This past November, the Rotary Club of Jefferson held its 25th Annual Charity Auction and raised nearly $64,000 in gross profits. As the chairperson of that auction committee and a past president of the Rotary Club, I would like to thank all the sponsors, attendees, businesses, donors, and organizers for making the event successful. The Jefferson and Greene County communities answer the bell each and every year and have done so for a quarter century! As such, our Rotary Club has been able to give back nearly $700,000 to the community. Thank you for your generosity!
Each year, the Rotary International president decides upon a theme for action around the world. This year’s theme is “Create Hope in the World,” and RI President Gordon R. McInally asks Rotarians to promote mental wellbeing in their communities. With this theme in mind, the Jefferson Rotary Club decided upon a fund-a-need request to foster greater awareness of, and support for, mental health resources for Greene County youth. The fund-a-need was conducted at the November Charity Auction. After hearing GCCSD counselor Kyle Kinne speak about the issues facing our local schools, our community donated nearly $8,000 for suicide prevention and mental health resources. On Feb. 12, the Rotary Club was proud to present checks to both the Greene County Community School District and the Paton-Churdan School District to bolster their student mental health programing and counseling services.
Now it is time again for a disbursement of funds more broadly to community organizations in need of assistance. The Rotary Club is committed, as always, to giving grants to local groups for non-recurring costs associated with fulfilling a need in our community. All local non-profit groups are eligible, with preference given to projects that will benefit larger swathes of our community. Grant applications and guidelines can be found online at www.jeffersonrotary.org. Completed grant applications may be mailed to Rotary Club of Jefferson, PO Box 105, Jefferson, IA 50129, or emailed to nslaehn@gmail.com.
These funds are only available because of the consistent support and unfaltering generosity of our community. On behalf of the Rotary Club of Jefferson, I thank all businesses and individual donors for making our support of local students and our grants to community organizations possible.
Do you have ideas about how to better our community? If so, contact Susan Laehn at nslaehn@gmail.com and inquire about joining our local Rotary Club. We now have both a Monday lunchtime meeting, and a meeting two Wednesday evenings each month.
Thank you Jefferson and Greene County!
Susan Laehn, Past President, Rotary Club of Jefferson
