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2020 Duck Race Info
The Big Daddy Duck race is fast approaching.  Obviously things are different this year with COVID, but we have 77 ducks at this point and will race them on August 8th.  We will award Fastest Duck and Slowest Duck trophies.  We will display the ducks at the Rotary Pavilion in downtown Rockford.  People can vote for their favorite duck and choose the Prettiest Duck.  Then we will race the ducks at 4 p.m. Please come down and see the race. It starts right before the bridge at the dam and finishes in Sowersby Park.  Here is the new timeline for this year's race and other events:
- July 21st - deadline to turn in ducks for online voting
- July 24th - online voting begins
- August 1st - online voting ends - Most Popular Duck title awarded
- August 6th - deadline to turn in ducks for the race
- August 8th - 4 p.m. - duck race downtown Rockford 
See you there!
Bottle Return Program
June 2, 2020
Rockford Rotary is holding a Bottle Return project.  If you have returnable bottles and cans in your garage, please consider donating those to our club. We will return the cans and/or bottles and put the money back into the community.
 
 
We will have a semi-trailer setup at Knape Industries at 10701 Northland Dr. NE, Rockford, MI on a future Saturday - please check back here to see when that is. We will collect bottles and cans right before the stores re-open their return centers. You can drop off returnables between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on that date. If you have questions, please call Jim Tol at 616-328-3642 or email him at jetnet1@att.net.  
 
 
Thank you for your support of Rockford Rotary. We look forward to seeing you around town once the lockdown is lifted. Please stay safe and healthy.
All the best – the Rockford Rotary Club
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WHAT WE DO
The Rotary Club of Rockford Michigan sponsors or hosts several events throughout the year. 
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WHAT WE DO
We support several local and international projects throughout the year. 
 
STRIVE
Rockford Rotary sponsors and actively runs a program called STRIVE that pairs adult mentors with senior high school students.  The students are identified by the schools as being in danger of not graduating. Many of them simply need more help and/or an involved adult to get them over the hump and keep them motivated.  We award scholarships to the students for different things like highest GPA, most improvement, etc.  It is a very rewarding experience for mentors and students alike.
 
The Big Daddy Duck Race
Rockford area businesses purchase ducks and decorate them for the race.  We build a float each year and display the ducks in the parade.  We also give out candy which is a lot of fun!  The 10" ducks are on display in our booth at the Start of Summer Celebration in downtown Rockford. People vote for their favorite duck by placing coins or bills in the jar next to it.  We count up the money and award a "prettiest duck" trophy to the winner.  Saturday evening of the Start of Summer Celebration, we put the ducks in the water in front of the dam and race them to Richardson-Sowersby park.  We award a trophy for the "fastest" duck.  The money raised goes to local programs including sponsorship of the summer reading program at Hillview in Rockford. 
 
Reading Rocks in Rockford
Reading Rocks in Rockford started as a Rotary event and we created the event to encourage literacy in our town.  Recently, the Rockford Library has taken over the event and hosts it in early June.  The goal is to get kids excited about reading and to keep them reading all summer.  Authors of children books attend the event and interact with young readers.  We help setup tents the event, and we staff the Hook-a-Book tent each year.  At Hook-a-Book, young readers receive a free book just for throwing their fishing line into the "water" and reeling it back in.  It is a very rewarding service experience for Rotarians.
 
Youth Exchange
Our club supports an inbound and outbound international exchange student - often yearly.  Our current inbound student is from Brazil.  We find host families and support the student any way that we can to enrich both the community's and the student's exchange experience. 
 
Life Leadership Conference
Each year we sponsor 6 or 7 Rockford High School students to attend the Life Leadership Conference sponsored by the Rotary International District 6290.  Students are chosen for their leadership potential and scholarship.  Interviews take place in the spring of each year.  To read more about the conference follow this LINK.
 
POLIO Plus
Rotary International's longtime goal has been to eliminate polio worldwide.  We are in fact very close to doing that LINK. We support the district and international Rotary organization's effort in the fight against polio. 
2020 Duck Race Sponsors
End Polio Now
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How to Volunteer as a Senior
Millions of elderly people—those 65 and older—volunteer every year, but given this population is higher than 48 million (and projected to reach 80 million by 2050), there is plenty of room for growth here.