The club learned all about the Peace Corps from Vanessa Dickey, Virtual Service Project Manager.  Virtual Service?  The traditional Peace Corps that JFK started in 1961 by Executive Order, where volunteers spend two years out in the field, still exists.  But when the pandemic forced the volunteers to return home, they adapted.  Now volunteers can share their expertise with others around the world via Zoom.  Vanessa coordinates these efforts from the Verde Valley School (VVS) cafeteria!

 

Both Vanessa and her husband Zane served in the Peace Corps.  Zane is the Admissions Director at VVS.  They both are excited to partner with Rotary as our mission and goals are very similar:  promoting peace and friendship all over the world!

Smiles all around for the beautiful day in our amazing community garden!

Congratulations to the Verde Valley School Interact Club on their successful end-of-year fundraiser!  The students raised $1222.  They determined that $1100 will go to District Interact's Crutches 4 Africa, and they will retain $122 for their club operations.  At their final meeting, they did an event evaluation, making note of what went well and how they can improve this fundraiser next year.  Club liaisons Angela and Susan were impressed with the club's professionalism, and they all celebrated the conclusion of the year.

Longtime Rotarian Harvey Grady passed away on March 10th.  The Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, May 21, at 3 pm at the Old Town Center for the Arts in Cottonwood AZ.

Please plan to attend the meeting regarding fundraising on Tuesday, May 23rd at 7:30 a.m. in our normal classroom meeting room.  Some months ago we started the discussion about whether or not our club is a fundraising club (one large event) or a service club (fundraising smaller amounts along the way for specific projects).  We must finish this discussion.  This year, because we did not conduct the Grocery Grab (for a number of reasons), our Charitable Fund will need to re-evaluate our priorities for next year's budget.  It is imperative that all members come to a consensus about how we will fund our works next year.  If you are unable to attend, please reach out to Miki at medzugan@gmail.com or Carolyn at cjmartinod@gmail.com and make sure that your voice is heard!