May 2021 Channel 7 honored Rebecca Thomas and the Denver Cherry Creek Rotary Club as the Channel 7 Hero of the Week for the club's support of Project Worthmore. Project Worthmore is a nonprofit organization serving our refugee neighbors with a variety of programs including an English language school, a community farm, a food share program and a dental clinic.
The Cherry Creek Rotary Club has supported Project Worthmore's Dental Clinic with over $5,000 of dental equipment and supplies. Several metro-area Rotary clubs have joined together to provide food to Project Worthmore's Yu Meh food program and Rotary volunteers help package and deliver food to about 300 refugee families each month. District 5450 and the Mile Hi Rotary Club hosted a Rotary Day of Service at Project Worthmore's Delaney Community Farm and helped to paint two barns and get the farm ready for spring planting.
Click here for the full Channel 7 story:
https://spotoncolorado.com/denver-area/1050045/denver7-everyday-hero-rebecca-thomas.html
May 2021 Joel Russman honored by Rotary District 5450 as Rotarian of the Year
A Rotarian since 2004, Joel is a Past President and Foundation Chair of the Denver Cherry Creek Rotary Club. He is also a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. Joel has been instrumental in many local community service projects. As the pandemic first hit, Joel took on the Grub for Scrubs project providing meals for first responders and hospital workers. Most recently Joel has been working with local nonprofit Metro Caring to repackage dry food staples into individual sized quantities so that they can be provided to those in need. Rotarians from a number of Clubs have volunteered at the Metro Caring facility.
A Rotarian since 2004, Joel is a Past President and Foundation Chair of the Denver Cherry Creek Rotary Club. He is also a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. Joel has been instrumental in many local community service projects. As the pandemic first hit, Joel took on the Grub for Scrubs project providing meals for first responders and hospital workers. Most recently Joel has been working with local nonprofit Metro Caring to repackage dry food staples into individual sized quantities so that they can be provided to those in need. Rotarians from a number of Clubs have volunteered at the Metro Caring facility.
March 2021 Teva Sienicki, Executive Director of Metro Caring, shared the following:
These days at Metro Caring, we are helping 300% more families with emergency food than we were pre-COVID. Thanks to our partnership with Cherry Creek Rotary, we are able to buy pallets of bulk goods for far less than if we’d had to buy them packaged for retail. A Rotary member arranged for us to use a warehouse free of cost for the storage and breakdown on these items. And Rotary volunteers have pitched in and recruited others to contribute a total of over 8,000 volunteer hours (and counting!) to scoop dry food, such as flour, rice, beans and oats, from 50- pound bags into one-pound portions that we provide to community members.
At Metro Caring our mission is to meet people’s immediate needs for nutritious food while building a movement to end hunger in Colorado. That mission became harder due to COVID, and simply put, we couldn’t do what we do without the help of Denver Cherry Creek Rotary Club. Thank you for being with us on our journey to respond to this moment and as we take the first steps to rebuild better together.
THANK YOU DENVER CHERRY CREEK ROTARY!
March 2021 Teva Sienicki, Executive Director of Metro Caring, shared the following:
These days at Metro Caring, we are helping 300% more families with emergency food than we were pre-COVID. Thanks to our partnership with Cherry Creek Rotary, we are able to buy pallets of bulk goods for far less than if we’d had to buy them packaged for retail. A Rotary member arranged for us to use a warehouse free of cost for the storage and breakdown on these items. And Rotary volunteers have pitched in and recruited others to contribute a total of over 8,000 volunteer hours (and counting!) to scoop dry food, such as flour, rice, beans and oats, from 50- pound bags into one-pound portions that we provide to community members.
At Metro Caring our mission is to meet people’s immediate needs for nutritious food while building a movement to end hunger in Colorado. That mission became harder due to COVID, and simply put, we couldn’t do what we do without the help of Denver Cherry Creek Rotary Club. Thank you for being with us on our journey to respond to this moment and as we take the first steps to rebuild better together.
THANK YOU DENVER CHERRY CREEK ROTARY!
February 2021 Abigail Smith, Executive Director for Friends of the Haven, shared the following:
The $2,000 treatment scholarship was used by one of the mother’s at our Mother’s House. She was very grateful for her time and the Haven and for this scholarship helps her as she is moving on to the next phase in her life. She says, “ This program showed me a new way of life and how to “love myself” again, and find out who the real me is. My plan from here on out is to keep moving forward and not let anything or anyone stop me from getting to the top. I will continue to set goals for myself that I can accomplish. Soon after I am settled in my own place I plan to go back to school for something that helps others. I plan to stay connected and never forget what I learned in this program and how it gave me a new life.”
Our Baby Haven Center used the $2,000 grant for things such as classroom supplies to help the children learn each day. It’s important that items in the classrooms are in good working order so we are often cycling through art supplies, books, bibs, toys and items of that nature. Access to items that provide hands-on learning for children and that helps them to explore their world are so important for on-going learning and growth.
We want to thank you again for your continued support and we are so appreciative of the grant you awarded us in December. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of the mothers and children in our programs!
The $2,000 treatment scholarship was used by one of the mother’s at our Mother’s House. She was very grateful for her time and the Haven and for this scholarship helps her as she is moving on to the next phase in her life. She says, “ This program showed me a new way of life and how to “love myself” again, and find out who the real me is. My plan from here on out is to keep moving forward and not let anything or anyone stop me from getting to the top. I will continue to set goals for myself that I can accomplish. Soon after I am settled in my own place I plan to go back to school for something that helps others. I plan to stay connected and never forget what I learned in this program and how it gave me a new life.”
Our Baby Haven Center used the $2,000 grant for things such as classroom supplies to help the children learn each day. It’s important that items in the classrooms are in good working order so we are often cycling through art supplies, books, bibs, toys and items of that nature. Access to items that provide hands-on learning for children and that helps them to explore their world are so important for on-going learning and growth.
We want to thank you again for your continued support and we are so appreciative of the grant you awarded us in December. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of the mothers and children in our programs!
September 2020 The Your Hub edition of the Denver Post highlights the Denver Cherry Creek Rotary Club's program to help feed the hungry in partnership with Metro Caring. See the article
August 2020 The Washington Park Profile highlights the Denver Cherry Creek Rotary's Club program to help feed the hungry in partnership with Metro Caring. See the article
August 2020 Bob Kemp, Rotary District Governor, highlights the Denver Cherry Creek Rotary Club's program to help feed the hungry in partnership with Metro Caring. Watch a short YouTube video.
August 2020 Rotary District 5450 Announces Awards and Congratulations are due to Denver Cherry Creek Rotarian Joel Russman!
Significant Contribution to Those in Need
Joel Russman (Denver Cherry Creek)
Significant Contribution to Those in Need
Joel Russman (Denver Cherry Creek)
- As soon as the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent, Joel quickly developed a program to help provide much-needed meals to community health workers. As more organizations began addressing those needs, Joel saw a more pressing need and began organizing volunteers for the Metro Caring Provisioning Project which breaks down bulk food staples into individual bags for distribution to various food pantries.
