The Rotary Club of Mill Creek's Mutt March 2012 is June 2nd and Team Rotary is raising funds for Rotary First Harvest.

Would you please help Team Rotary reach it's goal of $10,000.

Kids and families are suffering in today's economy. Over 30% of students receive free lunches from a program called the National Supplementary Lunch Program, but what about the rest of the family? What about the days students are not in school.

27% represents increase in number of households in Washington State that experienced food insecurity.

36% represents the increase in the rate of hunger in Washington State from last year.

When you support Team Rotary you support the local food banks!

Make a donation today or better yet, why not register and be part of Team Rotary!

It all goes to Rotary First Harvest!

To join Team Rotary or to make a donation  go to: www.k9muttmarch.dojiggy.com/Rotary

Last August the Rotary Club of Mill Creek's International Committee presented a grant of $1,000 to Los Abuelitos.

Jennifer Levy,  Founder and President of Los Abuelitos was back in town this Wednesday May 16th and spent a couple of minutes updating the work being accomplished at Los Abuelitos.  Working with licensed Physical Therapists along with students they accomplished quite a bit and will continue their project of helping the elderly. 

Jennifer Hoock of Guatemala Village Health contacted us to announce that they are in the final stages of organizing and packing a container of medical equipment & supplies to go to Guatemala.  They would welcome volunteers to assist. 

There are two opportunities: 1) inventorying the supplies to be shipped this weekend, May 19-20; and 2) packing the container on June 9-10th.   Both activities will take place at the Group Health Central South Building, Level B on Capitol Hill from 8-5 on all of these days.

Our club has helped sponsor the collection and shipment of the supplies which are going to the new Monterico Clinic (just officially opened in February) in Guatemala.  Los Abuelitos is a  501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, that works to support underserved elderly populations in need around the world.
   

(Check presentation, August 2011 from left to right, Jennifer Levy, Jeff Brennan International Chairman of the Rotary Club of Mill Creek, Juan Carlos Pinto Past President of the Rotary Club of Guatemala City) 

(City of Mill Creek Mayor Mike Todd and Interect President Bonita Yusaf)

Thanks to all Mill Creek Rotarians who helped pack the 125 gallon zip lock bags full of crafts and other goodies. The bags were distributed this week in Nepal to children at the Disabled Newlife Center by members of the Rotary Clubs of Bellevue and Lakewood.

Members from these clubs went to Nepal as part of Rotary International’s USA/Nepal Disability Awareness Campaign.

Special thanks to Barb Athanas for providing the beanie babies and to Dr. Bill Mulliken for his donation of the toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Mutt March will have television advertisements on the Cooking Channel, DYI and the Animal Planet to help promote this years event benefiting ChaseAway K9 Cancer and Rotary First Harvest.

The filming of the advertisement were conducted at the Mill Creek Country Club.  Rotarians Barb Athanas, Bill McElroy, Becky Porter and Terri Wilson were all part of the production. 

Steve Goetz of the Goetz Group (which specializes in marketing and promotion) was able to secure the advertisements and production at a very favorable price.

Filming of the Mutt March ads at the Mill Creek Country Club

Rotary District 5030 held it's annual conference during the weekend of April 21st and 22nd and the Rotary Club of Mill Creek Rotarians descended on the town of Coeur d'Alane along with another 500 Rotarians from the other 53 clubs around the Seattle area.

Clubs used the opportunity to showcase some of the international and community projects that Rotary is famous for.  Break-out sessions were an opportunity to learn a little bit more about Rotary, while keynote speakers provided entertainment.

Next years District Conference will once again be held at Coeur d'Alane.

The 2012 Mill Creek Rotary Auction was a huge success thanks to your participation. You will touch many lives. Community projects and scholarships, food for the hungry, and sustainable international service projects will now be possible because of your generosity.  Special thanks goes to our seven guests from the Guatemala del Este Rotary Club who honored us by their visit and brought us many unique and outstanding auction items.

Financial estimates are that we will gross $99,000 and net $63,000, the best we have ever done.

Thank you again for your presence to make this event so enjoyable and to help demonstrate that Rotary represents “Service Above Self.”

See you next year.

Gerald N. Yorioka, M.D.
2012 Mill Creek Rotary Auction Chair

Check out the Auction 2012 movie in the Club Video section of our web site.

The Snowman Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, raises money through annual "Ten Grands" concerts that feature 10 grand pianos and 10 concert pianists. The musicians play solos, in various combinations and simultaneously, with selections ranging from classical to blues, boogie woogie, contemporary, pop and original compositions.

All proceeds from the concerts are donated to community- and school-based programs whose goals include bringing musical arts education to children, with a focus on at-risk and under-served populations. To date, grants totaling more than $2 million have been awarded.

More than two dozen groups in the Greater Seattle area have received grants from funds raised at the Seattle concerts.
 
The next "Ten Grands" concert in Seattle will be held May 12, 2012 at Benaroya Hall. The one-night only concerts have sold out the past two years. Only a few seats left.  Tickets are available through:   Hilary Doherty.

What would you do:

You just received a pay increase of 25 cents an hour which amounts to about $40 a month.  Then in a few days you receive a notice from DSHS that due to the $40 pay increase, you no longer qualified for baby sitting allowance.  

Your $40 pay increase now is costing you approximately $2,000 a month in baby sitting.  So you called DSHS and asked what can I do......their response was simple.....(1)  either refuse the pay increase OR (2) work less hours.

This is exactly what happen to Katie Walsh, our guest speaker on April 11th.  

Ms Walsh explain the problems families have trying to move up from being supported by the state and local governments to being self sufficient.

A STEP UP is an organization that is striving to meet this problem.  Through our community outreach programs they strive to help working families stay working by providing child care assistance to those that are transitioning from low income to self-sufficiency.  A STEP UP is a newly formed 501(c)(3).  Their mission statement is simple:   A Step Up helps to build a community of self-sufficient parents and families by supplementing the costs of child care for working families transitioning from dependency to self-sufficiency.

If you would like more information or if you would like to help, you can visit their website at www.astepup-nonprofit.org