 923 Roland Ave., Chariton, IA 50049.
Our district will send a $100 contribution to The Rotary Foundation in his memory.
Condolences:
Jeanne Klaassen 9225 Cascade Avenue #1305, West Des Moines, IA 50266 Jeanne2491@gmail.com 641-344-2896
Our thoughts and prayers are with Jeanne and their family
Rotary Foundation Minute 10/30/2023
Welcome to the Last Week of RI’s Month of Economic & Community Development.
Annually in Brazil, Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina, and Ecuador, more than 7700 children born with clubfoot abnormalities will have their conditions corrected and disabilities prevented by orthopedic surgeons trained in the Ponsetti Method by vocational training teams funded by Rotary Foundation Global Grants. Six Global Grants, totaling $550,000, were sponsored by Rotary clubs in Districts 6000 and 5970 and supported by the Rotary Action Group for Clubfoot, organized by Iowa Rotarians.
The Rotary Club of Ankeny in collaboration with Blessman International, an NGO founded by Iowan Dr. Jim Blessman sponsored a $200,000 Global Grant to construct 35 non-polluting sanitation facilities in early childhood development centers in disadvantaged rural communities surrounding Polokwane and Mokopane, South Africa. The facilities are providing for basic human dignity by replacing open defecation and eliminating the horrific danger of drowning in pit latrines for more than 1,000 children. To multiply the benefits of the project and to assure its sustainability, the grant also funded training in the use and maintenance of the facilities for the school staffs and instruction for the children on hand washing to improve hygiene and health.
In Rotary,
Olabisi Gwamna, PhD
Mount Pleasant Rotary
Editor, Foundation Minute
One new Wild Polio case reported this week. We are now 4 weeks since the most recent reported Wild Polio Case - in Sindh, Pakistan.
This year, each Rotarian is encouraged to make a personal donation (of a size dictated by their financial situation) to the PolioPlus Fund and Club leaders are urged to make sure each donation is recognized as Paul Harris or Major Donor credit.
Each donation made to Rotary's End Polio Now effort is matched 2:1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to maximize its effect. As such, if you give US$10 to the effort, as an example, the amount becomes US$30, and with that, 60 children will be vaccinated in the remaining affected countries. Thank you for everything that you do!
Congratulations!
To each of you who led World Polio Day fundraising, advocacy, and education campaigns.
To mark this year's World Polio Day on 24 October, supporters from over 30 countries, across every region of the world, joined the Make Polio History campaign to tell global partners, donors, and polio-affected country governments that eradication is possible and urgently needed
Charity Navigator rewards the Rotary Foundation with their top -
Four Star Rating for the 15th year in a row!
No wonder that The Rotary Foundation remains the first choice charity for people all over the globe. Our contributions to The Rotary Foundation in the last Rotary year totaled more than US$427 million. These have helped fund more than 1,100 global grants, 470 district grants, and 310 disaster response grants. Our communities and the citizens of the world are benefiting through sustainable, life-changing projects. Continued contributions in this Rotary year will help us continue to "Create Hope in the World."
Caps Rotary Night- Support End Polio Now
Buy Washington Capitals tickets for the November 18 NHL game and support the End Polio Now Program! Seats are available in all levels &
2022 Vaccine Derived Polio Cases – 912 in 25 Countries
2023 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Case Total - 331 Benin - 3, Burkina Faso - 2, Burundi - 1, Central African Republic - 12, Chad - 37, Cote d' Ivoire - 5, DR Congo - 178, Guinea - 7, Indonesia - 3, Israel - 1, Kenya - 6, Madagascar - 23, Mali - 9, Mozambique - 3, Nigeria - 26, Somalia - 3, Tanzania - 2, Yemen - 3, Zambia - 1.
2022 Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Case Total - 912 Afghanistan - 43, Algeria - 3, Benin - 11 , Burundi - 1, Cameroon - 3, Central African Republic - 6, Chad -44, DR Congo - 507, Republic of Congo - 1, Eritrea - 1, Ethiopia - 1, Ghana - 3, Indonesia - 1, Israel - 1, Madagascar - 14, Malawi - 4, Mali - 2, Mozambique - 22, Niger - 16, Nigeria - 48, Pakistan - 8, Somalia - 5, Sudan - 1, Togo - 2, United States - 1, Yemen - 162.
New Polio Cases & Samples reported this week -
Pakistan: one WPV1 case and 17 positive environmental samples
DR Congo: two cVDPV1 cases
Egypt: three cVDPV2-positive environmental samples
Kenya: one cVDPV2 case
Madagascar: six cVDPV1 cases and three positive environmental samples
Zimbabwe: four cVDPV2-positive environmental samples
Quote of the Day - "The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time." - Abraham Lincoln
The Final Two Polio Endemic Countries:
Pakistan One new Wild Polio case reported this week. Four Wild Polio cases reported in 2023. Twenty Wild Polio cases reported in 2022. The most recent case had an onset of paralysis on 10/01/23. SeventeenWPV1 Samples and no cVDPV2 Positive Environmental Samples were reported this week in Pakistan.
Afghanistan No new Wild Polio case reported this week. Six Wild Polio cases reported in 2023 - all from the Nangarhar Province. Two Wild Polio Cases reported in 2022. The most recent case had an onset of paralysis on 9/24/23. No WPV1 Samples and no cVDPV2 Positive Environmental Samples were reported this week in Afghanistan.
Advocate, Donate & Educate to END POLIO NOW & FOREVER!
20,500,000 Children Saved from the Paralysis of Polio
Our Goal is Global Polio Eradication!!
Terry Ziegler, Polio Update Newsletter Editor
Rotary Region 36 END POLIO NOW Coordinator 2024-27
Here is the link to the google form that collects the data from the hard-copy membership renewal form. Please note that members can turn in the paper form (attached as well here) or submit this form (select CLICK ME below), whichever they prefer. Payments accepted is via Cash, Check, Venmo or credit card, please contact Ken Brooks and Krista Lanier. Paper invoices will be going out this week.
To clarify some misinformation recently published in a formally local publication, there is only one Rotary Club in West Liberty.
Thursday Evening Meetings: 1st Thursday of every month from 5:30-7PM starting at the Country Club with the possibility of moving to the Community Center at a later date. These meetings will not only be open to the public, but the community, including families, that will be encouraged to attend. The first 30 minutes or so will be for social/dinner, then we will have an opening ceremony followed by a guest speaker. Onsite childcare will be available.
Friday Lunch Meetings: Every Friday at Noon at Liberty Public House. There is a $10 meal fee per person that attends. Program consists of a round-robin where personal, business, and community updates are shared.
Rotarians and members of the public are welcome to attend any and all Rotary meetings, presentations, and community service projects. For more information, or any questions about the meeting schedule and format for 2023-2024, please let President Ken Brooks
CURRENT INFORMATION ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN IOWA
from The Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking and Slavery
NAHT 2024 Legislative Priorities
The Iowa legislature has not been doing a good job of funding either human trafficking prevention/education or survivor service programs. In fact, there is no dedicated funding from the Iowa legislature specifically for these anti-trafficking community-based programs. Federal VOCA victim service funding is funded through the Iowa Attorney General’s office, but this has been significantly cut. This is why the NAHT’s #1 legislative priority for 2024 is funding. The photo below shows Sister Shirley Fineran (NAHT Board Member), Chelsea Hoye, and Threase Harms (Advocacy Strategies) meeting with a legislator to educate him on the need to secure more funding for trauma-informed care and funding for survivors. All advocates statewide are asked to do the same.
Also note that if your spouse/partner are both members of our club, you are getting 2 copies of the Rotary Magazine, that will change effective January 1, 2021 to where your household will only receive 1 copy now.
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