For the Mountain State Rotary E-Club, September is Club Fundraising time, along with Rotary International's Basic Education & Literacy Month. This year, the Tucker Community Foundation event, Run For It, offers both virtual and in-person participation in its September 26 event in Davis, West Virginia. These two options make it easier to involve family, friends, colleagues and/or fellow Rotarians in your own neighborhood. We hope you'll participate!
E-CLUB PROGRAM
PRESIDING TODAY IS: Bonnie Branciaroli, "Running for Rotary" Project Chair
Ding! We’re now in session.
Welcome all – visitors, fellow Rotarians and guests alike to this E-Club program!
Remember the Four-Way Test!
At the beginning of each meeting we remind ourselves of the The Four-Way Test. Therefore, please remember to ask yourself always . . .
Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Reflective Moments
“The more that you read, The more things you will know. The more that you learn, The more places you will go .”
– Dr. Seuss
“A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.”
– Sasha Salmina
“If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger.”
― Buzz Aldrin
Leadership Quotes
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
– Frederick Douglass
“Frederick Douglass taught that literacy is the path from slavery to freedom. There are many kinds of slavery and many kinds of freedom, but reading is still the path.”
– Carl Sagan
“People cited violation of the First Amendment when a New Jersey schoolteacher asserted that evolution and the Big Bang are not scientific and that Noah's ark carried dinosaurs. This case is not about the need to separate church and state; it's about the need to separate ignorant, scientifically illiterate people from the ranks of teachers.”
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Events
Month of September – Run For It – our club's Fundraiser.
Proceeds to fight childhood hunger.
October 24 – World Polio Day
Join Us for our 2026 Fundraiser: Run For It!
Our “Running for Rotary” fundraising team has done a great job for the past seven years!
We are now into our eighth year of participating in the September “RUN FOR IT” event, sponsored by the Tucker Community Foundation. Through the past years, we have brought in nearly $25,000 in sponsorships and donations to help feed food-insecure kids in Barbour County. Of these funds, $6,500 was awarded to the Rotary E-Club of District 7545, d.b.a. Mountain State Rotary E-Club, from our Rotary District 7545 grant program.
Coordinating with Heart and Hand House, Inc., a non-profit in Philippi, WV whose mission it is to aid needy families in the Barbour County area, our Mountain State Rotary E-Club helps support the Feeding America “Backpack program”, which Heart and Hand House oversees each school year.Each week, Heart and Hand House provides supplemental food for hundreds of Barbour County school children to take home over the weekend and holiday breaks to help cover meal gaps when school is not in session. At last year’s estimate, the average cost was $10 per child, per week, equaling two meals a day - (Saturday and Sunday). For a six week period, food costs (without a holiday period) rose to approximately $4,200.00, that’s $700 per week!
Now factor in the 2026 inflation rate, and Heart and Hand is looking at over a $100,000 project this coming school year.
This year we are looking at a whopping increase of food insecure students to nearly 530, that’s 100 more students than last year. In 2019-2020 we were feeding 150 students! At the same time, inflation has wreaked havoc on quantity of product. In 2019-20, $508.46 purchased 65 boxes of goods. In 2023-24, $553.54 purchased 43 boxes, nearly a 35% decrease in product that we could furnish to the program, with nearly 10% increase in funds. In 2024-25, we were feeding 420 children on basically the same amount of funds we bring in every year. We know we cannot feed all the children every weekend, but we are always looking for ways to bring in more funds to feed more kids healthier foods. Every little bit helps and is added to other resources the Heart and Hand organization has nurtured.
On average, our club needs to provide $700 per month during the months of December through May. Using these figures, we need to bring in $5,800.00 in sponsorships and donations. .. that’s $1,000 more than last year.
A Virtual Race or In-Person Event Make It Easy!
Gather as family or friends, chose your own route (the backyard, the neighborhood street, a special park or even a treadmill). You set your own pace, choose either the 2K walk or the 5K run, and run or walk on your own schedule, anywhere you want.
If you are a 5K runner, it's best to attend the event in Davis, WV on September 26. If you place, our Club receives more awards and we can feed more kids!!
This is the perfect excuse to get outdoors, meanwhile helping a common cause.
Running for Rotary – Here's what #PeopleofAction do!
- Follow this link to our “Running For Rotary” Team page.
- If you want to participate and be part of the team, just click the Join link. Registration fee is $12, with half of the entry fee supporting our charity, Heart and Hand House Backpack program
- Remember our team name: Running for Rotary
- While you’re at it, register your family, friends, fellow Rotarians who have agreed to walk or run as part of the team anytime during the month of September until midnight 9/19/20206.
- Team members do not have to walk or run together. You can “do your own thing,” no matter where you are.
- Walkers unable to enter online may download an Entry Form and mail it (along with your $12 entry fee per person) to:
TCF-Run For It, P.O. Box 491, Parsons, WV 26287 before September 15, 2026.
Be sure to notate the team: Running for Rotary
After your walk, all that is required is sending a selfie of your walking experience or group, with time and map to your team leader, Bonnie Branciaroli.
bonniesuemark@gmail.com or Julie Wilkins (Barbour County Satellite Club) at:
See sample:
Be proactive and find sponsors to donate, or donate yourself.
The more funds we bring in, the more food supplies we can buy for kids.
Don’t want to Participate? Donate!
If you do not want to participate in a 2K Walk or 5K Run, then help us reach our goal by donating. A dollar goes a long way in this community event sponsored by the Tucker Community Foundation.
Together, We Get It Done
For more information on food insecurity or the role the Tucker Community Foundation plays in regional fundraising for local charities, see the following links.
Members, please leave a comment, so we know you've visited us! If you are a Rotarian using this program as your make-up
meeting and would like to contribute the cost of your normal Rotary meeting meal, we would be grateful. These funds go directly to our service projects. You can make a contribution through the Give/Donate link on the homepage.
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