Club Leadership

 

Welcome to the Rancho Bernardo Rotary Club!    

 

2024-25 President Terry Heck

 

Did you know that the Rotary Club of Rancho Bernardo gives over $100 K away to local nonprofits and global projects each year? Rotary's motto is "Service Above Self." We work diligently to make the lives of others better one life at a time. Our club consists of approximately 75 members, each of whom contribute to our club in many ways, while hearing inspiring speakers, and making lifelong friendships within our club and in the surrounding community. Rotarians gain skills that help us in jobs, in dealing with other people, and in building confidence to explore areas of service we never imagined.

 

Our club has many powerful areas of focus. One of the most important is with our youth. Our youth activities include providing $21 K in college scholarships, a Model UN experience, Four-Way Speech Contest, Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp, Interact Clubs at Del Norte, Rancho Bernardo and Mt. Carmel High Schools, symphony training for international and local students at MusicCamp, and support for the Miss Rancho Bernardo programs. We distribute dictionaries and thesauri to third graders in several Poway Unified Schools, and books to the Bernardo Heights Middle School library.

 

Our club's extensive community activities reach many areas of San Diego County and beyond. These include: serving meals at Ronald McDonald House, adopting families in December, supporting veterans with clothing, toiletries, and accolades, supporting mental health initiatives at Vista Hill, and supporting the homeless at Interfaith, Tender Loving Canine service dog program, Gently Hugged, and several others. See our related website Rancho Bernardo Rotary Foundation, for other organizations our members support.

 

Our Club’s International programs facilitate donations to the Kumiai Nation in Northern Mexico through a fellow Rotary club in Tijuana, where we provide learning software for over 100 migrant children and their families. We contribute handsomely to disaster relief efforts whenever tragedies like last year’s devastating earthquakes occur. We also support  water purification efforts in  Central America. In addition, we are currently involved in a peace project in Tanzania to provide a reliable, safe source of water for the residents of the village. Working in conjunction with The Peace Corps Volunteer, weekly information sessions will be provided to community members on topics such as water sanitation and hygiene, food safety, waste management, and environmental health. Of course we heartily support Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio throughout the world. This project is the ultimate in serving humanity and will continue to be a priority until the job is done. Rotary partners with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization and others to ensure this goal becomes a reality.
 
The club was founded in 1964 and we're still going strong.  Come and join Rotarians at work, for a community service event, club field trip to a San Diego County museum or other point of interest, a fun-filled social event, or an informative club meeting to learn more about us.  We meet for lunch every Thursday at 11:45 am at the Bernardo Heights Country Club in Rancho Bernardo.  On the first Thursday of the month we switch to a 5:30 pm dinner meeting at the same location. We hope you will join us for a meal. We hope you will join us for fun, action planning and interesting speakers.
 
Contact Membership Lead,
Emily Paup for more information at: epaup@luciacap.com 

 

What is the purpose of Rotary?

Rotary clubs exist to improve communities through a range of humanitarian, intercultural and educational activities. Clubs advance international understanding by partnering with clubs in other countries. Rotary also encourages high ethical standards in all vocations.

What do Rotary clubs do?

Rotary clubs address critical issues at home and abroad by providing health care and medical supplies, clean water, food, job training, youth development, and education to millions of people in need. Examples of Rotary’s focus areas include:

PROMOTING PEACE

Today, 42 million people are displaced by armed conflict or persecution. Through our partnerships with several leading universities, Rotary Peace Fellows develop the skills to strengthen peace efforts, train local leaders to prevent and mediate conflict, and support long-term peace building in areas affected by conflict. We provide up to 100 peace fellowships per year at Rotary Peace Centers.

FIGHTING DISEASE

More than 100 million people are pushed into poverty each year because of medical costs. We aim to improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in underdeveloped areas. Our members educate and mobilize communities to help prevent the spread of major diseases such as polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Many of our projects ensure that medical training facilities are located where the workforce lives.

PROVIDING CLEAN WATER

More than 2.5 million people lack access to adequate sanitation facilities. At least 3,000 children die each day from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water. Our projects give communities the ability to develop and maintain sustainable water and sanitation systems and support studies related to water and sanitation.

SAVING MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. To help reduce this rate, we provide immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improve access to essential medical services, and support trained health care providers for mothers and their children. Our projects ensure sustainability by empowering the local community to take ownership of health care training programs.

SUPPORTING EDUCATION

Sixty-seven million children worldwide have no access to education and more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.

GROWING LOCAL ECONOMIES

Nearly 1.4 billion employed people live on less than $1.25 a day. We carry out service projects that enhance economic and community development and develop opportunities for decent and productive work for young and old. We also help strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, in impoverished communities.