The Rotary Club of Annapolis is committed to serving Annapolis and County youth through its direct service initiatives and support of local youth-focused organizations. Through club programming and sponsorship, club members engage in activities developed to help youth navigate barriers and put them on the pathway to a vibrant young adulthood.
“The Rotary Club of Annapolis has been actively engaging the youth of Annapolis,” shared Bob Reedy, president of the club. “In addition to our own programs, many members volunteer their time working with local non-profits to benefit children with services such as mentoring and tutoring. We are invested in helping grow the next generation of Annapolitans.”
The Rotary Club of Annapolis recently announced the availability of scholarships for youth attending a four-year college after high school graduation. The continuing program offers four youth each year a $2,500 scholarship to help offset their educational expenses. The program is open for high school seniors attending school in Annapolis, the Severn area, and Crownsville; homeschooled students in those areas are also encouraged to apply. Applications are being accepted through April 15, 2024, and the form can be downloaded at www.annapolisrotary.org/scholarships.
Rotary’s scholarship program is only one facet of the Club’s engagement with youth. The Club distributes dictionaries to every third grade student in Annapolis and introduces its important functions to students who may not have many books at home. Books for children are also made available through the Club’s Little Free Library program, with boxes regularly stocked in the Eastport and Annapolis area.
The Rotary Club of Annapolis supports high school students in multiple ways. The Club sponsors Interact Clubs at area high schools to instill the importance of service in today’s youth. It also sponsors a speech writing contact for students to compete for awards while embracing the service motto of Rotary. The Club also financially sponsors high school students to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, a weekend long regional youth leadership camp. Club members also regularly participate in programming at Annapolis High School to help students develop better resume and interview skills, and to introduce them to financial capability strategies. Rotary members also support incoming and outgoing youth exchange students, hosting and supporting high school exchanges around the world during the academic year and through a separate summer exchange program.
Rotary members participate as judges in regional ethics competitions and annually support one local college graduate’s application for a Rotary Peace Scholarship for graduate work in Rotary’s focus areas of peace building and conflict prevention; disease prevention and treatment; water sanitation and hygiene; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and community economic development.
Many of the Club’s philanthropic efforts through the Black Tie & Diamonds fundraiser, and the Crab Feast and Foundation grant programs. The recipient of the proceeds of the 2024 Black Tie & Diamonds fundraising is Annapolis non-profit Charting Careers, which offers services and programming to low-income children, youth, and families in Annapolis. Several youth-focused programs benefitted from the 2023 Crab Feast grants program, including: Seeds4Success, STAIR, Anne Arundel County CASA, and Friends of Stanton Center Youth Programs.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Annapolis membership and its programming, please visit www.annapolisrotary.org.
The Rotary Club of Annapolis includes 160 individuals working to benefit people locally and around the world. The club has three groups that meet at different times for the convenience of members.
The Lunch Group meets every Thursday at noon at Annapolis Yacht Club. The Breakfast Group meets the fourth Tuesday of each month at Eggcellence at 2625 Housley Road, and the Happy Hour Group meetings on the third Tuesday of each month at West End Grill at 2049 West Street. To learn more about Rotary or to attend a meeting, contact Michael Walsh at attymichaelpwalsh@comcast.net or 978.852.7343.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Annapolis, visit www.annapolisrotary.org
The Rotary Motto is Service Above Self
