Bath Sunrise Rotary Club’s commitment to the youth of our community and the world is deep and ongoing. We have sponsored teams from Bath in the National Ocean Sciences Bowl and Odyssey of the Mind at Regionals and Nationals.  As members of the Midcoast Community Alliance, our club donated 300 yellow tulips each for the Hope Gardens at Morse High School and Bath Middle School.  We donate yearly to the Success by Six program of the United Way.  Below are service opportunities we have for the remainder of this year’s Rotary year which runs from July 1 to June 30.  If any of them call to you, please let us know or contact the organizations listed.  We welcome non-members in all our service projects.  Also, if you have an idea for a service project for youth and want some help, let us know.  It takes a village!  

Bath-Tsugaru Student Exchange: One of our members, Jon Huntington, sits on the Board of the Bath-Tsugaru Student Exchange Program, with a promise from our club to assist as we can in this year’s and future years programs.  They are currently looking for students who wish to apply for this summer’s trip to Japan.  Visit http://bath-tsugaru.org for more information. 

RYLA and Interact:  Interact is the High School version of Rotary.  Our member, Phyliss Wolfe, and members from the Bath Club, rotate attending the students’ weekly meetings.  We support their fundraisers and they work side by side with us in several projects throughout the year. Bath Sunrise Rotary Club is one many clubs in Rotary District 7780 that support and financially sponsor one of the most impactful programs students who have just finished 10th grade can experience, according to the students who are graduates of the programs and their families.  Go to the Patten Free Library of Bath’s website and read Molly Crosby’s winning entry about getting over the Wall and RYLA’s impact in her own words.   

This year, Sunday, June 23rd 8:30 am Start to Wednesday, June 26th 6:30 pm RYLA participants will immerse themselves in a challenging and fun few days that will also build lasting lifelong relationships.  Members of our club and the Bath Rotary Club will be interviewing applicants for this year’s camp the first week of March and both clubs will be donating funds for the campers, staff and helping the Morse HS Interact Club raise funds with the Lunches for Leaders fundraiser at the end of March.  Check their Facebook page for upcoming details.  

Literacy:  Friday, March 1, some of our members will be volunteering for Community Real A Loud, an initiative of United Way of Mid Coast Maine.  For 20 years, Rotarians and community members have gone into preschools, elementary schools and daycare centers to read to children a favorite piece of writing, book or short story. This event shares in a national celebration of Read Across America Day as all the readers share their love of reading and talk to the children about why reading is important in our daily lives and work.  If you wish to participate, register online by visiting their website www.uwmcm.org.  

Morse HS Honor Cards:  Our club has a recognition program for Morse High School students.  Quarterly we give “Honor Cards” to the students for their academic achievements (High Honor; Honors, Honorable Mention).  We solicit from local eateries and other types of businesses that wish to recognize the student’s academic hard work.  The discounts are based on the level of achievement such as 20 percent off for High Honors, 15 percent for Honors and 10 percent for Honorable Mention or food rewards in the restaurants. Currently, there are close to 40 participating businesses.   

Robotics Clubs:  All three Robotics Clubs we support have been very active this school year.  BRCTC/Morse HS Robotics Club meets at BRCTC on Mondays at 2:30 p.m.  The Middle School Robotics Club meets in the Community Room upstairs at the Patten Free Library on Wednesdays from 4-6 p.m.  The elementary school club that meets in the Childrens Room has not been scheduled again yet after the winter holidays, check with the Children’s Desk at the Patten Free Library for updated information.  

Bath Sunrise Rotary meets the first and third Fridays of each month, 7 a.m., at Mae’s Café and Bakery. If you are interested in finding out more about Rotary or joining in on one of our projects join us for breakfast, contact us at  [email protected] or keep up-to-date on our programs and any changes in meeting logistics by going to https://bathsunriserotary.org.  And don’t forget to LIKE us at https://www.facebook.com/BathSunriseRotaryClub/ to get more info. 

Carol Fleming is the president of the Bath Sunrise Rotary Club.