We’ve just celebrated Thanksgiving and now there are only 25 days until Christmas. A season of giving thanks and giving to others. 
Keep the Rotary International Foundation on your list of worthy recipients. If you haven’t yet donated to the annual fund now is the time. Besides fulfilling your pledge to Every Rotarian, Every year, you can donate now to include it in your annual charitable gift giving to be declared among your tax deductible contributions for 2025. And don’t forget Rotary’s goal to End Polio. If your friends, neighbors, colleagues, or relatives ask for ideas for charitable deductions, I highly recommend that you encourage them to donate to the Rotary International Foundation. (rotary.org/donate) 
The service committee has news from the Ukrainian-Hungarian Bilingual School for Ukrainian Refugees! Viktória Griessmüller, the founder of this school, has been recognized for her work, as one of the 40 under 40 Business Elite Europe honorees. She also received the Rotary International’s highest distinction - the Service Above Self Award, becoming the first person in Hungary to receive this global recognition for humanitarian impact. “Viktória transformed crisis into opportunity, creating the largest ongoing Rotary peace and conflict resolution initiative in education worldwide. Through partnerships with three non-profit organizations and collaborators across five continents, Victória has mobilized more than $500,000 in funding and in-kind support - $300,000 already delivered and $200,000 in progress - ensuring both educational continuity and community resilience for families affected by war. Over the past two years, the Ukrainian Refugee School in Budapest has provided Ukrainian-language education to more than 450 refugee children and employment for 43 displaced teachers and two psychologists.” (Business Elite Awards) Our Rotary district is ready to share funds we have collected for this school when the Global Grant is approved. (Rotary cause: Supporting Education)Our December speaker is Nancy Comello, member of the Board of Directors of Supporting Safe Birth and member of the Rotary Club of Madison West Middleton. Nancy will be sharing her clubs’ project to improve the health and survival of mothers and babies in Guatemala. (Rotary cause: Improving maternal and child health)
And speaking of Nancy’s Rotary Club, its President Mary Beth Growney Selene is pictured in the montage of Rotarians titled What Makes Us Happy pages 36-37 in the December Rotary Magazine, The Happiness Issue. Our January speaker Sydney Widell from the Coon Creek Watershed Council has been invited by Rita Wachuta-Breckel. (Rotary cause: Protecting the environment) We are always happy to have our members suggest speakers and topics for our meetings! Thank you, Rita!
Remember, if you aren’t available to log in to the meetings in person, you can still watch the recording of the video that our secretary Val puts on our Changemakers Rotary Web page along with the meeting summary.