Free «San Diego Rotary Club» Essay Sample

Organization

San Diego Rotary Club (also known as Club 33) is one of the largest in the world. There are more than 30 thousand of Rotary Clubs throughout 200 countries and territories with approximately 1.3 million community volunteers worldwide, and the one located in San Diego takes the 4^th place. There are currently more than 500 members in the club, and it is one of the longest standing in the area. Club members meet weekly in order to discuss civic, business, and community issues. The club has existed since 1911, and since that time, the club provides leadership guidance for the city. Club’s motto is “Service Above Self”.

Currently, there are around 60 committees working in different spheres of San Diego life. Committees are separated into several groups: youth service, club service, vocational service, community service, and international service. Rotary Club members are encouraged to join committees in order to develop the work of Rotary Clubs in their communities. Some of the committee projects include the support of schools for homeless, instructions for high school juniors in the free enterprise system, etc. San Diego Rotary Club undertakes numerous projects both internationally (for example, MicroCredit programs for South Africa), and locally. This research focuses on the analysis of local projects of the Rotary Club, such as K-12 school for homeless youth in downtown San Diego or mentoring program for Hoover High School students grades ten through twelve.

Tools, Methods, and Strategies

The major objective of San Diego Rotary Club is “to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise” (San Diego Rotary, n.d.), particularly in the four following areas. First one is the development of acquaintances and opportunities for the service. The second one is related to high ethical standards as well as recognition of all occupations that benefit society and are regarded as worthy. Thirdly, there is a place for service in the life of each Rotarian, each of which is significant. Lastly, there is the idea of international understanding and peace. All of them are related to the primary objective of the San Diego Rotary Club.

All San Diego Rotary Club activities are conducted through five channels, which are called “Avenues of Service.” The five services have already been named in this paper, and they are the five primary directions, in which San Diego Rotary Club is developing its’ projects. Through community service programs, each Rotarian is encouraged to improve lives in the home communities. Vocational Service is aimed at encouraging the Rotary Club members to work with integrity and devotion (San Diego Rotary, n.d.). International Service focuses on global actions that promote peace and understanding internationally. Finally, Youth Service unites programs that aim to empower youth and introduce leadership programs for the younger generation.

The Storefront Project is one of the many projects that the San Diego Rotary Club is involved in. This project is one of the very few dealing with the disadvantaged and homeless people in the city. This is s night shelter program for disadvantaged and homeless youth. It involves members of Club 33, who do not only maintain the facility but also hold meetings with youth in order to discuss some urgent issues, such as independent living conditions, job interview skills, or plans for the future. The Storefront Project is beneficial for the community as it helps disadvantaged youth find their place in life and re-enter community as good citizens and contributors.

Senior Services program is another project of the San Diego Rotary Club, which targets another part of the community – the elderly. This program consists of several projects held in different periods of the year: Holiday luncheon for 100 seniors; supply of warm clothes and blankets each year in November; various awareness events held during the Older Americans Month (San Diego Rotary, n.d.). The main aim of this program is to raise awareness of the community about the needs and lacks of senior citizens in San Diego on the day-to-day basis. This program educates people about the needs of the elderly as well as provides direct support to the poor senior population of the city.

The San Diego Rotary Club is historically involved in the Scout movement in the country and in the area. Club 33 is currently the Chartered Organization for local scout groups. Organization members enter the Boys Scout boards and support the development and stability of the movement in the community. The San Diego Rotary Club members believe that health of the community leadership depends, to a large extent, on the Scout movement development.

Club 33 is involved not only in the projects engaging human community members of all ages, but it also has a committee on Animal Appreciation. The Animal Appreciation committee is involved in many activities that strengthen the local community. On the one hand, along with various animal protection organizations, club members work on the improvement of living conditions for animals. At the same time, the Animal Appreciation committee involves animals in the treatment and rehabilitation programs. For example, together with the San Diego Humane Society, Club 33 participates in pet assisted therapy events with elderly, in hospitals, etc. Committee members also take part in smaller-scale activities, such as finding homes for the animals of military personnel who have to leave their pets before going to serve overseas.

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These are just four of many programs that the San Diego Rotary Club implements to strengthen, stabilize, and bring together the local community. Involvement differs in each case: sometimes, there is assistance and guidance; in other cases, Rotary Club members fundraise for the cause; moreover, there are cases with projects that require volunteer participation; Club 33 also conducts a lot of informational activities. All in all, the San Diego Rotary Club uses various methods to improve living conditions of local community members. Rotaries believe that, by strengthening the community, it will be possible to increase the contribution of community members. Moreover, all the San Diego Rotary Club members believe that service to the community is more important than individual achievements.

Community Concerns Identification

The projects developed in the San Diego Rotary Club are the projects of the club members. Therefore, club members are welcome to share their concerns and bring them to the club by either joining one (or more) of the existing committees or establishing a new committee for a particular cause. Taking into consideration the fact that more than 500 people are members of the Club 33, one can assume that, to a large extend, community concerns are brought to the attention of the whole club by its’ members. The structure of the club is also advantageous for the community-wide coverage as only 10% of Rotaries are allowed to be from the same sphere of activities. In this way, the San Diego Rotary Club is able to cover more grounds and keep track of the state of affairs in different parts of the local community.

Another source of information for the Rotary Club is other non-governmental or governmental organizations that Club 33 is working with. As it was already noted, in many programs, the Rotary Club members cooperate with other organizations; thus, the knowledge is shared between institutions and people. Therefore, some information about community needs is brought to the Rotary Club by its’ partners.

The available information on the San Diego Rotary Club shows that the organization is involved in many spheres of activities. It also indicates that Club 33 is trying to cover as many spheres of community life as possible by contributing to the improvement of living conditions, providing opportunities, ensuring healthier younger generation, etc. Club 33 does not have any particular agenda but ensuring the development of the local community as well as contributing to international peace and prosperity.

Assessment of Outcomes

The San Diego Rotary Club is holding weekly meetings, where people are welcome to share their achievements, meet new people, as well as learn something new about other projects and businesses. Moreover, each committee has scheduled meetings, where they assess the outcomes of their work and projects. Each committee has different structure and projects, which means that in each particular case assessment criteria and methods can vary. People who are not the San Diego Rotary Club members can access the information on the club and its’ activities through the club newsletter. The Rotator is issued once a week and provides the information on the Club 33 activities, including the facts about committees and news about their ongoing activities.