On February 11, 2012 from 10:00 – 2:00 Rotaract will partner with The Community Kitchens of Birmingham to prepare, serve and entertain over 50 guest in need of a hot meal.  We will be cooking and serving spaghetti so we need your help in preparing our kitchen and dining hall,  cooking, and serving our guest at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.  St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church is located at 1024 South 12 Street in Southside.

Community Kitchens serves a lunch meal 365 days per year from St. Andrews. Annually this amounts to over 95,000 meals served to help stop hunger.  The doors to Community Kitchens are open to all. No one is required to attend a religious service, rich or poor are equally welcome-they only need to be hungry. Those we serve are our ”guests” and we strive to treat them as such.

The club will need to have at least 20 volunteers from 10:00 – 2:00 to complete this service project.  Please feel free to attend for the whole time period but if you would like to volunteer for a split shift please feel free to.

Shift 1:  10:00 – 12:00

o   Preparing the Kitchen and Dining Hall

o   Cooking of Meal

o   ETC

Shift 2:  12:00 – 2:00

o   Completing the meal

o   Serving the meal

o   Entertaining Guests

o   Cleaning up

A recent survey of Jefferson County reported that 80,000 families do not know where they will get their next meal.  Let’s do our part to make sure our guest on Saturday February 11, 2012 get a hot meal.  For immediate information about this project, please contact Wesley Carpenter at Wesley_carpenter@ml.com or at 326-9668. Register to serve online.

Rotaractor and incoming Social Director, Richard Davis, has been nominated for YP Birmingham’s Young Hot Birmingham fundraising competition.  Richard has selected the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation as the beneficiary of his campaign. Details about the competition and fundraising opportunities are detailed in a letter from Richard below:

As you may know, I was selected by YPBirmingham to represent the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation for this year’s “Young Hot Birmingham” fundraising competition.  Trust me, I know I’m not “Hot” and I’m barely still “Young” but what I am is committed to supporting this great foundation.  Me and Niki Harris, another contestant, are serving fresh beverages this Wednesday in hopes to raise enough money to put our foundations in the lead.  See below for details.

Event: Young, Hot & Thirsty

When: Wednesday, June 8^th, 5pm – 9pm (or later)

Where: Rogue Tavern (click link for location details)

Why: YPBirmingham’s “Young Hot Birmingham” contestants raising money for the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation & Autism Society of Alabama

Cost: $5 sponsored beers.  $4 of each beer purchased and tips will be divided and distributed evenly between each charity.

Can’t Attend but want to Donate: click this link to make an online donation: Donate Online

Event Details:

With the recent string of sweltering hot days, come quench your thirst and the thirst of our community by joiningYPBirmingham, Rotaract and the Autism Society of Alabama Junior Board Wednesday, June 8^th at Rogue Tavern from5pm to 9pm.  For every beer you buy, 80% of your dollars spent will be donated directly to The Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation and the Autism Society of Alabama. The Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation supports the various service initiatives of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham, such as Ready 2 Read (a literacy program for Birmingham City Schools) and an annual school supply drive. The Foundation plans to commit portion of funds raised at this event to thetornado relief effort. The Autism Society of Alabama provides numerous services to and lobbies on behalf of those in our state impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder.

On behalf of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation, the Autism Society of Alabama Junior Board, Niki Harris, myself and most importantly, the Birmingham Community, we hope to see you there and thank you for your donation and support!!!

Sincerely,

Richard

Rotaract members will be assisting Hands on Birmingham and Habitat for Humanity with tornado relief efforts in the Birmingham communities hit the hardest by the April 27^th storms.  We will be removing debris, repairing damaged homes, and assisting in other aspects of the clean-up. The work day will be divided into shifts, so come and serve for all or part of the day. 

Habitat For Humanity is set to begin their disaster response in the North Smithfield Community. Volunteers will be divided among the various disaster recovery sites by the site supervisors each day.  A variety of homes will be going on at the same time. Some homes will be built from the slab up, some are extensive repairs and some involve minor repairs. We will also have debris clean-up in the community of volunteers are interested.

Due to the multiple shifts, volunteer check in will be located at 4800 Allen Street, Birmingham, AL 35207.  Once  you have checked in and completed the attached 2011 Volunteer Packet, Site Supervisors will direct each shift to the appropriate work site.  Volunteers will need to bring a sack lunch and dress in appropriate clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. 

Click here to register for this project.  For more information contact Wesley Carpenter at wesley_carpenter@ml.com .

Rotaract is committed to promoting literacy in children, especially those in the Birmingham City Schools through our Ready 2 Read program.  On April 14th, we will have the opportunity to participate as guest readers for Birmingham Reads, a one-day event where over 700 people volunteer to read to Birmingham students. Click here to volunteer or contact Bains Fleming at bfleming@nwkt.com for more information.

The Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) organization,  exists to receive donations from the general public, publicly supported organizations, and governmental units and make disbursements for the service projects of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham.  The Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation was created as an entity to clearly separate service funds from club operating funds of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham.

Future activities of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation include maintaining the Ready 2 Read classroom libraries and organizing volunteer manpower for ongoing Reading Role Models.  Additional future activities include designing, funding, and implementing future Signature Service Projects of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham.  While Ready 2 Read, our first major service project, was fully implemented in 2008, another team is simultaneously researching potential future Signature Service Projects.

All proceeds from Rotaract’s Annual Masquerade Ball will benefit the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation.  Since its founding in 2004, the Club has raised $275,000 for its Foundation.  Through sponsorships and event proceeds, the Club seeks to raise an additional $75,000 in 2011.

Click here to download sponsorship opportunities for the 2011 Masquerade Ball benefiting the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation.

YWCA of Central Alabama focuses on serving women in difficult circumstances by providing child care and domestic violence services, as well as affordable housing. Many of the children attending the festival are homeless or are part of low income families. A fun event like this is a BIG deal to them. Not only will we be helping the YW staff set up for the event and help at each station, we will also be serving as positive role models for the kids.

Click here to register for this event.  If you have questions please contact Anna Catherine Roberson at acroberson24@gmail.com.

We are recruiting Reading Buddies for the upcoming school year.  Each Reading Buddy is asked to commit to reading to their assigned classroom one a month.  Reading Buddies are vital to the success of Ready 2 Read, and as our project, we need all our members to volunteer.

If you are interested in being a Reading Buddy, please register online.  Friends, family and coworkers are also encouraged to sign up.  For more information, please contact Richard Davis richard.davis@willis.com.

Reading Buddy Facts & Questions

Rotaract is pleased to sponsor this project, which makes a tremendous impact on our community.  With great economic challenges still facing our community, many students do not have the basic supplies they need to help them begin the new school year.  This project equips these students with what they need to be ready to learn from day one.

The Club will need at least 5 volunteers at each location to help distribute supplies to children and families.  In order to participate in this exciting service project, register online.  For more information about this project, contact Willard McCall at  willardmccall@hotmail.com

Check out our service partner on facebook and twitter!