Thousands pitch in for Rotarians At Work Day

By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 9 June 2009

Members of the Rotary Club of Carlsbad, California, USA, plant a sustainable vegetable garden at a local homeless shelter on 25 April for Rotarians At Work Day. Photo courtesy of the Rotary Club of Carlsbad

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More than 25,000 Rotarians and volunteers from 35 districts worldwide rolled up their sleeves to improve their communities as part of Rotarians At Work Day.

Started in 2006 by the late Bob Watson, past governor of District 5340 (California, USA), Rotarians At Work Day happens the last Saturday in April each year and challenges clubs around the world to carry out hands-on service efforts in their community.

"It truly is a grassroots project," says Pamela Russell, governor of District 5340. "The day is a great opportunity to revitalize your club, bring in new members, and generate publicity for Rotary."

Watson's vision was that by 2014, every club and Rotarian would participate, says Russell.

"Imagine the impact when all clubs come together and perform community service projects," she says. "Thousands of people will benefit both indirectly and directly from just our one-day efforts."

Here are a few of the projects that Rotarians carried out around the globe on 25 April:

To emphasize the importance of bicycle safety, 15 clubs in District 1410 (Åland Islands; Finland) collected 2,000 knapsacks for bike helmets and delivered them to local schools.
Members of the Rotary Club of Vasco da Gama, Goa, India, helped build two large steel lockers for a school in Chicalim.
More than 100 Rotarians and Rotaractors from District 9200, which covers five countries in eastern Africa, planted trees, painted rooms, and repaired cow sheds for the Morning Star Children's Ministry for orphans in Nairobi, Kenya.
A joint effort between the Rotary clubs of Ensenada Riviera, Baja California, Mexico, and Newport-Irvine, California, provided more than 100 new chairs to a primary school in Francisco Zarco, Mexico. Rotarians also painted part of the school, cleaned up the patio, and planted trees.
The Rotary Club of Carlsbad, California, started a sustainable vegetable garden at a local homeless shelter, allowing residents to grow their own food. Rotarians also painted several areas of the facility.

Learn how your club or district can participate in the 2010 Rotarians At Work Day.

6 Comments:

At 8:58AM on 10 March 2011, Susan Thorning, President Mission Bay Rotary Club wrote: I am the President of a small club in San Diego. We have less than 20 members, but have participated in Rotary at Work since it began. We have a range of ages in our club so we look for projects that can be accomplished with a small group. One year we weeded a garden for a local day care center to prepare it for planting by the kids and mended the books in their classrooms. Another year, we gave out children's books and a baby t-shirt printed with the Rotary logo and "Read to Me' to parents of newborns at a local birthing center. This year we will repeat a project we call Operation Clean Sweep which cleans up sidewalks in the beach area and removes trash and cigarette butts that could flow into the storm drains and pollute our water. The main idea is to be out volunteering in the community wearing your Rotary at Work shirt.

At 11:16AM on 15 December 2009, Eric McLaughlin wrote: This is a really great idea, not just for making a difference with service projects but with international PR for Rotary. Our newly chartered club in Medford, Oregon USA participated in Rotarians At Work Day for the first time last year. We partnered with another established Rotary club in the area (Bear Creek Valley Rotary) in doing a lanscaping project for a new city park they've been building in Phoenix, Oregon. Without the two clubs working together on that project it would've taken a couple weekends at least, but we were able to finish the entire project in about hours on a Saturday and then have a BBQ lunch together for fellowship. Eric McLaughlin, President 2009-10 Rogue Valley After Five Rotary Medford, OR USA

At 12:07PM on 18 June 2009, Lynette Taylor wrote: Rotary At Work Day seems to be a unique program that can be used to bring all clubs in a particular region together for a collective project. While each club set out to plan separate agendas although t the ultimate goal is a common one there is a need to underscore the common purpose via an event such as this . It is often challenging to get the support from Clubs to support each other's programs. This Club is to be commended for making a meaningful stride int this direction.

At 3:50PM on 15 June 2009, JOHNSON OSOKA AGWU- RC OWERRI NIGERIA wrote: Rotarian At Work Day is a good Programme and can easily be adopted by Rotarians the world over. It is important to encourage Rotarian to use their hands.

At 9:43AM on 15 June 2009, Amanda Williams wrote: Your stories are great, but I would like to see more on what the nation's small clubs and towns are doing

At 9:40AM on 10 June 2009, Mel Powell wrote: The City of Los Angeles officially proclaimed April 25, 2009 as Rotarians At Work Day for the entire City. Other cities in California, including Burbank, Glendale, Santa Clarita, and Bishop, all followed suit, all in District 5260 (and of course Los Angeles is part of more than one District.) Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who takes office in July 1 as City Controller, attended the Food Drive and Park Cleanup event of the Rotary Club of Sherman Oaks Sunset, CA, US, to present the City's official proclamation. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gjZtE5BYis for video of the presentation. Lots of fun!

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