Over the last 20+ years Coins for Alzheimer's Research Trust (CART Fund) has raised over $11.2 million for Alzheimer's research, primarily by collecting pocket change from #Rotary clubs.
Monday we will hear from Iowa Secretary of State, Paul Pate. He will be talking about anti-trafficking initiatives as well as other items going on within the state.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has dedicated his life to public service. Now entering his fourth term as Iowa’s Commissioner of Elections, Secretary Pate is guided by three core principles: service, participation and integrity.
Under Secretary Pate’s leadership, Iowa has become one of the top three states in the nation for election administration. The state has broken numerous records for voter registration and participation during his tenure. Secretary Pate successfully instituted Iowa’s online voter registration system in 2016.
He has also taken steps to protect election integrity by drafting Iowa’s Voter ID laws and defending them in court multiple times. Secretary Pate also established a post-election audit system and greatly enhanced Iowa’s election cybersecurity.
His civic education programs, voting accessibility initiatives, and election cybersecurity efforts have been recognized nationally by National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and the National/Student Parent Mock Election organization.
The Secretary of State’s Office is the small business portal for the State of Iowa. For six of the past seven years under Secretary Pate, Iowa has seen a record amount of new business filings. Secretary Pate implemented a Fast Track Filing system in 2018 that greatly enhanced the speed and efficiency of the process.
With the calendar filling up with more and more events, we'll use this space to promote upcoming events that our fellow Rotarians are involved with:
My Waterloo Days is a FREE community event celebrating the best of Waterloo. For more than 40 years, residents and visitors have gathered to celebrate, showcase and enjoy all that the city has to offer. From the iconic My Waterloo Days Parade to concerts, kids events, food vendors and loads of entertainment, you won’t want to miss My Waterloo Days 2023 downtown Waterloo at Lincoln Park and Anton’s Garden.
Live from the #Rotary23 stage, it's Grammy award-winner, @gabymorenomusic Gaby recently traveled to Guatemala with @JenJonesRotary. Together they visited a school involved in the Guatemala Literacy Project and led a sing-along. And she'll be joining us at convention!
Our list of upcoming programs offer a wide variety of topics that you can offer to guests - maybe you could reach out and re-connect with your network and invite them to join us for lunch?
May 22...Secretary of State, Paul Pate
May 29....No Meeting - Memorial Day
June 5...District Governor Don Meyer
June 12...Black Hawk Veterans Affairs
June 19...IMOM Dental Clinic
June 25...Networking/Birthdays/Cultural Conversations
July 3...No meeting
July 10...Cedar Falls Community Foundation/Birthdays
July 17...Waterloo Community Foundation
July 24...No meeting - annual picnic week
July 31...Guiding Star
August 7...Cultural Conversations/Birthdays
August 14...Black Hawk/Grundy Mental Health
August 21...Love Inc
August 28...Gallagher Bluedorn/Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony
September 4...No meeting/Labor Day
September 11...Wartburg College Presidents/Birthdays
September 18...Make A Wish
September 25...Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa
Shawna Jesse and Joni Spencer of Together for Youth will be presenting on Monday. Celebrating over 30 years of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention & Parenting Partnerships Together For Youth (TFY), located in Waterloo, IA is our area's adolescent pregnancy prevention and teen parent support network. TFY strives to provide information and resources for teens, parents and professionals in the Cedar Valley. Our partnerships with community agencies have resulted in a significant decline in Black Hawk County teen birth rates in recent years. Our community team is dedicated to empowering young people to make informed decisions about their sexual health.
According to a new advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General, #loneliness can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes daily. The #Rotary Club of Chichester Priory is tackling loneliness one chat at a time.
For Vera Cranmer and Sylvia Worden, two friends in their 80s, it's hard to overstate how much they look forward to their regular visits with the teenage students at a local college on England's south coast. "We savor these visits like reunions with long-lost friends," Worden says.
The women live independently in their homes in Chichester, a picturesque and vibrant cathedral city near the sea. But Worden, who once worked as a teacher there, was widowed a few years ago, and her outings in town are far less frequent. Cranmer, too, has had to cope with feelings of isolation.
Paul Huting will be speaking on the Gates Park and Byrnes Park renovations! Our own Mark Kuiper will also be presenting.
Mark is a partner with RITLAND+KUIPER Landscape Architects and a long-time member of our Rotary Club. Mark obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Bachelor and Master of Landscape Architecture from Iowa State University. He is a licensed landscape architect and an accredited Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) professional. Mark’s wife, Shonda, is a professor and chair of the statistics concentration at Grinnell College and they have two married sons.
Huting is the City of Waterloo Leisure Services Director, a graduate of Waterloo West High and Iowa State University, lifelong Waterloo resident and has been employed with the City of Waterloo 43 years.
Sing along with students in a Guatemala Literacy Project school and @GabyMorenoMusic on her song “Fronteras” live from the classroom in Chajalajyá, Guatemala!
First Monday will be held at Mersim's Kitchen! (Don't come to the Convention Center)
Keeping with our Cultural Conversations on the First Monday of each month, the Waterloo Rotary Club will experience a touch of the Bosnian cuisine at Mersim's Kitchen. We will have a buffet style-lunch prepared for us by Chef Mersim. To ensure you get the best 'taste' of the authentic cuisine, beverages beyond water will be available at individual expense. However, the meal will be covered by the club.
In addition, we will hear from the owners as they share their story of how Mersim's came to be. Doors will open at 11:55.
Mersim's is a full-service restaurant with a bar and private events room. They offer traditional Bosnian dishes in addition to modern American cuisine.
Mersim's is located at 126 E Ridgeway Ave, Suite A, Waterloo, IA 50701. Learn more on their website: https://mersims.com/
These Rotarians will be honored at our off-site meeting May 1st - join us at Mersim's to celebrate!
| Martin Stoakes | May 3 |
| Vicki Mueller | May 19 |
| Troy Smith | May 22 |
| Beverly Hinders Trost | May 26 |
| Todd Wordel | May 31 |
Susan Card of Cedar Falls will join us at the Waterloo Convention Center Monday and share her story of the "Reading with Jean" program she created in honor of her mother. This program is where volunteers read to residents in skilled care and with dementia at Western Home Communities.
Our very own Lauren Finke organized the 2023 Honors Student Recognition Luncheon for top seniors at area high schools. Keynote speaker was Shanlee McNally of R.J. McElroy Trust.
Shanlee McNally is Program Officer of the R.J. McElroy Trust, a graduate of Northwestern University and a graduate of Waterloo West High School.
You can see all the photos at this link:
If you haven't already - check out and like our Rotary Club Facebook page....you might even see Annie's recent interview on KWWL...
"We want to put an end to illiteracy and create positive change." Grammy award-winning artist Gaby Moreno
@gabymorenomusic shares her passion for a brighter future for children in Guatemala with #Rotary President
Over 70 Rotarians and Community Members attended this new event at the Waterloo Convention Center April 13th! Money raised is going to Northeast Iowa Food Bank and Operation Warm (both voted on by our membership)! Click here to see the photos
United States
Members of the Rotary Club of Kaka‘ako Eco, Hawaii, tossed 5,000 mud balls filled with beneficial organisms into the Ala Wai Canal in Waikiki as part of a rehabilitation effort to make the waterway fishable and swimmable.
Canada
Guelph, Ontario, is one of 25 Canadian municipalities to sign a pledge with the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, to welcome people who have fled countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine.
Italy
The Rotaract Club of Milano Nord Est Brera collaborated with an art publisher to produce a book of photography featuring women who have had breast cancer surgery to put a face to the fight against the disease.
United Kingdom
One coin at a time, a whimsical contraption celebrates a legendary Scottish locomotive while raising thousands of dollars for charity.
Uganda
When the Rotary Club of Malta constructed its second primary school in Uganda, it made sure to consider the needs of menstruating girls in the design of washroom facilities.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month so we have Miranda Kracke of The Allen Child Protection Center Speaking to our club April 10th.
The Allen Child Protection Center (ACPC) provides assistance for children or dependent adults who may be victims of abuse, or have witnessed a violent crime. The ACPC uses a multi-disciplinary team approach and works closely with the Department of Human Services and law enforcement. The center provides forensic interviews, medical examinations, family advocacy services, and mental health counseling.
@WHO and @Rotary are helping communities say goodbye to polio with the support of local polio eradication workers like Hafsat from Nigeria, who’s delivering vaccines to those that need it most to people in her community.
Hafsat Ibrahim, (right) a polio core trainer with the World Health Organization (WHO) and mother of five, is proud of the many lives she has protected from polio in her community in Kano State, Nigeria. Her role has helped shape community attitudes toward vaccination, as well as provide the salary necessary to start a small business to support her family.
“I worked with WHO to make sure every child is immunized [and] all my five children have got the vaccine … I'm very happy because their immune system [has] increased and also they are healthier,” Ibrahim told Global Citizen in August. “I have seen the transformation because now that the vaccine is accessible, [there is] no more paralysis of children in the community; no more threat of wild poliovirus.”
As a mother, resident, and experienced health care professional, Ibrahim understands the importance of protecting her community from the deadly disease, and how the journey to eradicate polio at home in Nigeria has had wider implications around the world.
Join us today for our monthly Cultural Conversations program - our guest will ALSO join us next week at our Progressive Dinner and prepare some delicious Jamaican food!
We'll celebrate these Rotarians born in April at our first meeting of the month:
| Barbara Prather | April 2 |
| Billie Bailey | April 14 |
| Duane "Lindy" Lindberg | April 16 |
| Jack Locke | April 24 |
Would you like to get involved on the Waterloo Rotary Club Board in the next fiscal year? Jaclyne Heller our President-Elect is going on maternity leave soon - please reach out to her if interested in learning more! Also, looking for a President-Elect for new term and she will tell you the legwork for that position is already ready to go for first six months thanks to the Programming committee!
E-mail Jaclyne @ jheller@kwwl.com
At a recent End Polio Now event at the House of Commons in London, @Rotary International President 
@JenJonesRotary reminded Rotarians that we must (and can!) finish the job to #EndPolio.
Peace Through Service
Service Above Self
We meet In Person
Mondays at 12:00 PM
Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center
4th & Commercial
Waterloo, IA 50701
United States of America
Waterloo, IA 50701
United States of America
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