We’re celebrating 100 years since the founding of our club, but we are also here to recognize the service this club has given, not only locally, but internationally. A number of the hundreds of projects the Club has supported and/or participated in, are noted in your program.
I’d like to point to a few that especially stand out due to their longevity and impact:
Our club has partnered with Second Harvest of the Big Bend for years to provide “backpacks” of food for Riley Elementary School so students in the subsidized lunch program have adequate food for the weekend. Not only does our club assist financially, but our members have filled over 300,000 backpacks with 1.4 million pounds of food since this program was established through the efforts of a number of Club member
The Club is proud to annually partner with the Salvation Army to “ring the bell” for a day each holiday season. “Rotary Day” traditionally is the largest revenue day of the season, a major boost for the Salvation Army’s efforts to assist those that need it the most.
Through rent-free housing and cooperative living, Southern Scholarship Foundation supports students who lack financial resources, demonstrate excellent academic merit, and exemplify good character to attend institutions of higher education. Our Club has provided major funding for building improvement to the FSU campus location as well as on-going support.
Our club is a major supporter of The Rotary Youth Camp in Defuniak Springs, a not-for-profit, which sponsors free overnight summer camp for physically disabled, autistic and Downs syndrome kids from north Florida and south Georgia. Our Club has provided funds for major capital improvements and our members continue to contribute time and effort toward camp operation. On the international front, ongoing clean water projects in India, Mexico, and Haiti have helped provide clean water for over 140,000 students in India alone. Our Club, also, has been a major contributor to Rotary International’s worldwide effort to eradicate polio. A team from our Club was instrumental in the creation of this monumental program.
