Our local Rotary Club has been very busy serving the Puerto Peñasco Community. Our three-day eye clinic in November was very successful, and we were able to screen and prescribe glasses for close to 500 people. Thanks to the generous contributions and service provided by “Hope Alliance,” we were able to reach our goal. This was a very rewarding experience, and it was wonderful to work side-by-side with six doctors and so many other volunteers. Now our next goal is to get the glasses across the border so we can deliver them to the 500 recipients.
Immediately following the eye clinic, we welcomed our new District Governor, Gabriel Rodriguez. Gabriel spent two days with us, visiting our club and touring some of the projects we have been working on. He toured the water treatment plant as well as the dialysis center. He also praised our club for being one of the leaders in all of Mexico for our contributions to Polio Plus.
On November 25th, we held an orientation for parents and prospective exchange students. Our club is very active in the exchange program, and we host students from different countries every year. We also send students from Rocky Point to all parts of the world. We want students and parents to know exactly what is expected, along with the process required for this exchange program. As always, this event was well attended.
Every December, we host a Christmas party for the Casa Hogar. We provide Casa Hogar with many supplies, and each Rotarian adopts a resident and provides gifts for that person. We also provide lunch and even entertain with a few Christmas carols. It is always a fun event. The best part is sitting down and having lunch with our adopted grandmother/grandfather…A heartwarming experience to break bread together.
I know you’re probably tired of hearing me say that the dialysis center will be open soon, but I have been assured that it’s only a matter of days now. We have the generator, and we have the papers to get it over the border without paying duty, this is the last item needed for approval to open. We are writing a district grant for $1500, which will be used to build a protection for the generator. Our goal is January 1st, and we are up and running!
As we turn to 2026, we will start planning for our annual event in the Shrimp Park. This is the activity where we invite several restaurants to set up booths to serve their delicious cuisines. I refer to this event as the Taste of Peñasco because it is an activity to sample so many different food items from so many of our local restaurants. Mark your calendar for the Saturday before the Super Bowl; this will be in the first part of February. We will also be selling football squares at this time. The Fish Bowl, which is the official name for our event, and the football squares are our main fundraising events for the year.
And finally…The Puerto Peñasco Rotary wants to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with many blessings. Because of you and your support of our club, we can close the books on 2025 with a smile and a heart full of gratitude. As always, thank you for your support…we could do nothing without you!
Maybe in 2026, you will want to learn more about Rotary and will attend one of our meetings on Wednesday morning. We would love to grow our membership so we can even do more to help our community.
