Community

Service

At the Turlock Rotary meeting on May 13th the club honored the Teachers of the Year from all of the schools, public & private, in the Turlock area. Each had been selected by their respective principals who also attended the meeting.

Each honoree was asked to stand individually at the podium with Rotarian & Superintendent of Schools Bill Gibson who described why the principal had selected that particular teacher for this special recognition. President Tom Sperry then presented the recipients with framed certificates. The club take tremendous pride in showing their support each year to these outstanding educators.

A successful service project is one that

• Has specific goals with measurable results

• Has realistic and achievable goals

• Responds to identified needs

• Incorporates the abilities of those who are served

• Recognizes all participants’ contributions as important

• Uses available resources effectively

• Builds working networks for future service projects

Community service responds to the needs of a local community. Rotary clubs should determine top priorities for service projects by first learning about a community's needs and assets, and then developing a response that addresses them.

A community, defined in its simplest terms, is a group of people who have something in common. But in real life, it is something far more complex than that. Each member — every individual, group, organization, and business — draws benefits from the community in many different ways. For a community to thrive, each of its members must honor a commitment to contribute to the well-being of the whole by returning those benefits in kind.

Rotarians recognize the importance of giving back to the community. After all, Community Service is one of the Four Avenues of Service. Every Rotary club and every Rotarian assumes a responsibility to find ways to improve the quality of life for those in their communities and to serve the public interest. When those efforts are effective, they not only contribute to the greater good, they also promote Rotary's positive image.

What makes a community service effort effective? Relevance. A community service project must address a real, current community concern or issue. Rotary clubs should start by surveying their communities to find out where help is needed. Once a club has listened to its community, it can begin to envision effective responses to problems.

Some community service projects can benefit from other RI programs, including: Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Community Corps, Rotary Volunteers, or Youth Exchange.

A key distinction of Rotary among service clubs is the willingness to go beyond reaching for the checkbook when a community needs help. Rotarians organize projects and get their hands dirty to assure the project's success