Holiday Gift Fair at Valley Elementary School
 
Gift Fair in progress
Sue Herndon, originator
RB Sunrise members at the breakfast buffet area
 
2 members of TJ club with Nasrin Barbee at right
 
Since December 2010, RB Sunrise Rotary Club has partnered with the PTA at Valley Elementary School in Poway to assist them in their Holiday Craft Gift Fair.  It was in 2010 that our president that year, Al Watson wanted to have a holiday activity for children.  RB Sunrise member Sue Herndon knew about the Gift Fair at Valley Elementary School because her daughter once taught there.  With Sue’s help, we were able to partner with the PTA at Valley Elementary School in Poway.  That first year RB Sunrise Rotary Club provided gifts for the children to select and wrapping paper to wrap the gifts.  Valley Elementary School has a large population of hispanic children and others who are eligible for not only the free school lunch program, but also the breakfast program.  For that reason, that first year our club also supplied breakfast items well.
 
 
Now, six years later, the event is continuing to serve the indigent children in Poway.  We continue to provide gifts for the children to select, wrapping paper, breakfast items (cereal, milk, orange juice, and bananas).  Our club members arrive early so that we can help to set up the multipurpose room at the school and decorate it as well.  This has  become a fun holiday event for our club.  An additional aspect of this activity is that from the beginning, it has also been an international event as well.  Each year, several members of our sister club in Tijuana (Club Rotario Tijuana Milennio Minarete) travel to Poway to participate with us.  Their presence helps to make the parents of the children feel welcome because they can communicate in Spanish with them.
 
RB Sunrise Rotary Holiday Party and Fundraiser
 
Autioneer Mike Moffat
Fun during the Auction
 
Each year, RB Sunrise holds a holiday party at the home of one of our members.  This year the party was held at the home of our president, Alison Farrin, in Ramona. Over the years this event has transitioned from a catered event to a potluck format.  It is one of our club’s main social events of the year.
 
 
The fundraising portion of the event is the silent and open auction we hold after the meal.  Every member brings something to auction, such as a gift basket, wine. a special plant or other fascinating items.  The items are unwrapped so that they can be seen.  Before the meal, hey are first set out for the silent auction.  After the meal, they are offered at an open auction.  The person with the highest bid at the silent auction provides the starting point for the open auction. If there isn’t any bidding on the item, it then is sold to the silent auction highest bidder.  However, as is usually the case, the open auction bidding becomes spirited as members vie for the item.  At the end of the evening, the total amount of all of the bids is announced.  This year, the total of the money raised by the auction was in excess of $1650!
 
Toys For Tots
 
At our regular meeting on Dec 8, we will again this year be giving toys collected and/or purchased by our club members to United States Marine Corps personnel who will be guests at our meeting.  We will formally present the toys for them to use to brighten the lives of the children this program serves.  Sue Herndon is the club member who spearheads this activity every year.  She has been doing this for over 7 years.  An interesting aspect of the participation of RB Sunrise Rotary Club in that this is not a budget item for the club.  All of the money and gifts are supplied by the contributions of members, either by donation of unwrapped toys or by donation of money that Sue uses to shop for toys.