As we all look to see what we can imagine Rotary to be, several Rotarians in District 5340 found themselves doing something very creative to assist back-to-school students of the Preuss School. It was a last-minute project for the Rotary Club of San Diego Coastal and several other Rotarians who came to the rescue of students who found themselves at the last minute, prior to school opening, having to take public transportation when their school lost its contract for bus services. These are disadvantage kids from Southeast San Diego, many of whom have never taken public transportation before and would be faced with one to one-and-a-half hours of travel time.
Rotarians collaborated with the school's PTA to get some information out to parents quickly in different languages. Rotarian of the Year Fernanda Torres volunteered her translation skills to make sure the communication was accurate and understandable. Volunteers were assigned to greet the students at trolley stops to make sure students made their transfers and got onto the correct trolley to and from school.
This undertaking was visible to everyone at the trolley stops. Many riders, some of them were traveling Rotarians, were in awe of the support provided to these students Some others started asking questions about Rotary and expressed interest in maybe joining. These Rotarians modeled what it means to be "People of Action". In this case, their action was in plain view for others to see and showcased the good and compassionate work Rotary does. Most importantly, students felt supported and cared for.
Thank you to the following Rotarians who made this effort possible: Bogdan Matuszinski, Jossy Kransiansky, Derren Lechuga, Jenny Parker from SD Coastal; Will Moore and Fary Moini from La Jolla Golden Triangle, Maryzella Juarez from the SD Downtown Evening, Steven Nunez from Old Mission, Pauline Lin-Endresen and Martha Page from SD Downtown Breakfast Rotary Club.
