Wellington Rotary Club Projects Help Community Thrive Story by Deborah Welky • Photos by Abner Pedraza
Henrik Nordstrom currently serves as president of the Wellington Rotary Club.
Talk about having a positive impact. Nine years ago, the Wellington Rotary Club inaugurated its groundbreaking Wellington Peace Initiative, and now, Rotary clubs across the country are following its lead. Larry Kemp, chairman of the peace initiative, said the project aims to foster peaceful resolutions to problems. “It’s not anti-war, it’s to promote multicultural understanding and conflict resolution,” he said. The Wellington Rotary Club has established its Wellington Rotary Peace Park, on Royal Fern Drive between Elbridge Gale Elementary School and the Wellington branch library. The site holds numerous 58
september 2015 | wellington the magazine
peace poles and areas for quiet reflection. It is also the site of the club’s annual observance of the United Nations International Day of Peace. The observance is held worldwide on Sept. 21, but this year, the club will hold its observance on Sunday, Sept. 20. The annual observance recognizes the winners of several student competitions. At the elementary school level, fourth-graders are asked to create posters on the
theme of peace. Middle school students submit poetry, while high schoolers are given a quote — such as, “There is no such thing as a good war and no such thing as a bad peace.” (Ben Franklin) — to use as an essay topic. In addition, one local resident is given the annual Wellington Rotary Peace Award in recognition for his or her continued efforts in the areas of multicultural understanding and/or conflict resolution. Other groups join in the peace initiative. For example, Boy Scout and Girl Scout groups are given five tasks to complete, which qualifies them to receive peace merit badges.