Yearly Archives: 2018

Riseley to the Challenge

When 2017-2018 Rotary International President Ian Riseley announced the Presidential Theme for this year of service, he placed special emphasis on the care of our environment, noting the effect that environmental degradation and global climate change have on the world’s most vulnerable populations.

President Risely issued a challenge that each Rotary club could embrace as their own: to plant as many trees as they have as members of their Rotary club.

Recently, Orange Plaza Rotary completed that challenge, planting several trees on the campus of El Modena High School in Orange.  Previously, the club had planted trees at Fletcher Elementary School, providing welcome shade to students there.

With 14 trees now growing in the California sun, we are proud that our efforts will benefit students for years1

To learn more about the work of the Rotary Club of Orange Plaza, please join us at one of our Wednesday “happy hour” meetings.  Just click here for our calendar of meetings and events.

On the Ground in Cambodia

We received a couple of nice thank you notes from our partner, Stop Hunger Now, letting us know that our pre-packaged meals were shipped to hungry families:

It is with great pleasure that we announce the destination of the Rise Against Hunger meals you helped package on 1/20/2018. A shipping container, holding 285,120 meals, has been sent to Cambodia for our partner Salesian Missions. If you happen to receive more than one of these announcements, your meals have gone to impact multiple partners.

Salesian Missions is an organization that nourishes lives through food assistance and other services in Cambodia. To learn more, please visit our partner/country spotlight on the Impact Stories tab and click and drag on our World Aid Map at https://www.riseagainsthunger.org/world-aid/.

Ending hunger is only possible if we continue to grow the movement. We encourage you to share the news about this shipment. Since 2005, volunteers like you have helped us distribute over 310 million meals worldwide. We can end hunger by 2030, but we can’t do it without you.

Please visit our website www.riseagainsthunger.org and continue your involvement. Consider making a donation, planning another meal packaging event (at your place of worship, school, company, civic club, etc), joining our advocacy efforts, or even inviting us to speak to a group. Share your experience with us at socal@riseagainsthunger.org.

Keep up the great work and spread the word – #2030IsPossible.

Gratefully,
Joel Boucher, Program Manager

We are proud to work with this organization to fight world hunger.  To participate in our next packaging event, watch our calendar!

Medi-Van Delivered to Caborca Mexico

The Rotary Club of Orange Plaza joined with more than a dozen other Rotary clubs to fund a new medical van for the community of Caborca, Mexico.  The van is the most recent improvement to public health in that area lead by the Rotary Club of Villa Park.

The “medi-van” was recently delivered to a warehouse in Caborca, where local health authorities will complete the process of outfitting the van with medical tools and supplies.  One cubicle of the van will be equipped with a dental unit  for treating children and adult patients.  The second cubicle will contain a gynecological examination couch and equipment for pre-natal exams  and pap smears for the early detection of cervical cancer.

The $81,000 medi-van was funded, in part, by a global grant from The Rotary Foundation.  Through the grant-making process and awards to Rotary clubs around the world, the Foundation carries out humanitarian service in six areas of focus, including Maternal and Child Health.

This project was brought to the attention of the Rotary Club of Orange Plaza by the late Tom Davis, a long-time member of the Villa Park club and a well-loved member of Orange Plaza Rotary at the time of his passing.  This one’s for you, Tom!

OPR Throws Some Shade

On Saturday, February 10th, Orange Plaza Rotary members pulled together students and parents at Fletcher Elementary in Orange to plant 8 new trees on school property.  The young saplings will provide shade in the area between the school’s hardtop area and the grassy playing fields.

Project leader Joe Colombo negotiated the purchase and delivery of the trees to the work site.  Along with member Jason Curtis, Joe directed the volunteers, some as young as 5 years old, as holes were dug for each tree.  This project illustrates the club’s focus on community service projects that appeal to families wanting to volunteer their time.

The $1,500 project was funded by the proceeds of the annual Orange Plaza Car Show, which takes place each April.

 

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Rising to Stop Hunger Now

For the third year, Orange Plaza Rotary hosted a food packaging event to box meals for hungry families around the world.  Working with the organization Rise Against Hunger (fka “Stop Hunger Now”), Rotarians gathered more than 2 dozen community volunteers to assist in the event.

The January 20th event was held in the Orange Public Library community room and attracted even more volunteers as they visited the library!  This project is another example of the club’s focus on hands-on service that families can do with their children.  Kids as young as five served as “runners” and helped label the completed packages.

More than 11,000 meals were prepared and will be shipped to areas such as the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

The project was funded, in part, by a grant from the Rotary Foundation and Rotary District 5320.  Other costs were underwritten from the proceeds of the annual Orange Plaza Car Show.

Mentoring – Revisited

Each year, mentors from Orange Plaza Rotary and El Modena alumni share career advice with returning seniors in the CTP Mentor Meals program. Beginning the program as juniors, students learn about topics such as goal setting, soft skills, and networking during monthly meal events.

In their senior year, the students reunite with their mentors to review their future plans and connect with adults to assist them with their CTP senior project.

To learn more about this signature project of the Rotary Club of Orange Plaza, just click here!