Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest Hosts Bike Rodeo at Reimagining Bohrer Alley
The Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest was proud to host a free Bike Rodeo for kids during the recent Reimagining Bohrer Alley event organized by Hinge Neighbors, a neighborhood organization dedicated to strengthening community connections and improving the neighborhood. |
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Rotary Round-upThe 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.
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Welcome Cat Jensen!!!
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3rd Annual ROC River RideThe Rotary Club of Rochester SW sponsored the 3rd Annual ROC River Ride on September 14, 2024. Over 120 cyclists participated in our signature event. We had a beautiful day and are grateful to our participants, sponsors, partners, artists and volunteers!  |
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Member Spotlight: Vera Versteeg
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Earth Day 2024In honor of Earth Day 2024, the Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest hosted its third annual Parks & Trails New York Canal Clean Sweep at the Genesee Waterways Center, Rochester, NY! We were joined by over 30 members of our community including representatives from Assemblyman Damond Meeks office, Scouts from Pack 1965 the University of Rochester’s Clean Lung Society and Rebecca Murray, Program Manager for Parks and Trails NY. Over 20 bags of garbage were collected along the two-mile stretch of the Erie Canal adopted by our Rotary Club. Thank you to everyone who pitched in on this sunny, windy, cold, rainy, cloudy day!  |
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Books for the World Packing PartiesThis 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.  |
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Breaking the Bubble For the past two years, the Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest has been a our club has been co-sponsor the Breaking the Bubble Community Conversation Series that strives to open conversations within the community about different topics.
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Neighbors Eat Out Fellowship Event
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Adopt-a-Trail Program For the past three years, the Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest has been actively involved in the Parks and Trails NY Adopt-a-Trail Program, which aims to maintain and improve the Erie Canalway Trail. The club has been committed to keeping its two-mile section of the trail, which borders the 19th Ward running from Genesee Valley Park westward to Chili Avenue, clean and in good repair through its monthly planting, maintenance and clean-up events. |
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Member Spotlight: Wanda Martinez-Johncox The Savvy Ally Action recently posted a video about our club member Wanda Martinez Johncox and her family story about identity, understanding, resilience, growth, and acceptance. Thanks for sharing your story Wanda and persevering to become the wonderful individual you are today! |
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Tree Decorating and Reading
On Tuesday, December 12, Rochester Southwest Rotarians along with other 19th Ward residents and Santa, greeted at least 50 students and teachers who walked from from School 16 on Post Avenue to the Arnett Library. The students adorned the evergreen tree on the lot next to the library with ornaments then came inside to read, visit in person with Santa, tour the library and pick up candy canes. Holiday cheer and goodwill abounded making everyone merry. |
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Club Inducts Two New Members
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Volunteers Pick Up Trash on the Erie Canal It was a beautiful morning on the Erie Canal on Saturday, November 18, 2023 as our community came together and helped with our club's monthly clean up of its adopted trail section of the Erie Canalway that borders southwest Rochester. Starting at the Chili Avenue entrance to the trail, half a dozen Rotarians and friends headed eastward toward Brooks Avenue working together and individually to pick up all sorts of debris. From a baby stroller filled with assorted items to cans and bottles, cups, plastic bags and styrofoam, volunteers filled over 8 large bags with trash.
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Member Spotlight: Lisa Norwood
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All Smiles at East Ave Grocery RunSeveral of our members were up bright and early on Saturday morning, November 4, to volunteer for the second year in a row at the East Ave Grocery Run, which benefits Rochester-area food pantries.  |
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ROC River Ride at Rochester Fringefest
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Kailee's Community Garden Continues to Thrive!
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Red Wings Concession Stands Raise Money for Local ProjectsFor the past two seasons, the Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest has worked several Rochester Red Wings baseball games concession stands. We've poured beer and soda and dished up pizza, ice cream and popcorn to raise money for our local service projects and share the Rotary message of Service Above Self. Our last game of the 2023 season on August 10, put us over the $2,000 mark, allowing us to make a donation to Peace Village for the construction of a shelter in the homeless encampment in the City of Rochester, and to the Rotary Foundation.   |
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Club Changes Leadership   At the end of every Rotary year, a Changeover event is held where the incumbent Club President officially hands the leadership over to the incoming President. On Thursday, July 20, we once again came together to enjoy a picnic at Kailee’s Little Free Library and Community Garden at 133 Kenwood Avenue. Outgoing President Lisa Norwood spoke about her two years as Club President and the remarkable successes achieved. She thanked the club for the support and the opportunity, which helped her personally and professionally. |
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Rochester Pride ParadeWe are thrilled to announce that Rotary District 7120, representing several vibrant Rotary clubs, including the Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest, took part in the 2023 Rochester Pride Parade for the first time ever on July 15! This monumental event marked a powerful moment of inclusivity and support for the LGBTQ+ community, showcasing Rotary's commitment to diversity and equality.
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Rotary’s Response to the 1918 Flu Pandemic
This is how Rotary responded to the influenza pandemic that began in 1918 and came in three waves, lasting more than a year. The Rotary Club of Berkeley, California, USA, meets in John Hinkel Park during the 1918 flu pandemic. |
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Rotary at the Start of the United Nations
During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter. Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
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Young Inventor Eco-Friendly Bricks Come Full Circle
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First Club in Philippines Opens Door to Rotary in Asia
The club would be the only one in the country for more than 12 years. Eventually, Manila club members organized Rotary clubs in the Philippine cities of Cebu (1932) and Iloilo (1933). Iloilo club members then started a club in Bacolod (1937), and Rotary continued to expand across the country. |
An estimated 500 million people worldwide became infected. Many cities closed theaters and cinemas, and placed restrictions on public gatherings. Rotary clubs adjusted their activities while also helping the sick.
Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.
Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”
In early 1919, Rotarian Roger Pinneo of Seattle, Washington, USA, traveled to the Philippines to try to organize a Rotary club in Manila. Leon J. Lambert, a Manila business leader helped Pinneo establish the club. Several months later, on 1 June 1919, the Rotary Club of Manila was chartered and became the first Rotary club in Asia.
