2022-2023
The Rotary Club of San Francisco provides hands-on service to local communities and across the globe. We are proud of our Club's long record of service: In the past five years alone, our Club has donated over $500,000 and countless volunteer hours to service projects.
We regularly review our service projects to be sure they address current needs, to introduce new projects, to react to unexpected needs, and to sunset projects that are no longer of value. We add projects based on the interests of our members.
The pandemic-driven shutdowns forced us to suspend or modify all of our planned service projects, and to quickly launch new ones. For example, we assembled hundreds of face shields, gowns, and other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for medical personnel. Now that the response to the pandemic is easing, we are again supporting a broader variety of service projects.
Volunteer service opportunities are available to our members in all of these projects. Contact a board member or committee chair for more information.
Club Signature Project
Emergency Services Day: Honoring local first responders for heroic acts. Every year, we recognize first responders from the San Francisco Fire Department, the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, the local US Coast Guard, and front-line medical workers at a special luncheon. First responders recognized for their selfless acts receive a night on the town and other gifts.
Emergency Services Day: Honoring local first responders for heroic acts. Every year, we recognize first responders from the San Francisco Fire Department, the San Francisco Police Department, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, the local US Coast Guard, and front-line medical workers at a special luncheon. First responders recognized for their selfless acts receive a night on the town and other gifts.Food and Shelter
We partner with Catholic Charities, The Salvation Army, and the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank to package and deliver food and hygiene products to many different populations in San Francisco, and to offer outreach towards permanent housing for the unhoused.
We stuff diaper bags with items that all new mothers need, and provide them as gifts at baby showers for homeless expectant mothers as they graduate from prenatal and parenting classes offered by the Homeless Prenatal Program.
IN THE BAY AREA
We have been committed to the eradication of polio ever since Rotary International launched Polio Plus in 1985, when there were 1,000 new cases of polio every day. There was only six cases of wild polio in the world in 2021.
We sponsor Interact service clubs at several high schools in San Francisco, and Rotaract service clubs for young adults (some at local universities). Rotary Club members provide guidance and mentorship.
We provide scholarships to high school seniors to support their college education.
We created Rotary Meadow in 2003 as a centerpiece for the forest in the Mount Sutro Open Space. We work regularly with Sutro Stewards to maintain the forest with activities including weeding, removing invasive species, planting new natives, and maintaining trails.
We partner with Catholic Charities, The Salvation Army, and the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank to package and deliver food and hygiene products to many different populations in San Francisco, and to offer outreach towards permanent housing for the unhoused.We work with the staff and clients (adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities) of The Arc of San Francisco to prepare and enjoy dinner together once a month. During the pandemic we packaged and delivered meals to clients who then enjoyed dinner parties on Zoom. In-person dinners will resume as conditions permit. We will also provide a festive Thanksgiving luncheon to the clients and staff of The Arc of San Francisco.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
We work to ensure that good practice in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging is woven into the fabric of everything we do. Many members participate in small discussion groups where we learn from each other and challenge one another’s assumptions about race, privilege, gender, and other important issues.
Health and Wellbeing
IN SAN FRANCISCO
We stuff diaper bags with items that all new mothers need, and provide them as gifts at baby showers for homeless expectant mothers as they graduate from prenatal and parenting classes offered by the Homeless Prenatal Program.We assemble hundreds of shiny new bicycles at our annual Bike Build. We give those shiny new bicycles to third and fourth graders from local elementary schools along with helmets, locks, and safety instruction from the San Francisco Police Department.
We work in partnership with the Rotary Club of San Francisco – Chinatown to assemble comfort kits for clients of Cameron House, which provides assistance to Asian women and children who are in domestic violence situations.
We work at RotaCare Bay Area clinics to help them provide free healthcare for people who need better access to healthcare. We work remotely to generate clinical reports to support grant applications.
AROUND THE WORLD
We have been committed to the eradication of polio ever since Rotary International launched Polio Plus in 1985, when there were 1,000 new cases of polio every day. There was only six cases of wild polio in the world in 2021.We support local operations of Alliance for Smiles and participate in their international surgical missions where they provide free surgeries to children with cleft lip and cleft palate.
Investing in Our Youth
We sponsor Interact service clubs at several high schools in San Francisco, and Rotaract service clubs for young adults (some at local universities). Rotary Club members provide guidance and mentorship.We are the lead sponsors of Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA) a district-wide youth leadership camp experience. More than 250 high school students attend this event each year. Local Interact Clubs execute many of the projects invented by RYLA campers.
Protecting the Environment
We created Rotary Meadow in 2003 as a centerpiece for the forest in the Mount Sutro Open Space. We work regularly with Sutro Stewards to maintain the forest with activities including weeding, removing invasive species, planting new natives, and maintaining trails.Our Club was a founding member of the Rotary Climate Action Team (RCAT), which addresses the climate crisis. Now comprised of some 700 Rotary Clubs around the world, RCAT fosters Action Teams, educates Rotarians about the climate crisis, shares projects and contacts in the Rotary world, and links to multiple resources across Rotary and with Rotary partners.
Our Club sponsors RCAT Action Fellows at San Francisco State University to support their interest in learning how to support the environment.