The Marshfield Sunrise Rotary Club has received a $711 Disaster Relief Grant from the Rotary International Foundation. Funds were made available to clubs worldwide and with over 35,000 clubs worldwide and limited funds made available, receiving the grant is especially exciting. “Everything with COVID-19 response is moving so quickly and as we know, things are changing daily. This grant will allow our club to contribute in a time of need in our community”, said Jenny King, Club President. She added “Our club also decided to supplement this grant with $1,000 to increase the impact.”
The $1,711 will be used to show appreciation for essential workers in our community including healthcare workers and grocery store employees. The Club will team with the Marshfield Clinic Health System Foundation to create care packages to help medical caregivers feel supported, appreciated, and boost morale. The Club is also working with local grocery store managers to supply recognition items for the stores’ employees. “Our medical professionals and essential workers have been working tirelessly and facing many unknowns for over a month and we hope that this contribution shows their efforts and courage aren’t going unnoticed.”, said King.
In March, the Club had also received a $1,000 grant to be used on a project led by the five new members joining the club during this Rotary year. These new members - Nicholas Bauer, Kelsey Buhr, Amy Gehrig, Rachel Steinke and Robert Warren - teamed with the Marshfield Area United Way to gather the COVID-19 related needs of area businesses and non-profits on a single webpage that can be publicized to community members looking to help. A small portion of the funds will help United Way with publicity for the page, while the rest will support the outreach activities of the United Way, which are currently seeing much larger demands. The Club also matched this grant with an additional $1,000 directed to support the United Way’s projects involving children.