“People of action” help the local Rotary Club to succeed | Hamer

Today, when my wife tells me to take off all my clothes, I know why.

With water shortages looming on Mercer Island, all she wants is a full load of laundry. LOL!

In fact, our washing machine has been full a lot lately, but not because I took my clothes off.

Together with other members of the Rotary Club of Mercer Island (mirotary.org), we have washed, dried, sorted and folded dozens of bags of children’s clothing over the past few weeks.

All clothing items were donated by the Stroum Jewish Community Center and the Mercer Island School District from their Lost and Found collections. Our Rotary Club will donate the clothing to local nonprofits that support low-income families with children.

This is the second time Rotary has done this. A few years ago we collected the lost and found items from SJCC and donated everything to Rising Star School in Seattle, where we were in a tutoring program. Covid put an end to that, but we still want to help.

For those who don’t know, Rotary is the world’s largest service organization and was founded 110 years ago. There are over 46,000 Rotary clubs worldwide with a total of 1.4 million members. The Rotary motto is “Selfless Service.” For more details, visit Rotary.org.

Rotary’s priorities are promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, supporting mothers and children, supporting education, growing local economies, and protecting the environment. Individual clubs and members can propose projects and collaborate with others to make a difference through a network of business, professionals, and community leaders. “Rotary members believe we have a shared responsibility to take action on our world’s most intractable problems.” Rotary is non-political, non-partisan, and non-governmental. It seeks common approaches to solving problems.

The Rotary Club of Mercer Island — which turns 60 this year — meets for lunch the first and third Tuesday of each month at the MI Community and Events Center, and also meets at other times to work on service projects. The meetings feature a variety of speakers, and guests are always welcome. A buffet lunch is available for $25. Socializing begins at noon, with the program at 12:30 p.m.

Our next meeting is Tuesday, July 16. Check out our Facebook page or email [email protected] if you would like to attend.

Our new president is Benson Wong, former mayor of Mercer Island. He helped with the clothing drive along with former presidents Novelett Cotter and Pat Turner. We have new leaders with big plans for the coming year. Our three main areas of focus are: 1) youth and education, 2) housing and food security, and 3) parks and environment.

Projects on our list include:

• Construction of tiny houses for those in need in King County.

• Support organizations that provide meals to those in need.

• Promoting accessible and inclusive playgrounds such as Mercerdale, which we co-financed.

• Maintain Rotary Park and other parks through regular cleanup projects.

• Award an annual $10,000 college scholarship to a graduating senior from Mercer Island High School.

• Student of the Month award presented to MIHS students.

• To date, over $30,000 in local and international grants have been awarded each year.

• Planting new trees in forests across the state.

• Overseeing a foam packaging recycling program.

• Hold regular social events to promote community and attract new members.

The Rotary Club of Mercer Island sponsored the half marathon around the island for many years, but that was canceled due to Covid. A new project is our first pickleball tournament, scheduled for August 23-25 ​​on the newly resurfaced courts at Luther Burbank Park. We may also sponsor a golf tournament in the summer of 2025.

Our club has a Facebook page with regular updates on our activities. In a statement after taking office as President, Benson Wong said: “The club is a place to socialise, make friends and build community. The club is also a place to make an individual and collective difference, not only on the island but also in our region and abroad.”

He added: “Our club is made up of ‘people of action’ and the club board and I are committed to listening to club and community members as part of our grants process and developing opportunities that serve people and ‘soothe the soul.'”

At a time when we are all looking for common ground and ways to help our community, our country and the world, Rotary is one of the best ways to do just that.

We will have an information booth at the Summer Celebration in Mercerdale Park on Saturday 13th July. Come along and have a chat.

NOTE: A second Rotary Club will be formed on Mercer Island that will meet in the late afternoon for those unable to attend the lunch meetings. The “Happy Hour Club” will conduct service projects on its own and in collaboration with other clubs. If you are interested, email Novelett Cotter ([email protected]).

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John Hamer is a former Seattle Times editorial writer/columnist and co-founder of the Washington News Council. He was a member of the Seattle #4 Rotary Club for 15 years and moved to the MI Rotary Club 7 years ago. Email him at [email protected].