Service Projects

Youth & Education

Rotary Honors Scholars Mentoring Program
We provide structured mentoring/coaching to scholars at Iroquois High School and Western High School who meet defined academic, behavioral and attendance standards. More than 80 Rotarians and community members work with IHS and WHS students at two locations on six separate occasions each year, providing these promising young people with the tools to move from high school to college and ultimately to a successful career.

Interact Clubs
We sponsor Interact Clubs at Western High School and Iroquois High School. Interact Clubs bring together youth ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of Service Above Self. Benefits include connecting with leaders in our community and around the world to 1) take action and make a difference in the school and community, 2) discover new cultures and promote international understanding, 3) develop leadership skills, and 4) have fun and make new friends. Learn more HERE.

Rotaract Club
We sponsor and provide support for the Rotary Club of Louisville, which currently meets online and at the University of Louisville College of Business. Rotaract clubs bring together people ages 18 and older to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service. Learn more HERE.

West End School 
We support the literacy program at West End School by funding reading and testing materials; Rotarian volunteers foster literacy through reading and discussion with 8th grade students.

Speech Contest
We participate with public and private high schools and other Rotary Clubs in Rotary District 6710 to host speech contests for scholarship awards. Learn more about our speech contest HERE.

Unsung Heroes
In collaboration with Metro Louisville Rotary Club Charities and Kosair for Kids, we host an annual celebration luncheon to recognize high school seniors for their volunteer efforts, consistent with Rotary’s commitment to Service Above Self. Students receive gifts and a small scholarship along with the opportunity to apply for the larger four year Theodore Buerck Scholarships (see next item).

Theodore Buerck Scholarship
We provide renewable four-year scholarships ($2,000 per year) for two recipients chosen from among Unsung Hero finalist applicants, which are matched with funds from either UofL, Bellarmine, or Spalding. Paid from bequest to Rotary Fund from former member Theodore Buerck.

Educational Justice
The Educational Justice program strives to end educational inequity by pairing a 5th-8th grade student with a high-achieving high school student for long-term academic mentorship aimed at both improving academic performance and providing a meaningful student leadership experience.

Imagination Library of Louisville
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library supports early childhood literacy by mailing a free, age-appropriate, monthly book to children ages birth to five years old. In addition to a grant, we provide volunteers to help the Imagination Library of Louisville staff tables at events to help enroll families.

Leadership Fellows

Leadership Fellows Program
The Rotary Leadership Fellows program originated in 1996 as the Landrum Prize for Leadership. In 2001, we partnered with the Landrum Family to create a unique program designed to exercise the Club’s mission of service, expand the experiences and accelerate the development of the award recipients, and create a pipeline of future leaders for the Club and the community at-large. Fellows are recent or soon-to-be graduates of the University of Louisville MBA program. This three-year leadership development program provides personal discovery and growth that come with involvement in community service initiatives and the opportunity to network with elite leadership in virtually every aspect of business, industry, and professional and community service.

Learn more about the program HERE.

Awards & Recognition

Trees are planted to memorialize Rotarians who have died in the previous 12 months. Learn more about Rotary Awards HERE.

Lifeline

Salvation Army Red Kettle Bell Ringing at Kroger during the holidays is a tradition of the Rotary Club of Louisville and an annual fundraising competition with the Kiwanis Club! By volunteering to ring at a red kettle, Rotarians help those in need during the holidays and all year-round.

Louisville Knot Sign Cleanup
Spanning the entire width of the Ninth Street highway overpass at West Main Street, the “Louisville Knot” public art installation (unveiled in September 2019) conveys multiple ideas: the visual reminder of Louisville’s urban planning past, the ongoing work to reconnect downtown communities, and the commitment of our Club to help bridge the “Ninth Street Divide.” Volunteers gather at least annually to clean and spruce up the structure and landscaping. Repairs and painting are funded as needed.

Repair Affair
Volunteers provide basic home repair and maintenance services for elderly, disabled, or low-income homeowners in partnership with the New Directions Housing Corporation Repair Affair program.

Re:Center Ministries Monthly Meal Service
We provide and serve a meal once a month to the residents and staff of Re:Center Ministries, formerly Louisville Rescue Mission.

Honor Flights
Honor Flight Bluegrass takes veterans on a one-day trip to Washington DC to visit the war memorial of the war they served in. Our Club sponsors veterans and “guardians” who accompany veterans on the trip.

First Hour Grief Response
First Hour Grief Response provides free grief workshops with a licensed art therapist for children and teens, including art therapy, tension-relieving stretching instruction and grief counseling. They also provide 10 week group sessions during of after school facilitated by retired teachers and trained grief mentors. Volunteers serve as Board members and/or provide support for fundraising events such as the annual golf scramble and luncheon.

Refugee Family Sponsorship 
We partner with Kentucky Refugee Ministries to co-sponsor families arriving in Louisville and assist with rent, clothing, household items and other needs. Volunteers up the apartment for the family’s arrival and regularly visit and assist the family for a 3-month period.

Kentucky Humane Society Care-A-Van Day
The KHS CARE-a-van mobile veterinary clinic parks at the Louisville Central Community Center and serves up to 50 pet owners in one day for no or low fees. Pet care services may include vaccines, heartworm tests, microchips, flea/tick and heartworm preventatives, nail trims, and pet wellness exams.

Habitat for Humanity House (District Matching Grant)
Volunteers participate in the construction of a new home for a first-time homebuyer in partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Louisville. Rotary District 6710 provides a matching grant.

Ballard Park Hydration Station
We partnered with the Parks Alliance of Louisville to provide residents of the Smoketown Neighborhood with access to a drinking fountain and bottle filling station at Ballard Park.

Louisville Metro Police Department Victims Unit Equine-Assisted Learning Day
We partnered with Willow Hope Farm to provide a day for de-stressing, team-building, and learning for the LMPD Victims Unit.

Community Impact

West Louisville Housing Initiative

The West Louisville Housing Initiative (WLHI) is the Club’s signature project that is raising $5 million in the community to establish a dedicated pool of funds, administered by Park Community Credit Union, for the purpose of providing full mortgages for first-time home buyers in the nine traditional West Louisville neighborhoods who can demonstrate an ability to make payments but otherwise cannot qualify for a conventional bank mortgage. The WLHI, the first of its kind program in the U.S., will lessen the dependency on exorbitant rental rates, establish community pride, and, improve education and health outcomes in West Louisville. Learn more HERE.

Gun Violence Reduction Initiative

The CIC’s Gun Violence Subcommittee has been tasked to evaluate ongoing issues and causes related to gun violence in Louisville, including gun safety, suicides, gang-related shootings, mass shootings, etc., and to develop recommendations regarding positive steps that the Club can take to help reduce the problem in the city for consideration by the Club’s Board of Directors.

Environmental Initiatives

We partner with Kentucky Waterways Alliance and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) to clean the Ohio River shoreline at Eva Bandman Park – part of a six-state Ohio River Sweep involving three other Rotary Clubs and thousands of volunteers.

We partner with the United Nations Association, Louisville Chapter to provide programming to increase awareness of forever chemicals in our water and environment.

We support programming presented by the Louisville Sustainability Council which includes environmental, economic, and social sustainability.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Attracting Emerging Entrepreneurs
We provide limited short-term “scholarships” to help offset the costs of Rotary membership for emerging entrepreneurs of color who have graduated from an entrepreneur development program.

Sparking Economic Development
We support programming to spark economic development in underserved communities of Louisville and recognize deserving leaders who are “lighting the way” for others to succeed in building generational wealth. Volunteers serve as trainers, coaches, coordinators and mentors.

International

POLIO PLUS
We contribute annually to Rotary International’s 30+ year campaign to eradicate polio in the world. The campaign is currently 99.9% successful. Rotary is in partnership with the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and governments of the world.

We partner with other Rotary Clubs in the U.S. and abroad as well as The Rotary Foundation to support the following projects:

Toileton Water and Sanitation Project – Phase 5 (El Salvador) GG 2462895
Our Club is the lead U.S. Club in this continuing partnership with clubs in El Salvador to bring clean water, sanitation and hygiene education to schools and communities in rural El Salvador. This project will provide students, teachers, and administrative staff in seven rural public schools in El Salvador with access to filtered and purified drinking water, hygienic toilets (gender-separated) and sinks, and clean kitchen space, as well as providing training on maintenance and WASH-related topics to teachers, students, and members of the community. Club members make periodic visits to the area to stay in close communication with the local Rotarians responsible for continuing oversight.

Imagine Being Born Here (Columbia) GG 2461406
Acquire anesthesia equipment for obstetric operating room in hospital in Buga, Colombia, to provide timely, safe, and lifesaving care for caesarean births, and train local clinicians in its safe use.

Malaria Treatment for Mothers and Children in Kamuli District, Uganda (with New Zealand Club) 
Support purchase and administration of malaria medication while work is underway to build a hospital.

Riverbank Filtration Wells (Egypt) GG 2567626
Provide 2 riverbank filtration stations serving 34,500 people in rural villages in Qift, Egypt.

Clean Water Project (Western Kenya) GG 2350645
Rural areas around Migori have needs for safe water beyond what previous projects have provided in Migori. This project will include a water system for one area and adding hand pumps to boreholes that have been drilled by the government, but they didn’t provide any way to retrieve the water.

Ghana Clean Water & Sanitation Project GG2460049
This project will drill 36 new wells including 8 small-town water systems and build 376 composting Microflush toilets for communities.

Rain Water Harvesting Check Dam Project (India) GG 2461343
This is a continuation of our developing relationship with Rotarians in Kalash Megapolis Club in Delhi and the Rotary Club of Sanford-Springfield in Maine. The initial rainwater harvesting project start was delayed as further partners were needed to reach the financial target. These new partners have been successful in making check dams in India each year since 2009; these dams are still functioning.

Impact One Initiative – Phase 2 (Zambia) GG 2351707
Support the Rotary Club of Paducah in this global grant to provide technology and training to students, teachers and administrators in community schools in Zambia.

Click HERE to view a slide show of our projects and impact over the years.