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Today we had our Annual Joint Holiday Meeting with the Kiwanis Club of Elkhart. The meeting was hosted by the Kiwanis Club this year and a welcome was given by Kiwanis President Leatra Scott. All enjoyed the change of pace and a performance by the Concord High School Singers, led by Music Director Jimmy Bennett.

Elkhart Rotary Club November 25, 2024

(Photo courtesy of Community Foundation of Elkhart County)

Monday's scheduled speaker was unable to attend due to illness. We found a last-minute substitute, Eric Garton, Robert and Peggy Weed Execuive Director at Wellfield Botanic Gardens, to give an update on the new Events and Visitors Center Expansion Project.

Thanksgiving is always a special time for any not for profit organization; it’s hard to imagine any organization created for the public good with a mission like Wellfield’s not to feel an especially intense feeling of gratitude when we’re reminded each and every day how important our community has been in Wellfield’s growth and development over the years. This year’s gratitude is especially apparent given the progress of our new Events and Visitors Center Expansion Project over the last 18 months. From the beginnings of a capital campaign in 2021 inspired by fellow Rotarian Marly Rydson in honor and memory of his wife Laura through the planning and design stages led masterfully by Arkos Design, to the construction initiated by DJ Construction in July 2023 and the countless contractors and tasks that been accomplished since… our jaws continue to drop when we view the incredible beauty and quality of this project toward our goals and mission.

On Tuesday, November 19, it was a sincere pleasure for Wellfield staff to welcome the Community Foundation of Elkhart County’s guests composed of The Legacy Society, those families and individuals who’ve generously included the Foundation in their estate planning. When scheduling this event months ago - - and the status of the project’s progress/substantial completion unknown - - we were counting on the professionals at DJ Construction to get us where we needed to be in order to pass the much anticipated inspections necessary for occupancy. With no time to spare, the necessary pieces and safety features were put into place, tested, and approved! As our first official event, there was ample anxiety tempered with the excitement of engaging our spaces and sharing our new facility with a very important audience. The event flowed largely as planned - - short of an unknown construction light timer that put the entire space into temporary darkness for a few seconds at 7 o’clock! The reviews were in: our new Visitors Center and the Woodland Pavilion are a HIT and once the active construction pieces are done and the punch lists complete, we’ll be ready to greet the public.

Here is our plan to showcase the space for the upcoming days, weeks, and months. Beginning with Winter Wonderland Holiday Lights presented by Welch Packaging on Friday, November 29, we will welcome guests through our new Visitors Center! All event guests will get a sneak peek of the Rotunda and admissions area as they flow through the new building and after experiencing Holiday Lights, guests will exit through an outside gate. We’ll continue this through December, welcoming Holiday Lights ticketed guests through the building, while retaining the Cottage for standard daily admissions and retail during December. During our Winter months of January through March, we’re open to the public on weekends only, noon to 5. We’ll use this time as a soft-opening for the Visitors Center while finalizing plans for our Grand Opening and Dedication, scheduled for Saturday, April 5, the first Saturday in our Spring-Summer Season when we return to 7-day a week operations.

To everyone who’s supported Wellfield and our Events and Visitors Center Expansion Project these past several years… THANK YOU. To all those who’ve patiently waited through construction, inconvenience, and the many unknowns… THANK YOU. We can’t wait to see you in person in our new Visitors Center in the weeks, months, and years ahead! Happy Thanksgiving to all.

REMINDER: Dave Lehman's annual announcement to collect money ($20 recommended, which purchases a turkey) for the Elkhart Salvation Army and fellow Rotarian Major Tim Nauta who will be providing free meals on Thanksgiving to those in need. Dave will gladly share your donation even if you bring it in after Thanksgiving.

Elkhart Rotary Club - November 18, 2024

Today we welcome Debie Coble, CEO and President at Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Inc. Debie was introduced by her coworker and fellow Rotarian, Monica Abair. Debie shared program highlights and some lesser known facts and figures about Goodwill Industries, leading up to exciting news as Goodwill prepares to open their Mission Services Hub at Woodland Crossing (located in the renovated former Sears building on the south side of Elkhart.) Goodwill Industries and Heart City Health have partnered with the aim of bringing healthcare and job training to a densely populated area. Those services will include social services, job training, healthcare for an overall better quality of life.

Goodwill's Mission serves to help vulnerable and high-risk individuals in historically underserved neighborhoods access education, training and high-quality employment and has done so in Elkhart County since 1991. The City of Elkhart strives to revitalize blight-affected areas and bring economic revival to the community. To assist in this effort, Goodwill is investing millions of dollars to repurpose the abandoned Sears building located in the center of the Pierre Moran neighborhood. Goodwill's Mission Services Hub will be the center for education, training and job placement services for all Elkhart citizens. Today in Elkhart, Goodwill provides the Excel Center/Kid's Excel, Second Chance, Nurse Family Partnership, Career & Technical Education as well as general job search support. These programs are currently spread across several locations. Once under one roof, we can expand our services to impact more citizens with better efficiency and effectiveness.

Debie shared about their important Nurse-Family Partnership, serving First-time parents and those who support them in Lake, LaPorte, Elkhart, and St. Joseph Counties.

Specially educated nurses regularly visit first-time parents starting early in pregnancy and continuing until the child's second birthday. People enrolled in Nurse-Family Partnership benefit by getting the care and support they need in order to have a healthy pregnancy. At the same time, families develop a close relationship with the nurse who becomes a trusted resource they can rely on for advice on everything from safely caring for their child to taking steps to provide a stable, secure future for their new family. Goodwill Industries of Michiana has served 279 new moms!

She also shared about Goodwill's Excel Centers which serve adults looking to earn an Indiana high school diploma in Elkhart, Lake and St. Joseph Counties. Excel Centers offer tuition-free high school and college credits. Through their four centers, adults of all ages have the opportunity to receive a Core 40 education and earn a high school diploma, college credits, and a variety of industry-recognized certifications. In order to help our students overcome barriers they may face, the Excel Centers offer flexible class schedules, extended hours, year-round operation, supportive relationships with staff and life coaches, transportation assistance, and a high-quality, free childcare program called Kids Excel.

Did you know?...

...Goodwill is an independent nonprofit organization?

...Goodwill stores fund programs that help people find jobs. Goodwill stores exist to support Goodwill’s mission. Through the sale of quality items at affordable prices, our retail stores fund programs that help thousands of people each year find jobs and reach financial stability. For every dollar spent in our stores, 89 cents goes to support our mission and sustainability.

...All Goodwill employees earn above minimum wage.

...Goodwill Industries saves 23 MILLION tons of what would otherwise be trash from entering area landfills.

...Their programs have served 17,000 individuals - - you probably know someone who has benefitted from Goodwill's programs in our community.

For more information visit their website.

More about New IMPACT CLUB!
Mandy Leazenby and Julie Cotton held the first meeting of our new IMPACT CLUB at Iechyd Da Brewing Company. Stay tuned for more info, including announcement of new club member inductions on December 1 at 4 p.m. More details TBD.

Here's a SAMPLE info sheet describing how our IMPACT CLUB will work.

Paul Warning: Rotary Bell Ringing - - Have you signed up for Saturday, DECEMBER 14 to suppor the Elkhart Salvation Army and new Elkhart Rotarian Major Tim Nauta by ringing bells at locations around town? Paul is getting signup sheets ready, call or email him if you're not yet signed up.

This Thursday is Thursday Thursday, Peter Norton will send out an announcement - - and this week: A NEW LOCATION to gather, stay tuned!

Elkhart Rotary Club November 11, 2024 - Sheldrick Wildlife Trust

Today we welcomed Anne Eisele, President of Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA and former member of the Elkhart Rotary Club. Anne was introduced by her father and fellow Rotarian, Tom Eisele, who provided some great background about Anne:

Anne was born two weeks before her father started law school, and she grew up in Elkhart. She matriculated to the University of Notre Dame, and received a degree in psychology, and then went on to get an MBA and juris doctor degree from Valparaiso University. Anne started her legal career here in Elkhart with the firm of Warrick and Boyne. Life took her to Milwaukee where she worked as corporate counsel for GE Healthcare for a period of four years. Another move with her husband, Nick, was to Cincinnati, where she currently has worked as corporate counsel the last eight years for Medpace, a publicly traded clinical research organization with over 5000 employees headquartered in Cincinnati. Anne is licensed to practice law in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. In her spare time, she is President of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust USA supports the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust programs in Africa that exist to protect Africa’s wildlife and to preserve habitats for the future of all wild species. They do this through public engagement programs, educational outreach, merchandise, and in person events. The trust is a conservation organization that works to protect wildlife and habitats in east Africa. Anne has visited the site in Kenya at least 12 times.

The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust embraces all measures that complement the conservation, preservation and protection of wildlife and habitats. Working across Kenya, the projects include anti-poaching, safe guarding the natural environment, enhancing community awareness, addressing animal welfare issues, providing veterinary assistance to animals in need, rescuing and hand rearing elephant and rhino orphans, along with other species that can ultimately enjoy a quality of life in wild terms when grown.

For more information about Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, including a brief overview of their programs, visit: https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/about

Today's Key Announcements:

Our New IMPACT CLUB!

Mandy Leazenby and Julie Cotton shared an announcement with the club about the approved formation of the Elkhart Rotary Club's new "Impact Club", which will provide greater opportunities for member service engagement and community support through service. Want to learn more? Join Julie and Mandy Sunday, November 17 at 5 p.m. at Iechyd Da Brewing Company for a fun info session!

Paul Warning: Rotary Bell Ringing - - SAVE THE DATE, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 to suppor the Elkhart Salvation Army and new Elkhart Rotarian Major Tim Nauta by ringing bells at locations around town. Paul will be emailing signup sheets shortly.

Elkhart Rotary Club October 21, 2024 - Pete McCown

On Monday we welcomed fellow Rotarian and President of the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, Pete McCown, who shared information about the Foundation from its beginnings to the impact it's having (and will continue to have!) for our community thanks to those who contribute in support of Elkhart County. The CFEC is part of the unfolding story of generosity in Elkhart County. They believe the Community Foundation resembles the unique traits of the distinctive ginkgo tree. The ginkgo has a strong root system and resembles strength and hope to those who recognize it – inspiring good. Its leaves have been used for remedies, just as the Community Foundation strives to support nonprofits and various endeavors that improve the health of our community, our businesses, and our people – impacting success. The Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of life in Elkhart County by inspiring generosity. The Community Foundation is committed to the following as essential to our effectiveness, aspiring to reflect the following values:

Integrity: An abiding pledge to honesty, professionalism, humility, and respect.
Inclusion: We seek and elevate diverse voices. We are most impactful when our organization and deliberations include people from varied backgrounds, opinions, and perspectives.
Excellence: In our every endeavor.
Collaboration: We believe in teamwork, both internally and externally. We desire to be trusted partners with community members, civic leaders, and not-for-profit organizations to provide high-impact programs and services benefitting the broadest possible constituency.

Did you know?....

The Foundation was founded in 1989.
More than 20,000 individuals have contributed to the CFEC since 1989.
The CFEC currently has approximately $500 million in assets, ranking it among the top 50 foundations in the United States irrespective of community population and in the top 200 foundations in the world.
The CFEC Grants $30m annually in grants and scholarships.
The Foundation has 700+ different endowments and include designated funds, scholarship funds, donor advised funds, field of interest funds, and a few unrestricted funds.
There are over 300 members of the Legacy Society, who have pledged assets to the Foundation upon their passing.

For more information about the Foundation and how you can support visit their website at https://inspiringgood.org/

Today we welcomed a NEW MEMBER to our Club. Ellen Williams, the Executive Director of the Elkhart Education Foundation, transferred her membership from the Rotary Club of South Bend to Elkhart. She still resides in South Bend but spends a majority of her business time in our city. Welcome, Ellen!

Selected Announcements from Today.. reminders and notes

October 24 is World Polio Day. “Pints for Polio” is a social event and fundraiser hosted the Elkhart Rotary Club by Westwind Brewery Co. A portion of sales will be generously donated to Rotary Polio Eradication efforts by Westwind Brewery. Join us Thursday, October 24 between 4-7 p.m. at Westwind Brewery Co in Elkhart for some great beer, food, and fun, all supporting polio eradication around our world. Details HERE