Footprints Food Pantry Adopt-a-Shelf  Joining with the Kittery Rotary "morning" Club, we've adopted a shelf at Footprints Food Pantry. Each month we collect a new category of items; January was coffee; February was tea. Here's the Community Rotation List we're following; contact us if you'd like to help:  |
Kittery Holiday Parade - Saturday December 7, 2024 Since 2013 - even before we chartered with Rotary International - our club has marched (and run!) in Kittery's annual Holiday Parade on the first Saturday each December. Along the parade route from Post Office Square to John Paul Jones Park, we’ve handed out thousands of free books to local children. Book purchases have been supported by KITTERY TRADING POST and Volunteers of America. The Kittery Holiday Parade is sponsored by Seacoast Kiwanis Club. |
York Harvestfest - Saturday October 18, 2025 Thanks to all who visited us for Grilled Italian Sausages at York Harvestfest 2024. A great fair & great fall weather! Thanks to Pelkey Funeral Home for sponsoring! The 2025 fair is scheduled for Saturday, October 18th, 2025 from 9 to 4 - hope to see you there! Proceeds benefit our 501(c)(3) charity, Kittery Rotary Cares, and especially our local literacy project, Kittery Reads. |
Kittery Block Party - Saturday June 21, 2025 Thanks to all who visited us for fresh squeezed lemonade at the 2024 Kittery Block Party. A great fair on a great day! Thanks to Pelkey Funeral Home for sponsoring! The 2025 fair will be on Saturday, June 21st, 2025 from 10 to 4 - come enjoy our lemonade! Proceeds benefit our 501(c)(3) charity, Kittery Rotary Cares, and especially our local literacy project, Kittery Reads. |
Free Tax Return Help - Feb thru AprilEvery tax season, AARP Foundation TAX-AIDE offers free tax return preparation and filing. Although they cater to seniors and low to moderate income folks, they will prepare most personal non-business returns for anyone. AARP membership is NOT required. SENIORS: Even if you're not required to file, you could miss out on Maine rebates and refunds by not filing. Many seniors can get a Property Tax/Rent Credit and/or Sales Tax Credit. Plus, in past years Maine sent "stimulus" checks to folks who filed a tax return. Also, filing protects against identity theft of federal benefits. Please don't miss out! From February through mid-April, services are scheduled to be available by appointment locally at: Kittery Community Center: 207-439-3800 Fogg Library Eliot: 207-439-9437 South Berwick Community Center: 207-384-3310 York Senior Center: 207-363-1036 Wells Library: 207-806-2774 In NH, Portsmouth Senior Center and several local Libraries are also available. For safety, no walk-in slots are available. Please, one tax return per appointment slot. Don't miss out on this benefit!  |
Our Local Charity: Kittery Rotary Cares Our IRS approved 501(c)(3) charity, Kittery Rotary Cares, Inc., operates exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes, endeavoring to carry on active, impactful and realistic programs that support local, national and international programs under the general heading of world understanding, goodwill and peace, and more specifically related to improving health, relieving food insecurity, supporting literacy and education, and alleviating poverty. Our major charitable project is the Kittery Reads literacy program. Please visit our Kittery Reads page for details and updates. If you would consider making a charitable donation, please contact us. Thank you! |
Rotary’s Response to the 1918 Flu Pandemic
This is how Rotary responded to the influenza pandemic that began in 1918 and came in three waves, lasting more than a year. The Rotary Club of Berkeley, California, USA, meets in John Hinkel Park during the 1918 flu pandemic. |
Rotary at the Start of the United Nations
During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter. Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
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History of Women in RotaryWomen are active participants in Rotary, serving their communities in increasing numbers and serving in leadership positions in Rotary. The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary. “My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world,” said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01. The vote followed the decades-long efforts of men and women from all over the Rotary world to allow the admission of women into Rotary clubs, and several close votes at previous Council meetings.
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Young Inventor Eco-Friendly Bricks Come Full Circle
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First Club in Philippines Opens Door to Rotary in Asia
The club would be the only one in the country for more than 12 years. Eventually, Manila club members organized Rotary clubs in the Philippine cities of Cebu (1932) and Iloilo (1933). Iloilo club members then started a club in Bacolod (1937), and Rotary continued to expand across the country. |
An estimated 500 million people worldwide became infected. Many cities closed theaters and cinemas, and placed restrictions on public gatherings. Rotary clubs adjusted their activities while also helping the sick.
Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.
Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”
In early 1919, Rotarian Roger Pinneo of Seattle, Washington, USA, traveled to the Philippines to try to organize a Rotary club in Manila. Leon J. Lambert, a Manila business leader helped Pinneo establish the club. Several months later, on 1 June 1919, the Rotary Club of Manila was chartered and became the first Rotary club in Asia.
