Good morning and I hope all of us West U Rotarians had a fabulous weekend!
Please remember to wear your short sleeve shirts this week because it's blood donation time! Seriously, if you haven't signed up yet and would like to give, the Red Cross mobile unit will be in the Skeeter's parking lot starting at 6:30 am on Thursday. You can reach out directly to Ralph Cox or use the online sign up shown in the below attachment. And if, for whatever reason, the mood just strikes you, you can come by with no appointment.
The Friday Pop up grocery held at the M.D. Anderson YMCA on Cavalcade was a successful event. Lots of food that would have gone to waste was distributed to folks that needed it. Second Servings delivered two van loads of a wide assortment of mostly perishable foods. Thank you, Ralph Cox, Community Service Chair, for organizing the event and Carol Gradziel, Ronnie, and Tracy Hallenberger for helping. We also had Gabrielle Ramaiah participate.
There was a lovely celebration of life held for Jack Hardin on Friday afternoon. I was fascinated reading Jack's biography and hearing his close friend speak about their years of friendship. Jay Anderson and Lisa Bunse provided beautiful music for the service.
This week we have Gaia Chevrere, our Rotary Youth Exchange student, from Italy giving a short presentation. This is one of the requirements of the program for the students during their stay in the U.S. She's been here now for almost a couple of months and it's always interesting hearing the exchange student's perception of the first part of the stay. Be ready with a few questions!
Our next Rotary Blood Drive is THIS WEEK- October 1st from 6:30 - 10:00 am in the Skeeter's parking lot. As a thank you gift for your donation you will receive a coupon for a free pint at Saint Arnold, a warm cozy blanket and a free cholesterol test. The Blood Center has added an additional thank you item for those who donate during our blood drive, a free ticket to the Texas Renaissance Festival. We can use some more donors!
See the below flier for how to sign up, or just send Ralph a text to 713-979-6179 to get you signed up.
Our pop up grocery with Second Servings at the Cavalcade YMCA was a great success. We unloaded, sorted, staged and distributed over 2,200 lbs of food to approximately 100 shoppers. Special thanks to our friends from the Houston Rotary Club who joined us for the event.
The service honoring Jack Hardin was lovely, and the special music by Jay and Lisa reminded us of Jack's kind spirit. Janice found the perfect selection of photos, awards, accomplishments and (of course) Jack's guitar and bass to share with attendees. Memorabilia photos below if you weren't able to make it to the celebration.
Don't forget-
The West U Rotary Club Foundation would like to honor the memory of our friend Jack Hardin, a long-time committed Rotarian and former president of the Foundation. We hope to fund this memorial gift through donations from club members and other individuals who may also wish to honor Jack.
Should you wish to contribute to honoring Jack's memory, you may send a check to The West U Rotary Club Foundation at P.O. Box 272727, Houston, TX 77277, or contribute via Zelle using foundation@westurotary.org. If you would prefer giving cash or have any questions about how to donate, please contact Sharon Williams at sw324houston@gmail.com or Foundation Treasurer Cathy Graber at cwmgraber@gmail.com.
Thank you to all those who donated to the Refuel Station to ensure that the athletes participating in the event stayed ready. WURC member Roldan De La Guardia was our representative at the event, and he shared that by 1:24 pm Saturday, Covenant House had raised $210K. Participants were also hyped and ready with the Heights High School drum corps leading the warm up. Thank you Roldan for repping WURC and sharing this update.
This year, we will be celebrating World Polio Day on Saturday, October 24 by Walking The Walk. Rotarians and their families and friends from all over our District will be walking from the Galleria (Dillard's parking lot, 4925 Westheimer) to the Waterwall Park (roundtrip distance one mile) in support of our END POLIO NOW effort. Meeting time is 9:30 AM.
Each Rotarian is asked to donate $100+ to Rotary's Polio Fund between now and 10/24/26 to participate in the walk. Please donate even if you are unable to participate in the walk. And please donate more than $100 if you are able as the Gates Foundation will be matching our Polio donations with $2 for each $1 we donate again this year!
Our club is making your Polio donation extra easy this year. Just make your $25 Rotary Foundation donation as usual with your upcoming West U Rotary Club dues invoice and it will go to the Polio Fund and will be matched by our club Foundation. Or you can increase your dues invoice donation to $50 and have that matched for a total of $100. You are also welcome to donate by logging on to your account at MyRotary.org. Just click on the Donate tab at the top and specify that this donation is for Polio. You can always also give me a check (made to The Rotary Foundation) or cash and I'll send it in for you.
One last match - if you donate between $100 and $500, your donation will be matched with Rotary Foundation Recognition points to make you a Paul Harris Fellow or next level PHF sooner. The points match does not apply if you are already a Major Donor.
Please wear your End Polio or Rotary shirt to the Walk if you have one. Terry Ziegler, Rotary Regional END POLIO NOW Coordinator, will give you an END POLIO NOW shirt (X-tra large size only) to wear if you need one for the walk.
Last year, Operation Turkey delivered over 13,700 warm meals to Veterans, individuals, and families across Greater Houston on Thanksgiving Day. This year, Ms. Dubendorff will be working with the West/Northwest Rotary clubs, and her colleague Mark McVey, Past President of the Rotary Club of Greater Houston Veterans, will be covering the South/Southeast side. She will be speaking to West U Rotary to share what's new with Operation Turkey 2026, how the funds are put to work, and how our club could be part of the story again.
