Mark Your Calendars
October 23 – Club Board Meeting – All members are encouraged to attend club board meetings to review financial information, proposed projects and membership applications. 4:45 p.m., Grand Street Center.
October 23 – Fundraiser Planning Meeting – Final planning for Treats in the Streets event, discussion of car show sponsorship drive, and planning of February 13 “Sweetheart Sockhop”.
October 30 – DARK! All members are asked to participate in the club booth at “Treats in the Streets”, 4:00 p.m., Orange Plaza.
November 15 – District 5320 Foundation Dinner – The annual celebration of new Paul Harris Fellows, major donors and outstanding club support of the Rotary Foundation. 6:00 p.m., Norwalk Marriott.
Family Food Force Delivers
Orange Sunrise members visited four local families October 3rd to deliver boxes of food and pantry items. The club’s Family Food Force program benefits families in the El Modena area of Orange who have children attending local elementary schools. Orange Sunrise has expanded the program from a December holiday outreach, to a quarterly distribution serving up to 24 families per year.
A Day of Play and Healing
Rotarians joined with the Orange County Bar Association for a morning at Orangewood Children’s Home on October 4th. Orangewood serves abused and neglected children caught up in the county’s court system. The facility consists of bungalows housing infants, children and teens. Orangewood staff are always on the lookout for recreation opportunities, both on and off the Orangewood grounds.
Approximately 30 volunteers brought snacks, juice, games, toys and crafts to share with the kids at Orangewood. While construction and the weather kept most of the fun indoors in a community room, teens were drawn to a spirited game of UNO and a beauty station for manicure repair.
Younger children enjoyed a wide variety of crafts and coloring books, with some gathered around for storytime and books. Volunteers took shifts to visit the toddlers and infants in their cottages, to play with the youngest and assist staff with the very tiny.
After a busy morning, the volunteers headed to the dining hall to lunch with the kids. Taco Bell generously donated tacos and burritos for everyone. Lunchtime was a great opportunity to talk with the older children one-on-one about careers and vocational paths. The kids were curious about the adults and what brought them to Orangewood that day. As they left the dining hall, the children politely thanked the visitors. But the volunteers were the ones who felt truly grateful.
Holiday Mail Train Underway
Orange Sunrise is participating again this year in the “Operation a Bit of Home” mail train, benefitting our troops in the Middle East. Members are filling flat rate priority mail boxes with snacks, DVD’s, coffee/tea, letters, shirts and personal hygiene supplies.
The club’s collection began October 16th and will continue at this week’s meeting. So bring your donation Thursday night for the packing party! For a list of items needed by our troops, visit the Operation a Bit of Home website.
Winter in Hawai’i
The Rotary District Foundation Committee has distributed tickets to clubs for the annual opportunity drawing benefitting the Rotary Foundation. This year’s prize is a week on the big island of Hawai’i!
Volcano Village is situated at approximately 4,000 ft elevation on the slopes of Kilauea and Mauna Loa – the centerpieces of the National Park. The summit crater, Hale Mau Mau, is the home of the Hawaiian Fire Goddess Pele and is especially active at this time…it is a perfect opportunity to get up close and personal with one of Nature’s most amazing sights.
Volcano Mist Cottage (see www.volcanomistcottage.com) is a private sanctuary in the Mauna Loa Estates area of Volcano Village, adjacent to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. The cottage is a favorite destination for honeymooners, nature lovers and adventurers and is specifically designed for two persons only. All the facilities, including the Forestside Jacuzzi Pavilion and separate outdoor Temple Bath are available to the lucky winner alone. No sharing of the facilities with anyone else, and no noisy neighbors as the property is located at the end of a dead end road and nestled against the Forest Preserve!
The value of this opportunity drawing is over $2000 for the week, so get out there and sell (or buy) a chance to win a once in a lifetime trip to a very unique little corner of the world!
As the prize has been graciously donated by Rotarian J. Paul DeMyer, every dollar of every ticket sold will go directly to the Rotary Foundation! The prize winner will be announced at the Foundation Dinner, November 15th at the Norwalk Marriott.
Foundation Dinner Reservations Online!
Don’t miss the gala of the year! Book your reservations for the District Foundation Dinner online at the District 5320 website.
In addition to fine dining, silent and live auctions (including a Chinese auction), the District will welcome Keynote Speaker Carolyn E. Jones, Trustee of the Rotary Foundation. Tickets are $75 per person.