Reminder: Our holiday project working with Bluffton Self Help continues as we need to Fill the Van on December 11 with toys for their Christmas Store. The van will be at our meeting that day so bring as many toys as possible to help.
At our December 4 Meeting , Assistant Town Manager Chris Forster talked about economic development for the city of Bluffton. Currently 92% of Bluffton is covered by development agreements, residential is 83% built out, commercial is 38% built out, and there are a number of significant economic development efforts in process.
The main areas of concern for the town are Traffic, Commercial Development lagging residential Development, Lack of Private Sector Services especially west of Buckwalter, the High Cost of Land and Development, Meeting the Goals of the Comp Plan and the Strategic Plan. Over half of our population lives west of Buckwalter Parkway, but only 17% of our businesses are located there.
The Don Ryan Innovation Center is integral to the long term business growth of the community, especially small businesses. It has supported the incubation of over 300 businesses since its inception, with a retention rate of over 73% after five years. In addition, the city is providing a number of incentives for businesses to locate and remain here.
Our speaker for our December 11 meeting will be Wendy Brantley of Caring Neighbors.
Caring Neighbors is a not-for-profit organization established by residents of Rose Hill to help our senior neighbors in the greater Bluffton area. The goal is to help this aging population remain in their homes while giving them a feeling of confidence and security knowing that help is available to them.
The Program offers non-medical assistance such as shopping, running errands, transportation and companionship.
In order to offer these services free of charge, Caring Neighbors relies on fundraising, donations and the generosity of carefully-screened volunteers.
We had a great turnout for our Christmas Party on Monday night. Thanks to Mayor Toomer and his staff for a great venue and terrific food. The evening culminated in the fall social event of the year, the Rotary Ugly Sweater Contest! Thanks to all who participated....especially our winners and sweater models for the next year: Mike and Gina!...
Club Dues Invoices - please submit payment at your earliest convenience. Several Rotarians have outstanding balances from prior invoices - if you are unsure of who you are, please reach out to Don Kensey, Rotary Club of Bluffton Treasurer.
Do you worry about Alzheimer’s? We do not have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but we must find one. Finding a cure starts with you. Every year the CART (Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust) Fund gives research grants focused on finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
Have you given to the CART Fund this year? The CART Fund is dedicated to raising funds to provide “seed” money for cutting edge, high impact research in hopes of finding a cure/prevention for Alzheimer’s disease. The goal of the CART Fund is to encourage exploratory and developmental Alzheimer’s disease research projects within the United States. This is accomplished by providing financial support for the early and conceptual plans of those projects that may not yet be supported by extensive preliminary data but have the potential to substantially advance biomedical research. These projects should be distinct from those designed to increase knowledge in a well-established area unless they intend to extend previous discoveries toward new directions or applications.
If you would you like to donate to the C.A.R.T. fund, please scan the code below:
The Bluffton Rotary Club has a YouTube Channel! You will find previous guest speakers and other fun videos, so be on the lookout for more content in the future. All you have to do is create a YouTube account and subscribe...with 80+ current members, we can do better than eight subscriber's!! Link:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8TYzr9_xUE8Jfy-lniTt1A
Did you know ClubRunner is now available on your mobile device app store for FREE?!? Once downloaded, use your ClubRunner log-in. This will give you instant access to our member directory, events, news and other important information. Here is a video that highlights some of the features: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFLu08meAHI&t=12s
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