The Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest is a dynamic, inclusive and diverse group of change makers. We proactively serve to improve the quality of life for people and the environment in Rochester’s southwest neighborhoods, throughout the region, and across the globe.

Rotary International is a global volunteer network of people of action who create lasting change in their communities and around the world. Rotary’s 45,000 clubs work together to develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, help mothers and children, grow local economies, and protect the environment. Rotary’s signature cause is to end polio worldwide.

Upcoming Events
Club News

The Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest hosted a truly electrifying membership recruitment event, Rotary Roundup, on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at the Staybridge Suites Rochester University, energizing 21 representatives from local businesses, corporations, and non-profit organizations to unite. 

This year, the Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest has been actively participating in District 7120's Rotary's Books for the World (RBFTW) initiative by collecting, sorting, and packing books scheduled for disposal which might otherwise be thrown into landfills, shredded or incinerated. The Second Wind Foundation then ships them to third world countries around the world where educational resources are greatly needed. Books are distributed to needy schools, some of which have no building, no books and no school supplies, with many teachers saying they never before had books from which to teach. Many of the children this project reaches have never held a book, let alone learned how to read one.
 
Karen Emerson, Donna Sarnacki, Marv Knoeck, Ni Whyte, and Germain Knapp volunteered in February
Club Executives & Directors
President
President Elect
Secretary
Treasurer
Youth Services
Immediate Past President
Links
Rotary Sites
News from Rotary International
‘One simple word’
‘One simple word’
Leaders highlight the power of gratitude at The Rotary Foundation Donor Summit
Talking reading and Rotary with Dolly Parton
Talking reading and Rotary with Dolly Parton
The entertainer and philanthropist Dolly Parton died 25 August 2026. This Q&A was originally published in the March 2010 issue of The Rotarian (now Rotary) magazine. Later that year, she spoke at the Rotary International Convention in Montreal, Canada.
A safe transition beyond the wire
A safe transition beyond the wire
A Rotary club in Kansas helps women break the cycle of incarceration and elude dangers on the outside
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Meeting Information
Rochester Southwest
We meet In Person & Online
Thursdays at 6:00 PM
Rochester Presbyterian Home
256 Thurston Road
923 Genesee St
Rochester, NY 14619
United States of America
We meet on the FIRST and THIRD Thursday of the month, in-person and via Zoom! Our dress code is casual. Email us ahead of time at rotaryclubofsw@gmail.com to ensure that the location hasn't changed.