On Wednesday, March 16, Daphne Fletcher of Encinitas Rotary Club made a presentation about her visit to Ukraine to find family roots near Uzhgorod. Just 48 hours later, the Encinitas Rotary Club Foundation had a $22,000 bank-wire out the door based on refugee assistance pledges from Encinitas Rotary members, friends, and even meeting visitors.
The recipient, Rotary Club of Kosice Classic in Slovakia, is District 2240’s designated coordinator for humanitarian supplies. Through a signed donor agreement, Rotary Club Kosice Classic will use the Encinitas Rotary funds to procure supplies and get them to the Rotary Club of Uzhgorod-Skala, just across the border with Ukraine. Both clubs conducted daily assessments on the situation of refugees at the border. Mechanisms are in place to transport and distribute supplies. A number of other Rotary Clubs in Europe have been routing donated supplies through Rotary Club Kosice Classic. Encinitas Rotary’s monetary donation will provide Euros to purchase bulk supplies in Slovakia. Encinitas Rotary Club President Sherry Yardley stated, “All we needed to know was that fellow Rotarians were there to get the job done!”
