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We are hopeful the club can hold it's annual meeting and awards banquet on June 30 at the Ankeny Golf & Country Club. Their restaurant is open but, unless guidelines are revised, there could be a limit on the number of guests they can serve. There are also still concerns regarding the meeting as a larger group. Other possibilities are to have the meeting using Zoom or postponing the meeting until a later date. A final decision regarding the annual meeting can hopefully be made during the Board meeting on June 11th.

Rotary Foundation Minute

Most of the activities that Rotary districts and their clubs worldwide are currently engaged in are centered on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rotary International, in response to the ravaging impacts of this virus on the lives of the people world-wide, through its charitable agency, The Rotary Foundation, created the Disaster Response Fund. This fund, with limited financing by TRF is designed to help districts around the world respond to disasters.

Funds were made available and applications were accepted from many of the 535 Rotary districts as well as many of the nearly 35,000 clubs worldwide. Shortly after the funds were made available the funds were exhausted. Below are two great stories of how a district and some its clubs have made a difference.

The Rotary Club of La Crosse (WI), District 6250, received a $1,000 Disaster Relief Grant from TRF to be donated to the Hunger Task Force’s “Together We Can” Drive-thru Food Drive at the Valley View Mall. The district added a sum of $2,000 to the grant, which will be split among organizations catering to local needs. The New Horizon’s Food Pantry, Gateway Council Boys Scouts Camp Subsidies, YMCA Youth activities are among the beneficiaries.

The six Chippewa Valley Rotary Clubs, (WI) District 6250, also received a $4,200 Disaster Relief Grant from TRF. In addition to the grant from TRF, the clubs have donated $2,500 in relief funds which provides a total of $6,700. All funds will be donated to two different organizations providing Covid-19 relief in the Chippewa Valley. Assistant Governor Michael Kloss stated that the clubs understand the difficulties and hardships caused by the pandemic, adding “ I hope that our help, through the support of Rotary International (The Rotary Foundation), will ease the pain for some and foster others more fortunate to help in any way they can.”

“We have to be open to new approaches and creating unique clubs for younger people is just part of the solution…We will not let rapid change defeat us. We will capture this moment to grow Rotary, making it stronger, more adaptable, and even more aligned with our core values,” said Rotary International President-elect, Holger Knaack.

DG Steve Dakin Visit Scheduled

2020-2021 District Governor Steve Dakin and his wife Lesley are scheduled to visit the Ankeny noon club on Tuesday, July 7, 2020 and the Evening club on September 15th. Mark you calendars and plan to attend!

Honduras Global Grant Funded

The Rotary Club of Ankeny is the international sponsor for a Rotary Global Grant to purchase equipment needed in the patient care rooms and necessary supplies in the protection of medical and paramedical personnel in Honduras. The grant has been fully funded and the equipment purchased and delivered to the Rotary clubs in Honduras. Here are a few pictures of the equipment:

June Rotary Board Meeting

The June Board meeting for the Rotary CLub of Ankeny will be held virtually at noon on Thursday, June 11th. All members are welcome to join and will receive an email with instructions on how to join the meeting.

Juan Arias Named Rotarian of Month for May

During the virtual meetings on May 12th, President Rich Job named Juan Arias the "Rotarian of the Month" for May. Juan was instrumental in presenting the opportunity for the club to become the International sponsor for a Rotary Global Grant to purchase equipment needed in the patient care rooms and necessary supplies in the protection of medical and paramedical personnel in Honduras. With Juan's leadership, this grant went from Rotary Club of Ankeny Board approval to submission of the grant, approval by Rotary International, funding, purchase, and delivery of the PPE equipment in less than six weeks. Juan has also agreed to assume the presidency of the Evening club for the 2020-2021 Rotary year. Thank you and congratulations Juan!!

Thank Yous From Dollars For Scholars Winners

The Rotary Club of Ankeny provided two $500 scholarships to each high school in Ankeny through Dollars for Scholars. Here are thank you letters received from two of the winners:

"To the Rotary Club of Ankeny,

I would first like to express my gratitude to this club for awarding me this scholarship. Being the daughter of a Rotarian I have experienced first hand much of the amazing work this club does for our community, from can drives to Meals from the Heartland and local gardening. It is heart fulfilling work that I hope to continue in my future.

Next year I will be attending Creighton University to major in Communications on the Pre-Law track. This path is so intriguing to me because I will soon understand how and why people communicate with each other in the way that they do, and while using the law I am able to help so many people, something I have always wanted to do, much like the Rotary Club does.

This club has helped to show me who I aspire to be in the future, a caring member of the community. I am beyond grateful you have chosen me to be a recipient of this scholarship and I know it will help me in my future endeavours. Thank You Again, Olivia Orth" (Daughter of Rotarian Kristofer Orth)

"Ankeny Rotary Club Members,

First and foremost, thank you . Thank you for awarding me the Ankeny Rotary Club Scholarship. Hearing this news is a huge honor as I would not be the person I am today without our lovely Rotary Club. I attended RYLA in the summer of 2018. I was a counselor in the summer of 2019 and was to be a second year team lead this year. However, as I am sure you know, RYLA 2020 was cancelled. I am planning on being a team lead in 2021 again. I know that I will continue to be involved in RYLA for as long as I can. Without all of you, I would have never been able to be a part of something so magical. Because of the Ankeny Rotary Club, I now have best friends all over the state of Iowa. I have learned an incredible amount about myself, others, and the world throughout my years involved in Rotary and RYLA. I have learned to lead through vulnerability, use my empathy to help and create authentic and one of a kind connections. I know that no matter where my life takes me. I will always cherish and carry the Rotary and RYLA magic with me. I hope you all are staying healthy, happy, and safe. I appreciate all of you beyond words.

Thank you for everything. Elise Wilson"

Thank You Note from Holy Trinity Food Pantry

Pastor Pam Schreader from the Holy Trinty Lutheran Church sent the following note to the club:

"Dear Rotary Club of Ankeny,

We thank you for your generous monetary donation to the Holy Trinity Food Pantry. We appreciate the many ways to reach out to serve the hungry. As you are well aware, the need for food continues to be a challenge for more people. Thank you for making a difference and caring for your neighbors. Peace, Pastor Pam Schreader"

Over 400,000 Meals!

District Governor Erna Morain has reported the response to the plea she made on April 14th for clubs in District 6000 and Rotarians to step up to "Service Above Self" for those in need by donating to the Food Bank network in Iowa was overwhelming. As of May 22nd, $38,837 has been contributed to the food pantries in the communities in which we have clubs in our District. In addition, the District contributed a little over $32,000 of District Designated Funds to the Food Banks and District clubs and individual Rotarians have contributed over $50,000 and lots of volunteer hours to their own local food pantries in the past several weeks. When you add everything up, that's approximately $120,000 donated to the Food Banks. Nearly four meals can be furnished for each dollar donated which means well over 400,000 meals have been provided by our District for those, through no fault of their own, are being hit hard by the impact of COVID-19.

Erna went on to say, "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU District 6000 members. I couldn't be prouder to be your fellow Rotarian this year. I know things will get better, and we are already seeing it, but I wanted to let you know how proud I am of each of you."

June Rotarian Birthdays

The following Ankeny Rotarians will celebrate birthdays in June:

6th - Ben Norman

7th - DuWayne McDaniel

10th - Daniel Pixey

11th - Noel Fiscus

14th - Sue Gibbons

17th - Dave Mercer

20th - Steve Van Oort

21st - Mike Lydon

26th - Carmen Davis

Thank You from YESS

Todd Wehr received the following note from Carole Chambers, Director of Marketing Strategies and Community Partnerships for Youth Emergencies Services and Shelter in Des Moines:

"I found out from Joe Sorensen this morning that your Rotary Club in Ankeny is supporting YESS with a big contribution to our Don’t Duck-Out campaign. This was awesome news and we thank you all for your generous donation of $1,000. Please carry back to your organization our gratitude for your generosity of heart!

When YESS had to cancel our annual Duck Derby this month, which is our largest annual fund raising event, we added an immediate negative impact of more than $200,000 to our bottom line. It’s a devastating blow. So we launched the Don’t Duck-Out campaign in an effort to try to recap some of the expenses we had already incurred for the derby and try to lessen the pain of the bottom line impact. Last week, EquiTrust Life stepped up to help us fund a TV campaign for this initiative which has resulted in a great return on that investment with multiple donations ranging from $5 to more than $1,000. It’s been amazing!

We’d love to challenge other Rotary Clubs to follow suite."

And Nate Burnham received the following from Carole:

"Rotary Club of Ankeny is Awesome! Your gift of $1,000 is HUGE and will go a very long way in helping us keep Iowa's most vulnerable kids safe from abuse, neglect, trafficking and drugs. Please send our deep gratitude to every member in your chapter."

One Donation. Voice. Community.

Our Co-Chairs for the club's 2020 fundraiser developed a new logo for the club which was formally approved at the meeting on April 28th. The idea of this logo is to encourage individuals and companies to make one donation to Rotary instead of smaller donations to several non-profits and other organizations in our community. In this way, Rotary can speak with one voice for them, and better serve our community with donations to these organizations.

Rotary Foundation Minute

good schools, with all the necessary conditions in place to foster effective learning and intellectual development of future leaders, are usually the privilege of the rich and famous in developing countries. On the other hand, public or government operated schools are the usual lot of underprivileged children from very poor homes. Their schools re generally dilapidated, with leaky roofs, non-functioning labs, and horrible or non-existing toilets. To alleviate this inequity, The Rotary Foundation takes action by empowering educators to inspire learning at all ages. Its goal is to "strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education and increase adult literacy".

Rajkot, India to Mount Pleasant, Iowa is some 7,915 miles. Such distances have never been a good reason for Rotarians to not respond to the needs of their fellow human beings. And when the need falls within the mission of TRF, then amazing things are bound to happen. Insufficient learning in basic English and Math in 96 government-run primary schools in the Indian city of Rajkot was what propelled Rotarians in far away southeastern Iowa to collaborate with the Rotary Club of Rajkot Midtown (District 3060) on a Global Grant. The result is 8 E-learning Centers for Excellence 6,675,394 INR (US$87,510). Each Learning Center goal is to increase English and math proficiency of no less than 3,094 students Each of the 8 centers is equipped with 30 laptops, several CCTVs routers, a server, headphones, software, and educational content library.

Calvin Litwiller (PDG, D6000) and member of the Mount Pleasant (Evening) Rotary led the team of four D6000 clubs -, Fairfield, Burlington, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Pleasant (Evening) in coordination and applying for the district DDF. In a phone interview, Litwiller expressed his satisfaction with the overall success of the grant, adding, "when you look at the end result, and the impact we can make as Rotarians, you are bound to feel good for the things we do".

Club Approves Participation in COVID19 Honduras Grant

The Rotary Club of Ankeny has agreed to be the International sponsor for a Rotary Global Grant to purchase equipment needed in the patient care rooms and necessary supplies in the protection of medical and paramedical personnel necessary in Honduras due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Honduras, there are immense deficiencies in equipment and supplies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The supplies to be purchased include monitors, infusion pumps, masks, robes, and plastic face shields. All 33 Rotary clubs in Honduras have joined in forming the Rotarian Emergency Committee of Honduras to clearly define the needs and scope of the project. These clubs contributions plus District Designated Funds from Honduras will total $26,600 which will then receive a match from the Rotary International World Fund.

In addition to being the International sponsor for this project, the Rotary Club of Ankeny will be contributing $2,000 which will receive a 50% match from the Rotary Foundation. This donation will also be matched by District 6000 with $3,444 of District Designated Funds which will then be matched dollar for dollar by Rotary International's World Fund resulting in $9,888 in total funding for this project through our club. Rich Job will be the Primary Contact for this project with Juan Arias participation in the International Committee. The total funding for this project from all sources will be $56,538.

Rotary District 6000 Festival CANCELLED

The annual year-end District 6000 event, this year's RD6000 Festival to be held on June 25-27 at Prairie Meadows has been cancelled. This was a difficult and disappointng decision but necessary in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the only wise choice. Rotary International continues to encourage all districts in the world to avoid the dangers of staging large gatherings during this time period and Iowa still has in place limitations on the number of people who can gather in one place.

There are still plans to hold several virtual events to provide a bit of the excitement and fellowship that was planned for the Festival including the possibility of a mass gavel passing, award recognitions to celebrate the successes of clubs and individual members, and a Memoriam ceremony to recognize the individual members of clubs on the District whose death occurred during the current Rotary year. More information regarding these virtual events will be coming in the next few weeks.

Rotary Dollars For Scholarship Winners

The Rotary Club of Ankeny provided $2,000 for four scholarships for Ankeny seniors. All have a connection to Rotary. The winners are:

Samson Densmore - Son of Ankeny Rotarian Mark Densmore - Plans to attend Central College and will major in Elementary School Education

Olivia Orth - Daughter of Ankeny Rotarian Kristofer Orth - Plans to attend Creighton University and major in General Communication

Elise Wilson - Attended RYLA in 2018 - Plans to attend Luther College and major in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies

Haley Grubb - Attended RYLA in 2018 - Plans to attend the University of Iowa and major in Nursing

Virtual Rotary Board Meeting

The May Board meeting for the Rotary CLub of Ankeny will be held virtually at noon on Thursday, May 14th. All members are welcome to join and will receive an email with instructions on how to join the meeting.

Thank You From Cindy Gordon

The Rotary Club of Ankeny sent checks each in the amount of $250 to Cindy Gordon and Brian Pearson. They had to be furloughed from their jobs as waitress and cook at the Ankeny Golf & Country Club due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The checks were to let them know the club was thinking of them and that we hoped to be seeing them again soon. The following is a thank you note received from Cindy:

"Rotary:

Thank you for your kindness and generosity! I really appreciate it. You are an amazing group of people!! Hope everyone is doing well. Looking forward to seeing you at the club, hopefully soon. Cindy"

Welcome New Corporate Member Blessman International

Blessman International was Inducted as a Corporate member of the Rotary Club of Ankeny on April 28th. Sarah Green, Director of US Development will be the Primary Designee, Dr. Jim Blessman, CEO, Marvin Knoot, Director of US Operations, and Annie Simmons, Events Coordinator would be the Secondary Designees. Dr. Blessman is a former member of the Rotary Club of Waukee and is currently a charter member of the Baobab Rotary E-Club in South Africa. Since an individual can not be an Active member of two Rotary Clubs at the same time, Doc will become an Honorary member and Sarah, Marvin and Annie will be Active members of our club. Blessman International was proposed for membership by Nate Burnham.

Welcome Sarah, Doc, Marvin And Annie!

Central Bank Membership Application Approved

The Board has approved a new corporate membership application for Central Bank. Current member of the Rotary Club of Ankeny, Damon Miller, Senior VP, will be the Primary Designee and Jeff Damman, Senior VP, another current member of the club who recently began working with the bank, will be a Secondary Designee. Jordan Niewoehner, Junior Lender, and Katelyn Mateer, Talent Development Specialist, will also be Secondary Designees.

Comments regarding this proposed membership my be submitted to any Board member.