Current Projects
What we're working on now
Through our commitment to community service we encourage every club member to find ways to improve the quality of life for people in our community and to serve the public interest. This Rotary year we averaged one service project per month, with 12 completed projects. Our goal is to provide a variety of ways for our club members to engage in activities and serve our community.
Market Street Clean-up
Our club has cleaned first D Street and then Market Street in east Salem for many years. We typically gather on Saturday mornings three or four times per year to collect litter and rid the neighborhood of hazardous objects such as discarded syringes and other dangerous material to ensure they are safely disposed of and inaccessible to children and pets.
Little Libraries
East Salem Rotary has built & installed 14 Little Libraries in various locations in the east Salem area, starting in 2020. The libraries are located near multi-family housing in high-need neighborhoods, and in offices that provide services for families. Individual club members have adopted the well-used libraries and keep them stocked with children’s books. The club collects donated books on an ongoing basis.
Learn more about our libraries here.
La Casita Community Learning Garden
In 2012 East Salem Rotary built a hands-on children’s learning garden at the La Casita Community Center in the Waldo/Washington neighborhood. The club continues to provide maintenance over time, such as adding irrigation lines and providing bark chips and weeding as needed.
Fun Friday Summer Events
Fun Friday Events are summer resource festivals held on Fridays in July at three neighborhood locations: Northgate Park, Highland Neighborhood-Salem Evangelical Church, and Keizer neighborhood–St. Edward Catholic Church. Community partners gather to support and celebrate the neighborhood and provide donations, supplies, and resource information, as well as food and entertainment. East Salem Rotary supports children’s literacy by giving a free book to each child who stops at our table.
Salvation Army Bell Ringing
The East Salem Rotary Club raises hundreds of dollars each December as they spend a day ringing the bell for the local Salvation Army. The Salvation Army serves thousands of people in Marion & Polk Counties each year. In these two counties, they operate the Lighthouse Transitional Living Shelter, Family Services (food, rental, utilities, financial assistance), and the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. Our Rotarians consistently take part in the project annually to help meet the needs of those in our community who are struggling the most.
Fostering Hope Initiative Winter Holiday Event
East Salem Rotary donates Christmas gifts each year to children ages birth to 18 whose families are being supported by Fostering Hope. The Fostering Hope Initiative provides community health workers in high poverty, high-need neighborhoods. They work with families and community partners to support strong families and safe, healthy neighborhoods. The goal is for every child and adult to live in a safe, nurturing, stable home, succeed at work or school, and enjoy financial sufficiency.
Palm Sunday Brunch
Part community service project and part fundraiser, East Salem Rotary Club members prepare and serve Palm Sunday brunch at Clear Lake Homes Retirement Living every year. Club members prepared and served food, washed dishes, cleaned tables and floors, and met many wonderful residents, staff and guests.
Medical and Firefighting Supply Donation
East Salem Rotary has donated medical and firefighting supplies and used ambulances and fire trucks to communities in Mexico for many years.