Menlo Park Rotary - The Rotary Club of Menlo Park Website

We meet on Wednesdays at noon in the Menlo Park Rec Center except for the last Wednesday in June. That is the date of our annual dinner to "roast" the president and to install the new president for the next year.

Rotary Veteran Tutoring Program Update

Mike M At our meeting on January 13, 2010 Mike M. (pictured here) updated us on the project he started and how it may used as a model at other Veterans Hospitals in the country. Below is Mike M.'s brief on the project.

Well over a year ago, I made contact with the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital to see if our Rotary club could support in some way the returning veterans from the conflict in Iraq. After a period of time, I was contacted to see if we would be interested in providing a reading aloud program to a veteran who suffered severe head trauma and needed therapy in reading aloud.........on a three times a week basis.

We met and discussed what our Rotary can do..........and we started the Rotary Veteran Tutoring Program or RVTP in early December 2008. That program continues to this day and has been very successful.....and only requires one session a week now.

One thing leads to another... the Poly Trauma Department then asked if we could provide some activities that could be therapeutic.......we conducted a survey meeting with the department and later the veterans and came up first with art lessons......once a week for an hour. Well that lasted one week.....one hour was not enough so we changed it to two hours per week. It too has been very successful and therapeutic while being stimulating as well.

From that we also designed an intern program in conjunction with the local city government. That has been worked out, but awaiting for the right veteran.

We have also conducted seminars for: self esteem and a primer for real estate. We have scheduled a session for cooking this month....which could be extended to several more sessions.

We were asked if we could conduct a pre-algebra class for a veteran who is returning back to school. We have been conducting those sessions once a week for several months now. This includes conducting a session at the VA Hospital plus on-line support on an as needed basis. This has been of great help to that veteran.

As I mentioned at first this program was designed for returning veterans from the Iraqi conflict; and we have made an exception. The VA inquired if we could work with a Vietnam era veteran who suffers from a reading disorder. After surveying our tutors, they decided to try it. While it has only had limited success, we have recently learned we may be onto a breakthrough for this veteran. We are in the process of seeing if we can acquire a software program that reportedly is successful in addressing the veteran's disability for his age. Hence, this now may have a chance to be a positive result.

I have also been asked to see if we can export our RVTP to another of the VA's trauma centers....located in Minneapolis, MN. We have made initial probes to do this with nothing concrete yet, but I am hopeful.

We have also been asked to conduct a short term tutoring program for a seriously injured veteran for math and history.......this will be done this month.

Welcome to

The Rotary Club of Menlo Park

And

The Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation

What We Do

The Rotary Club of Menlo Park provides an opportunity for people to work together to enhance the lives of children, the elderly, and other underserved members of our local communities. Our members are men and women living and working in Menlo Park, Atherton, and surrounding communities. Additionally, we also work with Rotary International to help people around the world who are struggling for survival.

However, it is not all work, we have a fun time socializing. Many of us also support each other's careers, adding to our networking ability.

To watch a short video about our club please click here.

Our service opportunities are broken into Four Avenues of Rotary Service:

Community Service

College Scholarships

Annual high school Academic Awards Ceremony

Tutoring

Student leadership program

Grants to local non-profit groups

Local work projects, such as Special Olympics and Rebuilding Together

International Service

$300,000 matching grant for health, water, air quality, and microlending in Guatemala

Matching grants for pipe system for potable water in Guatemala

Support of Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars

Support of the International Groups Study Exchange Program

Vocational Service

Club Service

Annual Club BBQ

Holiday Luncheon

Tutor Appreciation Luncheon

Weekly speaker program

TGIF’s

Wine appreciation group

The Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation

The Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation gives away $70,000 each year in scholarships to local high school students. We also provide grants to local non-profit groups.

100% of Donations to The Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation are tax deductible, since none of these funds are used for administrative expenses!

Please join us for a visit.

The Rotary Club of Menlo Park meets almost every Wednesday at noon at the Menlo Park Recreation Center, 700 Alma St. You may call 650-321-7343 or contact us through this website if you have questions.

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