Crete Rotary Club
Crete, Nebraska
"Service Above Self"
Happy Memorial Day!
The Crete Rotary Club held a regular meeting this past Wednesday evening. A number of club topics were on the table for discussion. The club voted during the previous week by email to proceed with the application process for Rotary 5650 grant funding for a project dubbed "Beautiful Inclusion". If approved by the district and Rotary International we will design, purchase and install a number of large- format digitally printed graphics that will be applied to the exteriors of several Crete buildings. The "selfie-friendly" murals will promote some of the many fine qualities offed by the Crete community. The number of murals will be dictated by the size of each design, but the hope is to install four murals.
A signup sheet was passed around at the meeting so members could volunteer to help put on the final finishes on the Isis Theater floor. The service project dates are June 14th 5:30pm to 8:30pm; June 15th 8:30am to 11:30am and June 16th 5:30pm to 8:30pm. If you are interested in helping and did not yet signup, please let Shay know when you are available!
We had the great pleasure of recognizing our member Jim Fahrnbruch for achieving the Paul Harris Fellow +5 level of giving to the Rotary International Foundation. The foundation supports many global efforts such as the final eradication of Polio, improving water and air quality, improving sanitation in developing countries and peace and conflict resolution to name a few. Thank you, Jim, for your continual support for the foundation and for serving as the club's Foundation Chairperson for many years.
Jim and Jane Fahrnbruch
Our speaker for the meeting was Carly Woythaler-Runestad, Executive Director of Mourning Hope Grief Center. She shared that in the state of Nebraska 1 in 15 kids will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the time they are 18. Expanding the scope of family members, it’s estimated 90% will experience the death of a significant loved one by the age of 18.
It was founded in 1994 by two LPS counselors who identified a need in the schools for grief support but nowhere to send them. For about 15 years, the programs were completely volunteer led. For the last 15 years, the positions are paid and they’re celebrating their 30th birthday this year!
They offer camps for both students and adults for grieving, counseling (5 mental health practitioners on staff with 1 being bi-lingual), community education, and resources and referrals. The most important part is that this is all provided at no cost to the individual or families. They are funded solely on private donations from individuals, businesses, service clubs, and foundations.
They just opened their brand-new facility in 2023 with rooms to help kids, adults, and caregivers work through their grief. Thank you, Carly, and the rest of the Mourning Hope staff for all you do.
Carly Runestad of Mourning Hope Grief Center and club member Chris Neukirch
Our next meeting is on Wednesday, June 12th at 5:30pm at Doane. Our scheduled speaker is Kevin Zadina. Kevin is the owner and publisher of the Crete News and other regional newspapers. See you there!