Niles Rotary Club

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Niles Rotary has a rich tradition of doing good work in our community. We have been serving our community for nearly 90 years. Our membership takes great pride in doing hands-on projects which not only benefit the community but also help to build a stronger relationship within its membership through service.

Throughout the local and International community, Niles Rotary is known as a Service Organization that gets things done. This is why each year we are approached by organizations such as the Fremont and Newark Unified School Districts, Fremont Parks District, East Bay Regional Parks, as well as local churches and civic organizations, to team up doing projects which benefit our community.

Besides providing countless volunteer hours, Niles Rotary offers financial support for its community services projects as well as distributing much needed dollars though our grants program. Niles Rotarians are both generous donors and dedicated fundraisers. In recent years, some of the funds raised have been used to seed our Niles Rotary Endowment Fund, so that when circumstances prevent us from our normal fundraising activities (think COVID), we are still able to continue our community service projects.

How Niles Rotary picks its community projects

Niles Rotary’s Membership is very closely tied to our local community and projects are often brought to the Club’s Community Service Chairperson by the members themselves. These organizations may also appeal directly to the Board of Directors for assistance with their projects. The Board of Directors reviews potential projects as to whether they meet Rotary’s Motto of “Service above Self” and the guidelines provided by Rotary’s “4-Way Test”. The Board of Directors then decides as to whether a certain project meets all requirements and should be implemented. Another way a project can be brought to the attention of Niles Rotary is through its Grant Request Program.

Each year Niles Rotarians donate to Rotary’s International’s Foundation. A portion of these donations come back to our Club and are earmarked for Community Service Projects. The current club President decides which projects these funds will go to and how they are to be spent. Niles Rotarians also work with our sponsored High School Interact clubs and its Rotaract Club doing projects that they themselves will decide upon and organize. These projects help to bring a closer working relationship between the Interactors, Rotaractors and Rotarians.

Here are a few of our more recent projects of which we are particularly proud.

Feed the Hungry

Feed the Hungry at Centerville Free Dining Room – since 1989. Every fifth Thursday, Niles Rotarians work with the Centerville Presbyterian Church to provide, prepare and serve meals. as well as volunteer with local pantries like the Salaam Food Pantry. Due to health codes, volunteers helping with the Feed the Hungry program also take a course to earn their Food Handler Card.

School Improvements & Beautification

Helping students is a major focus and both public and private schools in Fremont have benefited. In the past five years, Niles Rotarians have been on hand to build a student learning garden at Grimmer Elementary, paint a playground map of the USA at Durham, install new carts of computer notepads for Harvey Green, and help with irrigation and landscaping at others.

Plant A Tree

Through our Rotaract group, the Niles Rotary Club regularly partners with the City of Fremont to plant trees and spread mulch around Lake Elizabeth at Central Park. We primarily focus on adding native species, such as California Red Oaks, to enhance the park’s urban forest. We’ve had several seed ball parties, creating thousands of mud balls nestling local tree seeds, and following up with a fun trip to the country to spread them.

List of past and continuing projects:

  • Feed the Hungry at Centerville Free Dining Room – since 1989
  • Winter Relief Dinners at Centerville Presbyterian Church
  • Rebuilding the Fishing Docks at Niles Community Park
  • Funding and Installing a Fishing Dock at Fremont’s Central Park
  • Building Planters and providing Drip Systems at Graham Elementary School
  • Providing drought resistance planting and irrigation at front entry Graham Elementary School
  • Adding a new door and entry for a Kindergarten class at Blacow Elementary School
  • Rebuilding benches and Basketball backboards at Blacow Elementary School
  • Providing playground bark and re-striping playground at Blacow Elementary School
  • Painting low income housing units for Abode Services
  • Ongoing Park Clean-up at Niles Community Park
  • Cabrillo Elementary School Map & Garden Project
  • LEAF Trees, Planter Boxes & Fencing Project
  • Candlelighter’s Ghost House set up and take down

Niles Rotarians embrace their strong tradition of “Service Above Self” by serving both our local and International Communities through Community Service. We strive to make a real difference in the lives of others and therefore making a difference and bettering our own lives. If you would like to learn more about our projects or are interested in volunteering to participate in future projects, please contact us and select Suggest a Community Service Project.