Hi, my name is Kate and I am currently living in Colombia as an exchange student. This past month has challenged me in many ways but the fact that I am still here looking forward to all that’s to come has shown me that I am strong enough to handle anything that comes my way. I have made some Colombian friends and have also become close friends with two other exchange students from France and Germany. My Spanish has improved significantly and I can have more in depth conversations now as well as understand most things said to me. I have gotten to see the Tatacoa desert, El Mano Gigante (the giant hand), tour a university here, and more. I currently have a two month vacation in between school years because the school year just ended for them. I’m looking forward to the Christmas celebrations which they celebrate all of December as well as my trip to San Andrés in January. I am so grateful for this opportunity and for all the support I have gotten on the way and thank you to Rotary Club of Waupaca for making this experience possible for me.

I have been living in Brasil for just a little over 2 months now. My regular schedule consists of school, portugues classes, rotary volunteer work, and going to the gym. The best friends I have made here are the other inbounds, and honestly, having them makes my exchange feel much more enjoyable. It's such a relief to have a group of people that want to have fun and go do things together. I live in a very large city, one that feels like Milwaukee, so it's very different than Waupaca. Although I may miss my car and my drivers license, it's a great experience to be able to walk to anything from my apartment - my gym, the mall, cafes, restaurants, the lake, acai, you name it, I'm sure I could walk there. Plus, I’ve been able to go to beautiful waterfalls such as Foz do Iguaçu.

Open World Romania
The Waupaca Rotary Club will be hosting a delegation of young adults from Romania August 8-16, 2025. This is part of the Open World program which is part of the US State Department that gives emerging leaders from previous Soviet Union states a firsthand look at the US political, business, educational and community life. The week long program will focus on our education system. Host families are needed to house our guests for the week. This is a great opportunity to learn more about others in the world and share our amazing community.

Please contact Jim Lawrence for further information at [email protected].

Makah Foundation 
The Waupaca Rotary Club will be supporting the Makah Foundation created by Dr Sam Dinga of the Greater Portage County Rotary Club. The Makah Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, builds wells and  supports an orphanage in Cameroon, West Africa. The orphanage also serves as a resource center for a woman’s empowerment program. In addition to financial support, the club will also act as a co-sponsor of a District grant for the program.

For further information go to Makahfoundation.org.

You may have seen the message below in DG Roger Utnehmer’s recent Rotary Minute. I have not read either book, but have listened to podcasts featuring Jonathan Haidt’s research and perspectives. The picture is grim and can leave us feeling a bit helpless and feeling like all we can do is stand on our proverbial front porches yelling at kids to “get off your devices!”

Take heart. Our club is already taking actions to address the mental health crisis among our youth, at least indirectly, and sometimes directly. Consider:

• The students we sponsor to attend RYLA: Within the last couple of weeks we’ve witnessed the impact of that program as every one of the four teens who presented to us talked about the impact of live, small-group conversations where they had the opportunity to be vulnerable, to go deep, and to connect through conversation. And note – in addition to sending four students from our community, we provided funds for the Appleton Breakfast club to send a student they could otherwise not have afforded to send. 
• RYE: Both short- and long-term exchanges are a benefit to our outbounds, inbounds, and those whose lives they touch, from fellow students, to host families, to Rotary Club members, to people in the community. 
• Education Grants: By providing funds that help educators bring their ideas to life, we are enabling efforts to reach and teach students more effectively. And sometimes, grant funds we provide are used to address youth mental health directly.
• Youth Connections Grants: These grants encourage and assist students’ ideas to promote well-being among their peers and the broader community. Recent grants helped students prepare mental health kits that could be provided from students experiencing struggles, build a gaga ball pit to facilitate friendly (in-person) play and competition at Swan Park, and make the South Park beach and other recreation facilities more accessible to people with physical disabilities. 

	“The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander” by Barbara Coloroso describes the opportunity cost of tolerating inappropriate behavior and standing by while others are bullied. And that happens not only in schools but at governmental meetings, Rotary clubs, church councils and Little League games.
	“The Anxious Generation” by John Haidt makes every parent and grandparent worry about what a generation moving from healthy relationship-building and risk-taking play to addiction to devices is doing to mental health throughout our country.

Little Libraries are a wonderful way to promote literacy and a sense of community, both which are points of interest for Rotary. Sharing books, you’ve enjoyed with others is not only a kind gesture but also a great way to give those stories a second life. Did you know Rotary has a Little Library in Rotary Riverview Park? And we need your books fill it. It’s the perfect spot for neighbors and visitors to find something new to read. It's also a good reminder that small acts of sharing can have a big impact. Happy reading and sharing!

If you can not drop them at the Little Library, please bring them to Rotary meeting and we will be sure they get them placed in the Little Library.

Thanks,
Andrea and Terri

Iola-Scandinavia Elementary School received an education grant of $1,000 from the Rotary Club of Waupaca, which funds one-third of the program costs for its new Energy Bus for Schools program.
The program will benefit 300 students by (1) Building Resilience in Students, (2) Addressing School Culture Challenges, (3) Developing Future Leaders, and (4) Strengthening School-Community Ties..

We received 14 grant applications: 12 from Waupaca schools, 1 from Weyauwega-Fremont schools and 1 from Iola-Scandinavia schools for the Education Grant program. Our Rotary Board approved the following 13 applications totaling $9722: 

Waupaca Schools - $7722 

• $231 for voltaic cells for high school science classes on how batteries work
• $1000 for high school PBIS team for programs focusing in improving school culture
• $800 for classroom enhancements for high school special education students
• $240 for Louder than Hunger book for culinary class discussion on eating disorders
• $1000 for Alternative Education and Multilingual students English improvement
• $689 for middle school 3-D printer for art student projects
• $500 for middle school classroom flexible seating enhancements 
• $1000 for Chain Exploration Center DNA modeling science kits
• $1000 for books for the Chain Exploration Center Page Turner program
• $330 for Waupaca Learning Center Reading Adventure backpacks
• $932 for Waupaca Learning Center Little Free Library

Attached is a picture of the award to Waupaca Schools. Pictured from left to right are: Bob Adams school board member, Mark Flaten Director of Teaching & Learning, Austin Moore Director of Operations, Dale Feldt school board member and Wes Klages.

Some great pics of students during their recent visit to our state capitol. Thanks to Tim Neuville for hosting such a wonderful experience for our inbounds:

This Thanksgiving, we’re especially grateful for our wonderful new Rotary members! Welcome to the team that’s dedicated to making a difference in our communities and beyond.

  

Nicki from HH HINDER Brewing Company presented Mike Phelan with a $500 donation from Pints for Polio!

Did you know our club has a Service in Action Committee? Our mission is to connect club members—and ultimately the broader community—with projects that address local needs. In the coming months, we will:

• Work with local agency partners to identify service opportunities.
• Collaborate with other community groups to explore the creation of a volunteer hub.
• Promote various opportunities for community involvement.

Our 3rd annual Pints for Polio event was a great success! The weather was perfect and the H.H. Hinder patrons were thirsty.

A big thank you to all Rotarians who made this community event a success. Between the Raffle, the food tent and our event sponsors (Voyagerr, Waupaca Towing Service and Turners Fresh Ketchup) we took in $1,784.49. With the contributions from our Ambassador Sponsors we made a grand total of $6,534.49.

With the generosity of the Gates Foundation and their 2:1 match we will have made,
 

Third graders at Iola-Scandinavia Elementary School received a personal copy of a dictionary courtesy of the Rotary Club of Waupaca. The club also distributes dictionaries to third graders in Waupaca and Weyauwega-Fremont. A total of 259 dictionaries will be distributed this year.  

On September 27 members volunteered their time working with Waupaca 7th grade students at Eco Park.  It was science day for the kids.  The entire 7th grade moved through 7 stations learning about edible plants, identifying trees, all about ticks, catching organisms from the river, how animals adapt to their surroundings and meeting some interesting turtles.  A big hit were the hissing cockroaches from Madagascar. 

Rotarians present were Mark and Linda Schmid, Joe and Maggie Jones, and Dale Feldt.  

The event was sponsored by the Waupaca School District and Winchester Academy.

October brought out the Paul Harris Fellow Awards in abundance:

Let’s celebrate our distinguished Paul Harris Fellow awardees!
Congratulations to Trey Foerster, Brett Grams, Paul Sletten, Cheryl Sletten, and Jim Klismet for their exceptional contributions to the Rotary Foundation.
 

And a big congratulations to Chris Sands for earning a Paul Harris Fellow +3! 
Chris's commitment to the Rotary Foundation and dedication to making a positive impact in our community have not gone unnoticed. His efforts continue to inspire and uplift us all. Here's to more milestones and achievements in the future!

Last Wednesday our club was honored by a visit from District Governor Roger Utnehmer. Roger recognized our club for the good we do in our community as well as the impact we're having around the world through our generous support of The Rotary Foundation. Individual and club contributions enable Rotary International (one of the top-rated charitable organizations in the world) to take action in 7 Areas of Focus.