Bloomington-Normal Sunrise Rotary

We channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity. In Sunrise Rotary, we have a committee in place for each of these Avenues of Service to makes sure we are keeping club members informed and engaged. All club members are encouraged to participate any place their passion takes them!

Club Service

We are a volunteer organization which requires everyone’s help to make the club operate. Everyone gets a chance to pitch in at various times throughout the year. Club Service organizes tasks like collecting money at the door, giving the invocation, leading the opening song, greeting arriving members and the like. Club Service is also tasked with creating events to build bonds between club members and helping new members get to know others in our Rotary Club. They organize many happy hours, typically monthly, and family outings in the community.

Vocational Service

As business leaders, Rotarians  share their skills and expertise through Vocational Service. Your Vocational Service efforts can play a vital role in improving the quality of life for those hardworking members of the community who need direction and expertise. By participating in any of a number of Vocational Service activities — mentoring, career days, vocational awards, business assistance, or even talking about your job at a club meeting — you can turn your experience into an invaluable resource for others.

Community Service

Many members focus on Community Service projects. Community Service can be likened to “rolling up our sleeves” to serve our community. Our projects include packaging food at Midwest Food Bank, cooking meals for at Home Sweet Home Ministries, building homes for Habitat for Humanity, volunteering to watch children so parents can take classes at the Boys & Girls club, or one of many others projects.

International Service

International Service is for the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service, to expand Rotary’s humanitarian reach around the globe and to promote world understanding and peace. The International Service Division has many projects supporting these goals, and invites and encourages participation in this vitally important work.  Past International Service projects have including building wells in Uganda & India, building a new kitchen for an care home in Romania, creating a traveling library for schools in southwest Africa, and equipping a hospital in India.

Youth Service

Youth Service recognizes the importance of empowering youth and young professionals through leadership development programs.

Service clubs sponsored by us span many ages and include:

  • Earlyact for elementary and junior high students (ages 5-13). Sunrise Rotary sponsors Earlyact clubs at Washington Elementary and Sheridan Schools.
  • Interact for high school students (ages 14-17). Sunrise Rotary sponsors an Interact club at Bloomington Central Catholic High School.

Youth development opportunities include:

  • Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), held annually, are a weekend-long leadership development event that combines fun with leadership skill-building. For Sophomores-Seniors in High school, each year has a different curriculum that includes team building, resume development, interviewing skills, and much more. More information about RYLA can be found here:  District Brochure
  • Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is a year-long program open to Freshman-Seniors in high school (sometimes a gap-year depending on the age of the student).  More information can be found at District 6490 Rotary Youth Exchange
    • The Outbound program, for Americans, sends the student abroad to live with 3 different families over the course of the year, while the student attends high school in the foreign country. The main goals of the program are cultural, where the student learns the language and culture of the program. Academic credit is idiosyncratically determined by the student’s school, and so planning during Junior high or Freshman year is ideal to make sure graduation and any transitions to post-high school education are well understood.
    • The Inbound program, for foreign students, houses them in up to 3 host families over the school year. Students typically arrive in August, and return home mid July. Being a Host parent can be a life-changing experience, and allows a family (whether with small children, high school aged children, or empty-nesters) to bring a part of the world into their homes.
  • Scouting: The Sunrise Rotary Club sponsors 3 different scouting units. We also look for opportunities to support the Girl Scouts of America
    • Cub Scout Pack 3988, for ages 5-10 meeting in Benjamin elementary
    • Troop 8888G, an all-girls Scout troop for ages 10-18
    • Crew 4242, a co-ed Venturing unit for ages 14-21, focused on camping and high adventure

Foundation Committee

In Bloomington-Normal Sunrise Rotary, our Foundation Committee promotes giving to two foundations that we support.

The Rotary Foundation

The first, and largest, is The Rotary Foundation. Every Sunrise Rotarian is asked to commit to Every Rotarian, Every Year – the donation of $100 or more each year to The Rotary Foundation.

The mission of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

The Rotary Foundation helps fund our humanitarian activities, from local service projects to global initiatives. Your club or district can apply for grants from the Foundation to invest in projects and provide scholarships. The Foundation also leads the charge on worldwide Rotary campaigns such as eradicating polio and promoting peace. Rotarians and friends of Rotary support the Foundation’s work through voluntary contributions.

Specific target areas include:

    • Promoting Peace
      We provide education and training to strengthen peace efforts and support long-term peace-building in areas affected by conflict.
    • Fighting Disease
      More than 100 million people are pushed into poverty each year because of medical costs. We help prevent the spread of major diseases such as polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria.
    • Providing Clean Water
      More than 2.5 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation facilities. We help communities develop sustainable water and sanitation systems and provide education on clean water and sanitation.
    • Saving Mothers and Children
      At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health, and inadequate sanitation. We provide immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improve access to medical care, and help train health care providers.
    • Supporting Education
      Worldwide, 67 million children have no access to education. We support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
    • Growing Local Economies
      Nearly 1.4 billion unemployed people live on less than $1.25 a day. We help enhance economic and community development and create opportunities that empower individuals and entire communities.
    • Supporting the Environment  (new 2020 addition!)

Bloomington-Normal Sunrise Rotary Foundation

The Bloomington-Normal Sunrise Rotary Foundation is the second foundation we support, and is a locally administered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Our club is building an endowment to support our scholarship program for students of Heartland Community College in Normal. The Sunrise foundation’s mission is to support the ongoing mission of the Bloomington-Normal Sunrise Rotary Club through the six main areas which The Rotary Foundation focuses on (above) with the added goal of promoting local humanitarian engagement and disaster recovery aid.

Membership Committee

The purpose of our membership committee is to make sure that every Sunrise Rotarian has a meaningful role to play in our organization, that they’re all making a contribution, and that their contribution is valued. Our committee works on the recruitment of prospective members to our club and helps to educate those new members about Rotary. We also seek ways to increase satisfaction among our existing membership to improve the engagement and retention of our fellow Rotarians.

Public Relations Committee

The public relations committee updates the website, sends out notifications to members, communicates with local media and the district, and manages the BNSR social media.