The Rotary Club of Edmonds Service Committee collected 119 pairs of shoes to benefit the Clothes For Kids nonprofit organization. The shoes were donated by the Edmonds community during a shoe drive that ran from Feb. 26-March 25.

“We were very excited to see the generosity of our Edmonds community,” said Elise Hegrat, a Rotary member who has been active in the service committee. “We don’t always want our members to pay the price for our efforts. We like to involve the community in some of the services we provide.”

Clothes For Kids is a local nonprofit organization that provides school wardrobes to students in need who attend school in the Edmonds School District. The Rotary Club of Edmonds partnered with Clothes For Kids to assist in collecting shoes in sizes from babies to adults for girls and boys.

Alison Alfonzo Pence, who chairs the service committee, worked with Elise Hegrat, Nancy Hurtl, Theresa Ibler and Club President-Elect Suzanne James to collect the shoes. For further reading of this story published by My Edmonds News, Click Here.

By: Maggie Peterson

The Rotary Club of Edmonds Bridge to Success Project began with a District Grant in September 2019. The initial team of members Lamin Manneh, Maggie Peterson, Randy Hutchins and Beth Kealy traveled to The Gambia to identify a site for the science lab in the rural area of the Gambia. Upon arrival, the team met with our in-country Rotary Club partner, the Rotary Club of Brusubi. Lamin, a native of the Gambia, was keenly aware that the lack of science education in rural Gambia adversely affected young people in those communities. If students wanted to pursue higher education in the sciences, and if their parents could afford it, they had to travel West to the capital city of Banjul. Aside from there being no infrastructure for such travel, they had to live with "host" families while going to school and often were taken advantage of, if not abused. This was a particularly perilous arrangement for girls. Many students simply gave up and made the dangerous journey to Europe in order to try to find work.

Fast-forward five years - together with their partners, The Rotary Club of Brusubi and MRC Holland, and in collaboration with the Ministries of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the Inauguration team of Lamin Manneh, Maggie Peterson and Suzanne James dedicated the labs in Kaur and Basse in February 2024.

The transformation of lives has already begun. Students at Kaur compete in science competitions with the larger established schools in the urban areas, and win! They are planning for careers in medicine, engineering and architecture. Enrollment and attendance at both campuses has skyrocketed. 

The second lab at the Basse campus of the Gambia School of Education will not only serve local secondary school students, but also be used for science teacher training.

The Rotary Club of Edmonds is grateful to District 5030 for both a District grant in 2019 and a Global Grant in 2021. We also thank our District Club Partners: 

Edmonds Daybreakers
Shoreline Rotary Club
Rotary Club of Renton
Alderwood Terrace Rotary Club
Rotary Club of Lake Forest Park
Rotary Club of Ballard
Bellevue Breakfast Club
Rotary Club of Auburn
Rotary Club of Kent
Lake Union Neighborhood
Lynnwood Rotary
Emerald City Rotary

To view a short video of The Gambia Network News reporting on the completion of the Bridge to Success project, click here.

In June 2022 60,000 gallons of water flooded the Edmonds Library. After 18 months and a major renovation the library reopened with a new look and approach - the result of significant community engagement and research on what other, innovative libraries were doing. Paige Sjoblom, Adult and Teen Librarian and a member of the Sno-Isle Research Team has been part of Edmonds Library for 10 months. She will provide insights into the "new" library, the resources it provides and many benefits this gem offers to the community!