Woodland Rotary Noon Club donates a total of $40,000 to 3 local organizations

By Carlos Guerrero on July 28, 2024

Earlier this week, the Woodland Rotary Noon Club awarded $40,000 in donations to three local organizations.

Woodland Community College Foster & Kindship Education Foundation, Make it Happen for Yolo County and the Yolo County Fair Heritage Foundation received the donations at a presentation held during the Rotary Noon Club's weekly meeting this past Tuesday.

Representatives from both the WCC Foster & Kindship Education Foundation and Make it Happen were on hand to receive the donations.

"We are proud to offer this kind of support to our community," stated Woodland Rotary Noon Club President Bob Nakken. "Our club has been in existence for nearly 100 years and has a long history of giving back to charitable organizations such as these."

Rotarians Bob Nakken and Yvette Roy presented a $5,000 check to the Make it Happen for Yolo County organization. Pictured are Cathi Schmidt and Yvonne Emmons. (Courtesy)

Make it Happen was awarded $5,000. The nonprofit provides local transition-age youth ages 18-24, many of whom have been in foster care or experienced homelessness, with furniture, appliances and household items needed to move into their first apartments.

Since its founding in 2014, Make It Happen has helped more than 250 transition-age youth.

The WCC Foster & Kinship Education Foundation was provided $10,000 to assist Yolo County youth touched by foster care with an array of classes on various life skills.

The County Fair Heritage Foundation was awarded the largest donation, totaling $25,000, to complete the FFA/4-H livestock auction arena bleachers and other infrastructure at the fairgrounds.

The organizations received donations from the proceeds of the club's annual fund-raising banquet, which was held on April 27 at the California Agriculture Museum in Woodland.

The Bower Building playground, the gazebo at Freeman Park and the football scoreboard at Woodland High School are but a few examples of such projects that the club has undertaken in the past. The proceeds are also used for college scholarships each year to help local class valedictorians attain their educational goals.