IMPROVING LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Improving Local Communities
The Rotary Club of Philadelphia enhances our local community through grants awarded to local charitable organizations and through direct service projects.
In response to the unprecedented economic fallout created by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rotarians worked together to help fight hunger both from behind the scenes and on the front lines in two Philadelphia communities:
The Rotary Club of Philadelphia conducted its inaugural online event, Bingo Night. The fundraiser for the Community Center at Visitation’s food bank raised much needed funds for the center which is located in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, and lies within the congressional district which has one of the highest poverty rates in the country.
Along with the Southwest Philadelphia-Eastwick Rotary Club, our members packed and distributed food to the local community in need. The food drive served over 100 area families in a community with a 30% poverty, 17% unemployment, and 12% food insecurity rate even before the pandemic. The Rotary Foundation of Philadelphia also awarded a grant, just in time for the Southwest club to purchase food for the upcoming distribution day.
In addition to helping in their Farmer's Market and stocking shelves in the Lutheran Settlement House’s food pantry, we conducted a virtual Holiday Entertaining Extravaganza members’ party that raised funds for the pantry.
Our Foundation awards more than $30,000 annually. Recent grants have been awarded to provide funding for:
Rebuilding Together Philadelphia, for purchasing supplies for home repairs in distressed communities and homeowners who are elderly, disabled, veterans, or families with children.
Hosts for Hospitals’ program which provides lodging and caring and support of patients and their families who are coming to Greater Philadelphia for specialized medical care.
Auto Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia Foundation’s Driving Away the Cold program, providing 50 new winter coats to impoverished children in the Philadelphia area.
Telehealth Access for Seniors, Inc.’s program which enables seniors in low-income communities to connect with their physicians, families, and friends during COVID-19, with funding for the purchase of 10 Amazon Fire Tablets.
Philadelphia Youth Basketball, to purchase basketball equipment, program apparel, academic supplies, and healthy meals that support HoopHers, a female-empowerment initiative.
Women in Transition’s Therapeutic Services Program, which provides mental health services for women in crisis situations who are experiencing severe domestic violence and resulting trauma.
Habitat for Humanity’s Home Repair Program for a much-needed home repairs for a Philadelphia family living below the poverty level.
Philadelphia VA Medical Center to purchase clothing and toiletries for veterans undergoing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, through a program of the Independence Hall Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
LiveWell Foundation’s community programs which provide free mental health services to low-income families.
Philadelphia Rotaract Club, an award-winning community service club sponsored by the Rotary Club of Philadelphia, and located at the University of Pennsylvania.
Learn more about our youth clubs.Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, in support of a tree plantings on the Schuylkill River West Trail in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania on Earth Day.
St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children’s Thanksgiving Share Project, providing packaged dinners for more than 350 patient families.
Broad Street Ministry, for their program that provides meals for homeless individuals.
Wheelchairs4Kids, to purchase an adaptive stroller for a Philadelphia 12-year-old with cerebral palsy, which ensures she can safely ride the bus to school.
Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House, providing housing and support for families of seriously ill children while they receive pediatric care at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Community Integrated Services in Philadelphia, which serves 1,500 residents with intellectual, physical, and mental disabilities, helping them to gain employment and become productive citizens.
Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm, in support of their Community Engagement and Outreach programs, which offers free programs and green-space to its Germantown community.
Hosts for Hospitals, in support of their program that provides comfort and housing for the families of hospitalized persons. The program matches pre-screened volunteer hosts with the families, thus easing the financial burden and stress during medical crises.
Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, to fund personal needs, activities and food for Veterans in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey at the Center’s Behavioral Health Unit.
VA Medical Regional Center in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, to fund personal care needs for veterans in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware areas.
We are actively involved with hands-on community service projects, from food distribution for the sick and elderly to environmental cleanup activities. For example, our members…
…help out at Habitat for Humanity‘s “ReStore” Volunteer and Donation Days in Philadelphia, greeting donors, unloading vehicles, sorting donations, and helping to move merchandise to the sales floor. ReStore sells donated items with the proceeds going towards building homes for people in need.
…prepare food for recipients of Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance meals. MANNA food deliveries make wholesome food available at no cost to people with serious illnesses. By providing freshly prepared, medically tailored meals and nutrition education, people are empowered to improve their health and quality of life. Volunteers also prepared meals and packed pies for Thanksgiving deliveries.
…prepared meals at Caring for Friends at their food bank which helps thousands of seniors and families in need in the five-county Philadelphia area.
…teamed up with members of the Rotary Club of Frankford Northeast Philadelphia who sponsored a Coat and Book Donation Collection in collaboration with Holy Family University, donating and helping to receiving donations. Coats — new and slightly used, for children and adults — benefited Feast of Justice, serving families and veterans in need, and books benefited Thomas Holme Elementary School and Project HOME.
…participated in the Red Cross Blood Drive, donating blood at the local American Red Cross facility to help alleviate a national shortage.
…packed boxes of Thanksgiving dinners for the families of patients at St. Christopher‘s Hospital for Children and neighbors. The patients whom the hospital serves live in the neighborhood that is classified as the most food deprived neighborhood in Philadelphian. Families typically show up hours before the boxes are distributed to make sure they get their very own dinner items to prepare for a healthy meal for which they are very thankful.
…supported Parkway High School in North Philadelphia, in conjunction with the Levittown Fairless Hills Rotary Club, collecting personal care supplies in a holiday drive for their students.
…volunteered at the Federation Early Learning Services’ FELStival community event, helping with event set-up, directing traffic, checking-in vendors, answering patron and vendor questions, trash removal, and clean-up.
…place flags for Memorial Day and wreaths for the holidays on the graves of veterans at Laurel Hill Cemetery, honoring veterans of wars from the Civil War to more recent conflicts.
…helped the Salvation Army with sorting donated toys for holiday gifts to children, and organize food donations for their food bank in West Philadelphia.
…collected greatly needed items for an equipment/medical supplies drive for Savanna-La-Mar Public General Hospital in Jamaica. Club member Marva Haye coordinated the effort and supervised shipping and ensuring the safe delivery to the hospital.