The farm is at 226 104th Ave., Holland, MI 49423. Look for friendly Rotarians to give you directions to the parking area. We will work on the farm from 9:00 until 11:00. Come dressed appropriately. There will be both indoor and outdoor work.
Dan Sleeman is a member of the Ludington Rotary Club, which has been running a STRIVE program for 31 years. The acronym stands for Students Taking Renewed Interest in the Value of Education. Each Rotary club runs its STRIVE program slightly differently. Dan describes how the Ludington program works.
The program works with high school juniors and seniors with a GPA below 2.0 and some life challenges. Each student is paired with a volunteer who meets one-on-one with them for 10-15 minutes each week. The benefit of a positive, supportive, non-judgmental adult who shows up every week just for the student is great. In the first year of the program, every student raised their grades and graduated. The average graduation rate over the last 30 years is 75%.
Each mentor has access to their student's grades and homework assignments. In addition to the mentoring, the students develop community. The students who are included in this program may not understand how to seek help; they may not have friends who encourage them; and they may not have any other adults in their life who care. The students are included in activities such as working in the community gardens, carving pumpkins, bowling, and other activities. They also take a trip to the local community college and Michigan Works to learn about school and job activities after high school.
The STRIVE program works to secure summer employment for its students, arranges scholarships, and has a graduation celebration.
The club traditionally presents a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) Award to each outgoing president. This year, Ed Swart chose instead to recognize other members of the club. He selected two recipients: the newest member and the longest‑serving member who had not yet received a PHF award.
Ramon Castelo is our newest member, and Kay Hubbard is the longest-serving member without an award.
Rotary started with the vision of one man — Paul Harris, a lawyer who envisioned a place where professionals of diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. His idea took shape in 1905 when the first Rotary club meeting was held in downtown Chicago. Harris’ 1947 death prompted an outpouring of contributions to The Rotary Foundation, and his name continues to evoke the passion and support of Rotary members and friends.
The Paul Harris Society was created in his honor to recognize persons who support the work of Rotary.
HEARTSafe is a public health initiative to promote survival from sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Want to get involved too? Sign up for free hands-only CPR training here..PNG)
Service Above Self Since 1920
Holland, MI 49423
United States of America