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Service Above Self since 1915

Southeastern North Carolina's oldest, largest and finest       civic organization

What's new

Andy McGlinn of the Plastic Ocean Project briefs Rotarians and their families about Greenfield Park cleanup on Dec. 14. The volunteers picked up 60 pounds of trash.

Rotarians, friends, families pitch in, clean up Greenfield Park

The second in our series of “family friendly” service projects put Rotarians, spouses, friends, and children to work at Greenfield Park Dec. 14. The club’s Community Service and Environment Committees conducted the work day in partnership with the Plastic Ocean Project. Participating were eight Rotarians, three spouses and friends, and five children.
Together, they collected 60 pounds of trash in and near the Rotary Wheel Garden. In recognition of that amount, the Plastic Ocean Project will plant two trees at the New Hanover County landfill.

Student participants in the 2024 Wilmington RYLA conference at UNC-Wilmington pose with Rotarians from five sponsoring clubs. RYLA is an annual Rotary event.

High school students discuss goals with business leaders at Wilmington's Rotary Youth Leadership Awards conference

Thirty-nine juniors from all ten of New Hanover County's public and private high schools gathered at UNC-Wilmington on Dec. 7 for a morning of conversations about leadership, values, and education. The students, all nominated by their schools' guidance counselors, were participants in the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program.

Rotarians from five clubs -- Wilmington, Wilmington East, Wilmington Central, Wilmingon West, and Cape Fear -- served as discussion leaders.

Of the 39 student participants in the Wilmington session, the Rotary sponsors selected thirteen to attend the District 7730 RYLA conference Jan. 24 through 26 at Pine Knoll Shores in Carteret County. Students selected by Rotary Clubs across seventeen Southeastern North Carolina counties will attend that weekend-long event at no cost.

Member contributions double club foundation's gift for    Hurricane Helene relief, totaling more than $12,000

Since Oct. 1, members of the club have given more than $7,660 toward help for victims of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina. Those gifts are on top of a $5,000 contribution the club made from its non-profit charitable foundation. A wide swath of western North Carolina was devastated by flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.

These contribution have been directed to Rotary District 7670, which covers western North Carolina, and is coordinating relief and recovery work in its 22 counties.

Since then, two other Wilmington-area Rotary Clubs have pitched in another $7,500. Rotary District 7730 has provided a $15,000 match, President Paul Lawler reported Oct. 8. Another $660 came from the proceeds of our club's sale of Attractions coupon books. Altogether, our district has sent $45,000 for Helene relief, according to District Governor C.J. Crooks.

In 2018, in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which caused widespread flooding in and around Wilmington, Rotarians from all parts of the country sent aid here, some of it directly to this club. We remember that generosity in helping disaster victims elsewhere, such as to the Hawaiian island of Maui after wildfires there destroyed much of the city of Lahaina.

Club seeks nominations for Leaders in Service awards

The Wilmington Rotary Club is seeking nominations for its fourth annual Leaders in Service awards, which will honor top leaders in three categories of local enterprise: business, non-profit and government. The three honorees will be recognized at a banquet on May 13, 2025.

The awards program and banquet are a fund-raiser for the club, which since 1915 has been undertaking projects to improve our community, the nation, and the world. Corporate sponsorships and individual ticket sales will benefit the Rotary Club’s local, non-profit charitable arm, the RCDW Foundation. This year, the foundation will disburse $70,000 or more in grants to non-profit organizations and in support for the club’s own projects, primarily focused on basic education and literacy.

The club is asking for nominations from the public. Nominees should be leaders of organizations that have contributed to improving our community. Specifically, those proposed for the Leaders in Service award should 1) hold a responsible leadership position in their organization, or its local branch; 2) have made outstanding contributions to the community in one or more of Rotary’s seven Areas of Focus; 3) have led a life and managed their organization in accordance with the Rotary Four-Way Test; 4) have demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion; and 5) have demonstrated leadership skills in personnel development and done collaborative work with others in the community.

More details and a nomination form can be found online at www.leadersinservice.org. Nominations are open until Jan. 17, 2025.

The Wilmington Rotary Club’s RCDW Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable institution. That means sponsorships will be largely tax-deductible for donors. In return for their support, sponsors will be recognized at the awards banquet and in public media advertising and will receive multiple tickets to the May 13, 2025 awards banquet.

Rotarians and families help Miracle League athletes

The first in a series of "family friendly" service projects put Rotarians, spouses and children on the Miracle Field Sept. 21, acting as "buddies" for athletes with disabilities. The volunteers helped players with batting, base-running and fielding.

The Miracle Field and the Miracle League are projects of Access Wilmington, providing athletic opportunities on a wheelchair-friendly surface. The Wilmington Rotary Club has been one of the league's supporters since its beginning.

While the club has been doing service projects throughout its 109-year history, they are not always convenient for members with young families. That's why this and similar projects are scheduled for weekends and other times that Rotarians with nine-to-five jobs and/or young children can easily participate in. These projects also include tasks that children can safely perform under supervision.

Guest speakers to address challenges of our region's growth

Among 2024-25 President Paul Lawler’s initiatives is a monthly series of programs examining issues that will affect Wilmington and the region as its explosive growth continues. He wants both the club and our region's "thought leaders" to consider: “What will this growth mean for all of us? Will we still find what we love about the area in another ten, twenty, or more years? Or will this be a very different Wilmington?” The first two of those programs, in July and August, looked back at the region’s history, and at its current and future water supply. Future topics include demographic growth projections; economic outlook; education, transportation, recreation and health care; region-wide cooperation; and strategies for leaders to use in preparing for growth and change.

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For Rotarians

January 7: Weekly meetings resume after the Christmas and New Year's holiday breaks. Our speaker, UNCW economics Professor Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi will present his annual economic forecast for the region.

Ongoing: See video recordings of past meetings (since June 2020), accessible only to logged-in members of the club. To find a meeting video, follow this link. You will be prompted to enter your Rotary username (normally your email) and your password (the member number found in the address block on your Rotary magazine). The meetings index is a PDF file that contains clickable links to the meetings on our private Youtube channel.

Ongoing: Anyone participating in a service project is urged to get photographs of Rotarians at work for use in both public outreach and internal communication. Email  high-resolution photos to the club's PR Committee. (Contact info is in the club handbook.) Also helpful: Please follow, like, and share the club's social-media pages and posts. See links above.

Our club's background

The club was founded in 1915. For details, go to Club History page.

Projects

What we believe

Our club has endorsed Rotary International's diversity, equity and inclusion statements. For details, go to our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion page and to Rotary International's DEI page.

Membership: a choice for fellowship and service

For details about how to become a member, go to the Membership page.

Rotary's seven areas of focus

The club's service priorities are based on part on Rotary International's seven areas of focus. (The seventh, the environment, is new in 2021.) The areas of focus are:

• Peace and conflict prevention/resolution.

• Disease prevention and treatment.

• Water and sanitation.

• Maternal and child health.

• Basic education and literacy.

• Economic and community development.

• The environment.