The Raytown Rotary Club was chartered on March 26, 1962, included 28 men, and was sponsored by the Independence Noon Club. These men wanted to serve their community and voted to hold weekly noon meetings.
Many years later, the Club comprises men and women with like-minded goals. Some of the projects they have been involved in include support for the Raytown Emergency Assistance Program (REAP), support for Shepherd Center, hearing aids for the Gift of Hearing program, Project Graduation at both Raytown High Schools, sponsorship or support of Boys and Girls State, the Boy Scouts, the YMCA, girls, and boys softball teams, college scholarships, and the Rotary Youth Leadership Academy. Members help clean a stretch of Raytown Road from 79th to 87th streets, deliver poinsettias to area care centers around Christmas time, collect food for REAP, and have built handicapped accessible ramps. Undoubtedly, the most permanent Roary project is the Peace Plaza which recognizes veterans of all wars in Colman Livengood Park.
Community Service is just one part of Rotary. Reaching worldwide, the Raytown Club supports the Polio Plus program devoted to eradicating Polio. Internationally, the Club has funded water wells, educational materials for literacy, a small shoe factory in Peru, shoes for orphans, and medical supplies in underdeveloped countries. Rotary's Group Study Exchange has brought professionals from foreign countries to this community and has sent teams of our members and local professionals to their countries to share ideas.
All Rotarians agree to apply the 4-way test (pictured left) to what we think, say, and do.
This year, we received matching funds from Rotary District 6040 to improve the Hawklets’ Nest Library at Three Trails Preschool and to promote the Little Free Libraries that the Club has in the two Raytown Parks.
The Raytown Rotary Club and the Kitwe North Rotary Club partnered on a Global Grant to provide 15 boreholes in four communities outside Kitwe, Zambia. The award was in the amount of $40,001.00. This was the first Rotary Global Grant that Raytown Rotary has ever participated in. The project was to provide clean water and sanitation to 4 rural communities. This also closely follows Rotary’s effort to eradicate polio.
Each year the Raytown Rotary Club gathers up poinsettias donated by local nurseries and takes them to area extended care facilities. This is an enjoyable event that many Rotarians and their families participate in yearly. It is also welcomed warmly within the Raytown community. This year the poinsettias were donated by Farrand Farms, and the beauty of seeing so many plants in full bloom at their Noland Road facility is truly a sight to see!
Covid-19 is a global pandemic that changed the lives of individuals and families worldwide, claiming lives and forcing everyone to adjust to new social distancing rules and country-wide lockdowns to keep others safe. One of the few things that were found to aid in preventing the spread of the disease when close contact with others was unavoidable is the use of Personal Protective Equipment or PPE.
Perhaps you are a casual walker who has toyed with the idea of doing something bigger, perhaps walking a trail that seems too long to complete, like the 237-mile KATY trail that extends almost across Missouri. If you need a bit of encouragement, read on.
Each year for the past several years, Raytown Rotary Club has hosted a traveling Group Study Exchange (GSE) team from a foreign country while in Missouri for about one month. In addition, a GSE Team from our District travels to their country for approximately one month. The goal is for each team to gain insight into issues and customs in different countries by staying with families and visiting various facilities consistent with the team member's professions. This year, the Team was from South Africa..png)
