On October 30, 2001 the Mountain Foothills Rotary club was chartered. It's chartering principles included serving the Evergreen community and making sure its members had fun doing so. They are an evening club meeting at Mount Vernon Canyon Club. The members gather each week before the 6:30 meeting to enjoy each other's company in a social setting. The club has always kept its dues low and made meals optional to insure the cost of belonging is not prohibitive.
The Andy Smith Memorial Special Needs golf tournament and the Ice Melt project have been the biggest projects. As a result, over $400,000 has been contributed to the Evergreen Park and Recreation's special needs kids program and to EChO. The special needs program serves over 200 special needs individuals in the extended Evergreen area providing them with an array of wonderful events and experiences. EChO helps those in the mountain area who find themselves in difficult financial straits. EChO runs a substantial food bank, provides counseling services and helps ready their clients for employment opportunities. EChO's focus is to help clients become self-sustaining.
The club has also embraced an international program called Crutches4Africa. This wonderful initiative is the brainchild of David Talbot, a polio victim himself. This program has shipped over 100,000 crutches and other mobility devices to African polio victims, giving them the gift of mobility. The logistics need financial support to make the shipments, and Mountain Foothills has been a significant contributor to this program both financially and in preparing the devices for shipment. Our members have been emotionally touched by Dave's videos showing the delight on the faces of the recipients.
This Rotary club has had exceptional success combining service and fun. If you want to learn more about Mountain Foothills Rotary, please accept this invitation to join us any Wednesday evening between 5:30 and 6:30 PM at Mount Vernon Caynon Club or simply call us at
303 679-0144. We look forward to meeting you.