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Poway Gives Back: Rotarians, Teddy Bears & Soroptimists

See how a teddy bear can help a child's life, plus find out what your neighbors did this weekend to help improve Poway.

ROTARIANS AT WORK AROUND THE WORLD

For Rotarians everywhere, the last Saturday in April is “Rotarians At Work Day.” It started in 2006 right here in our own District 5340, the brainchild of then District Governor Bob Watson, in a joint effort with Baja, Mexico Rotary District 4100. The idea was for each club in the two districts to identify a hands-on project that all members could participate in to help their local communities in the spirit of service above self. By 2009 over 25,000 Rotarians in 35 countries around the world were participating in the day and club participation continues to grow.

This past Saturday, members of the Rotary Club of Poway-Scripps pulled weeds and cleared brush at the Kumeyaay-Ipai Interpretive Center here in Poway, located at 13104 Ipai Waaypuk Trail, behind Kaminski’s on Poway Road. It’s a five-acre replica Kumeyaay Indian village, rich with native history, native gardens, interpretive signs and more. We did as much as we could in three hours.

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Meanwhile, Rancho Bernardo Sunrise Rotary chose to perform maintenance, repair and cleanup work at the Ronald McDonald House of San Diego. The club’s President Paul Sullivan said even though the House is not in our ZIP code, the importance it plays to all San Diegans, especially families caring for a critically ill or injured child at local hospitals, made it a priority for our Rotary family.

RB Noon Rotary spent RAW at the Ed Brown Senior Center in Rancho Bernardo painting, cleaning and weeding.

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HATS “OFF” TO SOROPTIMISTS FUNDRAISER

Last Sunday, April 21, The Soroptimist Clubs of Poway and Rancho Bernardo hosted their third “Hats On for High Tea” event at the Rancho Bernardo Inn to support their Transitional Housing Program for battered women and their children. It was a sell-out crowd of nearly 200. TV’s Carol LeBeau emceed, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis spoke, and Poway Councilman Jim Cunningham ran the silent auction. Chico’s showed off their spring collection, there was jewelry, clothing and accessories and more. In all, the event raised $16,000 for the program. Way to give back! 

NORTHROP GRUMMAN IS COMMUNITY PARTNER OF THE YEAR

The Poway Unified School District and the Poway Unified School District Foundation have announced that Northrop Grumman Corporation has been awarded the Community Partner of the Year Award by the Association of California Administrators and San Diego School Boards Association. A special Awards Ceremony, “Honoring Our Own”, was held on April 26 at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. Accepting on behalf of Northrop Grumman was Jim Zortman, vice president, and Karen Goetz, corporate citizenship representative.

With an eye toward development of STEM skills, the corporation has provided major support of the Project Lead the Way engineering programs at the middle and high schools, has been a dedicated sponsor of the FIRST Robotics teams, Science Olympiad and Poway Unified’s participation in the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering events. They offer mini-grants for teachers, Space Camp scholarships for middle school students, and internships through their HIP program. The Board said Northrop Grumman has effectively collaborated with education and community leaders providing valuable input as representatives of industry.

TEDDY BEAR DRIVE 2013 

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12. Get On The Bus is a non-profit project of Sunshine Care Homes. The project brings children and their guardians/caregivers from throughout California to their mothers on Mother’s Day in prison. They provide free transportation for the children and their guardians to the prison, travel bags for the children and comfort care bags for the adults, a photo of each child with his or her mother, meals and all at no cost to the family. 

At the end, each child receives a Teddy Bear, a letter from Mom and post-event counseling. That’s where you come in. Get On The Bus needs 60 Teddy Bears to give to the kids; $15 sponsors one bear. Or you can shop for a bear to donate. They must be 12 inches or taller, new and must be a bear, not a different animal. Drop off a bear or make a donation by Sunday, May 6 to Lisa Lipsey, director of community relations at Sunshine Care Homes, 12695 Monte Vista Rd. in Poway. Call 800-811-9595.

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