On a beautiful fall evening, President Jason DeKeuster called the Rotary 5:01 to order. He immediately called upon past president Shelly Rucks for a sobering announcement that past president David Dominick’s partner, Joe Keenan, passed away suddenly this afternoon. Shelly asked for a moment of silence and prayers for David. President Jason then called upon Joy McElroy for an Inspirational Minute and Four-Way Test. Joy shared a truly inspiring success story about a resident from Life Haven. President Jason introduced past president Heidi Fisher to introduce visiting Rotarians and guests. Having none, President Jason pivoted quickly to call upon Karen Ciano to present our speaker, Ethelind Kaba, Executive Director of the Ann Bancroft Foundation.

Karen provided a brief bio of our speaker. Ethelind added a bit of her personal story growing up in Ghana. She never thought her family was poor, but she gradually learned that they were. As a child, Ethelind was required to perform numerous chores for her family that took much time away from study and fun. This provided the impetus for her belief that we put too much burden on our children. She gained passion around this topic, which continued after her emigration to the United States.

Due to the strong influence of her grandmother, Ethelind yearned for more. She dreamed of becoming a lawyer where she could fight for justice of those in need. Ethelind got a job with a large law firm before realizing that law was not for her. Through a friend, Ethelind received an interview with the Ann Bancroft Foundation. She had little experience but had the right passion around dignity for all (and especially for children). She ultimately won the job as Executive Director. Ethelind held fast to her grandmother’s encouragement to consider herself the stone that the builders refused.

Ethelind provided some background on Ann Bancroft, though this may not have been entirely necessary for this Rotary crowd. Two things stuck fast when Ethelind first met Ann: she loves children and has great respect for teachers. The fame that Ann earned through her expeditions left her with the nagging question of what to do with that fame. She determined to pick a focus and run with it. That focus was on empowerment and development of girls. This stuck with Ethelind’s ideas of dignity for all and that “stone the builders rejected” that her grandmother talked about.

Ann Bancroft established her foundation 28 years ago on the belief in potential for every girl. Ethelind provided some success stories of girls served by the Foundation, including that of a 6-year-old girl who received a grant! Ethelind cited various statistics that highlighted the struggles of girls in our society and shares some of the Ann Bancroft Foundation’s ideals for positive youth development.

Interestingly, the Ann Bancroft Foundation is funded 100% by fundraising. Ann had an idea, but outside of her name, had no endowment or other financial means to support this work. The Foundation focuses on grantmaking, mentoring, and leadership development for over 250 girls (K-12 grades) annually across Minnesota. One of their mottos is “progress, not perfection.”

Rotary can help in several ways: 1) Learn about and donate to the Foundation; 2) Sponsor a table at their Annual Fundraising event; and 3) Follow and stay connected on social media. It is very important to get the word out about this great work going on in our State.

President Jason thanked and recognized our speaker and then invited Rotarians to share Happy Dollars. As usual, he closed the meeting by announcing upcoming meetings and sharing the Rotary mission: TOGETHER we see a world where PEOPLE unite and take action to CREATE lasting CHANGE across the globe and in our communities and in ourselves.