The Joan Nemeth Memorial Weight Loss Challenge and Scholarship Fundraiser was started in September 2010 to make our members more aware of several issues that are taking place in our society. Joan was an active member of our Rotary Club until she passed away from breast cancer in September 2002. One of her major goals was to improve educational opportunities for our youth and we have since named our education fund within the Mission San Rafael Rotary Foundation in her honor. Over the years, we have been giving annual scholarships to four San Rafael High School graduating seniors. Despite the rapidly increasing costs of tuition at both public and private universities, the amount of our scholarships has remained mostly constant since her passing. In the past five years, the cost of a college education has more than doubled at California State schools.

The Weight Loss Challenge was started by a few members who had started to lose some weight for personal reasons and offered a challenge to others in the Rotary Club to do the same. Each pound lost will generate a contribution to the scholarship fund so that we can increase the annual funding. Some members have also agreed to contribute fixed amount contributions at the end of the weight loss period that ends on December 31, 2010. To date, there are 24 members who have pledged to try to lose weight by the end of the year. This is nearly 40% of the membership. For the total pledges for financial support in the challenge, the membership participation is over 95% and we are hoping to have 100% participation by the end of the fund raiser.

If you would like more information on this program, please contact Keith Marsh at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 415-457-6644.