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2025-2026 Impacts

Impact Highlights

Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois

Rotary Year 2025–2026

Unite for Good

Making a Difference—Together

During the 2025-2026 Rotary year, the Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois translated commitment into action and results. Through service, fellowship, and leadership, our Club evolved and our members made a meaningful impact locally, globally, and across generations.

Together, these accomplishments demonstrate the dedication of our members to serving others.

The following highlights reflect the many ways our members put Service Above Self into action throughout the year. As we enter the 2026 – 2027 year, the Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois is well positioned with momentum, purpose, and heart.

John Webb

President, Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois

Rotary Year 2025–2026

Service & Community Impact

Partnered with Kumler Outreach Ministries through a Rotary District 6460 Grant to provide baby layettes and infant care essentials for families with newborns in need.
Supported food security through the Ridgely Elementary Micro Pantry and the donation of 162 forty-pound cartons of citrus to the Central Illinois Foodbank
Participated in United Way’s Fall and Spring Days of Action and built 24 beds with Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Supported the RISE Springfield Give & Take Clothing Drive by collecting professional attire to help community members prepare for career opportunities
Participated in a week-long Springfield Rotary Blood Drive with ImpactLife
Rang bells for the Salvation Army, strengthening community support for families in need
Supported the Rutledge Youth Foundation’s annual Angel Tree program, providing holiday gifts for children in foster care
Provided hands on support at The Outlet by transforming clothing into organized, accessible resources
Provided volunteer support at the Iles Community Garden, helping grow resources that combat food insecurity in Springfield

Literacy, Education & Youth

Joined Rotarians from across the region for the 25^th Annual Rotary Family Day at the Ballpark, strengthening fellowship and raising funds for literacy grants in our district
Expanded early childhood literacy by partnering with WORD UP of Central Illinois and Parents As Teachers to provide 270 board books to local families with young children (Ages 0-3)
Continued care and restocking of Little Libraries, supported by local book donations
Supported scholarships, including the John Giavaris and Francis Wenzel Scholarships
Supported Rotary Inbound and Outbound Exchange Students
Celebrated youth through music, education, and leadership development
Celebrated and supported the launch and activities of the Springfield Community Interact Club

Global Impact, Peace & Polio

Completed a Rotary Global Grant project in Dhakalthok, Nepal, providing sustainable clean water access to 70 households and a local school through an international Rotary partnership
Observed World Polio Day through advocacy, media outreach, and congressional engagement registered with PolioPlus
Donated to Rotary International’s PolioPlus Fund to eradicate Polio from proceeds raised by March Madness Fundraiser
Strengthened international fellowships
Continued leadership in peace initiatives, including:
- The Peace Quilt Exhibit at the Illinois State Museum
- Participation in dedicating Springfield’s first Peace Pole at Rotary Park

Membership & Fellowship

Welcomed four new members
Launched and utilized a New Member Orientation Committee
Established and implemented lunchtime meetings in 2026 to increase accessibility and engagement
Hosted social nights at local restaurants and a festive All-Club Holiday Party
Provided members with memorable fellowship opportunities through exclusive community experiences, notably the Illinois Symphony Orchestra season finale and viewing the Levi Automobile and Motorcycle Collection
Honored Sonthana Thongsithavong as the 2025 Paul Harris Community Award recipient
Named six new Paul Harris Fellows through our Giving Circles
Recognized longtime Rotarian Tim Granzeau with Emeritus Status for his exceptional leadership and community service

Learning & Civic Engagement

24 speakers in weekly programs featured presentations on:
- Community development, nonprofit leadership, and local initiatives improving Springfield
- Arts, culture, education, and organizations enriching the quality of life in our community
- Healthcare, justice, and social issues affecting individuals and families
- Youth development, early literacy, and educational opportunities
- Vocational presentations highlighting local businesses, careers, and changing industries
Strong club participation at the 2025 Rotary District Conference and 2026 Spring Learning at the University of Illinois Springfield
Became members of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and participated in their community events
Participated in the 51^st Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast hosted by Frontiers International Springfield, which honors Dr. King’s legacy of service, equality, and community action
Participated in Springfield’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade with other Springfield Rotary Clubs after building a Rotary Float

Foundation & Financial Strength

Recognized for being No. 1 Club in Rotary District 6460 in per capita Annual Fund giving to the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International for 2024-2025
Continued commitment to The Rotary Foundation
- 6 Paul Harris Fellow members recognized for enhanced levels of giving to the Rotary Foundation
Participated in Giving Tuesday
Citrus Drive and Flag Service raised $39,500 for projects, scholarships, and grants
- 17 not-for-profit organizations and the Honor Flight received grants
Community recognition from Land of Lincoln Goodwill Industries

2026 Foundation Night and Community Paul Harris Fellow

On February 3, 2026, we celebrated Foundation Night — one of the most meaningful evenings of our Rotary year. Moderated by our Club’s Rotary International Foundation Chair, Harry Mitchell (on left in image above) and assisted in presentations by District Foundation Chair Tom Stites (on right in image), and Club President John Webb (2nd from left in image), the evening honored the impact of The Rotary Foundation and the generosity of our members and our community.

We were proud to name Sonthana Thongsithavong as our 2026 Community Paul Harris Fellow (second from right in image above and image below). As USTA Community Development Coordinator and Founder of the Central Illinois Tennis Association (CITA), Sonthana has used tennis as a platform for youth development and life success — truly exemplifying Service Above Self.

During the evening, we also recognized Rotarians in our club for their Paul Harris Fellow giving milestones based upon increments of $1,000 donations to The Rotary Foundation. In addition, our Club's Paul Harris Fellow Giving Circles had each previously contributed $1000 to The Rotary Foundation to allow each Circle to recognize a new Paul Harris Fellow of their choosing at the event. It was a heart-warming evening.

Continued Leadership in the Global Eradication of Polio

October 24th marks World Polio Day, a reminder of how far we’ve come in fighting a disease that once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children each year.

Global vaccination efforts have reduced polio cases by 99.9% since 1988, with only Afghanistan and Pakistan still reporting endemic cases. Yet the threat remains. Without continued global action, polio could resurge—causing up to 200,000 new cases annually within a decade.

For more than 35 years, Rotary has been at the forefront of this effort, helping immunize billions of children around the world. The Rotary Club of Springfield, Illinois remains committed to a polio-free future because every child deserves a life free from this preventable disease.

We are grateful that the United States (U.S.) Government, through financial investment and technical expertise by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), previously through U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and now through the State Department’s America First Global Health Policy, has been a longstanding leader in the global effort to eradicate polio. U.S. commitment to global polio eradication has spanned several administrations and has been genuinely non-partisan across the decades.

A polio free world will provide the ultimate return on investment as the benefits accrue in perpetuity. We encourage continued U.S. leadership in the fight to make polio the second human disease eradicated from our world. Together, we can end polio for good.

Learn more or get involved at www.endpolio.org(https://www.endpolio.org/).

Sincerely,

John Webb

President

Rotary Club of Springfield

Editor's Note: In recognition of World Polio Day, John Webb sent this letter to the editors of the Chicago Tribune, State Journal-Register, and the Illinois Times.

Building Peace and Fighting Racism

Posted by Jim Applegate

Editors Note: Jim Applegate, 2024-2025 Chair of our Club's Peace Builder Committee (second from right in image below), spoke about our Peace Builders Committee and the Social Justice Sewing Academy at our July 8, 2024 Club Meeting. At that meeting, 2024-2025 District Governor Dan O'Brien (second from left) and then past District Governor, Bill Durall (far right), presented our then President Megan Reynolds and Jim Applegate with a Rotary International Certificate recognizing our Club as a Rotary International Peace Builder Club (image below). We are very proud to be recognized for our peace-building efforts.

Our Club's Peace Builders Committee secured grants from the Healing Racism in Illinois Program (https://fieldfoundation.org/healingillinois) and the Rotary Literacy Grant program to create a partnership with the Social Justice Sewing Academy (SJSA) (www.sjsacademy.org) and The Outlet (www.theoutletillinois.org) supporting an SJSA academy for the African American young men and boys (as well as some of their parents, grandparents, and young girls) served by The Outlet. The Outlet largely serves youth in families without present fathers.

For three nights about 25 participants (a) talked about what it means to be an African American male in Springfield and America (b) worked with SJSA staff and experienced quilters to translate the ideas and emotions sparked by those discussions into visual images imprinted onto quilt squares and (c) created artist statements expressing what their squares meant to them (images above and on left provided by The Outlet). Each of the young men were given a copy of the book “Stitching Stolen Lives” authored by one of our SJSA partners (image below provided by The Outlet) and a picture of themselves with their square.

The insights and high level of engagement of participants was amazing to hear and see. One retired veteran teacher/quilter called it “one of the most meaningful things I have ever done.” Everyone involved from SJSA organizers to Outlet staff, to Rotary and quilter volunteers came away in awe of the young men’s work as well as energized and motivated to make sure their message was heard far and wide to spark change.

These squares have been transformed into a beautiful full-sized quilt by SJSA. With support from a second Club Grant from Rotary District 6460, the Peace Builders Committee is organizing community events where the quilt will be displayed and there will be opportunities to learn more about the meaning of the quilt squares created by the young men talking about their work will be presented to leaders and citizens across Springfield. The goal of these events is to spark community conversations about what Springfield needs to do to address the issues raised by these young men and their quilt and build greater peace in our community. The quilt was on public display at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield as a part of the Noir V: Resilience exhibition (June 13-September 2) (image below). The Outlet will be the ultimate home for the quilt.

The Springfield Outlet-Rotary quilt will also be loaned for displays at national quilting expositions and museums along with the estimated 45 other community quilts created to date by SJSA to give voice to those who are often not heard by their communities and country.

Community Service Projects

Service Above Self is Our Mantra!

Under the leadership of our Community Service Directors, club volunteers have been actively serving our community. Continuing issues with Covid have not changed the Rotary Club of Springfield's commitment to improving literacy, eradicating hunger, working with individuals experiencing homelessness, fighting racism, building peace, and helping meet other needs in our community and across the World. A few highlights for our service over the past few years are provided below. If you enjoy working with People of Action, we hope that you will consider joining our club. Links to Membership information and applications are provided on this Home Page!

Following three years of Covid Pandemic issues, we have re-established regular work events with the Central Illinois Foodbank that include packing food boxes for distribution, sorting and bagging donated foods, and labeling canned goods (images below).

We have stocked our micro-pantry and our little library at our adopted school Ridgely Elementary (first image below), and little libraries at four other locations in Springfield, including the old firehouse (second image below). We have also provided supplies and donated monies to purchase supplies for Ridgely and other schools, and provided community grants for a variety of literacy and other projects.

For one project we assisted individuals experiencing homelessness in Springfield by teaming up with three other Rotary Clubs, local high school students who participated in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Assembly, and the Salvation Army to pack Bags of Hope full of essential items (image below) and providing meals. This project was supported through a Rotary District 6460 District Grant that we helped develop and implement along with the 3 three other Springfield Rotary Clubs.

We have secured Rotary District 6460 Club and Literacy grants to support a wide variety of community projects. One Rotary District 6460 literacy grant supported a partnership with Delta Sigma Theta Sorority to pack backpacks with books, educational toys, and puppets (images below) to deliver to Springfield agencies who work with preschool children who are experiencing homelessness. Another of our Rotary District 6460 literacy grants allowed us to purchase books for Black Hawk School so the Reading is Fundamental Program could be expanded to include younger students, and Rotarians participated in the project by reading books to students.

For our popular Flag Service Project, we install flags throughout our community (image below) for customers who pay a small subscription fee. The flags are put in place for patriotic holidays (Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Patriots Day). This project helps make our community red-white-and blue, and the proceeds support grants to nonprofits for projects that support community needs.

Our annual Citrus Sale (first image below) is a major fundraiser supporting charitable grants made by our Springfield Rotary Foundation. We purchase fresh oranges and grapefruits and sell them to our customers just in time for the holiday season. In recent years, our Citrus Campaigns have been dedicated to the memory of John Montgomery, a member of our club for over 53 years who passed away in 2009. The proceeds from the citrus sales support our community grants program. Over $1.4 million in grants have been provided to local charities through this annual event. Club members also purchase oranges for Ridgely School so each student can enjoy a nutritious orange to have with their lunch. Our members and customers also purchase oranges for the donation to the Central Illinois Foodbank (second image below) through this program so it's a win-win situation.

Our member volunteers annually purchase Angel Tree gifts for the Rutledge Youth Foundation, ring the bells for the Salvation Army (image below), and a whole lot more!

For the last two years, we have volunteered for the United Way's Day of Action in the Spring and the Fall (image below).

We also volunteer and donate to assist with disaster relief efforts in the United States. In August of 2022, our club partnered with Rotary District 6490, Midwest Mission in Pawnee, Illinois, to deliver 28,266 pounds of hand sanitizer and sanitizer wipes to Pikesville, Kentucky (image below) for distribution to Kentucky flood victims. Our club also donated funds to the assist in the delivery expenses for the products.

We also participate in disaster relief, clean water, and other projects across the World. We participate in fundraisers and projects for the eradication of polio for the Rotary International PolioPlus Initiative. Our club contributes funds to PolioPlus from our annual March Madness Fundraiser, and members also donate to the fund as individuals. We have also contributed to Rotary International disaster relief in Ukraine, a Rotary District International Grant project for increasing agricultural productivity in Zambia, and are participating in a Rotary International Grant project to bring clean water to a mountain village in Nepal.

We hope that you will consider joining our club. Service at the local and international level is rewarding.