Posted by PDG Jeanie Morgan
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Chandler Horizon Rotary $3,000 Donation
 
Roger Bonngard has a long history with The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona.  He was one of the early Directors and continues to serve as an active Advisor.
 
He is smiling in this photo taken at the Chandler Horizon Rotary Club's May 5 meeting.  Roger was very happy because his own club elected to support the good work of TRVFA with a $3,000 donation from their club's foundation.  TRVFA was one of three organizations receiving checks at that meeting.
 
Earlier in the meeting, three TRVFA grant recipients who were sponsored by the club shared some brief information about themselves while attending the meeting virtually via Zoom.
  • Tina is in Dental Assisting.  She is a 30-year-old with a family of four.  Her vocational growth will be four-fold.
  • Evelyn is in Phlebotomy.  She is a sixty-four-year-old who needs to work longer and not collect social security for a while.  Her position at her hospital was terminated due to her age and COVID.  Because of her training, she will now have a more secure job with better pay.
  • Madison is in Medical Assisting.  A 21-year-old whose parents recently became US citizens, she currently works as a part-time receptionist while pursuing her studies.  Her training will project her into a bright future.
Congratulations and Thank You to Deb Eldridge!
 
 
 
Deb Eldridge, who is a member of the White Mountain Rotary Club, was recently named by her employer, National Bank of Arizona, as Volunteer of the Quarter.  With that honor came the right to designate a charity to receive $250.00  We thank Deb for naming The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona.  In expressing our appreciation, we asked Deb to share a little bit about how she made that decision.  This was her response:
 
If I had to pick a specific reason why I chose The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona to receive my donated funds,  I would not hesitate to say it is because of  tenacity.
 
Growing up in a family of seven kids, raised by a very strong single mother, it was not really an option discussed to go to college, but when my single friends started talking about college, I decided that even myself as a single mother, I was going to go. It may sound strange, but I am very proud that it may have taken me 13 years to get my Bachelor’s Degree from Arizona State University, but I never gave up.
 
Working full time, raising two kids, and going to school at night to take a course or two each semester was hard, but I had amazing support and encouragement from my family.  It is not really surprising then that I would  also return to college 17 years later to receive my MBA from the W P Carey Executive Management program at Arizona State University.  That continued educational pursuit, opened doors I could never have imagined as I climbed the corporate ladder in my professional life.
 
So I guess It is really no wonder why I chose the donation from National Bank of Arizona to go to the Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona specifically because I want to enable that student that has the desire, the passion, and of course the tenacity, to not give up and keep going to make their dreams come true.   
 
 
Vocational Education Grants Funded July, 2020 Through May, 2021