Rotary Club of Sierra Madre

Sierra Madre Community- When you are grocery shopping this week, please consider buying something on these 2 lists to help support Foothill Unity Center. The Rotary Club of Sierra Madre along with Arcadia, Monrovia, & Duarte are holding a drive from February 1-13th to collect foods to help distribute to those less fortunate. Please leave donations at Arnolds, Best Buy, Bottle Shop, Syndicate, or Taylors.

Our Rotary Club of Sierra Madre, along with Clubs of Monrovia, Arcadia, and Duarte are holding a food drive to support Foothill Unity Center. Thanksgiving and Christmas are not the only times that they need to have their pantry filled. Please help us share the love at Valentine’s Day to support those who are less fortunate in our community

Sierra Madre Community- When you are grocery shopping this week, please consider buying something on these 2 lists to help support Foothill Unity Center. The Rotary Club of Sierra Madre along with Arcadia, Monrovia, & Duarte are holding a drive from February 1-13th to collect foods to help distribute to those less fortunate. Please leave donations at Arnolds, Best Buy, Bottle Shop, Syndicate, or Taylors.

Our Rotary Club of Sierra Madre, along with Clubs of Monrovia, Arcadia, and Duarte are holding a food drive to support Foothill Unity Center. Thanksgiving and Christmas are not the only times that they need to have their pantry filled. Please help us share the love at Valentine’s Day to support those who are less fortunate in our community

Denise Verret, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Zoo Director of the Los Angeles Zoo, has 20 years of executive leadership experience. She is passionate about conservation, community engagement and racial, social and environmental justice. As CEO and Zoo Director, her inspired empathetic and transformative leadership style guides the senior management team in achieving the Zoo’s mission with clearly defined goals, strategies and methods for measuring success. Denise is also c...ommitted to maximizing the welfare of the animals in the care of the Zoo by applying the most up-to-date research, science and advanced understanding in animal wellness, husbandry, management, and exhibit design. Denise has been actively involved in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for 17 years serving as an AZA accreditation inspector and a member of various committees, including Government Affairs, Business Operations and Diversity. Her topics will be the redesign and redevelopment of the zoo's 133-acre campus, plus the impact of COVID and plans for reopening. To participate in our virtual meeting, e-mail us requesting the ZOOM link to [email protected]

Decoration the town in December 2020

Sierra Madre Rotary welcomes the New Year. Join us on Zoom Tuesdays at 8am. Contact President KAREN SWISHER for an invitation [email protected]

President Karen Swisher says Bring a new unwrapped toy for our friends at the Hathaway - Sycamore Home in Pasadena this yearThank you and please share!

Join us Tuesday online and meet Scientist Wen Chen PhD from Caltech.

USO 5k walk through Sierra Madre with Rotary Club members. We Love our small town and support the USO!

Our Rotary programs are excellent thanks to this past president Dan Alle. Thank you for your tireless service Dan!

Kris Poulsen decorating Kersting Court with our Rotary Club of Sierra Madre.

Meeting with Chief of Police Rod Akalian at the home of President Karen Swisher

Sierra Madre Rotary is a fun club with President Karen Swisher.

Hello friends, Out of caution due to the coronavirus we are cancelling our next two Tuesday morning Rotary meetings at the Hart House, March 17 and 24th. As soon as we resume meeting we will let you know. Thank you for your understanding.

Join us and bring a friend Tuesday, March 10th from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Sierra Madre's Hart House. Our speaker, Matt Christi, will address an important, yet deeply disturbing topic - the sexual trafficking of children. Alarmingly, it is pervasive around the world. Matt is the West Coast Director of Advancement for Destiny Rescue USA. His primary goal is to grow awareness to combat the global issue of Human Trafficking, specifically Child Sex Trafficking. He is responsib...le for maintaining and developing partnerships in this fight and empowering people to turn awareness into action. He takes great pride and joy in helping people figure out what their yes looks like to help defend children. Matt is a graduate of California State University Fullerton. He finished school with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and an emphasis on Advertising. Over the last decade, Matt has been working with youth and involved in non-profit work. It is currently his desire to continue to fight until all are free from sex trafficking. In his free time, Matt enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids, traveling, being outside and active. If you would like to know more about the work of Destiny Rescue, please visit www.destinyrescue.org

Monday night from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m., a musical treat awaits visitors, Rotarians and British Home residents when four students compete in the annual Dan Stover Music Contest. Named in the memory of a beloved Alhambra Rotarian, the Dan Stover Music Contest is a musical instruments competition among high school students. This year our contest features a pianist, two violinists, and a cellist. These young people are outstanding musicians. The winner goes on to compete at our District 5300 conference at Pasadena’s Westin hotel on Saturday, May 1 for a grand prize of $5,000. The British Home is located at 647 Manzanita Ave. in Sierra Madre. Guests are welcome.

Last week Sierra Madre’s Rotary Club’s Global Grants Committee interviewed Natasha Oviedo, a outstanding UCLA senior applying for a Rotary scholarship to study conflict resolution at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Rotary’s Global Grants scholarships are awarded to college seniors who have been admitted to a graduate program at an overseas university. The graduate studies must be related to one of Rotary’s six areas of focus: 1. Promoting Peace 2. Fighting Di...sease 3. Providing Clean Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 4. Saving Mothers and Children 5. Supporting Education 6. Growing Local Economies Not only did Natasha, who grew up in Sierra Madre, pass our interview, she went on to District 5300’s Global Grants Scholar Committee and passed their interview with great praise for her! We are now seeking a partnership with the Rotary Club of Belfast, Ireland, who will serve as Natasha’s home club should the Rotary Foundation select her as one of its few scholarship awardees. As soon as we have a commitment from Belfast Rotary, we will submit Natasha’s application to the Rotary Foundation in Evanston, IL. It usually takes 10-14 days for the Rotary Foundation to notify applicants of their decision. Fingers crossed!

Two years ago the Rotary Club of Sierra Madre and its District, 5300, partnered to fund an international grant to provide job training for unskilled poor people in Calcutta, India. The Rotary Club of Calcutta Victoria shared the successful outcome of the project in the attached photos. We are proud to have contributed to improving the lives of impoverished people, paving a way to greater prosperity. Great job, everyone!

Banner exchange at Lamorinda rotary in Lafayette last Friday breakfast. Annie Marggraff was there and Jim was on a trip. A very fun group. Thanks so much Tom for making me feel welcome. It was great to hear Conrad's comments about his attending the RHSTAR award dinner last year. See you at the 5th Annual RHSTAR awards upcoming