Flag installation for our 2025 Flag Service is underway (lead image). For more information on the this important project see the articles in this Newsletter. Please remember that we will not meet on February 26 so members may commemorate Memorial Day with family and friends. We will have a special club meeting at Maldaners Upstairs on June 2. Bob Stuart will speak about his 50 years in Rotary. Please join us to celebrate this milestone with Bob.
May 19 Club Meeting Featured Sonthana Thongsithavong
We thoroughly enjoyed Sonthana Thongsithavong's inspirational presentation to our club on May 19. He is the Mid-South District Community Development Enhancement Coordinator for the U.S. Tennis Association. He spoke about his personal journey as a refugee from Laos to United States and how he used tennis to change his own life and to change and improve the lives of youth. He is clearly a Rotarian at heart, and I was honored to present him with his Rotary mug. For more information, see John Webb's story in this Newsletter.
Club Meeting on May 26, but check out our Flags!
We will not have our club meeting at Maldaners Upstairs on May 26 so you may celebrate Memorial Day with family and friends. We encourage you all to check out our Rotary flags that we have installed throughout the community. We helped make our community red, white and blue for Memorial Day (lead image and images on left and below) through our annual Flag Service Projects. Thanks to all the Rotarians who are helping with this project!
June 2 Club Meeting Features Bob Stuart's 50 Years in Rotary
Please join us for our June 2 Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs to celebrate the 50 Year Rotary Career of Bob Stuart. Bob will show the positive impacts of Rotary in his life over the past 50 years. He has served as a Club President, District Governor, and Rotary International Director and has played important roles in many Rotary initiatives including national and international disaster relief, the international distribution of polio vaccines, international grant projects for clean water and schools in Nepal (image below), and so much more. Don't miss this meeting!
Social Justice Sewing Academy Quilt Premiere Rescheduled for June
At The Outlets request, we are rescheduling the opening event featuring the results from our joint Social Justice Sewing Academy quilt project (lead image) to June. Stay tuned for the date for the event, which will occur at the Outlet (3306 South Sixth Street Road, Springfield in the former St. Joseph's facility). We hope your schedule will accommodate this change, and we will let you know as soon as we have a new date in June for the event. We want you to be among the first to see the powerful quilt (image below) made with quilt squares created by Springfield youth and family members. It will be a great opportunity to meet some of the youth and learn more about the meaning of the images they created for their quilt squares. The revised information on this event is included in this Newsletter, and you will also receive a new invitation through ClubRunner email when the date is set. We are inviting other Rotary Clubs and dignitaries in our area to participate in this event. Please bring a guests. For more information on this project, see the revised information and Jim Applegate's story below.
When we meet at Maldaner's, please submit your reservations for dinner! Click on the link embedded below and enter the date, your name, dine in/carry out and number of meals being consumed in the restaurant and/or carried out prior to each meeting. Preferably, everyone will fill out the form by noon on the Friday before the upcoming meeting. We have given staff at Maldaner's access to the view, so it will help them with planning. As always, we will direct him to have a few additional servings available for members who forget or last minute guests.
The same link will work for the entire Rotary year and will be shared within each Newsletter, so do not delete the Newsletter until you have submitted your dinner information. Please remember that the three most recent Newsletters can also be accessed from the Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) so you can also access the link for reservations from the Website Home Page (www.spirotary.org).
On May 17, several members of our Rotary Club enjoyed participating in the Bunks Across America Bed Build with the Sleep in Heavenly Peace - IL - Springfield Chapter.
Alongside other community volunteers, we helped build, assemble, and prepare 26 beds that will soon bring comfort and dignity to local children in need.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a fully volunteer and donation driven organization dedicated to ensuring no kid sleeps on the floor in our town. Every dollar raised helps purchase materials, support construction, and deliver beds to children ages 3–17.
We relished the opportunity to support this effort — where a few hours of teamwork can create immediate impact in a child’s life.
Our 2025 Rotary Flag Service is placing American flags across our community! Much work goes on behind-the-scenes throughout the year to prepare for this project.
John Loftus and the Flag Service Committee oversee the whole project, including purchasing of supplies such as new flags, poles, and lights, and contacting JULIE to mark electrical and gas lines in the yards of new subscribers. Bill Smith distributes renewal reminders to our subscribers, and all members solicit new subscribers. Some members place the conduit that holds the pole in the yards of new subscribers. Roger Randolph uses a computer program to create the routes for the flag installers to use.
On May 14, Bill Sturm and John Webb prepared more flags (image on left and below) that are now being displayed in honor of our nation’s meaningful days. Teams of Rotarians, including some family members, install the flags. These flags will be flying for Memorial Day and will remain in place through September 11th, commemorating Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and September 11.
Proceeds from this service directly support service projects of the Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois.
Memorial Day is Monday May 26. On May 17, we initiated the 2025 Rotary Flag Project deployment. The installation process should be complete by Friday May 23. We always need volunteers to deploy flags. Many of you have helped in the past and your services will be needed again. This year, I contacted all members in hopes that we would get some new volunteers. Thanks to all who were able to help with this round of flag installation.
The task involves being part of two person teams that deliver the flags from our warehouse to our customers. We use routing software to create routes of approximately 25 homes. The flags are dropped into plastic conduits in the customers lawns that have been previously installed by other volunteers. They are topped with a bright red plastic cap. Your heart will burst with joy when, after several minutes crawling on the ground, you spot that red cap and can deploy a flag. And a solar powered light. Then move on to the next address.
One member of the team must have a vehicle capable of carrying twelve foot flags. A route can take 4-5 hours to complete.
This service commemorates: Memorial Day, Flag Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and September 11.
The flags will remain out until after the September 11 holiday. They will need to be picked up and returned to the warehouse in the week starting Monday September 15. This is a change from previous years when we picked up flags after July 4 and put them out again for Labor Day.
If you can return as a volunteer or want to be a new participant, please let me know. It can be a lot of fun. And we raise $30,000 from the effort. Proceeds from this service directly support community grants and honor flights.
On May 19, our Club enjoyed a wonderful presentation at Maldaners Upstairs from the United States Tennis Association’s (USTA) Mid-South District Community Development Enhancement Coordinator, Sonthana Thongsithavong. He spoke about his personal journey and commitment to tennis.
The slide that Sonthana is projecting (image above) shows him as a child (child with orange tank top) with some of his family members before coming to the U.S. Sonthana came to the U.S. from Laos in 1989 as a refugee with limited English. Through perseverance and a strong work ethic, he rose to become a respected leader in Central Illinois youth tennis.
As USTA’s Community Development Coordinator and head tennis coach at Chatham Glenwood High School, Sonthana uses tennis as a tool to engage our community’s youth, promoting values of integrity, teamwork, and sportsmanship. He founded the nonprofit Central Illinois Tennis Association (CITA) to create low-cost, accessible tennis programs and host USTA-sanctioned events.
Under his leadership, local tennis has flourished, and many of his former and current players now help mentor younger athletes.
Sonthana’s contributions have earned multiple honors, and he recently directed the 50th McDrew Tournament, raising over $112,000 for renovating the Velasco Tennis Center.
Staying connected to his roots, he returns to Laos regularly, including recently donating sports equipment and clothing to Laos youth. He also continues to share his immigrant journey with others.
Sonthana exemplifies Rotary’s spirit of “Service Above Self”, inspiring youth, growing community, and giving back with purpose.
At our May 19 Club meeting, we welcomed Rebekah Jin, a candidate for the William J. Menghini Scholarship, which is endowed and offered through our Rotary District. The District Scholarship Committee, currently chaired by Bonnie Styles, recommends that students applying for Rotary Scholarships speak with a Rotarian about the scholarship and visit a Rotary Club to learn more about Rotary.
Rebekah shared her inspiring story and exciting plans for international study aligned with Rotary’s mission. She is planning to pursue a Masters Degree at the University of Sydney with a focus on Maternal Health. We enjoyed learning about her goals and the impacts she hopes to make through her international studies and career.
The William J. Menghini Scholarship makes an investment in building a better world by supporting students seeking undergraduate or graduate studies abroad in one of Rotary’s 7 areas of focus.
At our May 19 club meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, Brian Barstead and Rod Buffington honored Marty Michelson with the Rod Buffington Literacy Award in recognition of his long-standing commitment to buying baseball tickets for over 100 Rutledge Youth to attend the Cardinals-Cubs game on Rotary Family Day at the Ballpark. His ongoing support over the years has helped generate proceeds that benefit the District 6460’s Literacy Grant Program.
The Rod Buffington Literary Award is given to a Rotarian who has made a significant contribution to literacy and to the literacy programs of Rotary.
I provided the following review of the May 12 Club Assembly on Membership via a ClubRunner Email to all Members:
An active Rotarian from ND will be moving to Chatham in June and will attend a meeting. Please be sure to welcome her.
Please review the list of members who joined since 2019 and left. If you have any relationship with them, let me know and contact them.
Roger Randolph has contacted several. Nate Clemmers has not stated he will rejoin but he has volunteered to help with our flag project. That is a positive outcome.
Bonnie will be contacting most of the women who were member of the Chatham Satellite Club.
Our teams are struggling. We need to get back on track. The Social Media Team will have a new leader as Allie has asked for someone to take her place in that role. Bob Stuart stated the Club Meeting Team needs to begin contacting potential alternate meeting places to determine if any viable alternatives exist.
The June Assembly will not deal with membership. John Webb will be leading a discussion for his plans as President for Rotary Year 2025 – 2026.
Barry Tobias spoke for several minutes on an important topic related to membership and club health. He pointed out that Rotary is successful because it is nonpolitical and non-denominational. He expressed concern that our club members need to be more aware of this. All the guests and Speakers should see Rotary in the light of the four-way test. In this case “is it fair to all concerned” and “will it build goodwill and better friendships” are the important touchstones. Barry cited two examples of Rotary meetings where he was invited to speak, and the club asked to see his presentation in advance to ensure it was not political motivated.
An open discussion followed where several members made suggestions to the teams present.
Please join us at Maldaner's Upstairs for another Club Assembly on Membership on May 12.
At our club assembly on April 14, it was agreed that I would provide information to all members to assist them in promoting membership in our Rotary Club. I sent all members 4 documents attached to a April 19 ClubRunner email. If you were unable to download these documents, please contact Newsletter Bonnie Styles and she will send you them.
An updated club fact sheet
A selected list of speakers who have been our guests over the past three years. This would be a good reference to share with interested people.
A complete list of speakers from 2022 through 2025. I found it to be a wonderful reminder of the quality of speakers who visit us week after week.
A list of 2024 grant recipients without mentioning dollar amounts. This is an effective way to demonstrate how we benefit our community.
As of our April 21 club meeting, I have only heard from one member who has volunteered to contact several ex-members. Please review the lists that were provided and consider how you can help our club by contacting one or more people, and let me know who you are contacting.
Please keep in mind several suggestions that members made as we discussed talking to past members or prospective members.
Be positive. We are facing challenges, but we have a good story. Focus on our strong points.
We have a record of hosting interesting speakers. Emphasize how they keep us informed about our community.
We provide over $40,000 in support every year to our community and the world. We are effective and efficient in our fundraising.
In addition, I have begun work on a flyer called “Why Rotary”. It will be brief and include a UR code that can be used to access more detailed information. The details will look a lot like the attachments. I will provide more on this as it develops.
June 2025 (Specific date and time to be announced.)
The Chapel at The Outlet
3306 South 6th Street Road, Springfield IL (former St. Joseph’s facility)
Join us for the unveiling of a remarkable quilt--a moving work of art that captures the real thoughts, emotions, and experiences of growing up in Springfield and across America as a youth.
Created in partnership with the nationally recognized Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) (https://www.sjsacademy.org) and funds from the Healing Racism in Illinois grant program and the Downtown Springfield Rotary, this quilt reflects the unique voices of young men and some of their guardians from The Outlet. Each square tells a personal story—and you will have the chance to hear directly from several of the participants who wrote artist statements about what inspired their designs.
This is a special opportunity to experience the power of art and storytelling and to hear firsthand the perspectives and experiences that shaped this meaningful project. For more information about the project visit https://spirotary.org/stories/building-peace-and-fighting-racism.
Free parking at the main entrance to The Outlet. You will be escorted to the Chapel.
We hope you will join us for this unveiling and help celebrate the voices behind the art.
Editors Note: Jim Applegate, Chair of our Club's Peace Builder Committee (second from right in image below), spoke about our Peace Builders Committee and the Social Justice Sewing Academy at our July 8 Club Meeting. At that meeting, District Governor Dan O'Brien (second from left) and past District Governor, Bill Durall (far right), presented President Megan Reynolds and Jim Applegate with a Rotary International Certificate recognizing our Club as a Rotary International Peace Builder Club (image below). We are very proud to be recognized for our peace-building efforts.
Our Club's Peace Builders Committee secured grants from the Healing Racism in Illinois Program (https://fieldfoundation.org/healingillinois) and the Rotary Literacy Grant program to create a partnership with the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) (www.sjsacademy.org) and The Outlet (www.theoutletillinois.org) supporting an SJSA academy for the African American young men and boys (as well as some of their parents, grandparents, and young girls) served by The Outlet. The Outlet largely serves youth in families without present fathers.
For three nights about 25 participants (a) talked about what it means to be an African American male in Springfield and America (b) worked with SJSA staff and experienced quilters to translate the ideas and emotions sparked by those discussions into visual images imprinted onto quilt squares and (c) created artist statements expressing what their squares meant to them (images above and on left provided by The Outlet). Each of the young men were given a copy of the book “Stitching Stolen Lives” authored by one of our SJSA partners (image below provided by The Outlet) and a picture of themselves with their square.
The insights and high level of engagement of participants was amazing to hear and see. One retired veteran teacher/quilter called it “one of the most meaningful things I have ever done.” Everyone involved from SJSA organizers to Outlet staff, to Rotary and quilter volunteers came away in awe of the young men’s work as well as energized and motivated to make sure their message was heard far and wide to spark change.
These squares have been transformed into a beautiful full-sized quilt by SJSA. With support from a second Club Grant from Rotary District 6460, the Peace Builders Committee is organizing community events where the quilt will be displayed, and recordings of the young men talking about their work will be presented to leaders and citizens across Springfield. The goal of these events is to spark community conversations about what Springfield needs to do to address the issues raised by these young men and their quilt and build greater peace in our community. The first event will be in June at the Outlet, which will be the ultimate home for the quilt. The finished quilt will be on display for the first time in Springfield at this event. The article above is your invitation for join us for this event. We will also send a ClubRunner email to all club members. Please bring friends and guests to this event.
The Springfield Outlet-Rotary quilt will also be loaned for displays at national quilting expositions and museums along with the estimated 45 other community quilts created to date by SJSA to give voice to those who are often not heard by their communities and country.
I was happy to report at our April 14 club meeting (image above) that our global grant application for the Nepali Water Project has been awarded! The preliminary steps were time consuming, and included pulling the initial application together in Nepal and then submitting the application for review by the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action group (Wash Rag). Wash Rag came back with several significant steps to add and some other suggestions. The project now is more than just providing water from a source over an hour to two hours away, but also includes a plan to impose a fee upon recipients to build sustainability of the system. The village will maintain the system using the funds received by the fees and train individuals in proper maintenance of the system itself. As to the users of the system, the school and the village will provide water and sanitation training and education. Nepal is part of the Third World countries where open defecation occurs. This sanitary system hopefully will be a driving force to educate the population in proper water and sanitation processes.
In addition, the women and young girls will not be required on a daily basis to walk to the source of the water and carry it back to the village. This allows the women to engage in micro-credit businesses, and the young girls to attend school for the full day.
Examination of the proposal by Wash Rag allowed them to issue an additional grant in the amount of $2000 to assist with the project
To put it briefly, after consideration of extensive reviews, we submitted a detailed application to the Rotary Foundation, which was the final step in the process for securing the grant!!!
The drinking water problem in Nepal is a multi-faceted issue that affects millions of people throughout the country. After the 2015 Nepal earthquake, the problem of drinking water became more severe as many old tanks got damaged and were not suitable for use. In many cases, the water source dried up, which not only created havoc in society but also forced many people to migrate.
The Rotary International Grant Application for this project was prepared by the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel in Nepal. Our club is serving as the U.S. partner with them on the Dhakalthok Drinking Water Project. This village is in Mandandeupur Municipality of Kavre, Nepal. After the 2015 earthquake, the water system was damaged. The people in the area have been transporting drinking water from a distance of 1.5 km. Women spend around 40-60 minutes to fetch the water. The goals of the project are to provide sustainable access to clean drinking water for underserved communities in Nepal, build and rehabilitate the water supply system that ensures the availability of safe drinking water, promote community involvement and education on water management and hygiene practices, and reduce the prevalence of waterborne diseases through improved water quality. The project will include infrastructure development including construction of 50 water tanks (each holding 1000 liters) to provide drinking water as per World Health Organization standards and pipeline and tap construction to bring water to 50 households with 326 members. It will also provide community education and training, monitoring, evaluation, and formation of of a Water User Group and Mandandeupur Muncipality commitments to ensure sustainability. As noted above it also includes a plan to impose a fee on water recipients to build sustainability into the system.
Rotary District 6460 is offering four District Scholarships ($3000 each) for undergraduate studies in the United States and one international scholarship ($18,000) for undergraduate or graduate studies abroad for the 2025-2026 academic year. Encourage students to apply online for these opportunities at the web addresses provided below. The application deadline is midnight on May 31, 2025.
Rotary District Scholarships ($3000)
Apply online at https://www.rotarydistrict6460.org/foun.../districtscholars/. The scholarship provides $3,000 payable to a college, university or approved vocational school in or outside the District for tuition, fees, and/or books. Eligible students must live in, go to school in, or have graduated from a school in the District; have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours at college, university, or vocational school; must be pursuing a degree relevant to the seven Rotary International Areas of Focus; and meet all other criteria listed in the application.
Rotary William J. Menghini International Scholarship ($18,000)
Apply online at https://www.rotarydistrict6460.org/found.../global-scholars/. The scholarship provides $18,000 payable to an international college or university for tuition, fees, books, and other college expenses. Eligible students must live in, go to school in, or have graduated from a school in the District; must have completed a minimum of 48 hours of university credits; must use the scholarship for a full academic year of undergraduate or graduate residential study in a country that the student has not lived or studied in before; must begin studies within 20 months after receiving the award; must serve as ambassadors of goodwill in the host country and share experiences with Rotarians, and meet all other criteria in the application. There are no restrictions on the field of study, but preference is given to students pursuing degrees relevant to the seven Rotary International Areas of Focus.
Direct questions to Dr. Bonnie Styles, Rotary District 6460 Scholarship Chair, bonstyles@yahoo.com.
We are thrilled to announce that tickets for the highly-anticipated annual Rotary Family Day at the Ballpark XXII are now on sale! This exciting event will take place on August 9 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, where the Cubs will face off against the Cardinals. Not only will you enjoy an unforgettable evening of baseball and camaraderie, but also the profits from ticket sales support our District 6460 Rotary Club Literacy Grants. By attending this event, you'll be contributing to a meaningful cause that benefits our local communities. Nearly every club in District 6460 has received a literacy grant over the years, and, our only requirement is that your club or its members has to sell at least one ticket or make a donation directly to our District Literacy Fund to apply for a literacy grant. We think that is beneficial to all concerned.
To purchase tickets, please visit our baseball game article on our website at rd6460.org. You can either click the link to purchase online or the link to download and print a PDF or Word ticket order form to mail in a check. For your convenience, I also attached the pdf order form to this email. You can easily sell tickets by copying and sending a link to our website to your friends and associates in an email and they can buy tickets themselves. We use paper tickets, and I will personally send them via First Class Mail.
We have Left Field Loge Reserved Tickets (Sections 269-271) available for this game. Tickets are limited and sell fast. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! Tickets are $60 per seat -- currently very competitive to similar seats available on MLB ticket websites. We can also accommodate people with disabilities, and we have a supply of ADA-compliant tickets (Busch Stadium has elevators and handicapped accessible seats near the sections where our group will be seated).
I would appreciate it if each club president would send me the name of a Rotarian in your group who will be your Team captain and will help me promote the ticket sales. I'm happy to come to your club and speak about the game promotion at one of your meetings. I will also send periodic updates of our ticket sale progress.
We encourage you to join us for a fun-filled evening in St. Louis. Your participation will help us sell out the event and have a significant impact through our literacy grants. Over $580,000 has been raised since PDG Rod Buffington started and supported this project since 2004. Thank you Rod all for your continued support! We look forward to seeing you at the ballpark!
If you don't want to sell tickets, but you still want to support the District Literacy Fund by making a monetary donation to our Rotary District 6460 Foundation, or if you have any questions and need some help - Contact me at bribaraxp@yahoo.com or phone 217-652-4371!
PS This year, I will personally donate $100 to the club that sells the most tickets and $100 to the club that sells the most tickets per capita. If we sell out and the Cubs win this year, I will also buy and wear a Cub cap next year. (I hope that my late mother forgives me). Now, TURN UP THE VOLUME ON YOUR PHONE/TABLET OR COMPUTER AND enjoy some music --Harry Sing along
Brian Barstead District 6460 Literacy Committee Chair Past District Governor (2018-19) Assistant Area Rotary International Foundation Coordinator -Zone 31 (2024-2027) member Rotary Club of Springfield Sunrise since 1990
The Rotary Club of Springfield has agreed to host a Foreign Exchange Student for the school year 2025-2026. We are looking for at least two host families to serve one semester each of the school year, preferably with Springfield or Southeast High School boundaries.
We now know that the student will be a female from Taiwan. Preferably the family will have a high-school aged student, but that is not a requirement. Single family hosts are allowed pending approval by both the student and the student's parents. Because the student is a female, I cannot serve as her Youth Exchange Counselor so we are also looking for a female Rotarian to serve in that capacity. Let me know if you are interested.
Please think of family and friends you think may be interested in hosting a Foreign Exchange student, preferable three if you can think of that many. You or they may contact me for additional information. My email is bkemp1100@hotmail.com, or phone 217-494-7467.
Finding host families has become difficult, so I would appreciate any assistance you can provide. I am attaching a list of host family requirements. Please note that COVID inoculations are no longer required.
I sincerely appreciate any assistance you can provide.
Please remember that we are including some social night meetings at locations other than Maldaners. Please pay attention to the meeting schedule listed in the Newsletter, on our website home page (www.spirotary.org), and on our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram pages for the dates and locations of the meetings. I am in the process of scheduling speakers now and will provide more details as soon as they are available.
May 26, 2025 No Club Meeting at Maldaners
Commemorate Memorial Day with family and friends
June 2, 2025 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m.
Rotarian Robert Stuart: My 50 Years in Rotary (image below)
June 9, 2025 Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:30-6:45 p.m
Distribution of Community Grants
June 16, Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs, 5:03-6:45 p.m.
Membership Club Assembly: John Webb, President-Elect: What's Next
John will present plans for his term as Club President.
June 23, 2025 No Rotary Club Meeting at Maldaners Upstairs
June 30 Installation Picnic for New Club Officers
Stone Creek Club House, 2113 Brookstone, Springfield, IL 62711
Please join us at the Stone Creek Club House in Springfield for our catered, indoor installation Picnic. We will recognize our outgoing officers and install our new officers for upcoming 2025-2026 Rotary Year.
Little Libraries are free book exchanges that aim to expand book access within our communities. The prevailing concept of “take a book, share a book” reigns.
Our Club supports this literacy initiative and has helped build up the Little Library system in our community with support from a District Grant. We continue to help Little Libraries at five locations remain stocked with books. The locations are as follows:
1. St. John’s Breadline, 430 North 5th Street;
2. Springfield Firehouse No. 5/“The First Black Firehouse,” 1310 East Adams Street (shown in the image above);
3. Ridgely Elementary School, 2040 North 8th Street;
4. Enos Elementary School, 524 West Elliott Avenue; and
5. The Outlet, 3306 South 6th Street.
We have been visiting these Little Libraries and adding additional books to their existing stock. If you are interested in helping stock books, please contact Allie Montney at onedirtymartini@gmail.com. To keep the supply of books up-to-date, the club held a book drive to solicit book donations from club members on October 7, and a book drive for community members will be scheduled later.
Here's your chance to be a pantry superhero! Join John Webb and I in stocking the Ridgely Elementary School micro pantry for two weeks. Your commitment will ensure that families and children have access to essential items when they need them most. Whether it's a can of soup, a box of cereal, or toiletries, your contribution will brighten someone's day. Reach out to Allie Montney at onedirtymartini@gmail.com or call 217-494-6901 to become a beacon of hope for those in need. Every item you place on those shelves is a small gesture that collectively makes a huge impact!
April 15-28 Sheila Mack, Judith Pensoneau-Feurer (Thanks, Sheila and Judith!)
April 29-May 12 Jim Applegate (Thanks, Jim!)
May 13-26 Harry Mitchell
May 27- June 9 OPEN
June 10-23 Ross Hodel
June 24-July 7 John Webb
July 8-July 21 OPEN
July 22- August 4 OPEN
August 5- August 18 Bill Kempiners
August 19-September 1 OPEN
September 2-September 15 OPEN
September 16-September 29 OPEN
September 30-October 12 OPEN
October 13-October 26 OPEN
October 27-November 9 OPEN
November 10-November 23 OPEN
November 24-December 7 OPEN
December 8- December 21 OPEN
I appreciate your help!
Thank you for signing up for a micro pantry volunteer shift. Your time and effort are greatly appreciated by the community we serve.
Below are the details including the location of the pantry, and suggestions on items to collect and distribute. If you are unable to complete your shift, please reach out and we'll work on a better period of time to meet your needs. If you have suggestions for future volunteers, please let me know and we'll adapt the program along the way.
Ridgely Elementary School
2040 North 8th Street
Springfield, IL 62702
Main entrance to the school (look for the yellow and purple pantry by the front doors).
The image below shows the location of the pantry at the entrance to the school.
These suggestions came from people who use food pantries to help feed their families.
1. Everyone donates Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box. They can rarely use it because it needs milk and butter, which is difficult to get from regular food banks. 2. Boxed milk is a treasure, as kids need it for cereal, which they also get a lot of. 3. Everyone donates pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles. 4. They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies and soup unless you put a can opener in too or buy pop tops.* 5. Oil is a luxury and needed for Rice a-Roni, which they also get a lot of. 6. Spices or salt and pepper would be a real Holiday gift. 7. Tea bags and coffee make them feel like you care. 8. Sugar and flour are treats. 9. They fawn over fresh produce donated by farmers and grocery stores. 10. Seeds are cool in Spring and Summer because growing can be easy for some. 11. They rarely get fresh meat. 12. Tuna and crackers make a good lunch. 13. Hamburger Helper goes nowhere without ground beef. 14. They get lots of peanut butter and jelly but usually not sandwich bread. 15. Butter or margarine is nice too. 16. Eggs are a real commodity. 17. Cake mix and frosting makes it possible to make a child’s birthday cake. 18. Dishwashing detergent is very expensive and is always appreciated. 19. Feminine hygiene products are a luxury and women will cry over that. 20. Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing.
The image below shows a fully stocked pantry.
The image below shows me stocking an empty micropantry on June 4. Let me know if you are interested in taking a shift!
Micro Pantry Coordinator: Allie Montney with assistance from John Webb
Phone 217-494-6901 (for the quickest response, please text)
Things I've noticed that may be helpful: Stocking the pantry on a weekend or after 4:00PM during the weekdays means less people and easier to get a parking spot. Ask friends and family to donate unused household items for the pantry that you can collect. If purchasing bags of fresh fruit or veggies, stock them individually so that more in need can take what they need. It's going to be freezing outside soon, so consider if the items will no longer be good if frozen. ALDI grocery stores have prices that cannot be beat.
We thank all the volunteers who gave and are giving generously of their time on service projects this Rotary Year. Work on our ongoing service projects continues, and we thank all who have stepped up to help coordinate these activities and especially Ken Gilmore, our Community Services Director for the 2024-2025 Rotary Year.
May 17 Bed Building Volunteer Opportunity
Thanks to Judith Pensoneau-Feuer, Vicki Megginson, John Webb for volunteering to build beds on May 17. See article by John Webb in this Newsletter for more information.
Stocking our Little Libraries
Allison Montney (onedirtymartini@gmail.com) and John Webb (jwebb.dr@gmail.com) are coordinating the stocking of our Little Libraries. We previously built a series of Little Libraries with a support from a District Club Grant and secured a large number of books that were donated by a group in St. Louis. The books are stored in the Computer Banc warehouse. To keep the books up-to-date, they have requested that club members bring in books to supplement the donated books stored in the Computer Banc warehouse. Contact them if you would like to donate books and/or stock Little Libraries.
The image of the Little Library at Ridgely School (to the left) clearly shows that this little library needs to be regularly stocked. Thanks to Allison and John for coordinating this project and ensuring that it is well stocked. Let them know if you would like to help.
Stocking of the Ridgely School Micropantry
We previously installed a Micropantry at Ridgely Elementary School (our adopted school) with support from a District Grant. At our October 23, 2023 meeting, Allison Montney volunteered to coordinate the stocking of this micropantry with food, cleaning, and toiletry items. She maintains a schedule of volunteers to stock the pantry for a two week period, and John Webb has also volunteered to help with this project. If you would like to volunteer to stock this important and regularly used pantry, please let Allison know (onedirtymartini@gmail.com) and check out her article on micropantry volunteers for more information on this service project.
Flag Service Deployment Begins on May 20!
The flag service committee has announced that in 2025, we will only have one deployment of the flags before Memorial Day and one retrieval after the Commemoration of September 11. Flag Service deployment for Memorial Day begins on May 20 and flags need to be installed by May 23! See article above by John Loftus for information on how to volunteer for this important service project and fundraiser.
John Montgomery Memorial Citrus Campaign
The 2024 John Montgomery Memorial Citrus Drive is over! Bill Smith launched the campaign in September and provided background on the outstanding Rotarian that the campaign is dedicated to (see Bill's articles in this Newsletter). If you would like to volunteer for the citrus committee, let Marty Michelson know. Thanks to all members for participating in the 2024 campaign. The proceeds from the Citrus Sale support our community grants program!
Do you know or are you someone who has a passion to give back to your community? The Rotarians in this image are helping pack essential items for the Illinois Police Department to give to homeless individuals in our community. As a Rotarian, you adhere to the principles of the 4-way Test., which are:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Good Will and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
If you find value in these ideals and want to be part of a great organization, right click on the attached link to open our online Membership Applicationin a new window. You can also click on this link to download an electronic copy of the Membership Application from our Club's website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) in the Download Files section. You can send the completed application to the Membership Committee at hmitchell11@comcast.net. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. Travis Magoulias has added the 2023-2024 Rotary Year to the form. You will be able to enter your hours now and correctly assign them to the correct Rotary Calendar year. Just follow this link:
Please email images of service activities to Bonnie Styles at bonstyles@yahoo.com. It's easy to take pictures if you have a smartphone, but even an old style camera works just fine. Send me an email (bonstyles@yahoo.com) to let me know when you will be volunteering for a service project, and I will come out and take some images.
Be sure to turn in your hours for any volunteering that you do on behalf of Rotary.
The two images below show club members participating in the United Way's Spring Day of Action on April 25, 2025 by washing windows for the Illinois Presbyterian Home
The image on the left shows Bonnie Styles and her daughter Megan still smiling after installing flags for five hours on May 19, 2025. They were delighted that Judith Pensoneau-Feuer jointed the team for several hours. The first installation of flags for the Flag Service Project started on May 17, 2025 and will be done before sundown on May 30. Please volunteer for this project. We need your help, and the proceeds help support our community grants program and honor flights.
We will not have our club meeting at Maldaners Upstairs on May 26 so you may celebrate Memorial Day with family and friends. We encourage you all to check out our Rotary flags that we have installed throughout the community. We helped make our community red, white and blue for Memorial Day (lead image and images on left and below) through our annual Flag Service Projects. Thanks to all the Rotarians who are helping with this project! 
On May 17, several members of our Rotary Club enjoyed participating in the Bunks Across America Bed Build with the Sleep in Heavenly Peace - IL - Springfield Chapter.
On May 14, Bill Sturm and John Webb prepared more flags (image on left and below) that are now being displayed in honor of our nation’s meaningful days. Teams of Rotarians, including some family members, install the flags. These flags will be flying for Memorial Day and will remain in place through September 11th, commemorating Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and September 11.
At our May 19 Club meeting, we welcomed Rebekah Jin, a candidate for the William J. Menghini Scholarship, which is endowed and offered through our Rotary District. The District Scholarship Committee, currently chaired by Bonnie Styles, recommends that students applying for Rotary Scholarships speak with a Rotarian about the scholarship and visit a Rotary Club to learn more about Rotary.
For three nights about 25 participants (a) talked about what it means to be an African American male in Springfield and America (b) worked with SJSA staff and experienced quilters to translate the ideas and emotions sparked by those discussions into visual images imprinted onto quilt squares and (c) created artist statements expressing what their squares meant to them (images above and on left provided by The Outlet). Each of the young men were given a copy of the book “Stitching Stolen Lives” authored by one of our SJSA partners (image below provided by The Outlet) and a picture of themselves with their square.
The image on the left shows Bonnie Styles and her daughter Megan still smiling after installing flags for five hours on May 19, 2025. They were delighted that Judith Pensoneau-Feuer jointed the team for several hours. The first installation of flags for the Flag Service Project started on May 17, 2025 and will be done before sundown on May 30. Please volunteer for this project. We need your help, and the proceeds help support our community grants program and honor flights..png)
