Today’s presenter was Joe McKenzie, Director of Philanthropic Partnerships at Cars for Neighbors.  Joe lived in the New Brighton area for his first 20 years and is a Mounds View graduate.  Cars for Neighbors (CFN) was founded 22 years ago by Tom Buckman and Al Sandoval and at that time it was called Free To Be.  In 2014, the Anoka County non-profit’s name was changed to Cars For Neighbors to better reflect its mission.  Joe began by noting that Anoka County has very little public transportation so people, and especially poor people, are very dependent on their cars to get to their medical appointments and jobs.  The rising cost of car repairs has made even routine repairs out of reach for many Anoka County residents.  Cars For Neighbors has partnered with Meineke Car Care in Ham Lake to help poor people pay for needed car repairs.  CFN maintains referral relationships with law enforcement, social services, women’s shelters and other non-profits and over the past 22 years they have helped over 4,000 low income families to afford car repairs.  CFN will also take donations of vehicles if only minor repairs are needed.  Joe and Nyle Zikmund are shown below.  Cars For Neighbors contact information:  

763-717-7755

125727 Central Ave. NE, Blaine, MN 55434

 

Our Gold Plate Dinner fundraiser will be held on April 22^nd at the Mounds View Community Center.  The event will be catered by the Big 10.

Edeth James reported that that NBMV Rotary was honored in two categories at the recent District Rotary Foundation Happy Hour.  Among mid-size clubs, we were second in donations at $3,100 and we were one of only 7 clubs in the district to achieve EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) status.  Well done, NBMV Rotary!  Edeth also noted that District 5960 is revisiting its very successful “Share The Love" fundraising campaign for the Rotary Foundation.  To donate, or get more information, click here.

 

The applications for 2023 Rotary World Peace Scholarships (100 scholarships are offered) must be submitted to the local Rotary clubs by April 26^th, 2022.  Check out the details at Peace Fellowship.

 

Nils Friberg presented a Paul Harris Fellowship +6 to John Ordway.  The award signifies over $7,000 in contributions to the Rotary Foundation.  John and Nils are shown below.