Now that the Haller Park Splash Pad is complete, we are being asked questions about what will we do with funds we raise from the Great Stilly Duck Dash?  Even while we were raising funds for the park, we continued to help many other organization and causes, mainly benefiting children and senior citizens.

 

The largest amount of funds raised last year has gone for scholarships.  Over $50,000 was added to a small amount of income from an endowment account, to give $55,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors from Arlington, Weston and Darrington High Schools.  There are more details in another story.

 

$40,000 was given to complete our $50,000 pledge to the Arlington Boys and Girls Club for its new gymnasium, other additions, and upgrades.  

 

  New Gym

 

Some of our projects included both a monetary grant and hands on work.  One of those was a $12,000 donation for materials to build a couple new staff cabins at the Fire Mountain Scout Camp.  We also provided funds for recruitment materials for the Scouts and funds to send Cub Scout to day camp after its unit's funds were stolen.

 

 

We granted $15,000 to the City of Arlington for soil preparation and sod to complete portions of the splash pad grounds.  Rotarians, family and friends placed the sod at the park.

 

 

The Stillaguamish Senior Center was also a beneficiary of our funds and labor.  $2,500 was given for a new freezer and on an annual basis we buy and serve lunch for the seniors at Christmas time.  This year we also provided voluntary support for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot to raise funds to benefit the Senior Center.

 

 

 

We support the Arlington Community Food Bank with an annual drive to provide food baskets at the holidays that we deliver to needy families.

 

 

To make kids' Christmas better for families with financial challenges, $10,000 was also granted to "A Christmas Wish" to buy gifts.

 

 

Some of the other youth groups benefited by grants include the Glacier Peak Institute and the music departments, both in Darrington, the Girl Scouts, Camp Fire, Village Community Services,  & Kids Kloset.

 

In all since July 1, 2018, the beginning of the Rotary year, the Rotary Club of Arlington has given out over $172,800 in grants and countless hours of hands on time doing community projects such as stream, park and trail clean-ups, as well as those hands on projects described above.

 

With the Rotary Club of Arlington it's all about the Rotary motto:  "Service Above Self".