Service Above Self. This short phrase is the motto of Rotary, and Rotarians are the embodiment of what it means to selflessly serve others.
But what is Rotary? Big picture, Rotary is an international organization that brings people together to create lasting change globally, in our communities, and in ourselves. Locally, Rotary is committed to serving our neighbors here on Vashon.
The Vashon Rotary Club was established in 1986 and has served our community in countless ways since then. Rotarians put service ahead of their own interests. It means we serve even when it is inconvenient or costly.
We are devoted to finding effective and significant ways to serve right here on Vashon. Throughout the year, Vashon Rotarians give hours of their time to local service projects and work diligently to raise funds that go right back into the community.
In other words, we not only volunteer, but we also raise money and then give it away. We are proud to have accomplished a long list of serving and supporting our neighbors in 2022-2023.
In this period of time, you helped us raise over $8,000 through a number of fundraising activities and events including shortcake sales at the Strawberry Festival, Doug Fir’s campaign for Unofficial Mayor, the Hunger Strike fundraising, the World Cup Finale Watch Party, and our NFL Draft bingo event at the Eagles Club.
Thanks to your generosity, we distributed more than $14,000 to community causes and events, including:
- Vashon Communty Scholarship Foundation (now in our 37th year!)
- Vashon Food Bank
- VARSA
- Zero Waste Vashon
- End Alzheimer’s
- Burton Area Recreation Center (BARC)
- Washington premiere screening of “American River” at Vashon Center for the Arts
Sponsorship of a Vashon High School student to go to Rotaray Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), a leadership camp for high school students attended by students from northern Washington and Canada
As mentioned above, we do more than raise funds to support the community. Vashon Rotarians also participated in service opportunities this past year:
Club members championed the weekly Music Mends Minds Program, playing songs for Vashon folks with dementia and other cognitive impairments.
Rotarians gave many hours of time to the Zero Waste Vashon recycling program.
Expanded awareness of our environment through programs on the Galapagos Islands, food insecurity in Africa, and the forest ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest.
We spread holiday cheer by helping kindergarten, first-, and second-graders wrap gifts.
Rotarians delivered dictionaries to every third grader at Chautauqua Elementary School.
We enjoyed getting to know the younger community as pen pals in a new program for third-graders.
We forged new partnerships with Camp Sealth and the Chamber of Commerce.
We are proud of our service and financial contributions to Vashon, but we also honor community members who exemplify service above self.
Rotary International established The Paul Harris Fellow award to recognize and acknowledge individuals who make significant donations to Rotary. This year the Vashon Rotary Club honored four community members for their years of dedication and community support, each of whom has given far more than money to Vashon.
In recognition of their many years of generosity, we named Clay Gleb (Vashon Thriftway), Shawn Hoffman (IGA), Doug Snyder (Ace Hardware), and Ken Zagland (John L. Scott Realty) as Paul Harris Fellows.
The recipients were presented with the award at our year-end gathering by our outgoing president, James Freund.
We hope you will join us in thanking these community leaders for putting service above self. If any of the myriad ways Vashon Rotarians give back to our community resonates with you, we’d love to talk to you about joining Rotary.
Lastly, stop by our booth at Strawberry Festival for some homemade strawberry shortcakes. You will find us in front of Pandora’s Box, slinging shortcakes, ice cream, berries, and of course, whipped cream. Get a sugar buzz and support your neighbors!
Margaret Strader, the 2023-2024 president of Vashon Rotary, has been a member of Rotary for 20 years. She started her Rotary experience as a member of North Stockton Rotary in Stockton, California, and has been active in Rotary programs serving and supporting youth. Vashon Rotary meetings are held at 12 p.m. Thursdays, at Chautauqua Elementary School’s second-floor conference room. During the month of July, meetings are being held at the Vashon Fire Training Center on Bank Road. All are welcome.
