On Thurs., Nov. 7, 2024 Rotarians attended the 2023-2024 Rotary District 6630 Foundation Gala at the Center Community Hall in Stow, Ohio. About 200 attendees celebrated another year of strong giving to The Rotary Foundation (TRF). All of our District 6630 major donors for the year are recognized for their support of TRF.
This Foundation is the engine that drives all the local and international matching grants that Rotarians around the world use to do most of their humanitarian work. It also funds the scholarships that are awarded to World Peace Fellows from around the world who are engaged in peace and conflict resolution work in their home countries.
These Peace Fellows can attend one of six universities around the world for one year of training in their field of expertise at Rotary’s expense. Past Ambassadorial Scholar Wisdom Addo was in attendance form his home country of Ghana where he stages highly popular and impactful “Peace Jams” attended by large groups of youth. Past District Governor Bob Johnson and Past Burton-Middlefield Rotary Club President Mike Valentino and their wives were in attendance. Mike was recognized for completing his year of attendance in the Leadership 6630 training program that develops future Rotary leaders for our district. Bob was recognized for his membership in the Paul Harris Society for his giving to the Rotary Foundation through the years.
The event has become famous for its fund raising event called the “Dessert Dash”. Many different, beautiful and delicious desserts are brought by volunteering Rotarians and placed on a long table. Monetary donations from the Rotarians at each table are placed in an envelope. The table contributing the greatest amount of donations gets to “dash” to the dessert table first and grab the dessert that their table has selected. Tables are called in quick succession in descending order of donations so speed is paramount. Our table was second and our speedy “dessert grabber” brought us a delicious chocolate pound cake that was beautifully decorated which we all enjoyed. Past District Governor Dave Jones wife Georgeann and Past Burton-Middlefield Rotary Club president Mike Valentino’s wife Linda from two different tables almost collided going for a scrumptious looking chocolate cherry cake. The monetary donations from the event are then given to The Rotary Foundation. The Foundation Gala is a yearly event that celebrates donations and support of TRF by all Rotarians from our District 6630 for the 2023/2024 Rotary year which ended on 6/30/2024.
PDG Bob Johnson
Secretary
Burton-Middlefield Rotary