Written by Ann Luce
The Rotary Club of North Minneapolis loves Juneteenth, and we have celebrated for at least 10 years, almost every year of our existence. We usually make a pancake breakfast for the volunteers and participants of the celebration. This year we will be taking part in the June 14 Juneteenth celebration at Sanctuary Church, 2018 Aldrich Ave. N, and serving our traditional pancake breakfast starting about 11 a.m. This family friendly event includes music, storytelling, give-aways, a health fair and more from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In August the Education and Literacy committee will sponsor an event at North Regional Library on Lowry and Humboldt. We’ll ask children to share their favorite books, or tell us about a book that inspired them. They will be sharing this in small groups, and then will get to pick their own new book from our collection. We are interested in empowering a passion for reading and sharing a love of books. We hope to apply for a Rotary Grant to extend this program yearly.
The Rotary Club of North Minneapolis sponsors a Peace Garden on the corner of Emerson and 18th Ave. N. This is a community garden that has a great volunteer group, of which our Rotary club takes part. We have sponsored raised beds and a stage area in which we have held events. This garden is open and free to the community for planting and picking. Wednesday afternoons is often a work time in the garden. Our club is thinking of sponsoring another peace garden near Folwell Park, but that has not been finalized.
Our Maternal Health and Wellness committee is planning an event later in this year. This group has done work in Senegal through Project Safety Nets and helped fund an ultrasound machine for the clinic there. We will keep you posted on this and other events our Rotary Group is sponsoring.
If you would like to meet members of our club, come to a meeting on Tuesday mornings at 7:35 a.m. through Zoom or come visit some of us at our monthly Cheers and Chat. If you are interested in coming to a meeting, contact Jill at jikohler@aol.com and she will get you a zoom link. And, a reminder that we have Cheers and Chat meetings on the third Thursdays at a North Minneapolis venue.