On October 14th, 2020 the Belvidere Rotary Club and the Belvidere Park District held a dedication of the newly renovated playground at Bloom Playground in Belvidere Park. The new playground has a new soft rubber base especially beneficial to the participants of the Districts Northlands Association for Special Recreation (NASR).
The NASR program is a cooperative partnership between the Belvidere, Freeport, and Rockford Park Districts. Through the Belvidere Special Recreation Department of the Belvidere Park District, services are provided for high quality recreation programs and services to individuals, ages 3 through adulthood, with various mental and physical disabilities who reside within Belvidere and Boone County, Illinois. Included in the Bloom Playground is a Rotary International marble plaque in the ground by a tree and a bench by the zip line, also donated by the Belvidere Club.
The Belvidere Club contributed $19,530 toward the purchase of the new playground equipment, which included $2,300 from their District Grant.
The Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary Club of Sycamore/DeKalb recently completed its fourth year of award selections for its annual Community Grant for Children, Youth and Families of DeKalb County. The club raises money each year through the “Taste of DeKalb” event held in September, in conjunction with the Corn Classic Run, to fund an annual $10,000 grant to local non-profit organizations with a project that will directly benefit children, youth, and/or families in the county. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, both the fund-raising efforts and the Taste of DeKalb event were impacted, resulting in reduced awards for 2020 to $5,000.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, starting the week of March 23, 2020 the Walnut Rotary Club (under the direction of Debbie Quinn), the Princeton Rotary Club (under the direction of Laura Kann), and the quilting network of Terry Johnson (a local Princeton woman) came together to implement a simple, reusable mask sewing project for health care workers, visitors to health care facilities, nursing homes, and first responders in the greater Princeton and Walnut communities. Along the way, In-Home Care and the Bureau, Putnam and Marshall County Health Departments provided invaluable support including resources and access to a Facebook page to spread the word about the project and recruit sewers and Perry Memorial Hospital provided a pattern and guidance about the type of masks needed. (click read more below)
