Leavenworth Rotary Club Founded in 1905 by Paul Harris, Rotary International has grown to the world’s largest service organization with 33,000 clubs worldwide in over 200 countries and a total membership just under 1.3 million that focuses on funding projects involving hunger, water, education and health needs. The Leavenworth Rotary Club was formed in 1975 and the programs listed are only a few the Leavenworth Rotary Club has provided support toward for humanitarian needs this year. .

A Heritage of Giving Local Projects Leavenworth Free Clinic The Leavenworth Free Clinic provides doctor visits, medication and lab work for local

patients that cannot afford the care. Our local physicians donate their time and expertise to make the Leavenworth Free Clinic operate as it does. Scholarships One of our clubs longest standing programs is to support our local seniors in achieving their post-high school education. Every year we provide scholarships to local students. In 2012 we provided 4 scholarships.

Community Cupboard The Community Cupboard provides food and emergency support to those in need in our community. Young Women of Distinction Formerly Junior Miss, this program helps high school juniors develop iterview skills, self-confidence, and other life skills that lead to future success. The competition for scholarships begins at the local level, in towns

and cities like Leavenworth. Each year the winner of Leavenworth’s Young Women of Distinction is awarded $1,500 from the Leavenworth Rotary Club. Hands on Leavenworth Rotarians can often be found working on local projects that just need a helping hand like cleaning up Highway 2, opening and closing cabins at the YMCA camp. Doing maintenance work at a local group home, or just cleaning up the yard for someone in need.

Sub Club At Icicle Creek Middle School in Leavenworth, Sub-Club means submarine sandwiches. Math teacher Shannon Fallon asked Rotary several years ago if it would financially support an incentive scheme to encourage 6th and 7th grade students to complete 100% of their assignments each quarter. The inventive program is working like a charm

Exchange Student Program Rotary Youth Exchange is open to young people ages 15-25 worldwide. There are two basic types of exchanges: short-term and long-term. Exchanges can take place in more than 150 countries and geographical areas. Sharing in the costs are host families, the host Rotary club (who offer a small stipend of usually US $50-100 monthly.) Leavenworth Rotary has for many years sponsored both an outbound student as well as a inbound student. In 2012 we sponsored a young lady to Switzerland and hosted a young man from Belgium. Our 2013 student is coming from Ecuador and our outbound student is headed for Brazil.

International Projects Guatemala Literacy Project The Guatemala Literacy Project is a partnership between North American & Guatemalan Rotary clubs and the non-profit organization Cooperative for Education. This initiative provides badly needed textbooks, library materials, and computer labs to underprivileged children in Guatemala. The Guatemala Literacy Project matches Rotary clubs in North America with needy schools in Guatemala. These clubs raise funds to purchase textbooks, library materials and/or computers. Contributions range from $1,000 to $5,000. 100% of funds collected go to the hard costs of the project. Not a cent goes to administration or fundraising. In addition to our financial contributions, four Leavenworth Rotarians have been on six book and computer delivery trips to Guatemala. In addition, two of our friends have been on three such trips. Bikes for Humanity Many places in the world people have no means of transportation, but every year Americans throw away bicycles. Leavenworth Rotary has worked with Bikes for Humanity to collect these bicycles put them in containers and ship them where they can be used. The project also is a micro-business project that teaches the recipients to turn the container into a bicycle shop providing repairs and teaching the store owners how to operate a business. Preventing Birth Defects Leavenworth Rotary has been working to provide needed vitamins and training to expectant mothers in Central America in an effort to prevent birth defects. Many children in these poor countries suffer from cleft palate or spina-bifida because of poor nutrition. Many of these defects can be cured with a proper dose of folic acid at minimal cost.

Guatemala Wheelchair Project In Guatemala, and many other countries, many handicapped people must rely on family or friends to care for them or literally carry them around. This lack of independence is an incredible drain on the mental state of already physically strained people. A wheelchair can change the lives of a person

like this and their family immeasurably. In America, we have enough wheelchairs that many are discarded. Leavenworth Rotarians have collected hundreds of units plus walkers and crutches over the years. All the wheelchairs, wheelchair parts, and walkers have been shipped to uatemala. The chairs will get re-built to like new condition before being sent by container shipping to points around the world. Shelter box The ShelterBox is a program that provides emergency aid for victims of natural and other

Box itself is a tough, green plastic box containing a 10-person tent and ancillary quipment designed to enable a family of up to 10 people survive for at least six months. Since the Shelter Box program began in January 2001, it has helped over 600,000 people and worked in more than 45 countries – responding to wars , earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes and other disasters. Made to a unique design using high quality materials, the Shelter Box tents are suitable for a wide range of conditions. Other items may include insulated groundsheets, thermal blankets, a multi-fuel stove, cooking equipment, tools, mosquito nets, water containers etc. ShelterBox works directly with local organizations in countries where disasters have occurred, in partnership with

other aid agencies and through the international Rotary network. The Shelter Box volunteer teams often oversee the distribution of boxes to individual recipients – making sure aid gets direct to those people who need it

Leavenworth Rotary purchased one Shelter Box in 2012 at a cost of $1,000. Water Filters Many parts of the world experience significant health problems because of a simple lack of clean water. Leavenworth Rotary has provided hundreds of water filters to Guatemala and Haiti to help people overcome serious challenges from contaminated water supplies. Rotaplast Rotaplast International is a nonprofit humanitarian organization providing free constructive operations and treatment for children in need worldwide. We provide long-term solutions by funding and mentoring local physicians; launching public education projects. Through collaborative programs throughout the world, Rotaplast efforts expand far beyond surgical intervention and help foster international goodwill, peace and understanding. The goal of Rotaplast International is to eliminate the incidence of untreated cleft lips and palates in children worldwide by the year 2025.

An Update... Rotary members have raised more than $200 million to successfully match a $355 million challenge grant for polio eradication from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In recognition of Rotary's work, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has issued an additional $50 million grant to Rotary for polio eradication activities. Rotary International has contributed more than $1 billion to the global fight to eradicate polio. On January 13, India reached a long-anticipated milestone by going one year without recording a polio case. This positions the country for removal from the list of polio endemic countries, leaving only Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Since 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99 percent, from about 350,000 cases annually to fewer than 650 cases reported so far for 2012. Leavenworth Rotary is proud to have donated $10,000 in 2012 to help in this cause. After 25 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious disease. It is a window of opportunity of historic proportions.