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Good evening, Crete Rotary! Thanks to all that were able to attend our regular meeting this past Wednesday. Several club topics were discussed including two district grant project ideas that were proposed by members. One idea is to invest in the purchase of digital large size murals that would be installed on the exterior of three or four buildings in Crete. These murals would be digitally printed on a material and mounted directly to the building walls. The theme of the murals can vary but would be of an inspirational and inclusive nature and tout the great qualities of the Crete community. Another grant idea is to financially support CPS McKinney-Vento program which works with Crete school kids struggling with homelessness. The plan is to have the club hear final discussions on all grant project ideas and ultimately vote on which one we would like to pursue at the May 8th meeting date. We need to have our application into the district by May 31st. Please plan to attend that meeting! If you have another idea for a project, please contact Jack, Karen or Janelle. Our annual spring club service project, the Highway Cleanup, is scheduled for this Wednesday. We have about eight members signed up but could use a few more. We will meet at the CAMC between 5:00 and 5:30 pm to get organized and started. Everyone is aware of the damaging tornado outbreak that occurred this past Friday. These dangerous storms began to form just south of the Crete area and then produced tornadoes from Waverly to Omaha. The Western Douglas County Rotary Club (Elkhorn area) is getting organized to begin cleanup and supporting activities. Our Rotary District will disseminate any information on what we, and other Rotary clubs can do to help. Stay tuned! Our presenter at the meeting, club member Marila Thiem spoke to us about the Crete Public Schools (CPS) Foundation. As the executive director, she has worked hard to increase visibility of the foundation to the Crete community in just her few years of being director. The CPS Trust was founded in 1992, and she changed the name a few years ago to the CPS Foundation. The foundation aims to help any student and teacher in the school district be successful. There are 4 branches of the foundation: Student Needs Fund, Scholarships, Teacher Grants, and other. In the 2023-2024 school year, the foundation has raised $22,242.64, and just a few weeks ago at honors night, they were able to give $108,200 in scholarships to students! Additionally, the foundation was able to award $17,000 in teacher grants—some of it to start a drumfit class at the intermediate school. The student needs fund helps kids have the best chance of success while at school. Anyone can be nominated for the student needs fund, and they were able to donate 10 winter coats, alarm clocks, tennis shoes, hygiene products, laundromat gift cards, and more. They didn’t want to have any barriers for kids to come and learn as best they can. Mark your calendars for the 2nd Annual Adult Spelling Bee to raise funds for the foundation—August 2nd! Thank you, Marilea, and the rest of the foundation board, for your work ensuring Crete students and teachers have what they need to be successful!  CPS Foundation Director Marilea Thiem Our next regular meeting is on May 8th at Doane University starting at 5:30pm.
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