Meeting Weekly on a Wednesday at 12:00

Detroit Athletics Club, 241 Madison Street, Detroit, MI 48226

The Rotary Club of Detroit was founded in 1910, and it was and still is club number 16.  It was the first Rotary club in Michigan, preceding hundreds of Rotary clubs in the neighbouring states of Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario. 

Over the years, the club has seen thousands of members coming from Detroit’s businesses and professions, all of them providing service to Detroit and the world through hands-on projects and contributions of millions of dollars. 

Notable historic members include Edward Hines, Frank Campbell, Henry Ewald, Edgar Guest, Frank Cody, Stanley Kresge. 

The club collaborates with other Rotary Clubs in the district to provide service to Detroit and its surrounding communities and for several years it has partnered with the Detroit AM Rotary Club, the Grosse Pointe Rotary Club, and the Grosse Pointe Sunrise Rotary Club to purchase and distribute new winter coats to local children in need.

The Rotary Club of Detroit is aligned with Rotary International on global initiatives including the eradication of Polio, and partnerships extend to Rotary Clubs in other parts of the world in support of clean water projects and disaster relief. 

The club also sponsors and mentors a Rotaract club at Wayne State University and an Interact club at Osborne High School.

World Clean Up Day last September saw the WSU Rotaract and The Rotary Club of Detroit gardening and picking up litter in front of the old police station at Belle Isle (Michigan), part of the International Day of Service project.

Rotary Club of Detroit

Meeting Weekly on a Thursday at 12:15

Real Time Sports, 1120 W. Denon Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007

In the UK the 30^th August is National Toasted Marshmallows Day and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of marshmallows is in Elk Grove Village, Chicago, Illinois.

An annual festival has grown up over many years and now includes a large carnival, five nights of entertainment and food tents. Rotary Fest is the annual fundraising event for The Elk Grove Rotary Club with funds going to help support local, regional, national and international causes. The Rotary fest webpage advises visitors to bring their own chairs, which isn’t unusual … and to leave their firearms at home, which to those of us living in the UK seems a strange thing to have to request.

In keeping with the Rotary motto – Service Above Self – there is a focus on awarding scholarships to students who have emphasized service to others and personal character in their high school careers.

Every year the Rotary Club of Elk Grove Village offers scholarships to successful applicants who meet the following minimum criteria:

• Graduating high school at the time the application is offered
• Residing in Elk Grove Village
• Pursuing post-secondary education (vocational, college, or university)

The club has also provided over 1150 children’s scholastic books to promote literacy, and club members participate in an Arts and Community day at Child’s Voice when they read to the children and join them in an arts and crafts project.

Finally, as might be expected, Elk Grove Village Rotary Club supports a variety of local charities that provide services for older people and they also help at the Elk Grove Township Food Pantry.

“One of our favorite days of RotaryFest is hosting the Northwest Special Recreation Association – NWSRA Day Campers. We have as much fun as the campers!”

Elk Grove Rotary Club

Meeting Weekly on a Tuesday at 18:00

The Castle Hotel, New Park Street, Devizes, Wiltshire.  SN10 1DS

Devizes is the home of the Wadworth Brewery, and the Rotary Club of Devizes.

The Rotary club of Devizes is a dedicated team of men and women looking to contribute to community projects based locally, nationally and internationally.

The club supports the local Health and Well Being Showcase, which earlier this year, was held on the Big Green in Devizes.  The event is held every year and is part of the Devizes Street Festival’s Community & Family day where families are also able to watch a variety of Street Festival acts in the Market Place.

As well as learning about the Health and Well Being activities and services that are available in and around Devizes, visitors were able to have a go at fun stuff such as giant bubble making, bean bag throwing, tower building and bell ringing!

Devizes Rotary also provided a selection of delicious hot and cold refreshments, with all profits donated to local good causes.

The Big Green was also the location for  games like Tin Can Alley, Golf Putting and Football Shooting Practice.

Last year, the Club organised the inaugural Devizes Trolley Olympics featuring the Olympic Push, Pull, Dribble & Catch track events, the Omnes Tug of War field event, and the PHAB Push & Walk marathon.

The club also supports Young Chef, Crocus Planting in support of the eradication of polio, and raised money towards the purchase of a sports wheelchair for the Bristol wheelchair basketball team.

Rotary Club of Devizes

Meeting Weekly on a Monday at 20:00

Hilton Munich Part Hotel, Am Tucherpark 7, München, 80538

Munich is of Europe’s most visited cities, full of monuments and fabulous museums.  It is a place with memories of yesterday, both good and bad, but is very much a city living in its present. Today, with some 1.3 million inhabitants, 16% of whom are foreigners, Munich is the third-largest city in Germany.  It is also the Germans’ first choice as a place to live, according to various polls, and is a major economic centre for north-south European trade, high-tech microelectronics and other industries.  It also has a huge publishing center and a burgeoning number of film studios.

Read more: muenchen.de

Today we are sending greetings to the Rotary Club of Munich International, Germany

This is an English speaking Rotary club made up of male and female Rotarians of different nationalities presently residing in Munich.

This year’s President is Bortolo Venturelli taking over in July from Thorston Amann who held the position for 15 months taking the club out of the Covid-19 Pandemic period.

The most famous club member was the writer: Thomas Mann.  Paul Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate.

The club has a busy calendar of fundraising events including a Joint Rotary Bike Ride made up of members from the Munich International Club and the other 4 Rotary Clubs based in the Munich area,

The club also supports local a Charity Hike, a local Charity Bike Ride, and an interesting Artificial Intelligence vs Natural Stupidity Competition!

One of the main fund raising events held on the 5^th May 2023 this year was the Annual Classic Car Rally with 50 cars completing over a 170km course in the foothills of the Alps. This was the first event since the pandemic and previously had been staged over a number of years.

Rotary Club of Munich-International