Our speaker this week is… Abbey Clark. She has a long-standing passion for education and service. After working in fundraising earlier in her career, she now serves Kenya Keys through grant writing and donor relationship management, helping provide educational opportunities for students in rural Kenya.
LOCATION: SEEC C120 A&B
Our photo album this week features the visit from our sister club, Yamagata North Rotary Club in Japan . Click on “CLICK ME” below to access the photo album. You may need to select the browser you want to use to access the photos.
Our speaker last week was the owner of the Big Ash Farm in Boulder. Although she has all sorts of animals on her farm, her passion is raising Icelandic Sheep. Members of the Yamagata North Rotary Club joined us for this meeting.
Presidential Message
This has been an interesting and exciting week with our visitors from Yamagata, Japan! Thank you to Steve Parrish for all of his great planning and coordinating, and to all of the rest of you that joined in the various lunch and dinner and other hosting activities this week. Johanna and I had a lot of fun hosting two Yamagata Rotarians, a Yamagata city manager, and a great local interpreter. (Thank goodness for the interpreter!) In addition to the fantastic cultural exchange opportunities, an unexpected treat this week was getting a first-hand look at the Atonement Lutheran Church for our 5th Tuesday meeting. Could this be a potential new meeting spot for our club? Many of us were impressed with the space itself, the central location, and the ample free parking. We will be looking into this space further, discussing among Board members, and reaching out to the rest of the club if/when appropriate to get more opinions. Meanwhile, we have our next two meetings at the SEEC before our 3rd week “alternate” meeting with the Boulder historical walking tour, and then our return to Williams Village for our remaining meetings this year starting 10/27. See you Tuesday!
Our Speaker this week is Abbey Clark with Kenya Keys.
Abbey Clark has a master’s degree in education and a long-standing passion for education and service. After working in fundraising earlier in her career, she now serves Kenya Keys through grant writing and donor relationship management, helping provide educational opportunities for students in rural Kenya. Her greatest ongoing role, however, is raising her three young boys and to become kind, responsible, and hardworking members of society.
The title of her presentation is “Empowering Rural Kenyan Students Through Education Sponsorship”
Education opens the doors for impoverished youth in Kenya to become self-reliant and build lives where they can support their loved ones and contribute to building flourishing communities. Discover the programs through which Kenya Keys has supported over 1,000 students in successfully completing their education, and hear a few inspiring stories of how these students have in-turn made a lasting impact in helping other students achieve hopeful lives filled with opportunity and growth.
Member and Visitor Information
Welcome to Boulder Valley Rotary! Our meeting is on the University of Colorado Boulder campus but the exact building and room changes frequently. Always consult our website or this newsletter for the location for a particular week. Paid parking is usually available near the location.
Visitors - you are welcome to join us anytime! Come to a regular meeting or join us in a service activity. We particularly invite you to explore becoming a member. In general, simply show up, sign-in, wear a name badge and start talking to people. We will happily cover your meal for your first 3 visits. Some service activities require advance registration so just contact us and we will make that happen.
We have a number of activities where we need help from our members. In any of these, you will be working with others to accomplish our service goals or to support the operations of the Club. Many of our signature activities are in need of new hands.
Dictionary project - One of our main service activities with the BV schools. John Kenyon will be out of the country and needs someone to work with him to get things moving during his absence.
Reading to End Racism Volunteer Training
Reading to End Racism (RER) is an intergenerational program designed to engage kindergarten through fifth grade students with books and personal stories. RER aims to spark discussion about eliminating racism, bullying and discrimination.
On Monday, October 5, we will be holding another training for volunteers who would like to read in classrooms at local elementary schools. Join our amazing group of volunteers.
Angela J. Madura (she/her) | Director of Development T: 303-443-0419 x111 YWCA Boulder County 2222 14th St, Boulder, CO 80302
ANNUAL Share-A Coat PROGRAM
It is time once again for the Share-A-Coat program, now in its 34th year, sponsored once again by Art Cleaners and the Boulder Valley Rotary Club and in cooperation with Boulder area schools and businesses.
In 2025 over 2,000 coats and other miscellaneous items of warm clothing were collected and distributed to needy families in Boulder County and to various charitable organizations and people in need.
We plan to have collection boxes available for delivery to the schools and businesses on Tuesday, October 20. This year we will pick-up coats on 2 occasions, the weeks of November 9 and November 30. Other activities include transporting the coats from Art Cleaners (November 15 and December 6), sorting the coats (November 18 and December 9) and distributing the coats (ongoing as coats are collected, cleaned and sorted).dd text here
As this is an ALL VOLUNTEER operation, there may be minor changes in the dates listed above.
I plan to have sign-up sheets available at the meeting on Tuesday for people who would like to volunteer for one or more of the activities.
Thanks to everyone in advance who will make this coat drive a success! Without your help, this program would not be possible!
Bob Harberg
Announcement from Boulder Rotary Club: Gun Safe Giveaway
The Boulder Rotary Club is grateful for your financial support of our upcoming Gun Safe Giveaway. Now, we would love to have your support as volunteers on the day of the event, October 24th. Please sign up using the
QR code or link on the flyer. We have 600 safes and 150 cable locks to distribute. We need your help! You must sign up if you plan to be at the event. Thanks, Constance Holden, Chair Gun Safety and Violence Prevention Committee.
We live in the shelter of each other. A Celtic Saying
Yamagata North Rotary Club sends their thanks for hosting their visit in Boulder.
Dear Members of the Rotary Club of Boulder Valley,
We are truly delighted that members of the Rotary Club of Yamagata North hve the opportunity to visit you as part of the official delegation from Yamagata City, our sister city. Although our President and Secretary had sincerely hoped to join the delegation and greet you in person, the visit unfortunately coincides with the District Governor’s Official Visit to our club. We deeply regret that we are unable to be with you on this special occasion and kindly ask for your understanding.
We would also like to express our heartfelt appreciation for the many invitations you have extended to us and for the warm friendship you have shown us through our various activities and exchanges. We sincerely hope that this visit will further strengthen the friendship and bonds between our two clubs. We look forward to continuing our relationship as sister Rotary clubs and to seeing all of you again in the near future.
With our warmest wishes for the continued success of the Rotary Club of Boulder Valley and for the good health and happiness of all its members.
With warm Rotary greetings,
President Noboru Aoyama
Rotary Club of Yamagata North
A Thank You note to Boulder Valley Rotary Club from Steve Parrish
Thank you, members, for all your support during the Yamagata Delegation visit. Your participation in the 5th Tuesday meeting at the Atonement Lutheran Church was especially appreciated. I know having such a large audience really excited the speaker. I also know that the Yamagata Delegation loved being part of such a large turnout and being surrounded by your great energy. Chris and Melissa Johnson deserve a very big shout-out for another wonderful 5th Tuesday event – this time at their own church. Thank you, Chris and Melissa, for all your hard work to make this such a success. And finally, a big thank you to all the club members who stayed after the meeting and helped clean up the lunch stuff and move the tables and chairs back to their original position.
Steve Parrish
Next Steps for our relationship with Yamagata North Rotary Club
Yamagata North Rotary Club is already planning its 60th year celebration which will occur on May 13, 2028. This was discussed at a couple of the recent hosted dinners by our club members with the idea that BVRC members might want to visit Yamagata to join in the anniversary celebration. There are unlimited forms that such a trip might take given this much planning time but at the end of the day it is a call to action!! Over breakfast on Thursday, Toshi Inoue, Ann Harris, and Steve Parrish took an important first step. They opened a new chat on LINE called: 60th Anniversary YAMAGATA. We set it up with simultaneous translation so any text entered in either language will instantly be translated to the other language within the message. This will be a great place to communicate ideas about what a trip might look like, share photos about Rotary stuff, and generally grow our clubs’ relationship. All BVRC members or community members who have interest in visiting Yamagata around the May 13, 2028 timeframe are invited to join. First step is to download the LINE app and enter your name. Then you will be invited to join the chat. Like any new app it will require a little work to gain comfort, but that will come quickly. Good luck!
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SEEC C120 A&B
