We welcome to Grinnell Rotary anyone interested in helping our community.

Creating Lasting Impact - Planting Trees

Opportunities to network and grow

Clean Water Projects Continued

Accessing Water Easily

Rotarians make solutions happen!

Community Service

Exploring Science

Preventing Disease

Teaching the Next Generation

10th Annual Kites over Grinnell

Kites, Prizes, food at Sept. 26 Rotary kite festival

Kites of all sizes, shapes and colors will fill the skies, with a free picnic lunch sponsored by the Rotary Club, consisting of hotdogs, chips and water to be served while they last.

A highlight of the event will be the colorful kites that 28 professional kite flyers will bring to Grinnell and fly all day. These professional kite flyers, all members of the American Kite Fliers Association (AKA), are coming in from states throughout the Midwest.

Kites Over Grinnell is a community-wide event that encourages young people to fly kites. To this end a total of 850 kite kits have been distributed to middle school and all three elementary schools. Students will decorate their kites over the next two weeks during their art classes. Bruce Blankenfeld, Rotary President is extremely grateful to art teachers, who have contributed by helping their students create kites. Various Rotarians are set up to assist students with kit assembly. Blankenfeld encourages kids to bring their decorated kites to Ahrens Park to fly during the kite festival. In addition, the public is invited to bring their own kites and participate in the fun.

During the festival a limited number of kite kits will be available for those wanting to participate in the flying activity. A kite clinic (hospital) operated by Rotarians and Grinnell College Swim Team will assist in the assemble of new kites, along with minor repair of existing kites when necessary.

Various games will be going on simultaneously with the Kite Flying event. Spectators are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets.

Rotary President Bev Arthur will be handing out prizes for the following 8 judged kite contest categories: Biggest Smile, Smallest Kit, Rotary Presidents Choice, Best Colored; Funniest, Highest Flying, Most Unusual, Best Homemade.

Whether you come to the September 26th, "Kites Over Grinnell" festival to watch kids, friends, and professionals fly their kites throughout the skies or just want to enjoy the outdoors, Rotary Club of Grinnell wants all to have fun.

For more information about Kites Over Grinnell, call Bruce Blankenfeld (641)236-5939.

Kites over Grinnell

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards at Grinnell College July 28 2026

Thank you for joining us to experience Iowa RYLA firsthand! Rotarian Visit Day provides an opportunity to observe, participate, and engage with our student leaders as they complete the Shark Tank Experience and learn how Rotary values are integrated throughout the week.

Location: Harris Hall at the junction of East Street and 10th Avenue, Grinnell, Iowa.

RYLA

Picture of members and families listed on the right.

Grinnell Rotary Picnic September 1945

Rotary in Action - Chicken Barbecue - June 4th 2026

Last year over chickens were cooked packed and kept warm.Volunteers packed paper bags with chips, napkins, and sauce.

This annual June events raised the money that is returned to the community in donations, Kites over Grinnell and other worthy causes.

If you would like to make a difference, join us at our Tuesday meeting, 5:30 pm at the West End Diner. A light dinner is served. Club news and always an interesting speaker.

Chicken

Volunteers from Bayer helping with the annual Chicken BBQ event on June 4 2026. Thank you!

Pictured left to right:

Mike McOmber, Peyton Thompson, Alex Nenortas, Andrew Bullington and Chad Clabaugh.

Bayer Volunteers for Chicken BBQ

2026 Grinnell Rotary Scholarship Recipients

The May 26th regular meeting of the Rotary Club awarded three scholarship to the following GHS seniors Cameron Corey, Lauren Louden, Briley Graff.

Picture with the seniors are Todd Honold, treasurer (left) and Bruce Blankenfeld, club president (right).

We wish them every success at college!

Click Me!

Water & Sanitation in the village of Menamu, Same District, Tanzania header here

Latest picture from the Rotary Club of Same, Tanzania showing the progress on the water project in the village of Manama, Same District. Posted March 17 2026.

The Grinnell Rotary Club held its regular weekly meeting on Tuesday, August 12, 2025. Following the opening of the meeting, members shared good news and club business.

Jo Becker, a Grinnell Rotary Club member presented an update to the club regarding Water and Sanitation in the village of Menamu, Same District Tanzania. This is the 10th year that Grinnell Rotary has been involved in water and sanitation projects in Tanzania. In 2019, Dan and Jo Becker traveled to Tanzania to view the water project process.

The international water project began in 2014 when a Rotarian from Ames spoke to our club about the project and asked that we partner with them on their Global Grant. Since that time, Grinnell Rotary has partnered with Ames, other Rotary Clubs from Iowa, the US and International, and is now involved with the fifth water project. In total, approximately $1.5 million in Rotary Global Grants have been distributed to villages in Tanzania (Same District). About 12,000 people have been positively impacted in multiple villages. The present project is located in Same which is in the mountainous Killmanjaro area of Tanzania, impacting the villages of Menamu, about 5,580 feet above sea level.

Previously, villages would have to walk long distances to collect water that was untreated for bacterial infections and cleanliness.Having clean and safe water allows the villages to have sanitation, and to increase their agriculture and livestock products.

Rotary Clubs bring project management and sustainability. All the labor is provided by the villages. Assessments, surveys and design are completed beforehand as part of the grant application to Rotary International.

What separates Rotary International projects over other endeavours is the on-going participation of the local Rotary Clubs before, during and after completion of these water and sanitation projects.

If you are interested in learning more about membership in the Rotary Club of Grinnell, the club meets every Tuesday evening at 5:30 at West Side Family Restaurant. – Peter Jackson text here

Rotary Club of Same, Tanzania

Scholarship Awards by Grinnell Rotary

The 2025 award winners were:

McKenzie McClelland, Kayne Pavey, Kelci Rubendall, and Alexa Schuler (shown in the picture) Each participant was given a $1000 check.

For 2026, The rules are very simple come to three meetings or a Rotary project and on the fourth meeting you tell what you have learned from Rotary and how you would fit Rotary into your everyday life

Grinnell Rotary Scholarship

Grinnell Community Early Learning Center

At Grinnell Community Early Learning Center, our goal is to provide your child a quality early childhood education. Teachers personally meet the needs of each individual child as well as foster their growth and independence. We are licensed by the Iowa Department of Human Services and partner with the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Grinnell-Newburg School District.

Grinnell Early Learning Center

Mid-Iowa Community Action

Grinnell Rotary Club’s Frank Shults presents a check to Pam Sawrie, Family Development Worker for MICA - Poweshiek.

The Rotary Club recently presented food and donations to MICA from the Kites over Grinnell event.

In November 2025, MICA - Poweshiek County, served 355 Households; amounting to 757 individuals, 397 food boxes and 10,000 pounds given out from the MICA pantry.
MICA received 13,516 pounds of food donations for the month.

MICA - Poweshiek

The Salvation Army

Need Knows No Season
August 2025 Montezuma
Local Salvation Army service extension unit completes special projects in the county as fiscal year ends.
The Poweshiek County Salvation Army Service Extension Unit #261 is based out of Montezuma and is comprised of Chairman Darla Wilson, Bell Ringing Coordinator Bruce Blankenfeld, Treasurer and Co-Welfare Secretary Karen Meek, and Welfare Secretary Annette Deering—all volunteers.
Salvation Army service extension units exist to provide temporary or emergency welfare assistance to individuals and families in the county that they represent throughout the whole year. Service extension units may also apply to the Omaha district office for special projects to be funded—these projects should be addressing needs that cannot be met by any other means.
The budget for providing assistance and special projects consists of the money raised from the Red Kettle (bell ringing) over the Christmas season and any other special funding that the unit may have such as community fund drives, personal giving, trusts, etc.

Salvation Army Grinnell