Two Waunakee Rotarians and their wives joined a group of local residents on a trip to Haiti where they delivered food and other items last winter.
At the June 14 Rotary meeting, Mick Holm gave a presentation about the trip with his wife, Jeamie, and Bill and Jeannette Erickson, along with several others.
Mick and Jeamie also organize the annual Food For Kidz event in Waunakee each fall, packaging nutritious meals. Last year, they decided to ship 200,000 meals of oatmeal and rice and beans to Haiti, and a shipping container was parked right at the Village Center to pack them in.
The collection of items bound for Haiti grew with volunteers collecting t-shirts, microscopes, school supplies, a school bus, and one ton of Purple Cow compost.
Mick bought 10 round-trip tickets and in January they left.
The orphanage there houses dorms and the school, where some students walk two miles to attend. Some get their one meal of the day there.
Some of the Waunakee travelers began sewing uniforms and continued that project at Peace Lutheran Church in Waunakee. The local group also began a greenhouse at the orphanage and a composting program, using food waste that would be otherwise burned. They created gardens so the school could cultivate its own food.
They also had an adventure, delivering some of the food by overloaded boats to an island that has yet to recover from the hurricane. They handed out food at a church, where people were very appreciative.
Back on the mainland, they decided to hike up the mountain to deliver more food, but were met by some suspicious locals who thought they were coming to take their land. One brandished a machete.
The locals relented when the situation was explained, however.
Mick said Food For Kidz will be on Oct. 21 this year, and the intention is to locate the event at the Waunakee High School Field House for the first time. That facility will better accommodate trucks and shipping containers, Mick said.
 
Other news:
-The Senior Picnic is July 11 at Centennial Park. Let Allison Feldbruegge know if you can help out. She has been emailing sign-up sheets.
 
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Guests:
Visiting Rotarians: None.
Birthdays: June 22, Jim Ableidinger; June 22, Cindy Patzner.
Anniversaries: June 21, Mark and Regina McFarland; June 21, Tom and Beverly Kennedy; June 25, Shelley Moffatt and Tom Fendrick.
 
Greeters: June 21, Nancy Kuehn-Thomas and Alan Langteig; June 28, Drew Lawrence and Kim Langfeld; July 5, Robert Lenz and David May; July 12, Mark McFarland and Gordon Meicher; July 19, Nicholas Mischler and Shelley Moffatt.
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