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Rotary Club of Parker

Parker, Colorado

Please go to the Calendar to see the dates and speakers of our virtual meetings; click here for information on how to take part in a virtual meeting.

2021 Parker Impact Award
Thursday, March 11, 2021
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Please join the Rotary Club of Parker as we honor the recipients of the 2021 Parker Impact Award, celebrating individuals and groups who have lived out Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self during this past difficult year.

Click here to join the meeting

(This link will go live as of 11:15 a.m. on March 11, 2021)

Allie Yarochowicz, Student of the Month for February – Ponderosa High School

We were happy to welcome Allie Yarochowicz, the Student of the Month for February for Ponderosa High School, to our meeting on February 11. Allie was accompanied by her parents, Skylar and Rob, and teacher Dawn Hildenbrand.

Allie currently serves as the president of both FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) and TSA (Technology Students Association) at Ponderosa. She was the FBLA 3D Animation State Champion last year, and went to state for Digital Video Production in the 10th grade. She took second place in the TSA State Robotics Competition last year. Allie has achieved academic letters throughout her high school career and has also achieved a letter in community service. In addition to her academic achievements, Allie played soccer for Ponderosa for two years.

Allie is planning to study engineering/animation. Her dream job would be to work as a Disney Imagineer. Congratulations, Allie – we wish you the best!

Yabsira Nigussie, Student of the Month for January – Ponderosa High School

Congratulations to Yabsira Nigussie, the Student of the Month for Ponderosa High School! She joined us for our January 14 Zoom meeting, accompanied by her mother and her teacher Jill Nabena, who commended Yabsira for her “inclusive personality and character.”

Yabsira has served the Ponderosa community in a variety of roles. She is on the Student Council Executive Board and the NHS Executive Board. She also served as the President of the Women’s Select choir and in PAC, Link Crew and DECA. Yabsira played tennis for Ponderosa for two years. She has also served the larger community on Diversity conferences and as a library volunteer working with children.

Yabsira plans to attend an out-of-state college to study nursing. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors, Yabsira!

Garden Planting at Praying Hands Ranch

We had the opportunity to work in the gardens at Praying Hands Ranch, taking advantage of the lovely weather to plant perennials donated by Tagawa Gardens. Ron Sorlein and family collected the plants and got them to the ranch, then Mike Oldham (pictured above with Mary and Shirley Hanson) took over as the on-site supervisor.

Click here for a photo album of the project. There were several other workers over the three days in addition to those pictured in the slide show. Thank you to all who answered the last-minute call to get the plants into the ground!

Parker Task Force Food Drive a Huge Success!

Thank you to all Rotarians who contributed to the success of this food drive on Saturday, November 14 either by

volunteering at the facility on November 14
dropping off food, or
making a financial donation to the Task Force.

The Task Force collected 317 cases of food on Saturday! Here’s just a sampling of the steady stream of cars that came through:

The Club also presented a check for $18,650, half of which was donated by members and half of which was matched by the Rotary Club of Parker Foundation.

Supporting Local Agencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

One of the ways that the Rotary Club of Parker is helping out during the current pandemic is to provide financial support to several local agencies that are providing care. We have contributed $18,000 in the past two months (March - May); this includes a $1500 matching grant from Rotary District 5450.

Here is where the money has gone:

Parker Adventist Hospital - Food: $1,000.00
Parker Adventist Hospital - Emergency Preparedness: $2,000.00
Parker Senior Center: $1,000.00
Aging Resources of Douglas County: $2,000.00
Crisis Center: $2,000.00
Parker Task Force: $6,000.00 (includes $1,500 from District Matching Grant)
SECORCares: $3,000.00

Rotarian Mike Endres was able to present checks to two local organizations while he was volunteering at SECORCares. First, Mike hooked up with Kevin Fox and Lori Gloer of Aging Resources of Douglas County. Shown below are Mike (right) with Kevin Fox. Click here for more information on the services offered by Aging Resources of Douglas County. (Note: These photos were taken before the recommendation to wear masks came into effect.)

Mike also presented a check to Dennis Gorton, Executive Director of SECORCares. Depending upon the day, SECORCares has been experiencing 3-4 times the normal volume of guests using the food bank and could benefit from additional volunteers. Most volunteer shifts are two hours if you’d like to get out of the house to help provide some essential services. Information is available on the SECORCares website.

More Masks!

The project to make masks goes on! As of May 4, we have distributed 250 masks to

four nursing homes/senior residential homes
volunteers at two Parker food banks: SECORCares and the Parker Task Force
volunteers at the Parker Senior Center.

The photo shows a sample of the fun masks that Rotarians and friends have stitched -- everything from pigs to poppies!

Thank you to all who have donated fabric, cut out fabric, and stitched masks together.

Pizza and Snacks for Front-Line Workers

One of the fun ways we have helped during the coronavirus pandemic is to provide pizza and snacks for front-line workers in Parker. During the weeks of May 4 and 11, we provided pizza and snacks at the following locations:

All six Parker-area fire stations as a thank you/appreciation for their service to the community during this challenging time. The firefighters at Station 41 are hamming it up above to say Thank you!
Parker Police Department, who gave us a shout-out on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ParkerPoliceDepartment
The volunteers at two local food banks: SECORCares and the Parker Task Force
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Staff at local nursing homes and long-term care facilities
Parker Senior Center

Click here for a photo album of the pizza/snack support.

Thank you to all the sponsors and participants of the 2020 State of the Town business luncheon and Impact Award, hosted by the Rotary Club of Parker.

Wednesday, February 26, 2020

PACE Center/Parker, Colorado

Click here to see the recipients of the 2020 Parker Impact Award.

Click here to view a slide show of the event.