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![]() On January 25, we return 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! |
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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.
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.
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!
More Community Service During the Pandemic
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Listen to The New Normal Recordings
The Rotary Club of Springfield hosted “The New Normal” virtual program series as part of their weekly club meetings on Monday nights in June , July, and September 21. This series featured a stellar lineup of experts who discussed “The New Normal.” The series envisioned the post pandemic world from the perspectives of leaders representing various segments of our society including the economy, healthcare, agriculture, higher education, international government relations, technology, investment markets, and art. Click on "Read More" below to listen to recordings of the June and July programs for “The New Normal” series on the Illinois economy, health care delivery, agriculture, and higher education, and art. Please enjoy the recordings from the comfort of your own home and contemplate the future.
Foundation Awards 2020 Grants to Local Non-profits


The Springfield Rotary Foundation awards grants to nonprofits for projects that combat hunger, promote literacy, and otherwise serve our communities each year. We reaffirmed needs related to hunger and literacy as high priorities for our communities during our club’s most recent visioning process and in ensuing years. Our Club’s fund raising efforts through the Flag Service Program, Citrus Sales, and John Montgomery Memorial Fishing Tournament raised $35,300 during the 2019-2020 Rotary year. These funds allowed us to award $27,759 in grants at the end of May to help support 14 high-impact projects. Ten of the projects help combat hunger, which is extremely important given food insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, our grant to the Central Illinois Foodbank will help support the purchase of 12,000 pounds of nutritious dairy projects including milk (image above) for distribution to central Illinois counties. Four grants will promote literacy in our community. Our grant to Ridgely Elementary School will support the development of an at-home resource kit (image above) for every student at the school. The need for these at-home resources was reinforced during the pandemic when students had to shelter at home.
The monies we raised also allow us to set aside support for annual funding commitments for:
- Scholarships for LLCC and UIS students (partially paid for from brag-a-bucks),
- International service projects,
- Land of Lincoln Honor Flights, and
- Reserve funds to provide match for Rotary District grants.
The majority of our funds support local organizations that work every day to help people in our community in numerous ways. Our grants are especially important this year given the hardships associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. When we are able to meet in person, we will invite the grant recipients to be our guests for dinner at a club meeting so we can thank these organizations for their work in the community and celebrate their grant projects. Click on "Read More" to see the descriptions for all these wonderful projects.
Telemedicine is expanding the reach of health care

For patients who lack options, a virtual visit can mean the difference between going with or without care.