A beautiful morning for the monthly clean up of the Rendezvous Trail in Fort Collins. A good turnout made short work of the accumulated trash. Lots of “thank yous” and “appreciations” from the many resident who live near the trail.
Club News
United Way of Larimer County in association with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library was awarded a check for $5570 to go to purchasing books for kids ranging from new borns to age 5.
The Imagination Library was Launched in 1995 by Dolly herself in East Tennessee, to foster a love of reading for young children. It is a book-gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to kids 0-5 regardless of income.
A recent survey in Larimer County has found:
- 96% of families agreed the books are preparing their child(ren) for Kindergarten
- 90% of families said that their child(ren) is/are exposed to a wider variety of books through DPIL
- 80% of families said the "reading tips" included gave them ideas for how to support their kids' literacy
- 70% of families reported they are reading more often to their child(ren)
- 75% of families reported their child has an increased interest in reading books
- 38% said DPIL books are the primary source of books for their child(ren)
For more information go to: https://uwaylc.org/dpil/
Erik Johnson, Associate Professor of Music Education at Colorado State University, presented the program this morning (September 10) on the BRAINY Program. BRAINY is a program of the Colorado State University Art Museum with assistance from Department of Art and Art History, and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. BRAINY was conceived to provide arts opportunities for students from Title 1 schools in northern Colo.
For more information: https://theatre.colostate.edu/brainy/
The Annual Pass The Gavel event was help Sunday night at the Ridgen Farm Barn. Out going 2025-2026 President Joe McCarthy recognized many members of the club that have provided extraordinary service over the past year. Rotarian Bob Waltermire was given the Rotarian of the Year award for his service to International Service and providing support and guidance throughout the year.
President Joe was recognized for his service to the club by incoming President Bob Melrose.
The four Rotary Clubs in Fort Collins got together today for an EPIC Day of Service. Approximately 50 Rotarians descended on the Colorado State University's Environmental Learning Center to do fire and invasive plant mitigation projects. Members from the 4 Clubs in Fort Collins along with members of the Colorado State University Rotaract Club were in attendance. John Chandonais from Colorado State set up the projects and at the end of the day stated that it “would have taken him a whole year to do the tasks Rotary accomplished in a few hours.”
Field of Honor Co-Chair shows off the 250 America/150 Colorado anniversary medallion that will be available for the 2026 Field of Honor from May 23 to May 25 at Spring Canyon Park.
Membership Chair, Leighanne Alford welcomes new members Jeaneen Kappell and Joel Reimnitz to the Club.
Several members of the Breakfast Club spent Saturday morning putting together Toolkits for Big Emotions for the Finally Home organization.
Children and youth who have experienced trauma often feel big emotions. The first step in being able to safely work through overwhelming emotions is to name them. We created a Finally Home Toolkit for BIG Emotions for children and for youth. The Toolkits equip parents, teachers, and caregivers to help young people correctly identify their emotions and establish calming strategies. Each Toolkit contains a Family Guidebook, Quick Reference Guide, and eight different concrete items that assist children in emotional regulation. Items in each kit are tailored to the two different age groups.
Since 2008, Finally Home has been equipping foster, adoptive, and kinship families to build healthy homes where children and youth can heal and thrive. For more information: https://finallyhome.net
Rotary Club of Fort Collins Breakfast’s $10,000 No Sweat Raffle
Buy a ticket for $100 and you just might win $500 or $1000 or $10,000. ONLY 500 tickets will be sold. And you don’t need to be present to win!!!
This is a WIN NO-MATTER-WHAT opportunity! Funds raised from ticket purchases will be used to serve more people in our local community and around the world:
- Award grants to area non-profits such as Neighbor2Neighbor, Coats & Boots, Food Bank of Larimer County and MORE
- Support our youth through scholarships, leadership awards and international exchanges!
- Address community needs, particularly underserved areas and populations
Drawing will be conducted Saturday, March 28, starting at 6:00 p.m. at Innosphere Ventures in Fort Collins. Again, no need to be present, we will notify you if your ticket is drawn. Only one winner per ticket.
To give back to our community and our world and to have a chance to win $10,000, purchase your No Sweat ticket TODAY at https://rotaryfcbreakfast.org/
Chair John Sheltren presented the following members with their Paul Harris recognition pins from The Rotary Foundation: Sam Preuss (her first!); Connie Sheltren (her 6th) and Walt Grady (his 7th). The Rotary Foundation recognized Rotary members with a Paul Harris (Rotary's founder) with a pin for every $1000 they donated to the foundation.
Becky Niemiec, Associate Professor at Colorado State University and Founding Director for PACT Colorado (People and Animal Companions Together), presented a program to the Breakfast Club on January 22 on providing assistance to families in need so they can care for and keep their pets. 82% of pet owners consider their pets family, but 27% of pet owners have had to give pet away. Pets have been found to be good for one's health - exercise, blood pressure, mental health, fun! However, sometimes people delay healthcare services because they have no support for their pets (63% of hospitalized pet owners worry about their pets)
Mission of PACT is to provide assistance to human and animal families in need so they can care for and keep their pets through:
- House Call program - people come and provide walks; mobile vet care (vaccines); help with grooming; help with pet deposits
- Temporary Foster Care
For more information visit: https://www.pactcolorado.org
Six hardy souls, 4 Rotarians and 2 guests, cleaned up a section of the Rendezvous Trail near Fort Collins High School. This hands on activity is a monthly event and part of the Community Service Committee of the Breakfast Rotary Club. In addition to cleaning the trail, the other on going hands on activities include Meals on Wheels, and the Food Bank for Larimer County.
