The Ithaca Rotary Club has awarded two $5,000 grants to nonprofit groups in Kenya and Costa Rica for projects that will tackle climate change.

Science Centre Kenya has used the grant to plant 1,250 fruit trees at 10 schools and teach an estimated 2,500 children about agriculture and climate change. The project will also help alleviate increasing food insecurity in the western part of the country.

In Costa Rica, the Mastate Charitable Foundation is developing a family-run fruit tree and vegetable farm that demonstrates a new model for food production, which reduces the reliance on agricultural chemicals while drawing carbon from the atmosphere.

 
Gail and Nathan Lyman, members of the Ithaca Rotary Club, received a 2023 Susan Blumenthal Pride of Ownership Award for the renovation of their home at 1322 East State Street in Ithaca.
 
The Lymans bought the house, at the southeast corner of Route 79, in 2007 and have steadily made improvements to the property, including adding gardens, a waterfall and fish pond. In 2023, their hillside garden was featured by the Garden Conservancy, including an education program discussing hillside drainage and wall construction by the contractor, Elrik McCheyne of GreenScene.
 
The bomb shelter at School #39 in Lviv, Ukraine has been completed and now offers a safe space for 700 students and community members during daily air siren raids.
 

Funding for the renovation of the 8,600-square-foot basement at the Lviv high school was funded in part by the Ithaca Rotary Club, which raised $31,000 for the project. The club’s funding included a $25,000 disaster response grant from The Rotary Foundation.

 
The Rotary Club of Ithaca has awarded $10,000 in grants to 11 community nonprofits for projects ranging from cleaning up litter along Cayuga Lake to purchasing an accessible picnic table at a public park.
 
The Rotary Club received 28 applications this year for its annual Community Grants program. The final projects were selected by a seven-member committee of Rotarians who evaluated the proposals.
 
While the maximum amount of each grant was $1,000, directors of several nonprofits said they would not have been able to complete their projects without the funding from Ithaca Rotary.
 
The 31st Annual Share the Warmth campaign has kicked off, with more than 14 collection sites throughout Tompkins County.
 
Donations of clean, new or gently used winter clothing will be collected, sorted and distributed across the area by volunteers from the Ithaca, Dryden and Trumansburg Rotary Clubs; Cornell University; Ithaca College; Finger Lakes ReUse; and Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga.
 
To volunteer to sort clothing, please sign up at this link.
 
At the Abukloi High School in the city of Rumbek, South Sudan, 175 girls collectively miss over 1,000 days of school each month because their families cannot afford to buy them menstrual hygiene supplies.
 
Thanks to a $4,750 grant from The Rotary Foundation, this is about to change.
 
Through the efforts of Gertrude Noden, a member of the Rotary Club of Ithaca and founder of a not-for-profit called Words Into Deeds, the Abukloi students have received sewing machines, materials, and training with the goal of producing 600 reusable feminine hygiene kits a year. The grant also supports lessons in gender equity, reproductive health and business planning.
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Club Board
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Celebrating 108 Years of Service Above Self
We meet In Person
Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m.
Coltivare
235 S Cayuga St
Ithaca, NY 14850
United States of America
In-Person "Plus" with a Zoom option for those who need it
Upcoming Events
March 2024
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