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Prior Lake Rotary Club

Doing Good; Serious Fun!

We meet In Person

Wednesdays at 7:00 AM

The Wilds Golf Club

3151 Wilds Ridge Ct NW
Prior Lake, MN 55372
United States of America

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Prior Lake Rotary Responds

Standing With Ukraine

Prior Lake Rotary’s Rotary Foundation Committee creates awareness and raises funds for supporting the Rotary International’s fundraising arm The Rotary Foundation or TRF.

In response to the ongoing war and strife in Ukraine, the Prior Lake Rotary’s Foundation Committee, along with the International committee, approved a $12,500 contribution to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The International Committee met in April to discuss different ways we could provide support. Following significant research and discussion within the committee, three potential options were selected.

· Alight is a non-governmental organization and trusted partner that is an expert in all refugee-related activities, and they have a specific set of solutions they are providing to meet the needs of people, so we know the general area of support our funds are going towards. Specifically, they are providing support to refugees as they cross the border into Poland as well as displaced people within Ukraine.

·The committee found local Rotary Clubs on the ground doing great things and felt these efforts would be very transparent and tangible as to what our contributions are doing. And because this is hyper localized, it would make an extreme impact for people in those communities. And the potential for ongoing relationships with those clubs could come out of these donations.

It was decided that the funds would be split between Alight and Local Rotary Clubs. The two Clubs identified were, the Rotary Club of Lviv International and the Rotary Club of Kyiv. For the Rotary Club of Lviv International, they are doing amazing things supporting displaced people that have fled their homes and settled in Lviv. For the Rotary Club of Kyiv, they have been helping both people that have been directly impacted by the war in Kyiv, and for those that are now arriving from other areas. Recently members of the Clubs were hosted via Zoom to talk about this and to give insight into what they are and have been experiencing. Click the link to hear more. https://youtu.be/gYrlwpcaPUY

In total, Prior Lake Rotary approved contributions of $12,500 to Alight ($4,000), the Rotary Club of Lviv International ($4,250), and the Rotary Club of Kyiv ($4,250), to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. In addition, Prior Lake Rotarian Rick Olson, recently traveled to Western Europe, including Poland, and collected $1,060 to bring to the Ukrainian refugees in Warsaw, and also a suitcase full of kids' clothing.

Celebrating Youth Service Month!

Prior Lake Rotary has long supported youth and youth-related activities. Enjoy a short video of some of the examples.

Rotary Youth Exchange Returns

Rotary Youth Exchange Program

By Joyce Corey (Prior Lake Neighbors)

"The opportunity to connect through the Youth Exchange program does not last only for the short time a student is in your home but is a connection for a lifetime!"—Paul Perez, 2019-2020 District Governor 5960 Rotary Club of Prior Lake

We all know that Prior Lake Rotary makes a positive difference in the local community and internationally, but did you know that Rotary connects the world?

Rotary’s Youth Exchange Program is one of the group’s most loved and well-known programs. After a hiatus for two years to accommodate the safety protocols of the pandemic, this program is back and ready to connect host families with students.

Bill Schult, Youth Exchange Officer for the Prior Lake club, and his wife, Roberta, have been a host family to three students over the years. “Generally, the program runs from August until June; it follows the academic year and is dependent on each country’s school calendar,” Bill said. “We try to have three families per student, with the student staying approximately three or four months in each home.”

“The goal of this program is to exchange cultures,” he adds. “It’s a way to share our everyday lives and our cultural perspectives.”

Paul and Jill Hofslien hosted three foreign exchange students over the years and had very positive experiences.

“Mariana was from Brazil, and she stayed with us from December 2005 to July 2006,” Paul said. “She became a big sister to our three children who were 10, 8, and 5. Everyone loved having Marianna with us and Marianna loved living with us. So much in fact that putting her on the plane to go back to Brazil was a very difficult day for all of us. To this day she is considered our daughter and a sister to my kids. We traveled to Brazil in 2013 to visit her and she has been back to our house several times over the years.”

“This was our first experience hosting an exchange student and it made a lasting impression on our family,” Jill adds. “Marianna’s stay taught us about raising a teenager, gave us exposure to a different culture, and showed us there is always more room in our hearts for others.”

Students who take part in this program receive many benefits like developing lifelong leadership skills, learning a new language and culture, building lasting friendships, and becoming a global citizen.

Rotary Youth Exchange inspires young leaders to serve as catalysts for peace and social justice in their local communities and throughout the world, long after their exchanges end. This program is possible because of the dedication, leadership, and passion of the tens of thousands of volunteers — Rotary members and nonmembers alike — who make this unique program so successful.

If you are interested in being part of this globally focused program, your local Prior Lake Rotary Club is the place to start.

We were able to meet outbound students Lindsay Czarnecki and Mandi Becher. Lindsay is from Belle Plaine and will be heading to Brazil in August. Mandi is from Prior Lake but goes to school in New Prague. She will be heading to Italy in July. It was fun to hear from both of them and wish them a wonderful year abroad.

Our inbound Youth Exchange student is Elise Reedtz from Denmark. We look forward to meeting her and welcoming her into our Rotary family.