The Rotary Club of Lakewood Contributes to the Lakewood Community

Submitted by Rotary Club of Lakewood.

The Rotary Club of Lakewood’s Little Free Pantry Initiative continues to grow with 9 Little Free Pantries in Lakewood. The concept is simple: “Take What You Need, Give What You Can.” No questions asked! Don’t need what the Panty has to offer? It is designed for people like you to give back to your community by donating. Little Free Pantries are neighborhood-oriented, to provide barrier free 24-hour access to food and hygiene supplies. Information about the initiative and Little Free Pantry locations can be found at https://lakewoodrotary.com/little-free-pantry-initiative/

Each year the club’s Community Concerns Committee sponsors local organizations providing services to people in need such as the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition, a community-based nonprofit which promotes the understanding and communication within the multicultural diversity of the City of Lakewood; Caring For Kids, a local non-profit organization providing new clothing, school supplies, emergency food, hygiene products, new books, bedding, and backpacks for 500 plus children; and the YMCA’s Y on the Fly, a free mobile outreach service operated by the YMCA offering programs and services out of a converted 14-passenger bus that makes scheduled stops throughout the City of Lakewood. They provide academic, health, and social-emotional enrichment to youth and teens who are in need and is intentional about making stops in underserved areas of the city including Monta Vista, Springbrook, Tillicum, and Woodbrook.

Members provide both financial and volunteer help to local programs including the Emergency Food Networks Break Bag Program. Twice a year before the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks members of the club volunteer to fill and deliver hundreds of break-bags to local public schools. Break-bags are filled with an assortment of food and personal hygiene products to help families with school-aged children through the holidays. The club also takes part in LeMay/Pierce County Refuse’s “Christmas Promise”, a charitable project which purchases, builds, and delivers bicycles to children selected by the school district prior to Christmas. Rotary club volunteers helped assemble 400 bicycles at the LeMay facility in Fredrickson on November 12 and will deliver 40 bicycles in December.

Interested in joining? Do you want to make difference in your community? The Rotary Club of Lakewood is known locally and internationally for the service projects we sponsor and participate in. Our Rotary Club is also a great place to network, share ideas, learn new things, and hear from some of the most outstanding speakers from around our city and the world.

The best way to see if the club is right for you is to come along to a meeting and check it out! You’ll always be made to feel welcome. Or contact our Membership Chair Carl Bronkema at
206-459-7514. See more at www.lakewoodrotary.com.

Meetings are held every Friday at noon via Zoom for those who wish to join us remotely, and in person at the Tacoma Country & Golf Club, 13204 Country Club Drive SW., Lakewood, WA 98498

All funds that support our local and international service projects are provided by contributions and grants. If you would like to make a donation to the Rotary Club of Lakewood, use the QR code below or click here.

The Rotary Club of Lakewood, one of a global network of over 46,000 Rotary Clubs worldwide with 1.4 million members, serves the community of Lakewood in addition to Pierce County and developing countries. Our goal is to make our community and the world a better place. We have a variety of local charities and projects that we support both financially and with our volunteer time.

For information about this article, contact David Swindale, Publicity Chair at DSwindale@comcast.net.