The Friendliest Club in Rotary

We meet In Person

Wednesdays at 12:00 PM

We are currently meeting weekly on Zoom! For meeting information, email bajajrotary2020@gmail.com

The Derby Club at Seaside Park
10 West Harbor Blvd
Ventura, CA 93001-2706
United States of America

District Site

2021 "Perspectives on Peace" Scholarships - Entry Extended until April 30th

Posted on Feb 23, 2021

Calling All High School Seniors in Ventura's Public Schools

Ventura Rotary's 2021 Staci Johnson Ingram Memorial Perspectives on Peace Scholarship

Entry deadline is April 30, 2021.

$10,000 in scholarships will be awarded, including a $5,000 top scholarship prize! See complete rules and information at: http://perspectivesonpeace.org/

Create your project utilizing art, video, photography or music. Your project will be judged on thoughtfulness and creativity! This scholarship is ONLY available to high school seniors currently attending one of Ventura's public schools and, next year, will attend a 2- or 4-year college or vocational school.

Ventura Rotary 4-Way Test Essay Contest 2021

Calling for Entries from Middle School & High School Students

WIN CASH PRIZES!

UPDATE FEBRUARY 24th:
The essay contest has closed for submissions. Judging is underway, and winners will be identified and announced in early March.
Thank you to all of the middle and high school students that entered!

Entries due February 23, 2021.

For more information email venturarotary4waytest@gmail.com.

Click here to download Cover Letter (pdf) to submit with your essay.

Click "READ MORE" to see the full press release.

The Julius Guis Memorial Foundation 2021 Grants

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Click HERE for 2021 application

Keepsake Photo Book about Ventura Now Available

Coffee Table Keepsake Book

published by The Rotary Club of Ventura

An ideal holiday gift for everybody on your nice list - especially those who love Ventura!

As a fundraiser and a thank you to our community, the Rotary Club of Ventura has created a coffee table book highlighting our beloved town of Ventura.

This gorgeous tome is a photographic story of our unique California town, San Buenaventura ~ Ventura. Created from selected works of 17 local photographers, this book vividly depicts why Ventura is such a wonderful place to live, work, and play!

The idea for this book was born in an effort to connect with one another and celebrate the beauty of the place in which we serve – Ventura, California! Special thanks are due to Rotarians Brenda Allison Hutchinson, who has overseen publication of the book, and internationally acclaimed photographer, Dan Holmes, who helmed the selection and layout of the gorgeous photos you will enjoy.

Rotary Club of Ventura is a part of Rotary International, a global network of over 35,000 clubs made up of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. Solving real problems takes real commitment and vision. For more than 110 years, Rotary's people of action have tackled the big issues of our time such as literacy, world peace, clean water and healthy communities with passion, energy, and intelligence.

For more than 100 years, the Rotary Club of Ventura has been working to make Ventura a better place through “service above self.” When you purchase this book, you will be helping us in this mission.

This gorgeous keepsake book is $40 each (which includes tax.) Delivery of your book(s) order is free in Ventura County! For shipping beyond Ventura County, add $16 (flat rate shipping anywhere in US – up to 2 books.)

The books will be available for delivery by mid-December 2020.

Books can be purchased via PayPal (below). For out-of-area shipping or discounts on 10+ book orders, please contact Brenda Allison-Hutchinson at brenda@allisonbroker.com or Dan Holmes at danholmesphoto@gmail.com. Thank you!

Covid Won't Stop Coats-For-Kids

Over 25 Easy Drop-Off Locations for Coats For Kids!

Now in its 17th year of helping provide clean warm coats to those in need, Ventura Rotary’s “Coats For Kids” project is seeking donations of used coats, jackets and heavy sweatshirts of all sizes. Donations can be made at more than 25 area business and office locations, including Trader Joes and Green Thumb Nursery. For an interactive map, including nearest locations and directions, click to: https://www.zeemaps.com/view?group=1207878&x=-119.198995&y=34.250389&z=5

“It’s a great way to help out those in need, while also cleaning out your closets of coats that you or your children no longer use,” says project director, Kristin Taylor. “Simply drop them in the large, marked box at any collection site. We pick them up and have them expertly cleaned.”

“Not everyone can write a big check to charity, but many can find a coat or two in the back of the closet and then feel good about making a very real and practical difference to someone in their community,” says Kristin Taylor. “We’ve collected, cleaned and distributed over 65,000 coats, jackets or sweatshirts over the past 16 years. With the weather turning cold and the number in need growing, we challenge the community to fill those donation boxes and help us collect 4000-4500 more this year. Due to the pandemic the need for coats is greater than ever before. At the same time, many of our valued collection sites, including 15 schools in Ventura, are not accessible. Your support is greatly appreciated!"

After cleaning, the coats are provided immediately and throughout the year to various local organizations to ensure that everyone truly in need can have access to a warm coat. These organizations include the Ventura Boys & Girls Clubs, Project Understanding, Casa Pacifica, Rescue Mission, The Salvation Army, The Hope Project, Sheriff Departments and local churches.

“We’ll be collecting right up until the New Year,” says Club president, Saurabh Bajaj, “but the distribution and positive impact on those less fortunate will continue on all year long. It’s a lot of work, but the payoff is in knowing that we’re making a difference in the lives of others throughout Ventura County, one coat at a time."

Ventura Rotary gives thanks to the many merchants and offices that serve as drop off sites. From restaurants and banks, to dentist offices and gyms, these drop off sites assure that making a donation of a coat is easy! "We're also very happy to have the help of our friends at the Rotary Club of Ventura South who are managing 11 of the drop off sites for the program this year," says Taylor. "This is truly a project by our community, for our community!"

Vital to the success of the project is the support of its generous business partners, including: Hilford Moving & Storage, Gold Coast Broadcasting and KVTA, FASTSIGNS of Ventura, Olas Express Laundromat, Halter-Encinas Enterprises, Team Dembowski Realty and MJP Technologies.

Ventura Rotary Awards $10,000 in Art Scholarships for "Perspectives on Peace"

The Rotary Club of Ventura recently announced the winners of the second year of its Perspectives on Peace Scholarship program. Five high school seniors are being awarded a total of $10,000 in scholarships, based on their outstanding original art submissions around the theme of “Perspectives on Peace.”

“There are several other very good scholarship programs for Ventura’s high school seniors based on academic achievement or financial needs”, said Connie Young, current Rotary Club of Ventura president. “So, when we started this scholarship program last year, we sought to recognize and support the strong creativity and artistic talents of Ventura’s youth while encouraging self-reflection on a very important topic. These bright minds represent our collective future and what they accomplished represents incredible inspiration and hope.”

“The scholarship program’s theme of ‘Perspectives on Peace’ was chosen both because we were quite curious to learn what high schoolers today feel about the concept of peace, and because Rotary International has recently made promoting peace one of the focal purposes of the organization worldwide”, reports Staci Johnson, Rotary Club of Ventura member and co-chair of the scholarship effort. “Rotary, of course, has always been about peacebuilding but only recently started to really codify what that means both in our local communities and around the world. So, whether we’re serving local disadvantaged kids by providing a warm jacket or a backpack and school supplies – or we’re helping to support a skill-training center for vulnerable young girls in rural Zambia – we are in fact promoting peace.”

The Perspectives on Peace Scholarship received 35 entries of original artwork from high school seniors representing Buena, Foothill Tech, Ventura, and El Camino high schools. The submissions included paintings, drawings, mixed media, needlework, woodwork, photography, video and song. Ten judges reviewed each applicant’s artistic rendering of their personal perspective on peace along with their recommendation from teachers, guidance counselors, or mentors. “The creativity of these young adults is truly inspiring,” said Johnson, “and the judging process was a difficult one.”

The winners of the Rotary Club of Ventura 2020 Perspectives on Peace Scholarship are:

1^st prize $5,000 scholarship: Meghan Carter (Foothill Tech High School)

2^nd prize $2,500 scholarship: Sedrik Dedman (Buena High School)

3^rd prize $1,500 scholarship: Audrey Abbe (Foothill Tech High School)

Honorable mention $500: Yalda Kotobi (Ventura High School)

Honorable mention $500: Lindsey Johnston (Buena High School)

Due to Covid-19, a planned April exhibition for the winners and entrants within a larger Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) Art Showcase at the Ventura County Museum was cancelled. However, the scholarship recipients were celebrated at a recent “virtual meeting” of the Rotary Club of Ventura, where they presented their winning pieces and shared their motivations for creating it. Also, in attendance was Dr. Roger Rice, VUSD Superintendent, Greg Bayless, Director of Secondary Curriculum & Instruction, and several high school art teachers and career counselors, and Savi Bhim, Rotary 5240 District Governor, who gave an inspirational talk. The video highlights of this meeting can be viewed here.

To view and experience the Rotary Club of Ventura 2020 Perspectives on Peace Scholarship winners, please visit the full digital presentation, here: http://perspectivesonpeace.org/2020-winners/

“It is deeply moving to see the talent and artistic visions of these high school seniors and to help support them on their journey to higher education – and I’m proud to say that the Rotary Club of Ventura has committed to doing this scholarship program next year as well”, reports Young. “We’ve been putting ‘Service Above Self’ right here in Ventura for over 100 years now. Today, while we recognize our Club’s past, it’s our next 100 years that we’re most excited about.”

JOIN VENTURA ROTARY IN SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD PANTRIES

Ventura Rotary "Pays It Forward" to Local Food Pantries

With unprecedented need facing our community as a result of the economic shutdown of COVID-19, the Rotary Club of Ventura has stepped up to help increase direct funding support to the food banks of Ventura Salvation Army and Project Understanding. These two organizations are doing the hard work of sourcing and safely distributing food staples to hundreds of Ventura families each week during this crisis! They have the infrastructure and manpower to help more families in need but lack the immediate extra funding necessary to do so.

This is why we’re asking the Ventura community to please join us by making a donation to each organization's food pantry.

Donate to Project Understanding now by visiting http://www.projectunderstanding.org/ or go directly to their donation site HERE Under “donation information” be sure to select the designation “Food Pantry”.
Ventura Salvation Army has set up a donation page specifically for their food pantry, here: https://give-cas.salvationarmy.org/campaign/ventura-county-food-pantry-covid-19-pandemic-relief/c281202

During this stay-at-home period, the Rotary Club of Ventura has launched a “Pay It Forward” project in which the Club, through its charitable arm The Julius Gius Memorial Foundation, is donating $1,000 each week to these food pantries ($500 each weekly). In addition, one of our incredibly generous members has offered a $5,000 match for the “Pay It Forward” project. Our members are coming together to raise $5,000 which will be matched, so that $10,000 in new funding is directed to these food pantries! (This is in addition to our weekly $1,000 “Pay It Forward” donations!)

We are all challenged by the current stay-at-home directives and the myriad ways in which this public health crisis has upended daily life, yet Ventura Rotary remains deeply committed to helping our community. Please join us in supporting the food pantries at Ventura Salvation Army and Project Understanding. Thank you!

VENTURA ROTARY MAKES IS EASIER TO LIVE GREEN

Ventura Rotary Makes It Easier To Live Green

The Rotary Club of Ventura is proud to announce a new initiative and partnership with the City of Ventura’s Environmental Sustainability department to help reduce the amount of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) going into our landfills and waterways.

The City and Club came together to purchase and label 1,000 bright orange containers that are now available to the citizens of Ventura to store their hazardous materials between the City’s free monthly HHW drop-off events.

Each reusable container has a list of what HHW to put in the container, what not to put in the container, and when and where to drop-off these hazardous materials.

Containers are being distributed by the City at various community events, and Ventura residents can call Environmental Sustainability at 805-652-4525 to pick up a free container. (Mon-Thurs 8am-5pm)

The initial 1,000 containers are a strong start, but we plan to buy more and keep this project growing.

The Rotary Club of Ventura encourages every household to do its part to keep these toxic substances out of our local landfills and water supplies. We hope that having a bright dedicated HHW container with clear instructions will make it easier for Venturans to live more sustainably.

The Rotary Club of Ventura has committed to providing more than 225 volunteers for The Color Run on Saturday, November 23 (and also Friday the 22^nd for registration and setup). Please help us reach this very large volunteer goal! CLICK HERE to register to volunteer for any of the available time slots. At the end of your registration be sure to select from the dropdown “Rotary Club of Ventura” as the organization you are volunteering on behalf of. This is a fundraiser activity! By reaching our volunteer goal we share in a large portion of the event proceeds. Help us raise money for community projects by volunteering for this FUN event.

Perspectives on Peace Showcase

We are pleased to announce that our Perspectives on Peace scholarship winners have been announced.

This scholarship was established to recognize outstanding seniors at Ventura high schools. To determine the winners, 10 judges reviewed each applicant’s artistic rendering of their personal perspective on peace, their moral character and community involvement, and their recommendations from teachers, guidance counselors, or mentors.

We funded this program with our District Designated Funds that we earn from supporting The Rotary Foundation.

Scholarship winners:

First Prize: Shira Zaid, $5,000--Ventura High School
Second Prize: Madison Lonis, $2,000--Buena High School
Third prize: Kamar Hanna, $1,000—Buena High School
Honorary mention: Jordan Pollock, $500—Ventura High School
Honorary mention: Rachel Chang, $500—Foothill High School

The Museum of Ventura County is also excited to showcase their work from May 17^th through June 2^nd. We have also asked the other 15 applicants if they would like to showcase their work at the Museum. At our luncheon on May 15th, we will honor the winners and exhibit their work. Students, their guests and their art teachers will be in attendance.

Learn more: Download the Flyer | Visit the Website

Free Eye Exams!

Ventura Rotary Cenntenial

Celebrating Through the Decades

Ventura Rotary's

100th Year

This club has made such an impact on the city of Ventura and will continue to do so for the next 100 years.

Walk for Kids

Rotary Ventura was a very Proud Sponsor of this amazing event.

Thank you to all our amazing supporters and members!!

Ventura Rotary Video

The Grace Centre - Our Global Grant Project is underway!

Rotary Club of Ventura’s Global Grant Project

The History of Rotary Club of Ventura

How Our Club Started...

The first meeting of the Ventura Rotary Club took place on Wednesday, June 12, 1918 at the Hotel De Leon in downtown Ventura. James Briscoe, retiring President of the Santa Barbara Rotary Club, which had received its charter in January, 1918, and Byron Terry, a charter member of Rotary Club Number One, (Chicago Rotary Club, Mr. Terry actually knew Paul Harris), were present and explained the purposes of Rotary.

Project BackPack

Project backpack was a huge success! On August 11th, 2018, members of the Ventura Rotary club gathered to help stuff 866 backpacks with school supplies and distribute them to Ventura Unified Schools for students in need. The district identifies those students at each school and provides Rotary with their needs. We are happy to see the number has gone down in recent years. A special thanks to the East Ventura Rotary, South Ventura Rotary, and Lions club for your contributions towards this successful event.

End Polio

5 reasons Why we need to STOP Polio

1) To Improve Lives

16 million people are walking today who would have otherwise been paralyzed.

2) To Invest in the Future

If polio isn't eradicated, within 10 years, as many as 200,000 children could be paralyzed by it each year.

3) To Improve Child Health

Polio surveillance networks and vaccination campaigns also monitor children for other health problems like vitamin deficiency and measles, so they can be addressed sooner.

4) To Save Money

A polio-free world will save the global economy $40-$50 billion in health costs within the next 20 years.

5) To Make History

Polio eradication would be one of history's greatest public health achievements, with polio following smallpox to become only the second human disease eliminated from the world.

Coats for Kids

Drop off locations:

http://bit.ly/CoatsForKid2017DropOffSpots

Donate Jackets of all sizes November 1st thru December 31st

Thomas Fire Fund

We created a Go Fund Me page to make it easy for those near and far to contribute directly to those who need it most. Ventura Rotary will ensure ALL donations go directly into the hands of the families and individuals having to rebuild their homes and lives. Please share the link to our Go Fund Me page.

https://www.gofundme.com/ventura-rotary-thomas-fire-fund