What does the Rotary do for the community?
The Rotary Club of Greensburg’s emphasis in the Greensburg Community focuses on youth. Annually the Club donates over $10,000 annually to graduating seniors from Greensburg Salem, Greensburg Central Catholic and Hempfield Area High Schools. Annually we sponsor three students to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Award training at Outdoor Odyssey in Boswell. Students from the three high schools also receive scholarships annually to attend the World Affairs Council in Pittsburgh. The Club has partnered with the Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department and the Greensburg Salvation Army for the Back to School Bash in St. Clair Park in Greensburg.
The Rotary Club of Greensburg presents grants to community non-profits through the Madeline Nichols Trust, annually over $13,000 is awarded. Also District Community Grants from the Rotary Club of Greensburg have been presented to the Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department and the Welcome Home Center in Greensburg.
The Rotary Club last year collected 103 bags of non-perishable groceries that were given to the downtown Greensburg emergency food pantries in the First Lutheran Church, Zion’s Lutheran Church, the First United Methodist Church and the Greensburg Salvation Army.
Monthly volunteers from the Club can be found at Our Lady of Grace Church the first Saturday of each month helping with the Food Bank. Greensburg Rotarians have donated cake mixes which are given away at the food bank for Christmas and brownie mixes which were given away for Easter.
The Rotary Club purchased and maintains the Message Center on East Pittsburgh Street in Greensburg that can be used by area non-profits to “advertise” their events for a very nominal cost.
The Dictionary Project administered by the Rotary Club of Greensburg gives each third grade student in the Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area and Aquinas Academy Schools a special dictionary for the students to keep. The whole project culminates with a Spelling Bee each May to determine which third grader is the best speller in those three schools.
The Club also supports local organizations by participating in the fundraising efforts of March for Parks, Operation Santa Claus, the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign and Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. Interact is a high school based service organization that is sponsored by Rotary and there are Interact Clubs in Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area and Greensburg Central Catholic High Schools. Each summer the Rotary Club of Greensburg also sponsors a concert in the SummerSounds series at St. Clair Park.
The clock at Court House Square in Greensburg was given to the community in commemoration of the Rotary Club of Greensburg’s 75th birthday in 1991.
The WCTU water fountain that was located on Main Street in front of the Court House was refurbished and moved to the Court House Square as the 100th Anniversary project of the Rotary Club of Greensburg.