Announcements Club to Support Second Library in Guatemala  Recently the club board voted to fund the purchase of books for a rural community library to be built in Xolsacmalja, Guatemala by the Riecken Foundation.  This indigenous community in northwestern Guatemala was chosen from a number of applicants to be the next beneficiary of the Riecken Foundation.  Have a look at their website to see what wonderful work they do with community libraries in both Honduras and Guatemala.  www.riecken.org . Baja Sur Water Project Wins World Bank Marketplace Development Award  Florence's project which started with a request for $2K from our club to test the water in this region became one of thirty finalists for a World Bank grant.  Florence and her team were awarded over $170K to deliver their UV buckets to 6,000 households, roughtly 75% of the population in Baja Sur.  Next step, Florence says, is all of rural Mexico.

The Rotary International Convention was held in Montreal in June, 2010.  18,000 Rotarians and their guests attended from around the world.  Rotary in partnership with the Gates Foundation has been very instrumental in eliminating polio from our planet.

       As President of the Rotary Club of Woodside/Portola Valley, I have the privilege of overseeing the activities and projects of 16 dynamic men and women (plus two Honorary members) for 12 exciting months. 

       Our club has had several clean water projects in Guatemala and Baja, helped build and stock two libraries with books and computers in Guatemala, distributed over 680 hard bound dictionaries to third grade students locally, provided scholarships for five students in Bali, provided classroom supplies to a school in Bali, sent a Shelter Box to Haiti, awarded eight book scholarships to four male and four female college-bound seniors at Summit High School and Eastside Prep, put on our annual  Larry Wenrick Pancake Breakfast on May Day, produced annually a very successful Taste of Woodside fundraiser, provided food service to Day of the Horse and NCEFT events, gathered together for a hands-on work day, Rebuilding Together, in April (along with providing funding and feeding the workers), sent judges to the Woodside Elementary School Science Fair, and provided funding and workers for City Trees in Redwood City.

      I think you can tell that, although we are few in number, our hands are busy and our hearts are huge.  I invite you to share breakfast with us some Wednesday at 7:30 in the social hall of the Woodside Village Church.  We socialize (and have loads of fun) for 30 minutes and then we have a speaker for the next 30 minutes.  The meeting ends promptly at 8:30 a.m.  Please know that you are welcome at any time.  Memberships are open.

Barbara A. Schmidt

President, 2010-2011

Rotary Club of Woodside/Portola Valley

Rotary Theme 2010-2011 Winds of Change Ray Klinginsmith President, Rotary International William Koefed District Governor, District 5150 Barbara Schmidt President, Rotary Club of Woodside/Portola Valley