Making our Community Red, White, and Blue
Posted by John Loftus
The Rotary Flag Service Project has been making our community red, white, and blue since 2016.  We will begin deploying flags for the 2021 season to have them in place before Memorial Day (May 31). We leave the flags out from Memorial Day until after July 4. Then our volunteer teams retrieve the flags and return them to our warehouse. On Monday Aug. 30, a week before Labor Day, we deploy the flags again, retrieving them after September 11. 
 
Rotary’s motto is Service Above Self and the Rotary Club of Springfield will be continuing the deployment of flags to honor those who have served in the military and all the people working very hard to care for our health and well-being from nurses, doctors and everyone that supports the medical profession including first responders to stock personnel, cashiers and all the others that work in stores that supply our basic needs to truck drivers, people operating truck and fuel stops and mechanics that keep the trucks operating to people working in restaurants so we have a choice of what we eat during the Covid-19 pandemic. All these people are heroes and are living Rotary’s motto every day putting their service first. 
 
If you don't already subscribe to this service, we hope that you will consider doing so. For those of you who subscribe to this service and have already paid the $60 annual fee for 2021, we thank you. For those of you that have not yet paid, we would appreciate your contribution as soon as you are able so we can  provide grants to community organizations that help people in need. Payments for subscriptions should be sent to The Springfield Rotary Foundation, PO BOX 615, Springfield, IL 62705.
 
Should you need to reach us, please email flag@rotaryflagservice.com or leave a message at 217-566-4326. 
 
Thank you for your support and stay safe!!

John Loftus
Rotary Flag Services Operations Manager
March Madness Fundraiser for PolioPlus
Posted by Bill Smith
 
This year we were able continue the men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament fundraiser. This fundraiser has been used for many years to support Rotary’s international effort to eliminate polio. This year $896.00 was raised for Rotary’s PolioPlus program. Normally, we would raise $800.00, but this year several members donated a combined total of $96.00 of their winnings.

The first round of the tournament consisted of 68 teams. Members who participated were assigned a team that was drawn out of a hat on their behalf. The first-place prize of $75.00 went to Naomi Lynn who had Baylor. Because there were so many teams in the first round, a second-place prize of $40.00 went to Loretta Meeks who had Gonzaga.

The second round consisted of 16 teams. In order to get a broader participation, the pool for the second round consisted of doubling the 16 teams for a total of 32 possibilities. The two first-place prizes of $50.00 each went to Jim Applegate and David Fowler.

The third round consisted of four teams. Four club members each formed a team of club members to raise the $100.00 entry fee for this round. The entry fees totaled $400.00 and were split 50/50. Vicki Megginson’s team won this round.

One final note. The $896.00 that will be donated to PolioPlus will be matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on a two for one basis, resulting in $2,688.00 being used to help eradicate polio!
Thanks to all who helped make this fundraiser a success!
Join Us for Rotary Day at the Ballpark!
Our traditional Rotary Day at the Ballpark will take place this year! Proceeds from ticket sales support our District Literacy Grant Program. There are 300 tickets available to the three participating Districts.
 
The game will be on May 22 at 6:15 p.m. in Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It will feature the grand rivalry of the Cardinals vs. the Cubs.
 
We have excellent seats in the right field loge in Sections 228 – 233. Seating will be in pods of 4, pods of 3, and pods of 2.
 
Tickets valued at $90 each are available to us for the amazing price of $55.
 
Please purchase tickets for this game and help us raise monies for literacy. To purchase tickets send a check payable to Rotary District 6460 Foundation to
BASEBALL, 2001 Barberry Drive, Springfield, IL 62704. Let Mr. Baseball, aka Rod Buffington, know your preference for pod size(s) when you buy your tickets.
Rotary District Scholarships for 2021-2022

Application Deadline is May 28

Encourage west-central Illinois undergraduate college students to apply for $3000 scholarships to cover tuition, books, or other university fees to a college, university or an approved vocational school. Students must reside in, go to college in, or have graduated from a school in District 6460; have completed at least 24 university credit hours; and be pursuing a degree in a Rotary International Focus Area. The application deadline is midnight, May 28. For other requirements and the application, visit https://rotarydistrict6460.org/foundation/districtscholars/.
 
Applications for the $18,000 William J. Menghini International Ambassadorial Scholarship are due on May 28. Eligible students must live in, go to school in, or have graduated from a school in District 6460 (west-central Illinois), and have completed a minimum of 48 university credit hours. The scholarship supports undergraduate or graduate full academic-year residential study in the applicants chosen field at a university or college in a country of the applicant's choice. For more information and application guidelines go to https://rotarydistrict6460.org/foundation/global-scholars/.
Hybrid Club Meetings are Back!

Participate in Person or Online!

On February 1, we returned to our hybrid meeting format for our weekly club meetings. You may chose to participate in the meeting in person at Maldaners Upstairs or online through Webex. If you participate in person, please wear your mask and continue to practice social distancing. Barry Tobias (image above, left front) will continue to provide online service and provide the meeting link in the Newsletter. For those participating online, curbside meals are still available for order using the link in the Newsletter.
 
Now that meeting in person is again possible, it is a great time to invite a friend or acquaintance who has a heart for serving others. That's the essence of what we do. Bring them along to see if Rotary is right for them!  
Community Service During the Pandemic
Covid 19 has changed the way we interact with each other and our community, but it has not changed the Rotary Club of Springfield’s commitment to improving literacy and eradicating hunger in our community. Here are just a few highlights for 2020 service projects during the pandemic. We continue working on many of these projects in 2021.
 
In the Summer of 2020, Club Member Neal Miller built and helped install a Little Library for ImagicNation (image to left), and club members continue to provide it with books for children to enjoy.
 
In September 2020, white boards were distributed to four elementary schools in Springfield that will help children learn from home or school through a District 6460 Club grant we wrote jointly with the other local Rotary Clubs.
 
To help reduce hunger, our club joined with United Way Days of Action to stock micro-pantries throughout Springfield, and we provided cans, cartons and cases of food items on September 26, 2020. Our Club provided a dinner meal through the Meal Train on October 29, 2020 for 55 homeless men and women staying at the Cooling & Warming Center on 1015 E. Madison Street. We provided the meals, desserts, beverage and disposable service items. For many, it was the only hot meal they had on that day. 
 
In November 2020, Vicki and Norm Megginson filled and delivered 50 bags of essential supplies to the Springfield Police Department for distribution to homeless individuals in our community. Club members donated new hats, gloves, handwarmers, warm socks, hand sanitizer, masks, kleenex packs, lip balm, toothbrushes, tooth paste, shampoo, soap, hand lotion, and healthful treats for the bags.
 
In November 2020, Vicki Megginson arranged for the installation of a micro-pantry at Ridgely School, and Club members are stocking the pantry with nutritious food (image to right).
 
We made the 2020 holiday season a bit brighter by partnering with Home Instead to provide small gifts and cheery cards to isolated seniors. Home Instead provided us with wish lists in November, and our gifts and cards were delivered in early December for the seniors to enjoy. We continued to provide holiday cheer for youth as well through our continued partnership with Rutledge Youth Foundation. Club members purchased angel tree gifts for Rutledge youth. 
 
On Saturday, December 5 we joyously rang the Salvation Army bells at Schnuck’s on Chatham Road  between 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
 
The article below provides more information on service projects in 2020. They provide great examples of the work our Club does in the community. Club members are hard at work on numerous service projects in 2021 including volunteer work at the Central Illinois Foodbank (image below), stocking the Ridgley School Micro-Pantry, buying books for the Little Library and so much more.
 
Don’t forget to log your service hours. Just click on this link: https://airtable.com/shr4cB7BpJjpwXDEr
 
If you need to record your hours at another time, you can go to the “Download Documents” on the left side of the Home Page Website (www.spirotary.org), click on the “Record Your Rotary Volunteer Hours” file, and then click on the link. The form is easy to fill out!
Story Direct for Rotary International
11 eco-friendly service projects around the world

Through the years, Rotary has carried out thousands of projects to protect the environment.

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