The Rotary Club of Bellevue is proud of our long history and strong commitment to serving the needs of our friends and neighbors in and around Bellevue and around the world. We improve the health and wellness of children and families, support students in their education and extra-circular activities, and preserve the unique and neighborly culture of Bellevue.
Bellevue Rotary Foundation Video 2021
Inspiration Playground – Bellevue Downtown Park
The Inspiration Playground grew out of one our member’s experience working with disabled children in Nepal. He found that children who played not just around one another–but who played with one another–stopped seeing each other as different and just saw each other as friends.
The Inspiration Playground is designed to facilitate interactive play among children of all abilities. It has become the destination playground for all of Bellevue.
Polio Plus
Polio Plus was (and is) a Rotary Foundation project to eradicate polio through a worldwide immunization campaign, which started in 1985. In 1988, inspired partly by Rotary’s efforts, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). In 1988 WHO reported an estimated 350,000 cases of polio worldwide. In 2019, there were 103.
Throughout, Bellevue Rotary has continued to support the Rotary Foundation and its efforts to eradicate polio and has contributed more than $100,000 to the Rotary Foundation.
Harvest Against Hunger
Imagine entering a room full of bins of apples, pears, corn, carrots, onions, potatoes, or green beans and knowing that in a few hours, you and other Rotarians will have repacked thousands of pounds into cases for delivery to local food banks. What a sense of accomplishment for a Saturday morning!
Every month, hundreds of Rotarians from across District 5030 gather at our partner programs’ warehouses to help sort and repack produce. Harvest Against Hunger work parties are one of our District’s most enduring and enjoyable service activities.
Service to Mature Adults
Our Service To Mature Adults Committee coordinates programs and projects involving members of our senior community. An especially fun and meaningful event is our auction at the Evergreen Court Senior Center. Seniors receive $1,500 each of Monopoly money to spend on a variety of items supplied by Rotary and our Rotarian volunteers. We help the mature adults who need an extra hand decide what to bid for and how much to pay. The Committee has also provided tickets to seniors on fixed income so they could attend the Village Theater productions and hosted Bingo Nights at a Senior Center. Everyone has a good time.
Camp Goodtimes Carnival
Bellevue Rotary has been a major supporter of Camp Goodtimes since its inception. The Goodtimes Project supports children, siblings and families in Washington and Alaska who have been impacted by pediatric cancer. Bellevue Rotary provides financial support for an annual “Carnival Day” at Camp, and Rotarians volunteer at this wonderful event every year.
Bellevue Rotary Family Festival
Bellevue Rotary Family Festival, held in the spring, brings together foster children and parents who are pre-screened and approved for adoption in a fun, family-oriented, and emotionally-safe environment. Some of the kids have different abilities, are medically fragile, or hope that their sibling group will remain together. The Family Festival has been particularly successful at helping these children find their forever family.
No matter where your service interests lie, Bellevue Rotary provides ways to make a difference in our local community and around the world. Contact us to learn more about Rotary service opportunities.