Valdosta 2021-22

Valdosta Rotary Youth Services Program Application

 

Two Interact Clubs participated this year in various community service projects that rang true to our theme this year, “Serve to Change Lives,” as you will see from the attached pictures. In April, one club honored first responders with a drive-thru appreciation event, emphasized literacy by gathering books to read to children, and already has great ideas for next year. The other club performed a beautiful landscaping project at Camp Rock, an agency that nurtures children who are in foster care; the members also completed building projects onsite that benefit all who go there, from children to families and the community.

 

There were 300+ beneficiaries, including first responders in the community, elementary children and children who are in the foster care system.

 

For both Interact Clubs, the Rotarians provided guidance, support, and supervision by being hands-on with pre-planning, supporting the clubs’ ideas, and helping coordinate the projects. They also became mentors to the students as they navigated through the past several months working to complete their projects. By exhibiting and living the Four-Way Test quite well, members represented the Valdosta Rotary Club in the best manner possible in Valdosta-Lowndes County.

Valdosta 2020-21

VALDOSTA ROTARY CLUB
Literacy and Education

 In 2018, the Valdosta Rotary Club decided they needed to form a Literacy Fund Committee tasked specifically with the efforts of promoting and supporting literacy in Lowndes County.  We formed a 6-person committee and got to work straight away to identify our primary areas of focus.  We determined that we would have 3 areas of focus, Dolly Partons Imagination Library, Community Partners in Education, and Wiregrass Georgia Technical Colleges GED program. 

Dolly Partons Imagination Library was first introduced in Lowndes County in 2009 by then Valdosta Rotary Club President Dennis Marks.  This program mails a high quality, age-appropriate, book every month to each registered child from birth to age 5, free of charge to the family.  While it is free for the family, there is a cost involved.  It takes approximately $125 to fund books for one child from birth to age 5.  The Lowndes County Affiliate of Dolly Partons Imagination Library relies solely on the support of community donors.  Since the inception of the program here in Lowndes County, we have enrolled close to 3,800 children.  Approximately 1,300 children are currently receiving books.  Our club has made a commitment that we will not enroll a child unless we have enough money on hand to pay for his or her books until they graduate the program at age 5.  The last thing we want is for the child to quit receiving books before they start school.   

We have two main fundraisers to support Dolly Partons Imagination Library.  They both debuted in 2019.  The first is our Imaginary Ball to support the Imagination Library.  What is an Imaginary Ball, you might ask?  It is just as it sounds.  It is a Ball that you attend in your imagination!  This year, our Ball did NOT take place on August 20th.  It did NOT start with refreshments at 6pm and dinner was NOT served at 7pm.  There was NO program held at 8pm.  As a result, our invitees did NOT have to rent a tuxedo, buy a new dress, spend money at the hair and nail salon, pay a babysitter, spend money on dinner or the cash bar.  They also saved 4+ hours of their priceless time!  In all, they saved over $675 by attending our Imaginary Ball.  The purchase of their ticket entitled them to stay home and relax, spend time with their families, or read to their children or grandchildren.  We encouraged our guests to take photos at their Imaginary Ball and post them on social media with our hashtag.  The best part is since we hosted this Imaginary Ball, we did not have to spend money on a venue rental, catering charges, room decor, or entertainment.  The only expense was printing and mailing the invitations, which was covered by the Clubs General Fund.  This allowed us to use 100% of the ticket sales to directly benefit Dolly Partons Imagination Library.  Our first year was a great success and we raised over $5,000.  We received amazing feedback from the community.  We were not sure what to expect this year, but if there was ever a time for an Imaginary Ball, this was the year!  We doubled our mailing list and hoped to raise $7,500.  We had a stunning turnout of over $9,400 raised.  This will allow us to enroll more than 75 new children in Lowndes County to start receiving free books and create the spark to becoming lifelong readers.   

Our second fundraiser is called the Corporate Charity Challenge.  This is an afternoon of fun teambuilding activities that gives local companies the opportunity to compete against other local businesses for year-long bragging rights.  Each company enters a team of 4 individuals that compete in 5 events: Egg Relay, Cornhole Toss, Chipping Challenge, Relay Sack Race, and Speed Reading (the article they speedread is all about the history and benefits of Dolly Partons Imagination Library).  Each team earns points at each event.  The teams with the first, second, and third highest points earn Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals.  We offer different levels of sponsorship opportunities, along with team entry fees.  We hold the event at the Courthouse Square on the First Friday of October.  Our first year was a great success with 20 teams competing.  After expenses, we raised right at $5,000.  Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, we chose not to hold the event this year.  However, we sent out letters to all the companies that participated last year to announce our decision to cancel but also give them the opportunity to still support Dolly Partons Imagination Library.  As of the time of this writing, we do not have a total to report from this effort.  

Community Partners in Education is our second area of focus.  This is a partnership between the two local school systems (city and county) and local businesses to encourage active involvement and support from the community for our elementary students.  We have been a Community Partner in Education for many years, supporting our assigned schools by volunteering time reading to the students and also by providing some financial support. Our annual goal is to donate $1,000 to each partner school to support their Media Centers.  We are in the process of scheduling the check presentation during the month of October for this year.   

Our third area of focus was added in 2018 when the Literacy Fund Committee was formed.  Our committee wanted to make sure there was also an element of support to promote literacy in adults.  After extensive research, we decided to help support the GED Program at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.  This program assists adults with obtaining their GED diplomas.  While the program itself is funded through grants and is free to the students, there are fees involved to take the actual tests that must be passed in order to obtain the diploma.  The total cost of all the tests is $120.  This can be a hardship to some adults and has presented a barrier from obtaining their diploma.  As a result, Wiregrass Georgia Technical College has set up a fund to help those adults in need.  Our goal is to donate $1,000 annually to support that fund.  We were very proud to present that check last year, and we are planning to schedule the check presentation again this year before the end of the year. 

 Our main fundraisers for these last two areas of focus come primarily from within the club.  A portion of our Happy Dollars goes to the Literacy Fund.  We also facilitate a 50/50 raffle with an added twist at each club meeting.  Our twist includes an added level of luck.  Not only must your raffle ticket be drawn, then you must draw the Ace of Spades from a deck of cards.  If there is no winner, we continue to let the pot build.  If no one has won towards the end of the fiscal year, we will usually have a Raffle-palooza where we will continue to draw raffle tickets until someone draws the Ace of Spades.  We also normally have a Memorial Day BBQ sale, however, that was canceled due to COVID-19 this year.  We are tentatively planning a Christmas Wreath sale in its place in November.   

Overall, so far this year, we have raised over $12,000 to support Literacy and Education in our community.  We will continue to be champions for this cause because we are helping to build our future leaders and what better way to put Service Above Self! 

Valdosta 2019-20

BlackTie Imaginary Ball to benefit Dolly Partons Imagination Library

Sponsored by the Valdosta Rotary Club

Take a second to read through this incredibly clever (and lucrative) Invitation!