Breanna Wright remembered five years ago when she looked at the Rotary Club International’s website for the first time. She was almost skeptical with what she saw.
“It was like, ‘Changing the world.’ I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty lofty. How does that even work?’ Then I went to the meeting, and I was surprised at the friendliness and acceptance of the group,” she said.
Now the vice president of the Rotary Club of Medford, Wright said she’s looking forward to celebrating the chapter’s 100th anniversary next week.
The club will celebrate its big centennial with a dinner party from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, at Rogue Valley Country Club. Tickets at $75 include a prime rib, salmon or a vegetarian dinner, according to the club’s website.
The event will feature cocktails and a celebration of the club’s history, Wright said. There will also be a silent auction to raise money for the club’s work.
Chuck Root has been a member of the Medford club since he moved to the Rogue Valley in 1988.
“Most people join Rotary for the fellowship and the community. With so many people working from home, I think it’s really important for people to get out there and get to know what’s going on,” he said.
Within the fellowship lies what he called “the magic of Rotary” — enough people in one community coming together and forming relationships, bringing with them their skills, their resources and their contacts. Through that potent combination, the club tackles projects close to home and around the world, Root said.
In the 1990s when the Mt. Ashland Ski Area was in trouble, the club helped raise $300,000 along with the Medford Rogue Rotary Club to help save it, he said. The club has worked with Medford Rogue Rotary on other projects, too. After the Almeda Fire, Root worked with Bob Hunter — former Mail Tribune editor and member of the Medford Rogue Rotary Club — on the “Back to Work” program, helping 132 fire-affected small businesses.
Root and others with the Rotary Club of Medford volunteer with Food and Friends, a program feeding local hungry seniors through the Rogue Valley Council of Governments and Meals on Wheels.
“I delivered a meal the other day, and the guy told me, ‘I wouldn’t have eaten today if it hadn’t been for you.’ I like to be able to help others. I think I’m blessed. It’s nice to have some energy and wherewithal to help others,” he said.
Rotary International is especially focused on broad causes like health, sanitation and promoting peace, according its website. The Medford club has joined in on these causes, as well.
Andy Atkinson / Rogue Valley Tribune
“I’ve done Rotary work in seven to eight different countries. I’m chairing the Peace Fellow Program right now, where we teach peace and conflict resolution skills. I’ve gotten to know folks around the world through Rotary,” Root said.
Wright remembered a project last year to help farmers in Africa.
“We sent some seeds to Kenya last year. One of our members has a school there, so we were able to send seeds that would be climate appropriate and sustainable,” she said.
Through the decades, the Rotary Club of Medford has kept in step with Rotary International while forming its own initiatives at home. When the founder of Rotary International — Paul Harris — died in 1947, members around the world donated $1 million to launch the first Rotary Foundation program for scholarships for students and studying abroad, according to the club’s website.
The Rotary Club of Medford established its own program giving aid to local students in 1947. In 1952, the informal program became the Medford Rotary Foundation. To date, the foundation has given $1.7 million in scholarships.
In 1973, the club celebrated the completion of the quad at North Medford High School, a $50,000 project to celebrate its 50-year anniversary. Last year, Root said, the club invested in equipment for Medford High School’s track and field program as part of the annual Medford Rotary Relays, a tradition dating back to 1940.
In 1997, the club supported the foundation of the Avachinski Rotary Club in Petropavlovsk, Russia. The club is now working to partner with other Rotary clubs in Southern Oregon to help the Ashland group Uniting for Ukraine.
“We’re trying to raise enough money to help bring in a family from Ukraine they have identified. It’s just one family, but we’re trying to raise enough for them to have sustainable housing for a year. That’s not easy,” Wright said.
The club’s dearest cause has been supporting local youth, she said, especially in the form of programs like Rogue Powerpack with nonprofit ACCESS. Powerpack endeavors to fill the backpacks of low-income students every Friday to ensure they won’t go hungry without the school’s free lunches over the weekend.
Courtesy photo
The club also hosts the annual “Slide into Summer” for local kids with watersliding at Bear Creek Park; promotes literacy in schools through donating dictionaries and other books to elementary schools; donates for the Maslow Project’s mission to help homeless teens; supports Kidspree, a back-to-school shopping assistance program; and this year is a new sponsor of Interact Club at Logos Public Charter School.
Last year, the club helped with the introduction of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Jackson County libraries.
“I was on the steering committee. It was a huge effort getting that off the ground in three months. I think it’s now serving 2,000 kids. It’s really rewarding,” Wright said.
She recommended the club for anyone curious and empathetic. The group offers its charity without religious affiliation or any judgment, Wright noted.
Like other community organizations, the Rotarians are working hard to draw in the next generation of members.
“We’re always looking for volunteers, for helping hands. Come on out to lunch at the country club on Tuesdays and meet the nicest, most welcoming group of people,” Wright said.
“It kind of keeps your ear to the ground about what’s going on. We learn new things all the time.”
