This past Spring 2026 semester, Rotaract Club of Boston University has continued to grow and serve our community. Through events aligned with our club’s three focuses of service, professional development, and club unity, we’ve worked to support both students and broader groups we are a part of.
Rotaract Club began our Spring 2026 semester with our monthly recurring “Thrive Well” program. We resumed this event from last semester in partnership with Women Thriving, continuing to provide cooking classes for easy, nutritious, and healthy food. This monthly program continued to address the difficulty of preparing nutritious meals for women and their families in low-income areas due to the convenience of less healthy options within these areas. During our Thrive Well events, Boston University students and attendees cook, chat, and share these meals at the end of the night altogether. Some of our meals throughout the semester included fresh spring rolls, Thai coconut soup and mango sticky rice, and Brazilian feijoada with bridgadeiros. Throughout these events, we’ve also hosted members from Rotary and Interact clubs, fostering personal connections across different chapters. This program was started by Karen Jacobs, our faculty advisor and had been running for several semesters but was unfortunately paused during the pandemic. Thanks to her efforts though, the program restarted this past 2025 Fall semester and has been able to continue into this Spring semester.
After a school-wide club fair, we began February with an Ice Cream Social. Thanks to a generous donation from Crescent Ridge Dairy, we were able to host a fun event where new and returning club members could get to know each other, while learning about our club and how to become involved in the next semester. This starting social event was our biggest event of the semester with about 40 attendees. And so in our efforts to better connect club members and foster new friendships, this was a great way to kick-off the semester!
Later in February, we held our Valentine's Day Letter Writing event. This event was possible through the Love for Our Elders Organization, which aims to reduce social isolation among older adults by fostering meaningful intergenerational connections through handwritten letters. This organization provides profiles written by loved ones of various elderly citizens across the U.S., and mails them letters written by volunteers. Our club members learned about the stories and lives of many elderly citizens in the U.S., emphasizing the importance and impact of these letters. We wrote thoughtful letters to many of these elders, reaching out during a holiday that especially celebrates love and connection.
Our third February event was a Headshot Night, to promote our students’ professional development. This event was in collaboration with Boston University’s Center for Career Development (CCD) and a student photographer. The evening included a headshot station, as well as a resume workshop presented by a CCD representative, in addition to a peer resume editing session. This was a great chance for students to hone important professional skills of resume building, in addition to providing the opportunity to meet other students across majors. Through this event, we were also able to connect students with our school’s career center, providing a future resource to further promote professional development outside of Rotaract events.
Our last February event was a Clothing Swap in collaboration with Boston University’s Campus Closet. Campus Closet is a club which promotes conscious consumerism by holding free and sustainable clothing swaps. In addition to these free clothing swaps, they also hold clothing drives. Student volunteers from both clubs worked together to facilitate this event, strengthening ties between clubs while encouraging sustainable practices.
Right before leaving campus for Spring Break, Rotaract Club organized an event in partnership with Friends of Boston’s Homeless where we volunteered at Southampton Men’s Shelter, one of Boston’s emergency shelters, to distribute toiletries and winter clothing to our Boston community. Friends of Boston’s Homeless’ mission lies in its Housing People First philosophy, focusing on quickly moving people from streets to shelters or safe housing, doing so through various programs such as their Friends Housing Start-Up Fund, Career Start-Up Fund, and Friends’ Community Housing Program.
In early April, Rotaract Club hosted a study social where students could come meet others and begin their studies for fast-approaching finals. Students enjoyed bagels donated by Pop-Up Bagels as well as lemonade and iced tea donated by Raising Cane’s. This event continued to build connections between students, bonding over food and studies. This event balanced our dedication to serving students through academics, but also by creating opportunities to build connections between club members.
Our last event of the year was at the Annual Charles River Cleanup, hosted by the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA). This initiative is one of the largest river cleanups in the country, garnering over 4,500 volunteers per year. A group of Rotaract Club volunteers headed to Cold Spring Park in Newton, collecting litter throughout the park, providing a great opportunity to see the greater Boston Area while also contributing to the efforts of CRWA’s annual project.
In the past Spring 2026 semester, and 2025-2026 school year, Rotaract Club of Boston University has continued to grow and expand its outreach throughout our school and the Boston area. By following our core values of community service, professional development, and uniting under Rotary values of service over self, we hope to continue this progress as we plan for the 2026-2027 school year. We look forward to future opportunities to serve and create greater opportunities for our students and community members.