Rotary works to build goodwill both near and far. For the Rotary Club of Tualatin, that means supporting projects as close to home as Byrom Elementary’s track improvements to building educational and sanitation programs in Africa.
Tualatin Rotarians, and the Club as a whole, have donated their time and money to several community-building projects over the past year. Service is more than an idea – providing direct help to others here in Tualatin is a key part of our mission.
One such project is Books on Wheels, which rolls out for various community events to provide free books to children. Books on Wheels began more than a decade ago by then-teacher Diane Bonica at her school, Deer Creek Elementary, as a way to keep kids reading through the summer.
Rotary buys books, supplemented through gently used donations, for children to select from for free. Diane tries to keep a variety of books, including both nonfiction and fiction, including popular titles. The Books on Wheels crew also visits the Tualatin Food Pantry every three months, to make sure families visiting can also select a book.
Having books at home helps increase a child’s school success and vocabulary development. Not all families can afford to buy books for their children. When a child gets to pick out their own book, which they get to take home and keep, it creates excitement for reading, a scene Diane has witnessed many times.
She recounts that she spoke with a family at last year’s Viva Tualatin; the tween boy was waiting for the next book in a series before he would read anything else. He found it among the Books on Wheels selection. “He did a happy dance,” Diane said. “Getting to experience that moment of joy, knowing that you have contributed to someone’s happiness, it’s so great.”
Another service project the Rotary Club of Tualatin is proud to invest in is Medical Teams International’s mobile dental van, which provides dental services for up to 700 families per month. In addition to donating to support the van’s visits to Borland Free Clinic, Rotarians volunteer at the dental clinic.
The mobile dental team helps people without the means or access to pay for oral health care to receive important treatment. Oral health is an essential part of a person’s overall health, with clear connections demonstrated between gum disease and heart disease. In addition, the dental van visit can serve as a critical access point for individuals needing other care interventions.
Service above self is more than a motto for the Rotary Club of Tualatin; it is a fellowship of community members brought together to impact the lives of youth in our community and create a brighter tomorrow. You can learn more about these and our other service projects by joining us for our weekly lunch, noon on Wednesdays at the Tualatin Country Club. See you there!
