Community Service

A community, defined in its simplest terms, is a group of people who have something in common. But in real life, it is something far more complex than that. Each member — every individual, group, organization, and business — draws benefits from the community in many different ways. For a community to thrive, each of its members must honor a commitment to contribute to the well-being of the whole by returning those benefits in kind...

Often described as the "heartbeat of Rotary", Community Service is a many-pronged effort to improve the quality of life within a Rotary Club's community.

Rotary's commitment to Community Service grew out of a realization that something more than fellowship or the opportunity for business profit was necessary to sustain the interest of club members over a long period of time. To a large extent, Rotary's reputation is built on the myriad Community Service projects undertaken by Rotarians in their communities.

Operating under the umbrella of Community Service are four areas:

Human Development, Community Development, Environmental Protec­tion, and Partners in Service.

• Human Development focuses on promoting the welfare of all human beings in the community. Service projects in this area of service for our club include smoke alarm installation, feeding the homeless, a Christ­mas party for disadvantaged children, and mentoring opportunities both local elementary and high schools.
• Community Development focuses on projects and service activities de­signed to build a better community for today's world. Clackamas Rotary Club projects include working with the parks department and the local school district to develop school grounds into family areas for recre­ation.
• With its focus to "Preserve Planet Earth", the Environmental Protec­tion area is concerned with projects ranging from animal protection to cleanup campaigns. 82 nd Drive is cleaned quarterly by our club.
• The Partners in Service Committee is charged with providing leadership training to Rotary sponsored service groups and explores opportunities for joint projects between the Rotary club and its partner in service. The Clackamas Service Center is the focus of opportunity for our club.
• Community Service is an opportunity for every Rotarian to exemplify

Service Above Self. It is the commitment and social responsibility of every Rotarian and the Clackamas Rotary Club to improve the quality of life for those who live in the community, and to serve the public interest.