News

It’s almost fall and that means cooler (and downright cold) weather will soon be here.

Once again, Gayle is collecting blankets for the WSPD. They will distribute the blankets to those less fortunate and homeless individuals.

If you have clean blankets that you no longer need or use, we’d love to have them. Bring them to any of our meetings and Gayle or Lynn E. will be glad to take them.

If you prefer to just hand over some cash, we can do that do. Gayle is happy to go shopping and purchase them.

Anderson Academy has approximately 75 students, and we feel we can make a great impact at the school. 37% of their students are at grade level. We need tutors in math and reading as well as lunch buddies. The school has pre-selected time slots of when tutoring happens in any given day, but you would have flexibility on which day you tutored. There’s even a special room set aside just for tutoring!

Another option is to have 2 Rotarians work together and commit to one tutoring slot. That way one of you would always be able to volunteer.

We would love to have 20 volunteer slots filled with Reynolda Rotarians.

Other service opportunities at Anderson:

• Incentive Program for both students (reading) and teachers.

• Book Fair. We do not buy the books as they have been donated. Volunteering at the event is all that is asked of us.

• Holiday Classroom Parties. The date of the parties is still to be determined but Rotarians and school staff/teachers would eat around noon then we would go to the classrooms for parties. This is just like we’ve done for many years at Cook Literacy Model School.

•  Perry P. announced that 4th and 5th grade students already have planned field trips, then we will work with the school for a 3rd grade field trip.

Thanks to Sylvia Oberle who worked to help establish a LEAD Girls chapter at Anderson Academy. They meet on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month.

AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with HandsOn NWNC, a nonprofit that works to inspire community change in Northwest NC, is reaching out because they are hosting a disaster preparedness kit making event next month to honor the victims, survivors, and heroes of 9/11. We are part of a nationwide nationwide movement making September 11 America's Day of Doing Good.

We would love to have members of Reynolda Rotary join us at either of our two volunteer shifts. The first is on September 11 from 11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m., and the second is from 4:00–5:30 p.m. Here is the link to sign up.

We will provide supplies for making the kits, so there is no need to bring anything. Each kit will include essential goods to be used in the event of a disaster, such as a solar powered phone charger, first aid kit, rain poncho, and whistle. Completed kits will be donated to the American Red Cross and other local nonprofit organizations that work in disaster relief.

The event will also include time to reflect, remember, and share as we approach the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

September 30, 2026 | Bermuda Run Country Club

Click the flyer image above to see the full brochure and event details!

A few of our members shopped with children in preparation for back to school in August!

Bright Beginnings is a community initiative designed to provide children from families experiencing financial hardship with new clothing, backpacks, school supplies and other necessities for the upcoming school year. Each year, the YMCA partners with local elementary schools and school districts to identify students who would benefit most from the program.

Dr. Don Phipps, WS/FCS Superintendent was today’s guest speaker. He has 30 years invested in education and in 2023 was Superintendent of the Year. Unfortunately, his last day with the WS/FCS is September 30 as he retires to take care of his aging mom. We wish them the best.

This time last year the school system had a deep deficit and had to make tough decisions in cutting the workforce. WS/FCS were $43 million in debt. You can’t spend more than you make. 

Dr. Phipps was pleased to announce the school district is completely out of debt and have a positive fund balance of $6.5 million.

So, how did they eat away at the deficit?

• $8 million was raised by private donates and put towards the larger deficit

• 50% was paid by using one time revenue

• Central Office personnel also took furlough days; that’s money that could be  recouped

• A dental benefit was eliminated

• Choice transportation was canceled

• Some 12-month employees were moved to 10-month

Many thanks to Rotarian Sylvia Oberle, for hosting Dr. Phipps as our speaker!