Rotary Club of Durham

"When the system is broken, the streets are hot". This is a direct quote from Leonardo Williams, the first-term Mayor of Durham, who said with tears in his eyes he has had enough of gun violence in his city. The Bull City Future Fund is a collaboration between the Mayor's Office, Triangle Community Foundation, and United Way of the Greater Triangle, and will invite community organizations dedicated to youth engagement to compete for grants to expand their reach. When the Mayor spoke to Rotary Club of Durham Monday there had been 11 people shot in the city since January 1st. Hours after the Mayor's speech, a 2-year-old boy was shot at the Oxford Manor Apartments. The goal for The Bull City Future Fund is $1 million, and $360,000 has been raised so far. Visit https://lnkd.in/e58-AByM to make a contribution to Mayor Leonardo Williams' fund. If you had been in the room at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park - DBAP to hear his speech on Monday, you probably already have.

"When the system is broken, the streets are hot". This is a direct quote from Leonardo Williams, the first-term Mayor of Durham, who said with tears in his eyes he has had enough of gun violence in his city. The Bull City Future Fund is a collaboration between the Mayor's Office, Triangle Community Foundation, and United Way of the Greater Triangle, and will invite community organizations dedicated to youth engagement to compete for grants to expand their reach. When the Mayor spoke to Rotary Club of Durham Monday there had been 11 people shot in the city since January 1st. Hours after the Mayor's speech, a 2-year-old boy was shot at the Oxford Manor Apartments. The goal for The Bull City Future Fund is $1 million, and $360,000 has been raised so far. Visit https://lnkd.in/e58-AByM to make a contribution to Mayor Leonardo Williams' fund. If you had been in the room at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park - DBAP to hear his speech on Monday, you probably already have.

It was standing room only yesterday, as Dr. Anthony Lewis, the new Superintendent of Durham Public Schools spoke. Starting his career as a special education teacher, Dr. Lewis describes himself as an "advocate for the children" who makes it his job to remove barriers to their growth. Among the new developments since his arrival six months ago are increased enrollment, free lunch for all students, and plans for Early College programs in the fall of 2025. Dr. Lewis plans to transfer his Rotary membership from Kansas City and we look forward to seeing him join the "People of Action" in Rotary Club of Durham and Rotary District 7710 soon!

More than 300 volunteers packed 60,000 meals for local food insecure families on Martin Luther King Day in locations across the Triangle. Rotary District 7710 coordinated partnerships for the 18th year between clubs in Clayton, Raleigh and Durham - along with partners like Duke University, Duke School, the Interfaith Food Shuttle and Meals of Hope. Shout out to ABC11 WTVD-TV for its coverage in Durham, and to the Mayors of each city for helping us spread the statistics on the need! #RotaryDistrict7710 #DurhamRotary ##DukeUniversity #Partnerships #ABC11 #MLKPackingDay https://lnkd.in/eDzeb5e8

Exciting guest speaker at the upcoming January 13th Rotary Club of Durham meeting! Newly named NCCU Chancellor, Dr. Karrie G. Dixon will share her vision of the university and her leadership lessons. Here's a glimpse of her impressive bio - contact me if you'd like to come as my guest!! Dr. Karrie G. Dixon was named the 13th chancellor of North Carolina Central University on June 6, 2024. She was elected by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors following her nomination by the University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans. She began her appointment on July 1, 2024. Dr. Dixon served as the 12th chief executive officer and 7th chancellor of Elizabeth City State University, where she was appointed on December 14, 2018. Before her appointment, Dr. Dixon served as the interim chancellor from April 9, 2018, after having played a crucial role as co-lead on the ECSU New Directions Phase 2 Operational Team since early 2017.

Did you know Google generates more than $32 BILLION a year in advertiser revenue? Just one of many media facts shared by Triangle Digital Partners President, Rory Gillis at Rotary Club of Durham's Monday meeting. One of the club's valued partners for last year's Flags For Heroes Durham project, Triangle Media Partners has tripled in size since 2020 - with a laser beam focus on "How to live your best life", according to Gillis. The current issue of Durham Magazine features Downtown Durham on the cover. Many thanks to Triangle Media Partners and Rory Gillis for Monday's presentation!

Such an exciting day for partnerships - especially those that bring smiles to the faces of young people during the holiday season! Many thanks to our friends ABC11 WTVD-TV, Disney, and fellow Rotarians from Crabtree Rotary, Chapel Hill East, Durham Sunrise & Southwest Durham for gathering toys and spreading the joy! All were donated to the local Marine Foundation, whose leaders distributed the toys to area nonprofits on Giving Tuesday. Happy Holidays!!!

Many thanks to Rotary Club of Durham VP (and former President), Susan Ross for sharing this shot of Club Membership Chair, and Black Farmers' Market Founder, Crystal E. Taylor who delivered the keynote address today at the Triangle Association for Fundraising Professionals (AFP) meeting. #rockstar #community #serviceaboveself #rotary #rotaryclubofdurham

The checks have been flying for the 2024 Flags for Heroes project! Rotary Club of Durham president, Rob Everett and club Treasurer, Mark Miller have presented $5,000 checks each to three Veterans organizations - The Durham Veterans Association Homeless Program, @NCCULaw-Veterans Law Clinic and the veteran-led nonprofit, the Thomas Mentor Leadership Academy (TMLA) Academy. Plans are already underway for next year's Flags for Heroes project, so stay tuned here to see how you can participate!

What an AWESOME crowd at CENTERFEST in Downtown Durham today!! So grateful for the partnership between Rotary Club of Durham and The Durham Arts Council!