North Texas did not escape the pandemic Covid-19 from 2020-to-22. As a result, worldwide labor markets were distressed, causing critical job losses in every business sector of the marketplace. Businesses closed for the lack of labor because laborers stayed home and chose not to work during the pandemic. Many died. However, these workers were still necessary to operate businesses. Moreover, when they returned to work, they worked under new procedures, regulations, and new skills to control the spread of the new coronavirus and make the businesses return to a profitable position.
Consequently, Dr. Mark Smith, Provost of the McKinney and Farmersville campuses of Collin College in North Texas and Past-President of the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club, Past-President of the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club Foundation, and current Director of Community Services of the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club, recognized the need for updated and advanced training in technical fields because of the large displacement of employment in the areas of Automotive maintenance, Construction management, HVAC technology, Welding, Plumbing, Electrical, and professions in Health Science, etc.
The Collin College Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, provides scholarship awareness throughout the campus and community, screening scholarship candidates and administering the granted scholarships.
The McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club contributed an additional $5,000 of seed money to the Permanent Scholarship Endowment Fund of the Collin College Foundation to keep the momentum going. This contribution brings the total Permanent Endowment Fund to $10,000 of the $30,000 needed. Presenting the $5,000 to the Collin College Foundation is the Director of Community Services of the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club, Jeff Caserotti. Receiving the contribution to the Collin College Foundation are the following: Lisa A. Vasquez, Vice-President Advancement, and Mark Smith, Ph.D., Campus Provost of McKinney and Farmersville Campuses and President-Elect of the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club.
The scholarship money and other donations were acquired entirely through the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Flag Lease program and are returned to the community at 100% every year. An example of the significance of the Flag Lease Program, the Sunrise Club has returned to the community of McKinney and Internationally the following this year: (Rotary Year - July 2022 to June 2023)
- Rotary Four-Way Test Candidate winners - $700.00.
- Rotary RYLA Campers - $5,000.00.
- McKinney Senior Student Scholarships through the McKinney Education Fund (MEF) - $36,000.00.
- Collin College Foundation Scholarships - $55,000.00.
- Scott Johnson Middle School in McKinney - $4,000.00.
- Our Partners who deliver the flags and retrieve the flags on the six designated flag holidays are six Boy Scout Troops, one Girl Scout Troop, and one Home School Group, which paid $13,586.00. So these young adults are suitable for our main focus for support.
- International contribution of $10,000 to the Samaritan Purse organization to benefit the Ukraine disaster.
- An International contribution of $5,000 to Shelter Box provides shelter for those people caught without protection due to natural disasters.
- An International contribution of $500 to the Guatemala Literacy Project that help replaces illiteracy.
- An International contribution of $3,000 to the Nightingale Nursing School for medical equipment and supplies in Guatemala this year.
- This year, an International contribution of $3,000 to the ‘Living Water’ project in South America.
- The Club donated to the Heifer Fund to help end poverty through agriculture and animals, contributing $1,000.
Behind the scene support for the Flag Lease Program
- Our Club members and guests volunteer their time at the storage Shed during the flag holiday delivery and retrieval times.
- At the beginning of each flag season, inspection, repair, and replacement occur of the current 3,300 plus flags. In addition, the construction of new flags transpires because of the demand created by new flag subscriptions. Volunteering their services to provide this maintenance activity is the Collin County s.c.o.r.e. program and Club members.
- The revenues received from the Rotary Flag Pro Software (RFPS), the flag software administration program, info@mckinneysunriserotary.org, and the flag manual (The Ultimate Non For Profit Fundraising Project) published on Amazon (https://tinyurl.com/PatrioticFundraising) go to the Flag Account for donations. This year it was $422.00.
- Prepping the initial flag lease sites and flag site maintenance during the season is conducted by a crew (2 to 4) of volunteer ‘First Responder’ firemen and Boy Scout Leaders for whom the Club paid $10,965.00. First Responders and Scout Leaders are in the Club’s focused area for support.
- One of the Boy Scout Troop leaders above is the Flag Lease Project Administrator. This year, he received $11,156.00 for his administration and operational duties in running the Flag Lease Project for the Club. He reports directly to the Vice-President of Fund Raising.
- There are four components of revenue that comes into the Flag Account for distribution as follows:
- Flag Lease subscriptions
- Flag administrative software sales
- Flag manual sales
- Monetary gifts from flag lease subscribers and guests
We are People of Action! Club membership of only 25 members. Our humanitarian donations this year are only $158,907.00. But, the year is not over yet.
McKinney is a City of Flags, Built by the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club.
Visit Us Anytime or Join Us. Breakfast is on Us!
Meeting Time and Location: 7:30 AM each Wednesday, The Pantry,
214 East Louisiana St., McKinney.
Footnote:
We are ‘Men and Women of Action,’ and we would like you to consider joining us as a member of his fine organization to provide service opportunities like those described above. Go to our website at https://mckinneysunrierotary.org/join-us
Flag Manual - https://tinyurl.com/PatrioticFundraising
https://youtu.be/HnaCHotUWNc