Members of Rotary clubs in Nanaimo and Lantzville continue to give of themselves for the benefit of the community.
The mid Island clubs were among the many recognized at the recent Rotary District 5020 conference held in Tacoma, Wash.
The district includes just over 5,000 Rotarians from Vancouver Island and northwest Washington.
One of the highlights of the meeting was the announcement by District Governor Bob Martin of all the hours members expended on charitable work and money contributed toward projects designed to improve the lives of those who are less fortunate, both here and abroad, during the past year.
District-wide, Rotarians worked just over 417,000 hours and donated over $4,320,000 in charitable funding this past year.
Locally, the 220 Rotarians from the five Nanaimo and Lantzville area clubs contributed more than 19,360 hours and $260,000 during the year.
In reviewing the totals, Martin said, he was proud to be a Rotarian and has always been proud of the accomplishments of the clubs.
“When I asked each club to track their service hours and monetary contributions for this past year, I knew it would be a lot, but I did not imagine these numbers,” he said. “I hope these numbers will affirm in the public’s eye that Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self, is more than just words, that it is the essence of Rotary.”
Local Rotary clubs include Nanaimo (downtown), Nanaimo North, Nanaimo Daybreak, Nanaimo Oceanside and Lantzville.
Rotary has 1.2 million members in 34,000 clubs in more than 200 countries.
It is best known for its End Polio Now campaign to eradicate polio worldwide.