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Welcome to the Shakopee Rotary Club

Service Above Self

We meet In Person

Tuesdays at 12:00 p.m.

Dangerfield's

1583 1st Ave. E.
Shakopee, MN 55379
United States of America

We meet the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at Dangerfield's in Shakopee, 1583 1st Ave E, Shakopee, MN 55379. PLEASE NOTE: Oct. 22 our meeting will be held at Dem-Con, 13020 Dem Con Drive in Shakopee.

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Shakopee Rotarians Help Prior Lake Rotarians with Lakefront Music Fest

On Friday, July 12 Shakopee Rotarians, along with their friends and family, volunteered at Lakefront Music Fest in Prior Lake. This event is organized by Prior Lake Rotary. Our club receives funding for our work. A big thank you to all who helped out for such a good cause!

Meet Shakopee Rotary Club's 2024-25 Board

Shakopee Rotary Club inducted the 2024-25 Board on July 9. Libby Bergen is our 2024-25 President. Also on the board are the following:

Past President - Kathy Busch

Treasurer - Miles Lahr

Secretary - Holly Halloran

Membership - Stephen Huber

Social Media/PR - Lisa Rahn

Member-at-Large - Christine Spencer

Youth Service/Youth Exchange Chair - Kathy Busch

Club Foundation Chair - Tim Whitcomb

STRIVE Scholarship Recipients Attend Rotary

Raul Rehnborg (member) introduced this year’s STRIVE scholarship recipients during lunch at Dangerfield’s. We had 7 students earn the award for their attendance and improving their GPA in their senior year. We heard from 4 of the students today as they shared their personal stories of struggle and turning their lives around. They all thanked Rotary for receiving the money that will allow each of them to go on and pursue their dreams after high school. The passion they showed in their dialogues did not leave one dry eye in the audience! Truly today makes all of us proud to be Rotarians! A big thanks to the school counselors, Beth Cordes, Nicole Drangstveit and John Rose for their their support AND the leadership of Raul Rehnborg and Renee Hengemuhle of Valley Fair.

Kitchen Packs Donated to Bridging

Shakopee Rotary Club created 50 kitchen packs for Bridging, which contain basics for cooking including spatulas, towels, oven mitts, pizza cutter and more! We heard from Joel Bissner, Community Engagement Coordinator for Bridging about the impact they have on families. District Governor Jewelie Grape joined us in this service project.

Shakopee Rotary Club Auction Held

Rotarian Lee Hennen and former Shakopee Rotarian Jim Cook served as our auctioneers on Tuesday, Oct. 10. It was a fun filled afternoon. Close to $1400 was raised! Proceeds go to various club projects. Thank you to all who donated and who purchased!

Shakopee Rotary Club Donates to Polio Plus

On August 22, Shakopee Rotary club presented Tim Mulcrone a BIG Check for $2000 to help eradicate Polio. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years, and the goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.

Shakopee Rotary Club Says Hello and Goodbye to Exchange Students for 2023-24 School Year!

Shakopee Rotary Club has welcomed inbound Exchange Student Kanon, who arrived from Japan on Thursday, August 17. She will be staying with a host family in Shakopee and will be attending Shakopee Public Schools for the 2023-24 school year!

Shakopee Rotary Club also sent off Exchange Student Maia to Chile on Friday, August 18. She will be staying with host families in Chile for the 2023-24 school year.

Shakopee Rotary Helps North Karati Primary School in Naivasha, Kenya

Shakopee Rotary wrote and submitted a Global Grant to build a water harvesting system in at North Karati Primary School, outside Naivasha, Kenya. In cooperation with Kikuyu Rotary (Naivasha) and with funds donated by partner District Rotary Clubs, the grant was submitted to District 5950 and Rotary International for matching funds to support the construction. Seed money of $15,000 donated by Shakopee Rotary and partner Rotary clubs was matched by District 5950 Designated Funds and Rotary International World Fund. With matching funds, the total funding for the project is $89,000.

The new 200,000-liter tank water harvesting system will enable the primary school, sister high school, and the surrounding community to get clean drinking water from a public water kiosk.

Shakopee Celebrates Reading!

Each year Shakopee Rotary Club celebrates reading! Every 1st grade student in all of the public and private schools receive a book along with a bag filled with gifts items donated by community organizations and local businesses. Books were specifically chosen by the students. It is heartwarming to see the enthusiasm generated when they receive their bags filled with all the goodies. Thank you Shakopee Community for helping our Rotary make this a successful event again this year!

Living Hope School Accepts Donation

Mr. Brohn, principal of Living Hope School, was presented a donation of $1152 from Shakopee Rotary Club to purchase playground equipment to keep the students active while outside.

Shakopee Rotary Receives Global Grant Funding

Shakopee Rotary Club is pleased to announce that we have received a Global Grant for Light of Hope Water Project in Nakuru, Kenya. Light of Hope children's home Naivasha is located in Nakuru, Kenya. Light of Hope provides boarding school that seeks to equip orphaned girls and financially challenged girls with basic life skills while still giving them a home. The grant supports an underground water tank to harvest rain water in a 200,000 liter tank that would help the children's home and school in meeting clean water needs. A special thank you to Libby Bergen for over 2 years of work on this grant! The grant was for $89,000 and construction will begin in the next 2 months.

Shakopee Celebrates Reading

It is that time of year again for the "SHAKOPEE CELEBRATES READING" event when the Shakopee Rotary Club prepares to hand out a brand new book and backpacks to every first grade child in Shakopee Public and Private schools. This is a wonderful event and is always a much loved and well received program by all involved from our community.

This year we are looking to accumulate enough items to fill 600 backpacks. Items with your organization name, logo and/or contact information are welcome and can include things like pencils, erasers, bookmarks, stickers, bracelets, notepads, etc. Food and candy are not accepted. We need these items no later than April 30. Please plan your orders to allow enough time to get them to us. We are happy to arrange for someone to come and pick up the items from your business or they can be dropped off at the Chamber of Commerce offices c/o Tim Zunker as well.

This is really a great way for companies and organizations to reach 600 households and to give back to their community at the same time. A "win win" for all!

Any questions please feel free to email Shakopee Rotary Club organizer, Sheila McNeill at sheilamcneill.mn@gmail.com Thank you for your consideration and help in this worthwhile endeavor.

Shakopee Rotarians Donate to Hope for the Holidays

The Shakopee Rotarians were very generous with toys, gifts for teens, and gift cards for gas/groceries for parents. The CAP Agency was very appreciative of the gifts from the Shakopee Rotary Club, which will be given to persons in the community who are experiencing financial hardship.

District 5950 Governor Visit

We had Rotary District 5950 Governor Lloyd Campbell and former District Governor Tom Gump at our November 29 meeting. We discussed Rotary and how taking action creates lasting change in our communities and around the world. Mr. Campbell also lead a discussion on potential areas of improvement for Rotary.

November 1 Club Auction was a Success

On November 1 Shakopee Rotary held the Club Auction. It was hosted by longtime member Lee Hennen and former member Jim Cook, who was a Shakopee Rotarian for over 40 years! The auction brought in $1300 to support the Shakopee Rotary shelter at Memorial Park. Thank you to all the donors and bidders. A special thank you to Jim Cook for returning to Shakopee to help with the auction, he received a very *thank you* gift!

Shakopee Rotary donates to Scott County Sheriff Department

Shakopee Rotary donated $1500 to support the purchase of infant car seats. Luke Hennen was very happy to accept the "big check".

The Auction is Coming!

Our Rotary Auction is Tuesday, November 1 at our regularly scheduled meeting. The auction will raise money for special projects, this year the proceeds will cover the cost of rebuilding and refreshing the Rotary Rest Stop Map/structure in Memorial Park.

The auction is specific to club members. We bring and donate items (of value) that are then auctioned off to other members. (Be present to win - or send $$$ with a friend.)
Items donated and auctioned off in the past include theme gift baskets, lottery tickets, liquor, restaurant gift cards, home made baked goods, a member-catered meal, and small appliances.
Members are asked to pay the day of the sale (if possible) - cash or check.
There is no program that day - the auction is the focus of the meeting.
The more members in attendance, the more fun had and money raised. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE plan to attend!!!

2022 W. Adair Muralt Service Award Recipient is Art Quinn

Shakopee Rotary Club is pleased to announce that Honorary Shakopee Rotarian Art Quinn was selected as recipient of the 2022 W. Adair Muralt Service Award. Art was a valued member of Shakopee Rotary for 32 years. He was Club President 1997-98 and served as Chair of the club's Rotary Foundation commitment for many years.

Art received the award at Stonebrooke Country Club on Sept. 20. Rotarian Joe Schmidt was the emcee of the event. Tim Whitcomb talked about the Foundation and Erin Quinn spoke about projects the Foundation has funded and the impact of those donations. Tammy Laurent talked about The Million Dollar Dinner. Gary Laurent presented Art with the award. Congratulations Art! Service before self!

Ukraine Youth Visit Valleyfair

On Saturday, Aug. 27 Shakopee Rotary partnered with ValleyFair (thanks to rotary member and Valleyfair general manager Raul Rehnborg) to help welcome these youth from Ukraine and chaperones. Rotary provided free meal tickets for all, and Raul and his staff provided the park entrance tickets. These youth range in age from 13-18 years of age and are from all parts of their home country. They are visiting Minnesota for 5 weeks on a cultural and leadership tour. Here is the link to learn more about them https://www.globalsynergygroup.org/youth-leadership

Welcome to New Teachers at Shakopee Public Schools

Shakopee Rotary helped to welcome over 100 new teachers to Shakopee Public Schools! Libby Bergen shared the mission of Rotary, and Kathy Busch let the new teachers know about grant opportunities with SEEF. A warm welcome to all the new staff!

Eagle Club Project

Shakopee Rotary Club made a donation to Braden Burger's Eagle Project to create a Gaga Ball Pit at Sun Path Elementary. The students will be very excited to return to school and see this!

New Member Welcome

On June 14 we welcomed new Rotary member Rob Whitcomb! Stephen Huber did the induction. Congratulations Rob!

Meet the New Board Members for 2022-23

Tim Whitcomb inducted our new Board for the fiscal year 2022-23 which began July 1. Libby Bergen will be our president again this year, President Elect and International Committee Chair - Kathy Busch, Treasurer - Miles Lahr, Youth Programs Committee Chair - Sheila McNeill. Not pictured: Secretary - Holly Halloran, Membership Chair - Stephen Huber, Public Relations/Social Media Chair - Lisa Rahn. Thank you to all our volunteers who have taken on these leadership positions for this upcoming year.