THE ROTARY CLUB OF ORLANDO
SERVICE FOCUS:
Celebrating our 104th year, we are the oldest and largest service club in Central Florida and we pride ourselves on the ways we work to address issues of the times. Currently our primary focus is on literacy, assisting teachers get needed classroom supplies, international student exchanges and college scholarships
BOOK FAIRS, providing students with recreational reading for their homes. Every year our club goes into four Title 1 elementary schools to provide recreational reading books for students that they can call their won and, yes, take home. Last year the club provided $9,000, and, along with teachers. helped students select their book…approximately 1,000 books.
Rotary Club member, Sam Danner, is principal of Ivey Lane Elementary School and offers this observation.“If children struggle with reading, they’ll struggle with learning.” Thanks to the Rotary Club of Orlando our students are growing to love to read due to the club’s support with our literacy initiative. The monetary commitment has not only helped increase reading proficiency but has also boosted the self-esteem of many students across our campus!”
SUPPORTING A GIFT FOR TEACHING to help teachers obtain needed classroom materials that might otherwise require them to purchase on their own. So many caring teachers spend their own hard-earned funds to get needed classroom supplies, either for teaching aids or to provide items for needy kids. AGFT lifts that burden and provides a “free store”where teachers can go to procure supplies. Our club is a corporate partner providing $5,000 annually to assist in this worthy effort
SPONSORING INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE STUDENTS. Each year thousands of students around the world visit another country for close to a year to learn the language and culture of another country. Our club sponsors at least one student from abroad while also sponsoring a local student to go abroad. Do we change lives? Consider this comment from one of outbound students: “My year abroad in Denmark was definitely the most impactful experience in my life so far. Experiencing another culture, learning another language, and meeting other exchange students from across the globe allowed me to grow more than I thought was possible in 11 months. I would not trade this experience for the world, and I’d give anything to be able to live through it again.”
PROVIDE VOLUNTEERS FOR THE SALVATION ARMY Christmas Red Kettle bell ringing. Each year the club provides volunteer to “ring the bell” for a full week from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, the week after Thanksgiving. We are proud of the fact that we are the only club in our District to assume the effort for a full week. Our 2019 effort raised more than $5,000 for the Salvation Army to assist those in need.
THE ROTARY CLUB OF ORLANDO FOUNDATION each year provides grants in excess of $40,000 to education and health and humanitarian relief support efforts. In addition our club contributes another $20,000 to international efforts including eradication of polio worldwide.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL HAS SERVED THE WORLD FOR OVER 120 YEARS
…1.2 million professional men and women around the world have come together in more than 35,000 clubs under the Rotary banner to serve their communities and the world. From fighting polio in partnership with the Bill and Melinda gates Foundation to helping provide something as basic as clean water, to literacy, to global understanding through international study exchanges to international student exchanges and so much more.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS: As part of ongoing commitment to encouraging reading and literacy we sponsor, on average, six field trips to the Orange County Sheriff’s horse barn where the kids meet deputies, learn about horses and receive the famed Black Stallion reading book prior to the trips. All this is done in concert with the Black Stallion Literacy Foundation, also know as Wild Horse Tales. Over the six years of our involvement for the 21,100 young students have received books. Cost of books and field trip expenses have exceeded $25,000.
PROVIDING SCHOLARSHIPS to students attending Valencia College. Each year we work with our own Foundation for provide three, two-year scholarships to graduating high school seniors who plan to attend Valencia college. Upon completion of the two-year curriculum a student receives a Associate Degree in Arts (AA) or an Associate Degree in Science(AS) and providing a guarantee for admissions to continued advance studies at one of Florida’s four-year institutions to obtain a Bachelors Degree.
SPONSOR ROTARY CLUBS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL ( Interact ) AND COLLEGE ( Rotaract ) LEVELS. Chapters have been established at Boone High School and Barry School of Law. Efforts are under way to establish a Rotaract club at the UCF-VALENCIA downtown campus.
SPONSOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS to attend Rotary Youth Leadership awards leadership training programs
PROVIDE CHRISTMAS GIFTS. As we know there are many families who struggle to bring the joy of a Christmas present to their children. Working with the principal at Ivey Lane Elementary approximately 50 children from the most financially challenged families are identified. Their “Christmas Toy Wish List” obtained an our generous club members do their best to fulfill that wish.
FINANCIALLY SUPPORT ROTARY INTERNATIONAL’S PolioPlus campaign in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to eradicate polio from the earth