The Rotary Spark Podcast - JoAnna Blackstock's Passion for Holiday Giving

JoAnna Blackstock, president of the Bricktown Rotary Club, shares her inspiring journey from a newcomer to a leader making a difference during the holiday season. As she steps into her role, Joanna has taken charge of the club’s impactful initiatives, including the popular Days of Wine and Rotary and a unique hit-a-thon, both of which play a crucial role in their fundraising efforts. With partnerships with organizations like the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary and Upward Transitions, Joanna and her team ensure that essential support reaches children and families in need, spreading cheer and goodwill throughout the community.

Throughout our conversation with JoAnna, we explore standout projects like Bikes for Bucks, Operation Christmas Train, and the Northwinds Christmas Party, each tailored to provide joy and meet essential needs during the holidays. Joanna’s passion for giving back is contagious, as she candidly discusses the satisfaction of knowing that their efforts are making a tangible impact in underserved areas. Whether you're looking to ignite your own community spirit or simply want to hear about the power of thoughtful giving, this episode promises a heartwarming glimpse into the meaningful work being done by Rotarians like JoAnna.

Transcript

Brian Triger: 0:25

Welcome to the Rotary Spark Podcast. Today we have a bonus episode to talk about some holiday events.

Brian Triger: 0:31

Today me. Blackstock from the Bricktown Rotary Club. How are you doing today, JoAnna?

JoAnna Blackstock: 0:37

I'm great, Brian. Thanks for having me.

Brian Triger: 0:39

My pleasure. So, JoAnna, tell me a little bit about what's going on in your club and what you'd like to talk about today.

JoAnna Blackstock: 0:46

Sure, well, I'm just, I'm absolutely honored to serve as president this year of the Bricktown Rotary Club and I'm a fairly new member and I've learned this is kind of a trend the new blood gets nominated to be offices and things. So it's really an honor to be a member of our club and it's been about. I think this is my third, coming up on my third year. So one thing our club has focused on intentionally over the last 12 to really 24 months is giving around the holidays, because there's so many organizations that do for the community, that host events that need support, and we are very excited to be part of several of those. I can give you a list if you want.

Brian Triger: 1:30

That would be fantastic.

JoAnna Blackstock: 1:32

Okay, so we kind of start this in the. Our big fundraisers are in April or May and then in the fall we do Days of Wine and Rotary in the spring and then we do a baseball event, kind of like a bowl-a-thon, but it's a hit-a-thon with baseball or softball. And so those are our two big fundraisers and we have decided collectively as a club to do the majority of our giving around the holiday season, like I mentioned. But some of the things that we just recently allocated that we're super excited about, we did a big contribution for Bikes for Bucks and that is through the salvation army women's auxiliary and they make sure that every kid that's asked for a bicycle from the angel trees around the city get a bicycle. So that's a really big one we're super excited about.

JoAnna Blackstock: 2:14

We are hosting, with upward transitions, their client party where they give swag bags to their clients, which many of those are unhoused, so it has snacks and gloves and hats and things that they need in their day-to-day life as they're in transition, potentially not housed. We have real big sponsors of Operation Christmas Train, which is a great organization that helps kids in the little more rural areas, the outlying areas that maybe don't have access to Angel Tree or some of the other community giving and that organization works with the schools, works with law enforcement first responders to know which families are in need and we were able to recently increase our contribution and I heard from the executive director that they were able to buy 300 more toys with a recent donation that we were able to make. But those are our big ones that we're super excited about this season.

Brian Triger: 3:12

That's a lot and I'm excited because it gives me an opportunity to give back during the holidays occasionally, whether it's, you know, just pivoting from having an alternative family with my animals and just kind of looking for something to do or just kind of having that itch to give back. Sometimes, you know, I would say, prior to joining Rotary, there's been a difficult challenge to find the correct outlet to put in my energy. So, just having a wide variety of options to connect with, you know, other Rotarians and give back during the holidays, I'm really excited about that because I grew up loving Christmas and I still do so. Thank you for sharing that.

JoAnna Blackstock: 3:53

Well, I think that we have a desire to give and when we know when the money is being used well and the recipients have been researched, we know where it's going. I mean, I always feel very comfortable giving in Rotary because I know that the money is getting spent and used in the best way. And I forgot a big one. We also sponsor the Northwinds Christmas Party one. We also sponsor the Northwinds Christmas Party and those are individuals that have limited access, largely due to HIV and illness, and I think they've broadened the scope now, but it's people that aren't really out in the community that much and we get a Christmas list from all of their clients and we fill that list with I mean, things from it's funny anything from a 12-pack of Pepsi to gift card, to sweatpants, socks, certain size shoes, boots I mean it's funny, the range is very broad of what they ask for, but we're able to raise enough money to really give those people a great Christmas.

Brian Triger: 4:51

And could you repeat the organization name again?

JoAnna Blackstock: 4:53

Yes, it's Northwinds and it's a housing setup for people that are have that are HIV positive or have other terminal illnesses, okay, and if I'm not mistaken.

Brian Triger: 5:06

I believe maybe it's a collaborative thing, but with Midtown are you guys doing the Thanksgiving as well?

JoAnna Blackstock: 5:13

No, we do the Christmas party for them, okay, perfect.

Brian Triger: 5:17

I love the fact that these organizations are being touched by several different clubs. And they're just a lot of different activities to participate in this year.

JoAnna Blackstock: 5:27

I think it's one of the gifts that Rotary can bring, because sometimes these organizations they're small. I think there's 36 people on that Christmas list and that's not such a large thing that it's getting United Way or big church or other organizations. So I feel like that's something Rotary does really well is find those little gaps and be able to fill them with the resources that we have. It doesn't have to be tens of thousands of dollars to really make an impact.

Brian Triger: 5:51

Sure, and I know it's a completely different topic, but it's the first thing that comes to mind. If, if new Rotarians are coming in or prospective members that are interested in leadership, could you maybe touch on some of the tips that you'd give to push through some of the challenges of getting to that point?

JoAnna Blackstock: 6:12

Absolutely. I certainly did not have eyes for leadership. When I joined Rotary I was super excited to be a worker, be a doer person, because I have some other in the rest of my life, some pretty big responsibilities, and especially when I first joined Rotary I was running several real estate offices in the Oklahoma City area. So I was just happy to kind of go into something and be told how I could participate. But I would say the leadership training that the district and the zone and international offers are fantastic. I've had the pleasure of going to the international conference in Houston a couple of years ago and really just got to see firsthand how big Rotary is and just the quality of people that are involved and continue to give and grow Rotary International. So, um, I'm just now tapping in. I guess I went to Pets two years ago because they originally wanted me to be president last year but I had way too many travel obligations to make that work well.

JoAnna Blackstock: 7:05

So I've kind of been in training for two years before I took over, but I'm amazed at just the resources that are available and they're open to anybody, and that's one thing I do love about the different events that the district and the zone have, because you don't have to be in a leadership role to attend them, and I think it really helps see a bigger picture of the impact of Rotary.

Brian Triger: 7:27

No, that's great. I mean, sometimes, as a new Rotarian, I feel locked into my club, but I realize that it's similar to feeling locked inside of my house. At the end of the day, all I really have to do is just open up the door. Exactly, let's see. Are there any projects that are coming up in the future, or even projects that you'd like to see happen in the future, that you'd like to discuss?

JoAnna Blackstock: 7:52

Sure. Well, we are as a club looking for an opportunity to do some international work. We've got a Rotarian actually in Mexico right now that is getting familiar with a project there and connecting with a rotary in the Puerto Verde area and that may be one of our efforts. We're very interested in helping with the disaster relief I mean obviously worldwide. But we're big fans of shelter box so I think we'll start some initiatives pretty soon to keep that as a regular contribution that we make. The shelter boxes are just amazing how you can literally ship this anywhere in the world and someone can put up temporary housing and be able to cook their food and clean their water and shelter their families in these times of need, and whether that's in Midwest City, down the street from us, or in the Carolinas or the other side of the world street from us, or in the Carolinas or the other side of the world In response to the disaster relief.

Brian Triger: 8:50

City is Midwest raffle tickets. That is going towards disaster relief out in North Carolina and I know that there's an international project that I caught wind of in the Waxahachie. Texas club that I'd love to chat with you more offline.

JoAnna Blackstock: 9:06

Absolutely Well. We're very interested in doing some international work with our club and tying it to something that we can have a connection to of course will have the best impact.

Brian Triger: 9:18

My last question for you is let's see for new Rotarians and for prospective Rotarians. Do you have any tips, kind of getting into Rotary?

JoAnna Blackstock: 9:27

Absolutely. It is truly the best thing I've done since I moved to Oklahoma City about four years ago. It's really helped me get connected to the community education of just the speakers. But I would say, visit a few clubs, see which one catches your attention that you vibe with.

JoAnna Blackstock: 9:44

We have a unique situation with our club that we meet at happy hour and that was an attempt 20 years ago to bring in a younger crowd that maybe isn't necessarily able to write the big checks but are really willing to get out and do the work in the community. So that theme and that attitude has very much stayed with our club. We have several founding members that are still very active and we really in our club and I know many others there's something for everybody. We have social workers, teachers, all the way up to bank presidents in our club. So it's a nice variety and I would say just go visit a couple clubs.

JoAnna Blackstock: 10:21

Read up a little bit about Rotary it's kind of joke, joke around. It's not your grandfather's Rotary anymore and I think the international definitely supports that because we need people that are in the workforce, that are available and in touch with the. You know the daily life of the people that need our help. So I would say, just go visit and get involved and we would love if 5 30 on Monday nights is a time that works in your schedule to come visit us.

JoAnna Blackstock: 10:47

We currently meet at the Bricktown Rotary at Charleston's at 5:30PM on Mondays.

Brian Triger: 10:53

Thank you for that. I think that's great advice for new Rotarians and it's a great club to visit. And happy early Veterans Day everyone. Thank you everyone to all of our veterans for your service and thank you for listening to our bonus episode. This was the Rotary Spark podcast. Again, I'm your host, brian Traeger, and have a wonderful evening everyone.