The Rotary Club of Santa Rosa West
Dogs for Diabetes
 

The Santa Rosa West Rotary sponsored Dogs 4 Diabetes event on Saturday, July 25, 2009 was a HUGE success! SRWR gave its, at the time, Red Badgers $1,000 to do something good in our community. While $1,000 is a lot of money, our Red Badgers thought, "Why not try to turn that into more?" They decided to donate to Dogs 4 Diabetes, knowing what a difference and impact these dogs make for so many families.

Turning the $1,000 into more was going to be tricky, but with some brainstorming they came up with the first ever D4D event night. Held at Santa Rosa Gymnastics, owned by our own Red Badger Darcie Fellows, a silent auction was in the making as well as demonstrations, and wine and food by fellow Red Badger Casey Williams. With 121 tickets sold and over 35 items donated to the silent auction, we knew from the start this event would prove to be a night to remember.

Thanks to the help of many, Santa Rosa Gymnastics was transformed from a gym of flying and flipping children into a fun and social party place! Over 80 people attended as well as about 15 of our special guests... D4D dogs. In addition to great food, wine and socialization, we had raffle prizes every 15 minutes and amazing gymnastic demonstrations as well as very informative D4D dog demonstrations and explanations of their program and training.

Tracy Kline did a fabulous job running the silent auction tent which auctioned off 95% of the items, making over $2,700! Casey Williams' scrumptious food was a hit, just the flavor for the event that left everyone's taste buds happy and wanting more! Kris Lapore tended the bar with great skill! Thanks to his help in setup and drink-pouring, the wine sales made over $500. Volunteers from Santa Rosa Gymnastics and Dogs 4 Diabetes worked the door greeting attendees. Darcey Fellows worked the mic and kept the evening rolling.

All in all the event was a great success. Starting with great people, entertainment, wine and food, and ending with the transformation of the original $1,000 into a grand total of $7,400! The once Red Badgers, now seasoned Blue Badgers, finished the evening with their own private party of laughter, drinks, food and flipping on the trampolines! Yep. These people have untapped SKILLS!

Thank you to everyone who donated time, effort, money and items to make this first-of-its-kind event a complete success!!

Darcie Fellows, Kris Lapore, Casey Williams and Tracy Kline
A note of explanation for non-Rotarians: Red Badgers are new Rotarians who have yet to complete their rite of passage to full-fledged members which are identified by Blue Badges at our meetings.