service above self

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST!

Please review this page to learn more about our club and visit rotary.org to learn more about Rotary in general. If you feel we are a good fit, we’d love to have you consider membership!

• About Our Club
• Club Activities
• About Rotary International
• Membership Expectations
• Ready to Become a Member?

ABOUT OUR CLUB

The Rotary Club of the West Columbia Gorge is a community service organization serving the cities of Fairview, Wood Village, Troutdale and other areas in east Multnomah County. We support efforts to improve our communities through volunteer work and financial contribution. Founded in 2006, our club includes professionals of all ages in the public and private sector and retired individuals. Club members either live, work, or have a connection to the West Columbia Gorge region. We are looking to grow our club to about 20 active members by 2025.

Service Projects

Our club provides volunteer assistance and financial support to a variety of programs at the local and global level. Listed below are some of our recent projects and partnerships:

• East County Food Pantry, which provides food and nutritional support to residents of our community who are experiencing food insecurity
• Reynolds School District, in support and recognition of high-performing students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs at an annual banquet
• Clean-up and maintenance efforts of local streets and recreational areas in partnership with Cultivate Initiatives
• ShelterBox, which provides durable emergency shelter kits to areas around the world that are experiencing war or recovering from natural disasters (financial support)
• Community event support for monthly and annual events put on by our local cities

Why Join Rotary?

• creating new friendships among like-minded people
• networking with local professionals, businesses, and community leaders
• finding volunteer opportunities and partnerships with local organizations
• developing leadership skills within a club structure
• being active in supporting your community and contributing to global causes
   

CLUB ACTIVITIES

Our club has four types of activities for member engagement. They include service projects (as described on the first page), meetings, socials, and an annual fundraising event.

Meetings

Club meetings are our typical way of interacting with each other on a regular basis. They often include presentations on interesting topics, projects, and initiatives from a variety of sources. Meetings are where club decisions are made and announcements are shared.

Our club meets regularly on Thursdays with the following calendar schedule:

• 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month: virtual meetings via Zoom starting at 7:30 a.m.
• 2nd Thursday of the month: in-person meeting starting at noon at a rotating location, typically announced a week or two in advance of the meeting. Lunch is typically BYO.

Socials

On the 4th Thursday of the month, our club gathers for an informal social/happy hour from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at a rotating location in east Multnomah County offering food and drinks. Past locations have included McMenamins Edgefield, Troutdale Station, and the Fairview Food Plaza. This is typically the best venue for prospective members to learn more about our club and meet our members!

Fundraising Event

In late January 2024, our club will be putting on a weekend basketball tournament to raise funds to support Reynolds School District's CTE programming. Additional fundraising events in spring to support our club foundation are also being considered.

ABOUT ROTARY INTERNATIONAL

We are one of roughly 36,000 local clubs of Rotary International, a 1.2 million member
non-religious and non-political organization that supports local and global efforts that involve:

• Peacebuilding and conflict prevention
• Disease prevention and treatment
• Water, sanitation, and hygiene
• Maternal and child health
• Basic education and literacy
• Community and economic development
• Environmental protection and climate resiliency

Our club is one of 70 clubs within Rotary District 5100, which spans northern Oregon and southern Washington. Learn more about Rotary and its impact by reviewing the attached Rotary Basics brochure and by visiting rotary.org for more details.

MEMBERSHIP EXPECTATIONS

Meeting Attendance

Meetings are the best way to become familiar with Rotary and how our club operates, but attendance is not a requirement. We recognize that our members are in different stages of life with competing demands of family and work obligations that may conflict with a set meeting time. As a result, our club offers meeting opportunities in the morning (via Zoom), at lunchtime (in person), or in the evening (in person and informal). Come when you can! More important to us is your ability to serve. 

Avenues of Service

There are five "Avenues of Service" where members can participate in service. Our club's expectation is that members can contribute their time through at least one of these avenues:

• Community Service: The most important avenue to our club. We ask that club members aspire to contribute on average one hour per month (or three hours per quarter) to a club-sponsored (or club-supported) project, organization, event, or initiative.

• Club Service: Because of our club’s smaller size, each member is expected to contribute in some fashion to the club’s affairs beyond meeting attendance. This can mean holding a position within the club’s leadership, organizing a service project, learning more about Rotary's efforts, or some other club activity to support the club’s efforts. The goal is to have engaged membership that is aligned with Rotary’s areas of focus and supportive of our club’s activities at a pace that is manageable for you.

• Other Avenues of Service: The other three avenues of service (youth service, international service, and vocational service) enables club members to participate in efforts. While our club is not actively engaged in these effort as of now, there is nothing to prevent a club member from participating in an international project, supporting good ethical standards at work, or supporting young people, particularly in building life skills. Participating in these avenues counts as service to our club and to Rotary in general.

Financial Commitment

The annual financial commitment of being a club member is $500 per year.

• Membership Dues are $100 per quarter and invoiced digitally every three months. Membership can be paid online or by check. Of the quarterly dues, about 40 percent goes to District 5100 to support district grant applications, programming, and overhead, while 60 percent is retained by the club to support its operations and contributions to projects and causes. Members can seek to have employers cover part (or all) of the cost of membership, which reduces an individual's cost burden.

• In addition to membership dues, we ask that each member contribute at least $100 per year to The Rotary Foundation. These donations can be made in recurring online payments in increments of your choosing or a one-time annual payment that is forwarded to the Foundation. The Rotary Foundation is one of the top-rated charities by Charity Navigator and has invested nearly $4 billion worldwide in charitable causes. This contribution is usually made by the individual member and not typically covered by an employer.

• If a member needs financial assistance, club members have provided periodic support to members in helping to cover or off-set the costs of membership. New members can also reduce their dues if they can assist in bringing more members.

READY TO BECOME A MEMBER? 

If you haven't already done so, please contact us at rotary.wcg@gmail.com to request an application and a chance to talk with one of our members about membership. Upon receiving your application, the club reviews your application and takes a vote to offer membership to you. Upon your acceptance of the invitation, you become a Rotarian!

If you have any further questions, please contact us at rotary.wcg@gmail.com. We appreciate your interest and hope to have you consider membership!