The Best Darned Rotary Club In Lodi!
CLUB PROJECTS & FUNDRAISERS
The club has executed many, many projects over the years - too many to list! But some of the more memorable ones included..
Rise Against Hunger!
The Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club completed their third “Rise Against Hunger” community service event to assemble meal packages to help alleviate hunger where it is needed around the globe! The project team assembled 21,156 meals in 4 hours! The club was fortunate to have 100 participants in the amazing event.
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Team members came from various community organizations that included Lodi Sunrise Rotary, Lodi Rotary, United Methodist Church, Bear Creek Red Cross, Stockton Cycling Club, Bear Creek High School, Tokay High School, Vineyard Christian Middle School, Vinewood Elementary School and other friends of Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club!
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Ongoing Fundraisers & Projects
Tour Delle Vigne (Tour of the Vines) Cycling Event
In 1996 the Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club initiated the "Lodi Sunrise Century" bike ride as a major fundraiser for the club. The ride features 50k, 100k and 100-mile courses through the wine-country of Lodi, California. In 2014, the ride was re-branded as the "Tour Delle Vigne" to better reflect the wine-heritage of our area. The proceeds from this event fund all of the various Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club projects and Charitable giving!
FUSION Music Festival (visit)
In 2023 the Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club partnered with the Lodi Kiwanis Club to launch a new community-wide fundraising event that featured 9 performers on 3 stages, wine, craft beer, organic margarita, food trucks and craft vendors! This was a first-of-its-kind/size event where the focus was not exclusively wine - it was about MUSIC! The proceeds of the 1st annual event were donated to the LOEL Senior Center to support their Facility Modernization Project that was the vision of former LOEL CEO Tracy Williams (a Lodi Sunrise Rotarian). In June of 2021, we lost Tracy to Colon Cancer. FUSION is our way of honoring her commitment to serving the seniors in our community.
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Beer Run! Beer Booth at the Lodi Grape Festival
IThe club's second biggest fundraiser is our Beer Booth at the Lodi Grape Festival. Every year, we sling the suds from Thursday through Saturday to keep the hot and thirsty crowd happy and in a good mood!
​McCauley Tom Turkey Drive
Every year Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club members dig DEEP into their pockets to donate money that will be used to purchase Turkeys that will feed families in need during the Thanksgiving Holiday. The club matches EVERY DOLLAR that club members give. The turkey drive is named after Charter Member Tom McCauley, who is in no "small" measure considered to be the biggest "turkey" in the club.
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Year over year, the number of turkeys we have donated to Salvation Army, American Legion, Lodi Elderly (LOEL), Building Blocks and other organizations has sky-rocketed!
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2008: 800 pounds of turkey (approximately 64 birds!)
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2009: 4,200 pounds of turkey (approximately 350 birds!)
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2010: 1,680 pounds of turkey (approximately 140 birds!)
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2011: 5,657 pounds of turkey (approximately 440 birds!)
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2012: 2,850 pounds of turkey (approximately 192 birds!)
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2013: Numbers not available
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2014: Numbers not available
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2015: 5,500 pounds of turkey (approximately 466 birds!)
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2016: We are shooting for 500+ pounds!
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Salvation Army Holiday Red Kettle Campaign
Every Christmas season, Lodi Sunrise Rotarians volunteer their time to "Ring The Bell" as part of the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Fundraising Campaign to help feed families in need during the holidays. This project, in conjunction with our McCauley Tom Turkey Drive, contributes a significant amount to the Salvation Army's goals each year.
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Annual Bicycle Giveaway
As part of our Tour Delle Vigne cycling event; Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club conducts a "Bikes For Kids" project aimed at providing new and used bicycles to children in need. This is often done as part of the Lodi Adopt A Child Christmas program.
Special Projects
​Woodbridge Ecological Reserve Painting Project
The club painted buildings for the annual Sandhill Crane Festival, held at the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve. Over 1,500 people enjoy this family-oriented event each year. The preserve provides over 60 guided field trips, 20 workshops and family programs, a crane art exhibition of local and international youth, videos, exhibits (including the hands-on "Cranium"), live bats and birds of prey demonstrations, and origami. There is even a giant crane maze simulating their migration, threats and our efforts to protect them
Drinking Water Bore Hole in Uganda
This project provied a borehole (well), storage tank and pipes for an orphanage managed by the AIDS Orphans Education Trust in Njeru, Uganda so that the children would have clean, fresh water to drink. The first attempt at drilling the bore hole failed, but a subsequent attempt resulted in success!
​USS Abraham Lincoln Care Packages For Sailors
In October, 2002 the Lodi Sunrise Rotary Club adopted sailors of VAQ-139 Electronic Warfare Squadron which was (at the time) stationed onboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Thanksgiving Care Packages, and Christmas Stockings are sent to the crew members.
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The project provided 15 young men and women of the US Navy with cards, letters, gifts, snacks, games, books, magazines, and other holiday goodies. Thanksgiving Care Packages were sent to the sailors in November, arriving two weeks later on board the ship. A second shipment of stockings and other care package items were shipped, and arrived just days before Christmas.
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All of the sailors were stationed on board the Aircraft Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which was stationed in the Arabian Sea. Their squadron is VAQ-139 (the "Cougars"), consists of four EA-6B Prowler aircraft, which specializes in Electronic Warfare. The planes provide radar jamming, and radar-destroying missiles (HARM High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles) that home in on enemy radar signals, and then follow that signal in for the kill destroying an enemy's ability to command and control surface-to-air missiles. The Prowlers of VAQ-139 were among the first to strike at Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.
The sailors worked in the Aviation Ordnance and Corrosion Control work centers. The eight (8) sailors of Aviation Ordnance are in charge of loading, maintaining, and unloading the aircraft's weapon systems. The six (7) members of Corrosion Control are charged with maintaining the aircraft to prevent rust and corrosion from the salt that can accumulate due to seawater.
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The first care packages, consisting of three large boxes, were sent to the ship at the end of October. They arrived three days before Thanksgiving. The shipment included food, snacks, books, magazines, and cameras. There were also letters provided by the 3rd and 5th grade classes at Vinewood Elementary School, as well as by 7th graders at Lodi Middle School. Monetary and goods donations from non-Rotarians played a big part in assembling the Thanksgiving care packages.