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.