The Rotaract Club of Birmingham

The Rotaract Club of Birmingham

The The Rotaract Club of BirminghamAlabama, U.S.A. (District 6860) serves as the city’s premiere community-based service organization for young professionals. The Rotaract Club of Birmingham is committed to personal, professional and community development. Founded in March 2004 by Birmingham natives Mike Mahon and John Peinhardt, the Club positively impacts the community by developing the next generation of civic leaders. The Birmingham club is sponsored by 550 members of the Downtown Rotary Club and has access to the many resources of Rotary International (RI), and The Rotary Foundation. With over 170 members, the Club is currently the largest community-based Rotaract club in the world. A full list of members, guest speakers and financial information can be found in the Club’s 2010 Annual Report.

Learn

The Rotaract Club of Birmingham works tirelessly to promote professional development for all of its members. The Club provides members an audience with industry leaders and key influencers in the community at bi-monthly luncheons held at The Harbert Center in downtown Birmingham. The Club meets on the first and third Thursday of every month to interact with and learn from outstanding guest speakers. Notable speakers from the 2009-2010 year include Hon. William Bell, Mayor of the City of Birmingham, Hon. Bob Riley, Governor of the State of Alabama, John Johns, President and CEO of Protective Life Corporation, Hatton Smith, President and CEO of Royal Cup Coffee and Kate Nielsen, President of The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham.

Socialize

The Rotaract Club of Birmingham offers a wide variety of social and networking events that help foster relationships, both new and old. These fellowship opportunities allow the Club to fuse socializing and learning in a fun way that keeps members engaged. Social programs expose members to the arts and culture of Birmingham while focusing on philanthropic efforts to raise money for the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation. The Club holds monthly happy hours and frequently partners with other young professional organizations to network and socialize.

The Club’s masquerade ball themed annual gala, benefits the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Foundation and supports Rotaract’s Ready 2 Read program along with other community service endeavors. The 2010 event had over 400 attendees and raised $60,000 for the Club’s foundation.

Serve

Today’s young professionals were raised to know the importance of civic involvement, and the Rotaract Club of Birmingham provides an avenue to serve. Members embrace the basic Rotarian philosophy of “Service Above Self” by offering their talents, time and energy to improve the lives of others. The Club’s members are offered a variety of ways in which to serve. Past projects include building homes with Habitat for Humanity, serving dinner to families at the Ronald McDonald House and sponsoring the Birmingham City Council’s Back to School Giveaway.

In 2005, Rotaract chose literacy as its first Signature Service Project focus and targeted second grade reading comprehension since studies showed this age was a critical time in educational development. Rotaract launched Ready 2 Read to give young students the necessary tools to become better readers – books and volunteer readers. By the start of the 2008-2009 school year, Rotaract raised over $200,000 to place 15,000 books in each of the second grade classrooms of Birmingham City Schools. With libraries now present in all second grade classrooms and a full roster of “Reading Buddy” volunteers, Ready 2 Read continues to inspire over 4,000 students each year. Entering its second full year, the Ready 2 Read program’s strength endures with the help of Rotaract’s strategic partner, Better Basics. Rotaractors continue to provide support for the project financially and as volunteers. In March 2010, Rotaract announced that the final $50,000 needed to complete the $100,000 Ready 2 Read endowment was raised. In June 2009, the Rotaract Club of Birmingham was honored and humbled to learn that Rotary International (RI) recognized Ready 2 Read as the 2009 International Winner of Outstanding Rotaract Projects. Rotaract President V. J. Graffeo presented the project and accepted the prestigious award on behalf of the Club from RI President D. K. Lee during the 100th International Convention in Birmingham, England.