Category Archives: Community Service

Sewing Threads of Love

Orange Plaza Rotary joined together with the organization Threads of Love for a service project making “Lovie Dolls” for babies in natal intensive care. Threads of Love makes and delivers gowns and dolls to 16 Orange County hospitals.

Lovie Dolls are soft and made of fabric. Mom places a completed doll on her own chest, between her breasts so that the doll picks up mama’s scent. When the doll is then placed in bed with the infant, the child is comforted by the doll and the scent.

Our club was very excited to help out with this project, with men, women and children helping to cut and assemble.

A Tradition of Treats

The other day, project chair John Bouyer was asked to complete a survey for the City of Orange, describing our experience as a vendor at the annual “Treats in the Streets” fall event. So, he did some math and figures that this little Rotary club has participated every year for the last 15 years.

Boy, have things changed! In the early days, we had a photo booth, complete with a haystack set and our club President dressed as a scarecrow. We’d take a Polaroid, shake it a bit, and then put it in a little paper frame to be sold for a buck or two. One year, we almost made money at that.

Then digital photography came about and we tried to adapt. But who needs our photos when everyone has a smart phone?

The last few years we’ve been running carnival games and handing out candy. (Uh, candy was always part of the deal.) Ring toss, bean bag toss, goldfish toss…if you can toss it, we will host it.

It’s been fun 15 years and we wonder what the next 15 will bring!

Rotary Repair Day

Orange Plaza Rotary has a history of seeking out senior or physically disabled citizens and then doing a little fixin’ around the house. We have built custom wheelchair ramps, cleared brush and revitalized landscape, repaired floors and plumbing, and even gave one home an entire spring cleaning.

Our October 1st project at Park Royale combined all of our talents and interests. For this senior resident, we tore down and repaired the rickety stairs, adding fresh indoor/outdoor carpeting to the treads. The team also cleaned up all areas around the mobile home, trimming palm trees and pulling weeds. The project was spearheaded by Community Service Chair Jason Curtis and we were joined by Past District Governor Kevin Padilla and his wife Lorraine, who is a member of the Rotary eClub of the West.

A rewarding project!

Back to Broadway for Elwyn California!

The ladies of Orange Plaza Rotary filled one of 18 sold out tables at the 3rd Annual Fall Fling, benefiting the work programs of Elwyn California. Elwyn provides vocational training and job placement for persons with disabilities.

The Rotary Club of Orange Plaza has been a longtime supporter of Elwyn, participating annually the Elwyn Bowl-a-Thon fundraiser. That event is now retired, but the “Fall Fling” is a rapidly growing and hilarious event that will add fun and funds to Elwyn’s programs.

In addition to sponsoring a table at the event, Orange Plaza Rotarians provided two gift baskets for sale in the silent auction. And our resident theatrical ham, PDG Rae, served as one of the “models” in the “Backstage to Broadway” event, strutting around the room to the Chicago tune, “All That Jazz”.

Save the date for next year’s event (September 23, 2017) when Elwyn’s cast will be Rockin’ the 50s!

Rotarians and Residents Join Together for the Homeless

Recently, a well-known local charity, Mary’s Kitchen, suffered a tragic fire in their kitchen. Mary’s Kitchen feeds as many as 1,000 homeless persons in Orange County, operating six days a week.

During their recent, quarterly, food drive Albertson’s grocery, Orange Plaza Rotarians received a $100 bill from an anonymous donor who requested that it be delivered to Mary’s Kitchen. (More than 800 lbs of food items were collected on September 17th for homeless veterans served by Veterans First of Santa Ana.)

The following Wednesday, club members unanimously voted to boost the Mary’s Kitchen donation to $500 from club funds.

The Rotary Club of Orange Plaza wishes Mary’s Kitchen a speedy recovery as they continue their outstanding work!

New Literacy Projects in the Works

Orange Plaza Rotary recently approved a full slate of service projects for the 2016-2017 Rotary year, including two projects aimed at improving basic literacy in our community. “Read to Me” is a returning project proposed by member Teri Snyder. Club members and volunteers will assemble packages with new books, literacy resources and a “Read to Me” onesie for distribution to families of babies born in our local hospitals.

Plans are also underway to establish a “Little Free Library” program in Orange. At the suggestion of Immediate Past President Tracey Curtis, the club will build and distribute small birdhouse-like libraries to volunteer stewards in our neighborhoods. We are excited to add this new project!

We are also looking forward to joining students in our Mentor Meals Program for another morning of volunteering at ThinkTogether, cleaning donated, gently used books for distribution to local schoolchildren.

We love doing good. Do you? Join us!

“Basic Education and Literacy” is one of the six “Areas of Focus” of The Rotary Foundation, which celebrates its centennial year in 2016. Learn more at Rotary.org.

John Boyd Award Caps Banner Year

Orange Plaza Rotary received numerous honors for its work during the 2015-2016 Rotary year. The club was recognized for its activity in all areas of Rotary service, including its international service project partnering with the nonprofit organization “Stop Hunger Now”. For its efforts in organizing a food packaging event that sent more than 40,000 meal servings to Vietnam and the Philippines, Orange Plaza Rotary was honored with the “John Boyd International Service Award” presented by fellow Rotarians of the Rotary Club of Brea on July 11th.

The Rotary Club of Orange Plaza Rotary was recently named “Best Small Club” among the 45 Rotary clubs in District 5320, which includes all of Orange County and parts of southern Los Angeles county. The “Best Club” banner was awarded at the May 2016 District Conference in Newport Beach by then-Governor Kevin Padilla of Placentia.

On behalf of Rotary International President Ravi Ravindran, Governor Padilla also presented the prestigious “Presidential Citation” to Orange Plaza for the Rotary year ending on June 30^th. In making the award, Rotary International noted the participation of more than 75% of Orange Plaza members in “hands-on” projects in the community, praised the group’s sponsorship of a student service organization (El Modena High School Interact) and thanked the club for its financial support of The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary International.

Orange Plaza Rotary (widely known as the organizers of the Annual Orange Plaza Car Show) also received the “Quality of Life” Award from the Orange Chamber of Commerce on June 16^th. The award, shared with two other Rotary clubs in the city, recognized the club for outstanding service by a nonprofit organization. OPR’s local service projects include quarterly food drives for homeless veterans, design and installation of custom wheelchair ramps for the disabled, and guiding high school students through the signature project, “Mentor Meals”.

The Rotary Club of Orange Plaza plans another busy year of service in the next twelve months, expanding successful programs and adding new community-based projects in the City of Orange.

Orange Plaza Receives Quality of Life Award

Orange Plaza Rotary (widely known as the organizers of the Annual Orange Plaza Car Show) received the “Quality of Life” Award from the Orange Chamber of Commerce on June 16^th. The award, shared with two other Rotary clubs in the city, recognized the club for outstanding service by a nonprofit organization. Orange Plaza’s local service projects include quarterly food drives for homeless veterans, design and installation of custom wheelchair ramps for the disabled, and guiding high school students through the signature project, “Mentor Meals”.

2016 El Modena Senior Scholarships Awarded

Orange Plaza Rotary provided two $500 scholarships to students graduating from the Collaborative Technology Program at El Modena High School. The students were active in the Mentor Meals program co-hosted by Orange Plaza Rotary, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and El Modena Alumni. Congratulations to Odaliz Gonzalez and Velta Mansfield. They will be continuing school at Santiago Canyon College in the fall. Great Job!

The club also presented a $1,000 Scholarship to Sabrina Tsai, the outgoing President of the Interact Club at El Modena, sponsored by Orange Plaza Rotary Club. Sabrina worked tirelessly this past year with our club doing many volunteering functions. A well deserved winner. Sabrina also received a sizable scholarship from the U.S. Marine Corp. Sabrina will be continuing her education at SD State, in San Diego. She makes our club proud.

Just Another Brick in the ???

We were so happy to support the City of Orange to renovate the historic Hart Park bandshell. Orange Plaza Rotary bought one of the 140 bricks that helped to fund the renovation. We partied in the park on June 6th to celebrate the completed bandshell.