Daybreak Rotary visits Polk Elementary for final breakfast

Members of the Daybreak Rotary Club joined Polk Elementary School students for a final breakfast celebration Friday.

Polk will be closing at the end of the current school year.

Here's a news release about Friday morning's activities:

After nearly two decades of cooperative work and countless volunteer hours, Daybreak Rotary and Polk Elementary shared thanks and appreciation Friday morning. Polk faculty and staff, Rotarians and neighborhood members joined in a final morning get-together April 27, in the Polk Elementary gymnasium, 1500 B Avenue NE.

The late-spring tradition of breakfasts and informative programs goes back to the earliest days of the Daybreak-Polk partnership in the mid-1990s. Daybreak Rotary leaders estimate the Cedar Rapids service club has donated more than $175,000 to the school since the partnership began in 1995.

Polk Principal Lisa TeBockhorst observed that the dollars donated was only one part of the club's involvement with the school. “The help from Daybreak Rotary has been tremendous, but not only in terms of money. This club has led the way in volunteering thousands of hours in classroom help, our lunch buddy and study buddy programs and event support throughout each year. Their leadership has prompted many other companies and groups to do their part for these children and their learning, too. It's been a beautiful thing,” TeBockhorst said.

As part of the program, Polk Elementary staff presented photos and stories from the club's many donations and support to the school. The club also welcomed two new fifth grade students at next month's graduation program, as Polk Legacy of Learning award winners. The students will be in line for scholarships to further their education when they graduate high school, circa 2019.

The Legacy for Learning program currently has 16 students identified, with the first scholarships expected for award in the fall of 2014. Daybreak Rotary established an endowment program to help fund the scholarships in 2000, in conjunction with the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.