Congratulations to Marni Anbar, president of the Rotary Club of Tempe Downtown, as the recipient of the Tempe Community Council’s Volunteer of the Year Award for 2021.
 
The award is one of four distinguished awards to be presented at the 38th annual Don Carlos Humanitarian Awards to be held virtually 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29.
 
Admission is free. Click here to register for the online program.
 
Marni will receive The Spirit of Tempe Karma Volunteer Award, recognizing an individual “who has made a significant impact through dedicated volunteer efforts impacting those in Tempe.”
 
Her volunteer work over the past 17 years includes involvement with local schools and serving on a variety of boards, including with the Kyrene Foundation and Tempe YMCA Advisory Board. In addition to Rotary, she has been a member of Kiwanis, PEO, Hadassah and the Tempe Chamber of Commerce.
 
The Tempe Community Council is an organization that works to nurture and steward Tempe’s sense of community. Its mission is “creating a community where children, seniors, families and individuals care for and about one another.”
 
While volunteering with schools in Kyrene, she created and served as the director of an informal STEM program called DISCOVERosity Zone.
 
DISCOVERosity Zone (formerly Discovery Room) is a STEM curiosity space available to all K-5 students during their lunch recess at Kyrene del Cielo and Kyrene de la Colina Elementary Schools as well as Kyrene Traditional Academy.
 
The DZ is dedicated to students' self-directed exploration of Science, Technology Engineering and Math ideas. Students can choose to visit the DZ during their lunch recess to explore various stations that allow for self-directed discovery with biologic, geologic, and archeologic specimens, electronic circuits, mathematical and engineering concepts, magnets, etc.
 
Students can also choose to build with Legos, recyclable materials, and more. Optional small group activities are offered by community volunteers from a variety of businesses and disciplines. The spaces are supervised by parent and community volunteers who assist the students but allow them to focus on what makes them curious and to direct their own discovery.
 
 
The Tempe Community Council is an organization that works to nurture and steward Tempe’s sense of community. Its mission is “creating a community where children, seniors, families and individuals care for and about one another.”