Project & Programs Overview
Current Rotary Club of Norfolk Programs
The Rotary Club is proud to serve the Hampton Roads community with a variety of programs and service projects. Below you will see a list of our current projects. To learn more about these projects as well as some of our past programs, please click the links on the left.
- Community Service -- This is the heart of our club. You will find Rotary Club of Norfolk members helping improve our community in a variety of ways -- collecting and distributing school supplies for low-income students through the Salvation Army, helping FORKids homeless organization by volunteering at its thrift shop, volunteering for the Elizabeth River Project and other worthy organizations. Have an idea where our nearly 140 members can help? Let us know.
- Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia -- Each December our club members kick off the holiday season with a Saturday morning sorting food at the foodbank. We also participate in collections for the foodbank throughout the year.
- Environmental projects -- For several years our club members have maintained a stretch of waterfront property in East Ocean View as part of Clean the Bay Day. During other times of the year you can find us planting trees at the Virginia Tech horticultural center in Norfolk and tending to projects at Norfolk Botanical Garden.
- Grants to area nonprofits -- Each year we award grants to area nonprofits working in our designated focus areas. In 2018 our club awarded $36,000 in grants to 21 nonprofits working in the areas of arts, education, environment, health and human services. Plus we teamed up with the Rotary Club of Virginia Beach and the Norfolk Sunrise Rotary Club of to win a $25,000 Rotary District Grant for the development of a children's natural play area including a walking maze through several acres of bamboo forest. In 2014 to celebrate our centennial we put $100,000 in grants in the community. Part of the funding created the Rotary Smiles project in conjunction with Access Partnership. This program provides dentures for area residents who need them but can't afford them. We also provided grants to help the Life Enrichment Center put computer labs in two Title I elementary schools in Norfolk and also helped fund the Calvert Square Boys and Girls Club.
- Career Day -- Each year our club members connect one-to-one with area public high school students and give them a glimpse into their workdays. After spending an afternoon with a Rotarian, each student writes an essay. Students with winning essays receive cash prizes to help them pay for college.
- Tiel Student Exchange -- For more than 40 years our Rotary Club has sponsored a student exchange with the Tiel Rotary Club in the Netherlands. Each summer high school students selected by our Rotary Club spend three weeks in The Netherlands or our club hosts students from the Netherlands affiliated with the Tiel Club.
To view detailed information on our current and past projects, please click on the links to the left.