Our Projects

The Rotary Club of Clinton strives to make our community a better place and be a club of action. Since our inception, we have worked to promote Rotary's objections within Clinton and provide opportunities to improve our community. Have you ever wondered what annual service projects the Rotary Club of Clinton does in our community...and beyond? Read below and find out some of the ways we help make the community a better place!

Scholarships for Seniors

At every meeting, each Rotarian donates to our "scholarly dues" funds. At the end of the school year, the money is awarded to eight local high school students, for their journey to college. Each scholarship is a $1,000 award. Rotarians Braydon Roberts and Andrew Kida currently head up this service project.

To apply for a scholarship, please fill out the application here.

Josh the Otter

"Josh the Otter” is a book that was written in 2009, by two Rotarians in Nebraska -- Blake and Kathy Collingsworth. After their toddler son, Joshua, died in a drowning accident in their family backyard swimming pool, the Collingsworths wrote this book to educate elementary school children on the importance of water safety and how vital it is to be with an adult when you’re near the water. In 2009 and 2010, The Joshua Collingsworth Memorial Foundation had distributed “Josh the Otter” to every elementary school in the state of Nebraska, with a plea for teachers to read this book to their students before the summer vacation begins.

The Rotary Club of Clinton has focused on promoting literacy, health, and safety to our local elementary-aged kids. With this in mind, once we received the grant funds from Rotary Foundation, we purchased Josh the Otter books, stickers, and the Josh the Otter costume and we set out to go to each elementary school in the area. This project is done in the late Spring, just before the kids' school year ended for the year. Rotarians distributed books all around the Clinton area -- a total of nine elementary schools

Dictionaries to Local Elementary Schools

Every fall, the Rotary Club of Clinton buys enough Dictionaries for every third grader in the Clinton and surrounding areas. Rotarians take time out of their workday to go to the elementary schools and talk to each third-grade class. They go into each class, talk about what Rotary does in the community, and introduce the dictionary to the children, oftentimes playing a "Search and Define" game with the kids.

The Rotary Club of Clinton has been serving third-grade students with dictionaries for over 30 years! The rewards are absolutely endless with this program, as the children get so excited to see the Rotarians. It's such an honor to be a part of their lives!

Homerun Readers

The National Center for Education Statistics’ evaluation of No Child Left Behind reading proficiency scores painted a picture that reflects this difference in these ratios. In 2005, 36% of all 4th graders scored in the “Below Basic” proficiency level, while 54% of 4th graders who were eligible for the school lunch program scored in the “Below Basic” proficiency level. Low-income children, by the end of fifth grade, are about 2.5 years behind their more affluent peers. This is primarily due to Summer Learning Loss.

Homerun Readers is a program for all young students, with a conscious effort to decrease the Summer Learning Loss. There will be incentives to reach 1000 minutes, with prizes such as pencils, gift certificates to local restaurants, a drawstring backpack with books, and finally, a Homerun Readers T-Shirt, a general admission ticket to the Clinton LumberKings, participation in Homerun Readers Parade at the Clinton LumberKings game and their name in the LumberKings Program.

In the Clinton school district 992 students, kindergarten through fifth grade, qualify for free or reduced lunch. Our Rotarians are committed to an effort to encourage the continuation of reading through Homerun Readers and completing the 1000 minutes of reading (or more!). Click HERE to learn more!

Kicks for Kids

Kicks for Kids is a program designed to provide children with adequate snow boots in the winter seasons. Elementary school principals and counselors are contacted and we are given information about how many children need boots.

The Rotary Club of Clinton has recently paired up (get it??) with the local small business owner, Aaron Buboltz, who owns Brown's Shoe Fit for this project. Aaron helped provide enough snow boots for all of the children who needed snow boots in the surrounding schools. Thank you, Aaron!

Greenhouses in Oaxaca, Mexico

The Rotary Club of Clinton has partnered up with the Seattle Rotary Club to provide Greenhouses in Oaxaca, Mexico.

As of December 2019, the Rotary Club of Clinton has paid for six Greenhouses in Oaxaca, Mexico (at $325/piece), which provide food and can almost double their annual income (.65/day + $75-100/mo).

Please see more pictures below. For more information about this project, please click HERE!