The Rotary Club of Frederick is … 

… An active club of more than 230 community leaders—men and women all committed to Service Above Self.  Our scores of service projects of all sizes positively impact our local, regional and international communities in vital ways.  To manage such a large variety of projects, this work is done through a system of committees divided into four areas called Service Lanes. Examples are shown below. 

Local community outreach programs 

•Signature Project 2006-2009: Frederick High School.  The Club is committed for 3 years to help make this older school a better place to learn through student mentoring, tutoring and internships; working on school beautification projects; and raising money to buy much needed supplies, furniture and other items. 

•Signature Project 2003-2006: Taney Avenue Senior Center/Department of Aging. The Club for 3 years provided educational programming with a speaker/seminar series; facilities development through landscaping, furnishings, recreational equipment and other improvements; resource development fundraising for project execution; and public relations efforts designed to promote the Senior Center.  

*Signature Project 2000-2003:  West Frederick Middle School.  The Club committed for 3 years to help the school through a variety of activities, such as mentoring, tutoring and several landscaping projects.  As well, the club collected enough computers to donate one to every student to help bridge the electronic gap.  

•Meals on Wheels: Rotarians drive a variety of delivery routes organized through the above Senior Center. 

•Student Guests: During the school year, each month two senior students from one or more area public and private high schools are invited to attend Rotary’s Wednesday lunch meetings to learn about the Club’s local and international activities and the various subjects addressed by our distinguished guest speakers. 

•Salvation Army Bell Ringers: On Saturdays for the five weeks preceding Christmas, Rotarians team up in front of various supermarkets and shopping centers to ring bells and urge donations for the Christmas collection, which provides the majority of this organization’s funding. 

•Rebuilding Together, formerly Christmas in April: During this one-day annual program, Rotary volunteers repair the homes of low income, elderly and handicapped Frederick County residents who are unable to it themselves.    

Vocational Service Lane

Vocational awareness, awards, career development, ethics 

•4-Way Test: Rotary’s traditional emphasis on high ethical standards is embodied in the words of this famous Rotary test: 

Of all the things we think, say or do:

          1.      Is it the TRUTH?

          2.      Is it FAIR to all concerned?

          3.      Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

          4.      Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? 

Each year we conduct a 4-Way Test speech contest inviting Frederick County high school students to compete to win cash prizes. The county winner then competes at the Rotary District level. In 2006, the Frederick County winner also won the District competition.  

•High School Mock Job Interviews: This club partners with Frederick and Thomas Johnson High Schools to conduct mock job interviews each spring and fall to help students meet graduation requirements and prepare for future real job interviews. Dozens of Rotarians participate on each occasion. 

•Hood College Rotaract: Internationally, Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18-30. Currently in its start-up phase, the Hood College Rotaract Club is advised and sponsored by members of this club and also the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek. Its intention is to participate in projects having a positive international impact. To learn more, please email: Rotarian John George at georgej@hood.edu. 

•Frederick High School Interact: Interact is an international organization of local service and social clubs for students of secondary school age; it fosters leadership, responsible citizenship and international understanding. The Frederick H.S. club organized at the beginning of the 2006-7 school year. Worldwide, there are more than 7,780 Interact clubs in some 107 countries and geographical areas. To learn more, please email Rotarian Rich Glover at rich@glovercrew.com.  

•Speakers Bureau: Members of this Rotary club collectively have expertise and knowledge of innumerable subjects from their occupations, volunteer work, hobbies, life experiences and more. They are very willing to share this experience as speakers. To arrange for a speaker, please email Paul Adams at  padams@frederickmotor.com.

International Community Service Lane

Rotary clubs working together across international borders 

•Rotary International Foundation: Rotary has established one of the largest philanthropic foundations in the world through contributions from members. While the eradication of polio throughout the world is currently its premier program, this foundation funds worthy projects large and small throughout the world. All members are encouraged to become Paul Harris Fellows through a gift of $1,000 to this foundation. 

•Ambassadorial Scholarships: Each club nominates qualified non-Rotarians for scholarship and grant opportunities sponsored by their Rotary District intended to further Rotary’s mission of achieving world understanding through educational programs. In a recent year, university teachers competed to spend a multi-month period teaching in a designated “low income” country.  

•Books for International Goodwill: Our Rotarians collect used books from local schools and throughout the community and transport them to the Parole Rotary Club near Annapolis, where they are prepared for international shipments all over the world to people learning both to read English and to learn many subjects through reading English. 

•International Youth Projects: This committee strives to cultivate and enhance a broader understanding of the goals, aspirations and cultural foundation of international students currently attending college in this area. Toward this end, several such students are invited to address the club on International Youth Awareness Day. This is one of our most popular annual presentations. 

•World Understanding Month: Each year during February this committee arranges for appropriate speakers every week, including the international students mentioned above. 

•Rotary Group Study Exchange Team: Every year teams of 5 or 6 young professionals from countries around the world are led by a Rotarian to visit other countries for a period of several weeks, during which they speak at a great many Rotary clubs about their own work and homelands. During that same year, young professionals from the U.S. visit abroad and share American culture with international Rotary clubs. When members of the international teams visit our club for several days, our Rotarians welcome them into their homes and provide transportation for their tours of businesses and scenic areas in Frederick.  

Club Service Lane Committees

Performing day-to-day functions 

From the board of directors and the Bulletin editors to the membership committee and planners of weekly programs, it takes an enormous amount of work to keep such a large and active club functioning. Scores of dedicated members participate in the work of 22 committees in this lane. Many tasks are behind the scenes while others are front and center. The largest effort involves producing the weekly Wednesday luncheons with detailed programs held at Dutch’s Daughter restaurant, for an average of 200 Rotarians and their guests. Committee leadership rotates annually at the discretion of the club president.