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Rotary Membership 

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We'd Like to Get to Know You . . .
And We'd Like You To Get To Know Us!

If you have an interest in learning more about Rotary membership, please contact us. We'd be pleased to answer your questions or even better, have you visit with us at one of our Thursday luncheons to get acquainted.

How Rotary Is Organized

A Rotary district is a geographical territory in which Rotary clubs are associated for Rotary International administrative purposes. Each district is headed by a district governor, an officer of RI whose job is to assist clubs in the district. District governors are nominated by their district and elected for one year at the RI International Convention.

Rotary International is an association of Rotary clubs throughout the world. It is administered by a Board of Directors consisting of the President and a President-elect of Rotary International and 17 other directors from around the world. The World Headquarters of Rotary International is located in Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A., a suburb of Chicago.

Your Privileges in Rotary

• The privilege of friendship with leaders
• in your community
• in neighboring cities
• throughout the U.S.A.
• around the world
• The privilege of giving service to your community.
• The privilege of developing international goodwill and understanding.
• The privilege of helping build higher ethical standards within your vocation.

Your Obligations in Rotary

Attendance. 100% attendance is urged and honored in Rotary. To achieve this goal: attend each weekly meeting of our club, make up at another Rotary club within 14 days before or after missing a meeting, or attend a District Institute, Assembly or Conference or a Rotary International Convention. Attend 100% of our meetings! Stay for 100% of each meeting!

Proposing New Members. It is a privilege and obligation of every Rotarian to propose new members.

Service on Committees. To promote the Ideal of Service, Rotarians are encouraged to be active on the committee to which they have been appointed by the President.

District Conference and International Convention. The District Conference is an annual meeting of Rotarians of the district which provides fellowship and discussion of the affairs of clubs and RI generally. Rotarians and their spouses are encouraged to attend the District Conference. The International Convention is held annually in April, May or June in a major city such as Tokyo, Rome, Chicago, Toronto, or Mexico City. Rotarians from all over the world meet to deal with the association's business and, through international fellowship, gain knowledge of service in Rotary.

Club Projects

• Books for Uganda

  The World Community Service Committee -- consisting of Carl Hill, Richard Jones, Charles Balina and Mark Meckstroth -- headed up this project of the State College Downtown Rotary Club to help bring books to a developing country. For more information on how you can help us on future projects like this, get in touch with any committee member. An interesting article about the project was in the Collegian on April 19, 2000.
  
  
• Computers for Sao Paulo, Brazil

  This is another world service project of ours. We joined with a Rotary Club in Sao Paulo, Brazil and a matching grant from Rotary International and our District 7350 to provide computers and essential hardware for needy children in orphanages here. Former president Dick Held was the lead on this project in 2001.
  

• A Classroom in Istanbul, Turkey

  This is another world service project of ours in 2005 and 2006. We joined with a Rotary Club in Istanbul, Turkey a matching grant from Rotary International and our District 7350 to provide computers and classroom materials to furnish a technology classroom with essential hardware for children in a highschool here. Former president Hugh Mose was the lead on this project in 2005 and 2006.
  
  

• Water Project in Dominican Republic

  This is a current project we are undertaking in 2009. We will be providing clean water for an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. Hugh Mose is the contact person for this event.
  
  

• Two for One Coupon Book (Our fifth year in 2009!) EVEN BETTER than before with 20% for the same price of $20!!(Contact for your book)


Behind the leadership of project chair Jim Eberly, the club solicits donations from various area merchants in order to create a 2 for 1 coupon book that we sell to raise money. 2004 was our first year for this project and it went well. We had quite a few restaurants offer dinners and meals, we had athletic clubs offer 2 for 1 on three-month memberships. The coupon book sells for $20. It is the best deal in State College. Just by visiting one place you can break even. In 2009 it is the best value ever!


• Dictionary Project
  

Every third grader in Happy Valley gets a dictionary from our club. 2008-9 is the 3rd year of this project for our club. We do this with the two other clubs in State College.


• Spring Clean-Up at Lederer Park



The Club sponsors Lederer Park as part of the State College Borough's annual park clean-up day of all the parks. Each year we spend a Saturday morning in April at the Park sprucing it up, painting, mulching, picking up fallen leaves and limbs, drinking coffee and snarfing bagels. It was lots of fun with great fellowship making the park look GREAT for the coming spring and summer! Contact any member to get more information about helping out next year. The park is named for the family of one of our dear former members, Eugene Lederer who passed away in 2003 after many years of service to Rotary and the community in many ways. We'll miss Eugene and his friendship very much.


• Farmers Market-Food Bank
  
  We began this project in 2008 under the direction of chairman Roger Fetter. The club's members transport excess food every friday from the farmers market in downtown State College to the State College Food Bank.

• Special Olympics

  Each year we are involved with Special Olympics in State College. The Special Olympics is held during the first week and weekend of June. Rotarians help out in various capacities. In 2003, we were scheduled to run an event that would have been held outside had it not rained so darm much. In its place we ran a hearing clinic for atheletes and their families.E-mail any club member for more information on what we do and how you can help us make the Special Olympics better in 2009.

• Memorial Weekend VolleyBall Tournament Fund Raiser (On hold due to venue changes for 2005-9)

  As in previous years, the club staffs a food booth for this campus wide tournament. In past years, we had a booth at the IM building on the Pennsylvania State University campus over Memorial Day Weekend providing snacks and drinks to participants and friends in this multi-state Volleyball Tournament. This event is an annual fund raiser for the club. The IM building is across from the Shield's building (registrar) and the Wagner building (WPSU/ROTC).
  
  
• Penn State Nittany Lion Football Games
  
  This is a fundraiser it is hard to believe we get to do it! We watch Penn State Football and get paid!! Actually we work the gates of the football games for two hours before kickoff keeping dangerous items like umbrellas, backpacks, and big pocketbooks out of the stadium. At kickoff we go and watch the game from the seats on the field in the South endzone. Thats right! Our seats are down on the field! Where all the action is. We open the volunteers to non-Rotarians too. We are limited to only ten helpers per game.
  There is nothing quite like being on the field for the blowout victories vs Nebraska and Notre Dame and then getting paid to do it. The Penn State athletic department pays the club for each worker for each game. In 2007 we raised over a thousand dollars while having a terrific time. IN 2008 we earned over $1,000 for a second year. The coordinator for this fund raiser is Paul Rutter. Email to help!
  
  

• Spaghetti Dinner Fund Raiser

  The club has put on spaghetti dinner fund raisers in recent years. Tickets are available from any Rotarian. (All Rotarians are selling tickets). There are take out plates available as well as room for dining with us in the church hall. Rotarians volunteer to help set up, cook, and clean for the dinner. Recently retired pastor Carl Hill is the contact person for this event being held at his former church, Mt. Nittany United Methodist Church in Lemont.In 2009 the event is on March 26. Contact any Rotarian for tickets. You can take out or dine in.

• Working at the State College Food Bank for the Centre County United Way's Volunteer Day

  Members of the Club help out at the Food Bank for the day, putting food up, bagging food for recipients and doing what ever the Food Bank might need help with that day. And occasionally volunteers get to meet Bruce Springsteen when he is in town! Pat Coble is the lead on this one.

• Christmas Bell Ringing

  During the Christmas season, members of the club help one of the ministries in town raise money by ringing bells near the Corner Room at the corner of S. Allen St. and College St.
• Festival of the Trees Fund Raiser
  
  The club runs the only consession booth at this festival held at the PSU Agriculture Arena during the winter holiday season to raise money for club projects. And we have a lot of fun watching the trees as they get decorated and the many people that come to visit the ag arena to listen to different music groups that perform.Carl Hill and Rotarians cook great awesome home made soups, chili and sloppyjoes for this event.

• State College YMCA
  
  This is an organization that we have been raising money for in order to support a pledge that the club made to support what the YMCA does in the community.
  
  
• Sponsor of a Charitable Foundation 501(c)3
  
  In early 2003 under president Meg Moose' leadership, after ten years of planning, the club was able to get its status as a charitable foundation approved by all the necessary people and agencies. We are able to accept donations that will be tax deductible now. A separate board of directors from the club has been established to handle requests and any other concerns that might need the foundation's attention. One can contact 2004-2005 Charitable Giving Committee chairman Linda Friedman with questions and concerns. Linda's email address is linda.friedman@verizon.net.
  
  
• Rotary Centennial Project
  
  This project that is joint with the State College Rotary club (aka the evening club) is being undertaken to commemorate Rotary's 100th anniversay on February 23, 2005. With the evening club we constructed a "tot lot" at the parklet in downtown. This is the park on Fraser street below the post office and above Memorial Field. We sold bricks to raise money for this event. The bricks will have just given names - no family names. The idea is kids can look around for their names or how many times their name is listed on a brick.
  
  
• Polio Plus

Polio eradication has been a major goal of the club on an International basis. With our club and the support of local Rotary clubs all over the world, we will be able to rid the globe of polio once and for all. Linda Friedman is the contact person for our club in this area. We pledged $11,000. So far we have earned $3750 to this project. If you have extra money to give a good cause, call Linda. We are a federally tax exempt 501(c)3 organization now so your gift is tax deductible, but always check with yourt tax advisor to make sure in case your situation is unique.

• Youth Exchange
  
  Our club supports high school students from other countries on exchanges to the State College area for academic years. We provide a stipend each month for the students plus we help arrange a home family for the students with local families, many times with Rotarians and their families. We also arrange and sponsor high school students from the State College area that go overseas for a year on a similar exchange.
  2009-10 foreign exchange students:

  Yen-Ting Wang from Taiwan (will attend State High)
  Kevin Heckler Iwazaki di Lima from Brazil (will attend State High)
  Jade Fernandes Melo from Brazil (will attend Penns Valley High School)

  One of the exciting things we do to make their years more interesting and memorable is include the students in events we are doing.
  On a more limited scale, we are always looking for host families for students. Host families need not be Rotary members. Again, if a member of your club can commit to a 3 month period to be a host family or know of people who would be interested in hosting, please contact Carl Hill or Mark Whitfield. We currently need host families for the final 3 months from roughly mid-March until mid-June for each student.

• Monday - Tyrone, 5:45 PM, Bull Penn Restaurant
• Tuesday - Huntingdon, 12:05 PM, Raystown Country Inn

                Hollidaysburg, 6:00 PM, Calvin House;
                Altoona, Noon, Calvin House
                State College, 5:30 PM, Nittany Lion Inn                 
• Wednesday - Altoona Sunrise, 7:15 AM, Park Hills Country Club
                        State College Sunrise, 7:15 AM, Hotel State College
  
• Thursday - Pleasant Gap, 6:00 PM,  Sunset West
• Friday - Bellefonte 7:30 AM, Cafe on the Park

This space here for a real good reason. just ask me the Web master!! 12/3/2009