Rotary Members Sought
Dear Editor: The Sitka Rotary Club is seeking new members who want to make a difference – locally and internationally.
The Sitka Rotary Club was chartered on January 30, 1941. The club is a diverse group of community members. We are committed to continuing making Sitka a great place to live, work, and help each other out – while having fun along the way!
Throughout our 83 years our club has done a variety of projects. We provide dictionaries to third-graders at Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School, co-sponsor the Kids Fishing Day Derby at Swan Lake with Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Forest Service each year, and walk the Sitka streets picking up trash twice a year. The club also has provided bike lights to those in need, coordinated the “Bike Rodeos” that focus on bicycle maintenance and safety with the U.S. Coast Guard, and created the gazebo at what is now the skateboard park. Our club partnered with the local Sitka Girl Scouts to put a crosswalk near the old McDonald’s.
Our fund-raising efforts include: the annual Duck Race (which enable our club to do projects and provide grants to other Sitka non-profits) are coordinating affordable wildlife cruises for members of the community which also serves as a fundraiser for our club’s activities. At the Sitka Pioneers Home we enjoy the annual pumpkin-carving and Christmas party.
The Rotary Club is an international program. We also support international programs such as providing educational scholarships to Tanzanian school girls. The club donates money to provide Shelter Boxes in vulnerable places worldwide. A new project is participating with the Kiva international program, that provides crowdfunded loans to the underserved worldwide.
Additionally, our club provided funds for the statue at the Pioneers Home, sponsoring and hosting international exchange students, sending kids to Rotary’s Youth Leadership Academy, and doing maintenance, cleanup, and repair annually at Goddard Hot Springs.
The above is just some of what we have done and still do. Questions: contact me at jbudd3500@gmail.com. Thank you, Sitka, for your support.
Jeff Budd, Sitka Rotary Club
