Our Projects
In Our Community
Coastweek Coastal Cleanup
The Coastal Cleanup includes volunteers of all ages and backgrounds who clean our coastal shoreline and associated waterways of trash. Each year over a thousand participants clear hundreds of miles of thousands of pounds of trash. What is collected is recorded and this data then becomes part of the international ocean trash index which is compiled by Ocean Conservancy
College Scholarships
Community service scholarships to high school seniors.
Dictionaries to every 3rd grader in the Kennebunks
Since 2009. Portside Rotarians have presented dictionaries to every third grader in the Kennebunk schools. Teams of Rotarians go into the classroom to hand out the dictionaries, each with a personalized label with a students’ name on the inside cover. The Rotarians spend time talking to the students about the many uses of the dictionary and help them to look up interesting words.
Essay contest
“Service Above Self” essay contest in the elementary schools.
Rotary Park at Beachwood Park
Beautification, maintenance and special projects including construction and maintenance of a hiking trail.
Community Outreach Services
Quarterly Breakfasts & COVID distribution support
Caring Unlimited
Financial and volunteer support - services for anyone experiencing domestic abuse and violence. Prevention education, training and professional consultation to move toward bringing an end to domestic violence.
2020 Books Challenge
The 2,020 Maine Books Challenge was launched on in March 2020 to get books into the hands of Maine students while supporting our independent booksellers during the pandemic.
Halloween Trail of Treats
In partnership with Kennebunkport Parks and Recreation, a safer alternative to door-to-door trick-or-treating.
Internationally
Fundraising for Polio eradication
PolioPlus, Rotary’s most ambitious program to date, focuses on eradicating polio from the world. Focusing on immunization programs, Rotary has played a leadership role with the World Health Organization, CDC, and UNICEF in this global effort. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed US$355 million to Rotary to support PolioPlus activities. Kennebunk Portside raises funds each year to support this humanitarian goal.
Friends Forever: cultural exchange teams for young adults
Working with young people from around the globe to build the leadership abilities of youth from diverse backgrounds to tackle local and global issues. Through Friends Forever, the club hosted ten teens, including Jewish and Arabic from Israel. Spending time in the Seacoast, region, they worked together to build mutual understanding and learn leadership skills.
International Vocational Training
The club co-hosted a team of medical professionals from Uganda as part of a Vocational Training Team. The seven- member team participated in
professional experiences with multiple healthcare organizations in southern Maine with the goal of improving oncology patient care in Uganda.
professional experiences with multiple healthcare organizations in southern Maine with the goal of improving oncology patient care in Uganda.