The Rotary Club of Burbank Sunrise donated healthy snacks to our local YMCA Social Impact Center. The Social Impact Center is the first of its kind in Burbank. The center supports the LGBTQ+, social justice, and foster communities and offering a safe place for Burbank Youth and all individuals to be themselves.

 

Early morning for some Sunrise Rotarians as we came out to support the Burbank Family Service Agency’s annual CareWalk. This year they honored the amazing Mickey DePalo! Proud to be one of the sponsors of this fundraiser to the agency that provides a broad array of counseling services in our community.

Congratulations to our very own Lee Stacy on receiving the Ian Jones Humanitarian Award from Rotary District 5280!  This is one that is not given every year, but District Governor Bette Hall honored Lee as he has handled the District's grant program for the last 10 years helping better the lives of people locally and abroad! Bette described Lee as one of the most patient, kindest people she knows, who gently nudges us all along every year to submit for grants and then makes sure our grants are administered properly and our reports to RI are timely. She described Lee as the consummate Rotarian. The award is a thank you for his many years of true dedication and professionalism! 

 

Burbank Sunrise was please to present Brighton Thomas with a Vocational Grant. The grant was funded with a combination of district and club funds. Brighton is a graduate of John Burroughs HS. She is attending the Musicians Institute in Hollywood where she is studying Audio Engineering and Studio Recording. Some of her highlights include being awarded the title of Ambassador for Michael Feinstein’s Songbook Academy, being a Grand Prize Finalist for the Music Center Spotlight Program, performing at the Pantages Theatre, and singing at the Disney Concert Hall! Due to COVID, we were not able to present her check in person but we were able to speak with her at one of our Zoom meetings where she thanked our club and told us how much it meant to her to be awarded the scholarship. We wish her success in her future aspirations! 

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Holiday parties are challenging in the time of COVID but doesn’t mean we can’t have them! We ordered snowman paint kits and had a paint and sip party over Zoom! We logged in for cocktails, which really helped with the painting, and fellowship! Yes, we couldn’t get together in person, but we really had a great time!!

COVID has certainly had an effect on how we serve our communities. Normally this time of year, Burbank Noon and Burbank Sunrise would be putting on a holiday party and dinner for developmentally challenged teens and adults. This year, we decided on a drive thru party where they could at least get their gifts from Santa. Sadly with the spike in COVID cases including in our own Rotary families, we were reduced to dropping off the gifts for about 75 clients at BCR A Place to Grow. As I’ve become fond of saying, things are exactly the same only different. Ho Ho Ho!