Visit the website at www.theheartofrotary.org for registration information, and a schedule of Events.

As you might remember in December we voted for our new board for the 2012-2013 Rotary year.  We thought it might be a nice idea if we actually published the board members names!

President 2012-2013 - KEITH SCHOENTHAL

Treasurer - GREG CHO

Secretary - SHARI LORENZ

President Elect (2013-2014) - ROSEMARY MOJICA

President Nominee (2014-2015) - SHARI LORENZ

Board Members

LILIA GONZALEZ

ALICE KIBWAA

ROBERT LEYS

DON McNAIR

AUDREY COHEN

JIM CURRY

LEN GERALDI

2011-2012 COMMUNITY SERVICE  ACTIVITIES
 
 
Warm Body & Warm Hearts. The club is knitting around 400 scarves for the needy this winter.
 
Dictionaries will be provided to local 3rd graders at Thomas Page Elementary School.                                                       
 
COTS: fund and support local facility that provides housing and counseling for those in need.

NOAH: provide funding and support for the largest food pantry from Marin County to the Oregon boarder.  We have a member on the NOAH Board and we manage the collection of over 13,000 pounds of canned foods each December. We manage the food distribution for 9 weeks each year for about 9,000 local family members.
 
Christmas Toys For Kids: we gathered and purchased for hundreds of needy children. We distribute them with the help of local police, firefighters and Santa Claus.
 
Sonoma Wildlife: we provide funding to rehabilitate injured animals  and cold storage  facility for their food.
 
Rohnert Park Fishing Derby: provide funding for hundreds of local kids to catch fish in Rohnert Park.
 
Shoebox Project: provide funding and manpower to obtain and assemble basic necessities for children of all ages. Last year the Shoebox Project provided 3,000 Christmas wrapped shoe boxes for Sonoma County children. Example: each box may be filled with soap, tooth brush & tooth paste, socks, gloves, a book, pencils, toys, scarf, knitted hat and more.
 
Cotati Creek Critters: we provide funding for projects such as local river clean up days, removal of non native brush and plant trees and scrubs.  www.cotaticreekcritters.info
 
Green Projects: support local organizations that promote recycling and those trying to stay off of the grid.
  
Cotati Art Project: support the City of Cotati and students from SSU to provide permanent support bases for art projects from SSU students.

Rohnert Park Friday Night Market: we have been instrumental in bringing quality  local organic farmers and craftsmen to the market along with a large quantity of  market goers by providing funding for the market promoter and supplying the liquid refreshments as needed. This has also become our largest fundraising to date.

Senior Project: provide manpower, funding and personal support for seniors who need minor in-home repairs or safety items such as Smoke or Carbon Monoxide Detectors, changing light bulbs, changing location of telephone for easy access and more.

GranFondo Bike Race:  provide logistical support and food preparation at a mandatory check stop for 7500 bicycle racers in the Bodega Bay area.

Relay For Life Cancer Walk: provide funding and facility construction for a 24 hour marathon walk.

Voices: we provide clothing, food and funding for this worthy organization. Voices is a day-time only drop in center for teens  to provide them a place to associate with others, learn resume’ and computer skills, obtain nutrition, clothing and more who otherwise would be on the street.

Project Graduation: we provided funding for the local middle school so they can have a graduation day program since current school funding could not provide a graduation day program.

Project Grad Night: provide manpower to assist in a safe, fun and secure graduation night activities for graduated seniors from our local high schools.

Every 15 Minutes:  provide assistance to Highway Patrol, fire departments and local police departments with a program for local high school students to show them the reality from the result of drinking and driving.

                                                           
Committee Members:

Richard Rackerby & George Malkemus  Co-Directors

Angie Watkins, Audrey Cohen, Bill Thomas, Elena Whorton, Greg Cho, Haz Elbgal, Helen Schollman, Herlinda Heras, Jim Curry, Rosemary Mojica, Sandy Geary, Steve Kelling, Suzanne Little, Eleanor Rogers, Don Mcnair, Yatin Shaw

As you know we are working with the Rotary of Rohnert Park Cotati on the Rotary Helping Hands Program.  This program is aimed at helping seniors with minor home repairs, while also taking a minute to evaluate their living conditions. 

We are working in pairs;

1.       One individual actually doing the repair/maintenance item;

2.       One individual socializing/evaluating the senior. 

This program is schedule every month on the second Saturday of the month.  Referrals are receive through the Rohnert Park Senior Center.

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Rancho Cotati - Where We eat lunch, then change the world.

At just four years old, we earned District Club of the Year!   This honor represents four years of hard and consistent work by our members and all deserve thanks.   In our community, we have partnered with the NOAH Food Bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Chambers of Commerce for Cotati and Rohnert Park, and local educational institutions (from middle school through college) via programs such as Interact and Rotaract.  Collectively, Rotary members contribute one billion dollars a year into their local communities. 

Internationally, we reach out and build with Kenya via our Kitwii Water Project and Books and Balls Project (see the International section of our website). We also manage a series of mico-loans to African and South American women through Kiva. We have been consistently increasing support to school children in the Bahamas and art students in India.  

I am honored and proud to be President for this diverse, engaged and interactive club!  Every member contributes his or her unique talents to the good of the club, the good of the community and during particularly dynamic meals, the good of the world.

Of course the world doesn’t change simply because lunch is delicious.  The world changes for the better every time a member raises his or her hand to help. The  world changes for good every time we connect and partner with other local clubs like Rohnert Park/ Cotati,  Santa Rosa East and Rotary Clubs in Kenya and the Bahamas.  This enables every club member to achieve positive local and global change from feeding families down the street to eradicating Polio across the world. We enjoy supporting each other effect  change with every project, every fundraiser and every gesture of hope.

 I invite you to join us for our Thursday lunch meeting, at Sally Tomatoes in Rohnert Park.  We meet at 12:00 and the meeting finishes as 1:30.  Come and explore how you can change the world - every week.

Catharine Bramkamp
President