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Members of the Rotary Club of Salisbury, People of Action in our community, were busy recently providing another wheelchair ramp. This time, in Fruitland, Maryland, our team was reconstructing a ramp rather than building it anew.

Working with the Chesapeake Housing Mission, we try to build or rebuild two ramps per year.

College Scholarships Available Through The Rotary Club of Salisbury

March 17, 2023

The Rotary Club of Salisbury, in its 104^th year of service to our community, in a partnership with the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, is offering five scholarships of at least $1,000 each to help students pay for their college educations.

Scholarship applications can be found on the Community Foundation‘s scholarship portal, www.cfes.org/scholarships with instructions and deadlines. All applications are subject to verification by the guidance department of student’s home school. Applications are due no later than April 1. Once the schools confirm eligibility, recipients are selected by the Rotary Club of Salisbury Scholarship Committee.

We Support Youth Development Programs

February 13, 2023

Continuing its decades-long support of programs to enrich the youth of our community, The Rotary Club of Salisbury has awarded $35,000 divided among ten local non-profit organizations through its annual 3-Point Initiative. Awards range from $2,000 to $5,000.

Funding for these grants comes from the Rotary Club of Salisbury Foundation, Inc. and its partnering organizations that include: the Donnie Williams Foundation, the Richard and Patricia Hazel Charitable Fund,

and the Richard A. Henson Foundation, each of which made a generous donation.

Eligible organizations were government entities, faith-based organizations, and non-profit public charities that support programs for youth on the Lower Eastern Shore. Members of the Rotary Club of Salisbury screened the applications, made site visits, and weighed the contributions that each organization would make to our

community.

Receiving grants are:

 One Year to Empowerment to teach young women how to be responsible students and citizens

 Salisbury Urban Ministries to fund Kids Café after school programs

 Off Street Sports for physical fitness, tutoring, mental and wellness counseling programs

 Main Street Gym for scholarships and educational materials for underserved youth

 United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore for its Imagination Library program

 Epoch Dream Center for after school tutoring, mental health counseling and summer programs

 Rebirth, Inc. to support after school resource, technology, learning and computer center

 Horizons Delmarva to offer summer programs and tutoring during school days for underserved youth

 Junior Achievement for the Inspire Program for 8th graders to learn about career readiness and finance

 Missal House Foundation to fund the launch of a multi-cultural HOOP bus for free community art and cultural activities in the community.

The Rotary Club of Salisbury’s

3-Point Initiative Chairman Gus Lebois noted that more than 4,000 children are expected to benefit from these grants. “We are proud to continue our tradition of helping children so they will become better students and citizens.”

And the Winners Are...

February 2, 2023

It was Trivia Night at this evening's meeting of The Rotary Club of Salisbury as members dealt with some of the most obscure questions one could imagine.

Randomly placed teams enjoyed this fun way of enjoying the fellowship.

The winning team, the self named Chiefs, consisted of Phil Whitman, Immediate Past President Bill Satterfield, Chris Peek, President-elect Ernie Colburn, and President Ford Waggoner.

Next week we'll hear about the nine local community service groups that will receive a share of $35,000 raised by the club through it's 3-Point Initiative.

Cyper Security Threats Explained to Rotarians

January 26, 2023

It was a father and son meeting at The Rotary Club of Salisbury tonight. President Ford Waggoner introduced his son Kyle as our speaker with the topic being cyper security threats to America's businesses. As a local expert on this subject through his work with Perdue Farms, Kyle explained the threats from Ransomware and perhaps how to avoid or minimize the damage.

The club also inducted two members, Gina Grier and Dick Hawes (front on the left) who were sponsored by Ginnie and Bob Malone.

Next week we'll test our members knowledge as we have a trivia night evening of fun.

Want to join Gina and Dick and our other People of Action? Contact Ginnie Malone at 410-251-6188 or gmalone@cbmove.com. We meet weekly on Thursday evenings for dinner at our Rotary Scout and Community Center along Riverside Drive near Salisbury. You might enjoy the fellowship, community service projects, and the interesting speakers at many of our meetings. And unlike Rotary of days gone by, there no longer is an attendance requirement. Members can attend and participate in club events as they choose.

Community Leader Selected for Rotary Club Leadership Position

January 12, 2023

Members of The Rotary Club of Salisbury tonight selected community leader BJ Summers to become the President-Elect in the coming Rotary year and President in the July 2024-June 2025 year.

BJ has been a club member since 2015, served on the Board of Directors, recruited several new club members, been active in the club's community service projects, served as a financial advisor to the Rotary Club of Salisbury Foundation, Inc., and became a donor the international Rotary Foundation,

Professionally, she worked for a quarter of a century for the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore where she led its donor relations efforts.

Want to join BJ and our other People of Action? Contact Ginnie Malone at 410-251-6188 or gmalone@cbmove.com. We meet weekly on Thursday evenings for dinner at our Rotary Scout and Community Center along Riverside Drive near Salisbury. You might enjoy the fellowship, community service projects, and the interesting speakers at many of our meetings. And unlike Rotary of days gone by, there no longer is an attendance requirement. Members can attend and participate in club events as they choose.

Rotary Dictionaries on Their Way to Wicomico County Students

December 2, 2022

Continuing a tradition of at least 40 years, members of The Rotary Club of Salisbury have prepared and are planning to distribute dictionaries to third grade students in Wicomico County schools. Working with the club is the Salisbury Sunrise Rotary Club.

Thanks to the generosity of more than 100 local Rotary club members, our communities’ People of Action, the clubs have purchased the books, placed labels in them to acknowledge the role of the Rotary clubs, sorted them for distribution, boxed them, and have begun distributing the books to approximately 1,500 students in county public and private schools.

Project coordinator AB Brown, a long time Rotary Club of Salisbury member and a member of the Wicomico County Board of Education said “It’s very satisfying to see the children’s smiling faces when they open the dictionaries for the first time. For many students, this book might be the only one they own.”

The dictionary project is just one of several recent activities for The Rotary Club of Salisbury. Other recent community support programs have included ringing the holiday money-raising bells for the Salvation Army, renovating the Christian Shelter, participating in the “Walk with Me” fundraiser for the Easterseals Salisbury Children’s Therapy Center, and delivering Meals on Wheels as club members do year-round.

The Numbers Are In....

November 29, 2022

Well, the numbers are in and thanks to The Rotary Club of Salisbury, the Christian Shelter received more than $9,200 in donations thanks to the club's riders in the 2022 Seagull Century 63 mile bicycle ride. Club members donated to support the club's riders and guests.

This community support project was another example of our members being People of Action.

A Lucky Raffle Winner

November 3, 2022

Harriette Hammond tonight was presented her $10,000 first place payment by Rotary Club of Salisbury President Ford Waggoner thanks to her winning ticket in the club's annual raffle. Mrs. Hammond bought just one ticket and it turned into the winning one. Not only did she receive her check tonight, indicating she would use the money to repair her house roof, she also was a winner in the weekly 50/50 drawing. Talk about good fortune! After the meeting, club members gathered around her to get her thoughts on the winning numbers in the pending $1.2+ billion Powerball drawing.

And the Winners Are.......

October 27, 2022

Three community members are happy they bought tickets in this year's Rotary Club of Salisbury annual raffle with a top prize of $10,000. With the help of Fruitland, Maryland police officer Zach Douglas, three tickets were selected tonight from the 3,750 tickets that were sold over the last few months. This means that $26,000 are available to help the club support dozens of community projects and causes.

Winning the $10,000 top prize was Harriette Hammond, who bought her ticket from club member Robin Evans during the Wicomico County Fair. Liz Whaley won the $1,000 prize thanks to a ticket she bought from club member John Aukward. The $500 prize was won by Josslyn Lewis through a ticket sold by Bill Cropper.

Congratulations to these three winners and our thanks to the many persons who bought tickets to support our local community non-profit organizations.

Wicomico County Transportation Issues Discussed

October 29, 2022

Members of The Rotary Club of Salisbury tonight heard from David Ryan, Executive Director of the Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Ryan's emphasis was on transportation businesses in our area. A most enlightening presentation.

Interested in becoming one of The Rotary Club of Salisbury’s People of Action? Contact Ginnie Malone at 410-251-6188 or gmalone@cbmove.com.

Rotary Club of Salisbury Seeks to Support Community Groups

October 16, 2022

The Rotary Club of Salisbury, in its 103^rd year of service to the community, is seeking applications for its seventh annual 3-Point Initiative, a grant program with awards ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Funds will be awarded to local non-profits in early 2023 that promote Responsibility, Integrity, and Academic Achievement to area youth. The deadline to apply is Friday, November 11, 2022.

Funding for this grant comes from the Rotary Club of Salisbury and its partnering organizations that include: the Donnie Williams Foundation, the Richard and Patricia Hazel Charitable Fund, the Richard A. Henson Foundation, First Shore Federal Savings and Loan Charitable Fund, and the Wooten Community Fund, each of which made a generous donation. The Rotary Club of Salisbury's 3-Point Initiative last year donated more than $40,000 to nine organizations.

501(C)(3) organizations interested in applying must meet eligibility criteria that include being a government entity, faith-based organization, or a non-profit public charity that supports programs for youth on the Lower Eastern Shore. A written description is required detailing how the organization promotes the three tenets of the grant: responsibility, integrity, and academic achievement and how the money will be used.

The grant application is available in the Download section of this website. Questions may be directed to 3-Point Initiative Chairman Gus Lebois at GLebois0271@gmail.com or 443-859-3968.

Annually, The Rotary Club of Salisbury channels tens of thousands of dollars and countless volunteer hours back into our community through the support of agencies and causes. Recent support has been provided to Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society of Wicomico County, Wicomico County Fair, boys and girl scouts, The Christian Shelter, Easterseals, third grade students for dictionaries, MAC Inc. Meals on Wheels, Fruitland Little League, military veterans support groups, and others.

Two New Members...Longest Serving Member

October 13, 2022

Tonight, The Rotary Club of Salisbury inducted two members, Tony Hilligoss and Casey Jakubowski and honored our longest serving active member, John Snee. John joined the club in 1969 and served as president in the 1973-1974 Rotary year. John was recognized for his 95^thbirthday and received a cake delivered by club President-Elect Ernie Colburn.

Want to join our growing number of members? Contact Contact Ginnie Malone at 410-251-6188 or gmalone@cbmove.com.

Helping The Christian Shelter

October 12, 2022

The 103-year old Rotary Club of Salisbury continued its support of Salisbury’s Christian Shelter this month by providing volunteers and money to help renovate its Barclay Street facilities. The Christian Shelter is a temporary emergency facility providing safe shelter, nutritious meals, practical and spiritual direction, and life-changing Good News of Jesus Christ to people in crisis.

Using club money and money from Rotary District 7630, club members are helping with the expenses associated with the renovation. Following furniture removal and replacement of the floor, club members repainted the walls and cleaned the office space in anticipation of later replacing the furniture with all new desks, chairs, and filing cabinets. This work was needed and required to bring the facility into compliance with building and security standards.

In addition to this project to benefit the Christian Shelter, club members donated money to help with other modernizations. For years, club members have participated in the annual Seagull Century Bike Ride to support the Christian Shelter. That support continued during this month’s Seagull Century event. Club members donated money to support the riders’ efforts. The club’s goal was to raise at least $6,000 to help with the replacement of the walk-in cooler and freezers that must be replaced this year. Total cost for the project is $156,000.

An Update on City of Salisbury Projects

October 6, 2022

Salisbury Mayor Jake Day tonight provided members of The Rotary Club of Salisbury an update on the many growth and expansion projects planned by the City of Salisbury. Topics included the elimination of parking spaces downtown, the construction of a parking garage, new buildings, bicycle lanes, and other items. It appears there will be tremendous changes in the downtown area.

In a couple of weeks, we'll learn about other possible changes to our area when David Ryan from the Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development agency visits the club.

Kindness at The Rotary Club of Salisbury Meeting

October 4, 2022

Striving to improve kindness in our community, the Rotary Club of Salisbury heard recently from Grace Murdock, the so-called Salisbury Secretary of Kindness. Salisbury is the first World Kindness USA city.

She has adopted several projects, one of which is promoting Buddy Bench of Kindness Mission -- where benches are placed at schools outside for children to sit on if they have no one to play with during recess. These benches address loneliness and isolation for children in schools, and are for other children to join that student and encourage them to join their play group.

To celebrate World Kindness Day, the 10^th annual Dance for Kindness event will occur globally. The Salisbury Kindness group has participated over the years, this year’s event is on November 13.

Rotary Supports Easterseals

September 10, 2022

Rotary, the international service and fellowship organization, helped form what now is known as Easterseals. Today, members of The Rotary Club of Salisbury joined with others in the community to help raise money by participating in the “Walk with Me” fundraiser for the Easterseals Salisbury Children’s Therapy Center.

Another example of our members being People of Action. Want to join our growing number of members? Contact Contact Ginnie Malone at 410-251-6188 or gmalone@cbmove.com.

We Welcomed a New Member Tonight

September 1, 2022

Dorchester County educator Paula Turner-Coleman became the newest member of The Rotary Club of Salisbury tonight. She was inducted into the club by President Ford Waggoner with the help of Rotary District 7630 Governor Cliff Berg.

Dr. Turner-Coleman, following a stint in the pharmaceutical and medical sales industry, became involved in the education arena while serving in numerous community groups. Her background allows her to fit right in with the club's People of Action.