ROTARY & RAINWORKS!

The Eau Claire Morning Rotary Club recently organized a project called R&R: Rotary and Rainworks in our community in Eau Claire. Rainworks is a super awesome invisible (and magical) street art that only appears when wet, most often on a rainy day. The designs are meant to make people smile and provide pure joy. The club got plenty of inspiration out of the project and many believe that it can change lives everywhere.
The club was looking for a club service project that would allow them to be socially distanced during the pandemic, while also still doing something to uplift the spirits in their community. That is when project R&R was born. As many Rotary clubs around the world are looking for service ideas during the pandemic, they truly believed that this is an excellent concept that clubs can adapt to meet their community needs while abiding by the COVID health regulations.
 
Invisible Spray, a product born from the company Rainworks, is environmentally friendly and disappears within 2-4 months. The club worked with the city of Eau Claire to make sure we were abiding by city rules and regulations. As a club we brainstormed the quotes and images we wanted to place in six locations throughout the downtown area. Eau Clair Morning Rotary is planning a much larger project in the spring, which will more heavily involve businesses, non-profits, and the community. They are even potentially looking to turn it into a fundraiser!
 
Some of the locations included the fire station, where a message was written 'thank you' with a fire hat above it; Just outside of the large theatre in town we placed "just singing in the rain' alongside music notes and smiling raindrops; Within one of the most frequented parks we had a smiley face (blob looking thing...so cute) that said 'have a nice day.'; On one of the main pedestrian bridges with a message of:  'you're never too old to have fun' with a hopscotch nearby;  In front of the law office of one of their Rotarians we wrote 'nature's music' with raindrops, birds, and wind; Lastly on one of the quiet roads that students from the local university frequent, we wrote 'be kind to all' with a rainbow and some flowers. All positive, cheerful, and happy messages, sure to make everyone's day. 
 
Sarah Stackhouse
Eau Claire Morning Rotary (Eau Claire, WI)