The History of Hamburg Rotary
Rotary Club of Hamburg celebrates 70 years of ‘Service Above Self’
Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. This year, the Rotary Club of Hamburg marks its 70th year of service.
Rotary began in Chicago in 1905 when a businessman named Paul Harris formed a club with a unique blend of commerce and social consciousness. It grew to become Rotary International - the world's first service club organization, with more than 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs in 200 countries or geographical areas today.
Our Rotary Club was chartered on February 24, 1942 in Hamburg and continues to provide service to the community through projects such as Warm the Children, which provides warm winter clothing for children in need; and funding for not-for-profit organizations such as the Hamburg Counseling Service, the Hamburg Paleontological Society’s Penn Dixie Fossil Site and the Lounsbury Adaptive Ski Program. Rotary also funds a literacy program for children, provides college scholarships and mentors the next generation of community leaders through RYLA (Rotary’s leadership Program) for college-age young adults and SLAPSHOT for high school students.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg meets every Tuesday evening at 6:15 at J.P. Fitzgerald's on Clark Street. Those interested in finding out more about Rotary are invited to drop in on a meeting night.
The first project in 1942 was providing the Hamburg Volunteer Fire Department with their first emergency rig. Other early projects were sponsorship of a youth baseball team, financial aid to Girl Scout Mariners, speakers for the Community Resources Program and kitchen facilities at the Hamburg Youth Center. Since its founding, the Rotary Club of Hamburg has supported Cradle Beach Camp in Angola which serves children with disabilities and those who are economically disadvantaged. The club’s lengthy list of projects includes construction of the cupola on the brand new Hamburg Village Hall in 1967 and expansion of driver education facilities at Hamburg High School in the 1960s.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg lives by the motto of “Service Above Self” by providing service to the community and helping to make Hamburg a better place to live and raise a family. Fundraising events Breakfast With the Bunny, held the Saturday before Easter and Burgerfest, held the third Saturday of July (organized with Hamburg Rotary Sunrise, Hamburg Lions Club and Hamburg Kiwanis Club) combine community service and fun. Proceeds from these two annual events provide funds for our numerous donations back to the community.