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2023 SHOES FOR KIDS & NEWSPAPER SALES

Clarkston, Thank You!!

Magically, Santa and Mrs. Claus made a very special appearance at Renaissance High School on Saturday, November 11th.

The Rotary Club of Clarkston held its annual “Shoes for Kids” program benefiting Clarkston school children.

This year 508 Clarkston School children were invited to receive new shoes, winter boots, hats, and gloves from our Rotary Club.

The day began with Santa greeting them with a HOHOHO!! that is probably still reverberating through the school’s hallways.

Each child showed their enthusiasm when picking out a certain style, color, or character shoe.

Volunteers will attest to seeing the smiles and laughter all day long.

Volunteers worked tirelessly from 9 AM until the last kids left after 3:30 PM.

Then it is time to pack up and return it to Renaissance High.Kudos to Superintendent Shawn Ryan and Renaissance High Principal

Gary Bigger for making our transition to RHS seamless.

Local service groups participating included the Clarkston Optimist Club’s Opti-Socks program and the Clarkston Area Lions Club KidSight free eye exams.

The CIDL provided books for the entire family. Local dentists graciously donated dental hygiene products.

The Rotary Club of Clarkston has sold a Goodfellow type newspaper in Clarkston since its chartering in 1940.

For the past forty-five years donations have been earmarked specifically for “Shoes for Kids.”

Over the past twenty-five years over thirteen thousand Clarkston children have benefited from the support and donations provided by people who make Clarkston a place where people want to live.

A special thank you to the Clarkston Community Schools, Superintendent Shawn Ryan, Staci Puzio and entire school staff.To Renaissance High and Principal Gary Bigger.

Santa and Mrs. Claus, Melvin and Alaina Hawley for helping make the dreams of the children come true.

To Bill Bertakis Photography and his staff for capturing a special moment for the families. Patti Engineering, Sam and Patti Hoff for making the magical family photos possible.

Also to all the Clarkston businesses and individuals working behind the scenes who make SFK possible every year.

Especially to the over 300 volunteers who efforts and time made “Shoes for Kids” a reality again this year. To all the people who stopped and donated allowing Shoes for Kids to be possible.

Finally, to my wife, Mindy and my two daughters, Sarah and Becky and our grandson Liam who over the past twenty-five years have continually put up with the craziness that often fills our house for most of the year.

Thank You Clarkston!!

For making 2023 Shoes for Kids another successful year.

Respectfully,

The Rotary Club of Clarkston

& Joel & Mindy DeLong & Family

Rotary at Concerts in the Park

On the last Friday in June, the Clarkston Rotary club "sold" concessions at the concert in Depot Park in downtown Clarkston. It was a great opportunity to greet residents, bring some visibility to our club and listen to great music with friends, all while providing hot dogs and chips for donations.

Honoring those who served

For the Memorial Day Weekend, Clarkston Rotarians Donna Michalski, Cassie and Matt Senter and their two children, joined other volunteers who placed American flags at the grave sites in the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, MI. Hundreds of volunteers from various organizations came out to Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly on Friday, May 28, to place flags on the graves of veterans in advance of Memorial Day. The following Tuesday, Clarkston Rotarians joined those removing the flags.

The volunteers spread out across the cemetery at 4200 Belford Road ensuring that every grave received a flag.

Congratulations to our Interactors

On March 22nd and 23rd of 2023, the Clarkston High School Interact Club put on a bake sale during the school days. Over the course of two days, our committed high schoolers made baked goods consisting of handmade cookies, brownies, and cupcakes. All of those items were sold for $1 each, but the most sold items were donuts from Tim Hortons and Dunkin’ donuts, which were sold for $2 each. This bake sale was put on to raise money for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, with a total of more than $900. Dolly Parton founded this organization in 1995 and began her mission of giving books to children ages one through five free of charge. The children receive 12 books a year, costing $26 for a yearly subscription of books, therefore the CHS Interact Club donated enough money for the upwards of 460 books amongst 35 children. These high schoolers are very proud of all of the work that they have done so far this school year, but this project is in the lead as the most successful project of the 2023 school year. While this is true, they are hoping to have at least one more upcoming event in the last few months of their semester. Interactors Meghan and Emerey presented the donation to president Mary Sloan.

A Great Surprise

The Rotary Club of Clarkston is proud to have been awarded the title Non-Profit of the Year by the Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce. The award is given to a "not-for-profit organization whose strategic vision, passion and perseverance has led to extraordinary outcomes for the community." Our club was recognized for its two biggest projects; the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and Shoes for Kids. The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is providing a book a month to 640 preschoolers in the three Clarkston zip codes, and Shoes for Kids invited 396 kids to receive new shoes, boots, hats and gloves in 2022.