10 Years as a Rotarian
Posted on April 21, 2024 by Ching under Community, Things to Do.
This year marks my 10th year as a Rotarian. I joined in 2014 when I was looking to be more involved in the community. At the time my office was located at Douglas and Broadway so I was originally looking at the Rotary Club of Wichita which meets on Mondays at Botanica. However, they already had 400 members (and a few from my company) so my joining wasn’t likely to make much of a difference.
Living in Southeast Wichita, I was close to the Andover branch of the Greater Wichita YMCA so I was working there as a group fitness instructor in my off time. I also had a coworker David Austin, who was a member of the Rotary Club of Andover, and he invited me to visit. It was a small club consisting of only twenty or so members. Anyway, I ended up joining the Andover club because I felt like I would make much more of an impact there.
For such a small club, the Andover Rotary does a lot. We’ve contributed to so many things in the Andover community and internationally. We’ve also partnered with other Rotary clubs in the Wichita area on several initiatives. You can find out more about our club’s current and past projects here
Last month we sponsored food packing at Christ Church – East in partnership with the Outreach Program. Club members, along with volunteers from the church, Boy Scouts of America, and National Honors Society, participated in this community service project. The boxes of food packaged were donated to the Andover Community Food Pantry, Butler Community College Food Pantry, and Christ Church’s own ministry with North High School.
Last week Rotary Club of Andover school mini grant recipients for the 2023-2024 school year (five teachers from the Andover school district along with their students) presented their community service projects to the club.
I am so grateful to be part of a club that makes an impact in our community both directly (through our own community service projects) and indirectly by supporting and funding the projects of others. The school mini grant program is particularly meaningful because it encourages our youth to get involved in their community.
If you would like to learn more about our club, and/or support our projects and initiatives, we have a fundraising event next month at Crestview Country Club. It’s our annual team pickleball tournament. Spectator tickets (which cover lunch and drinks) are available for purchase here. We will also be raffling off some awesome prizes at the event. I hope you can make it.
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