TOGETHER, WE

BUILD COMMUNITY

TOGETHER, WE

TRANSFORM

TOGETHER, WE

INSPIRE

TOGETHER, WE

SAVE LIVES

 

 

 

The Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island’s mission is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance local community and world
understanding, goodwill, and peace through a fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

Our focus is on schools, parks, cultural activities, events, and local non-profits. For decades, our club has been donating time, money, and expertise to our Island community and beyond. Our meetings provide a forum for business, civic and academia leaders, and our fellowship events are fun!

The best way to learn more about our club and the work we do, is to experience it firsthand!

Rotary Meetings – Visitors are welcome!

Our club holds meetings every Monday with the exception of holidays. The meetings take place at either Noon or 6 PM in the evening at Bainbridge Island Rowing, 281 Brien Dr SE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.

Once a month we hold a Monday meeting at a different and unique venue on our beautiful island. View our club calendar here for time and location. Many of our meetings also include a Zoom option. Sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date on club activity HERE.

About Bainbridge Rotary

Established in 1947, the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island is the largest, most active and well-known service organization in the community. We are a leadership organization working together to make a difference. Our members include local business, nonprofit, professional and civic leaders. We form lasting friendships through our shared Rotary experiences including weekly meetings with interesting speakers, committee meetings and projects, social events and group service projects within our community and internationally.

Diversity & Inclusion

Having a diverse and inclusive Rotary Club means we value and welcome individuals of all ages, cultures, ethnicities, and races to our Club. We invite younger people, women, and minorities who support Rotary’s values, ideals, and mission to join our members in service to our community, and we strive to give all members equal opportunities to serve as leaders within our Club.
Learn more about us

Get Involved

Attend a Meeting
Are you interested in attending an upcoming meeting? Whether you just want to learn more about Rotary, or speak to our club members, we’d love to have you visit!
Contact us to set up a visit

Join Rotary
Club activities, social events, and volunteer projects offer networking opportunities that build personal and professional connections.
Get Involved with Rotary

What is Rotary International?

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who come together to make positive, lasting change in communities at home and abroad.

Learn more about Rotary International.

CLUB NEWS

Rotary's Youth Food Program

Monday, March 11, 2024
By: Mary Frances Callan
Approximately 450 young people on Bainbridge Island do not have sufficient food to eat each day. This problem is more acute when schools–public and private–are on break, because during the school year, the state requires schools to provide student meals regardless of ability to pay.

To meet this need, the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island partnered with Helpline House in 2020 to provide weekly meal bags during all school breaks (approximately 16–17 weeks a year) to any youth in need. Each bag provides one breakfast, lunch, and a snack, plus additional food for a week. In addition, during the December–January winter break, Rotary provides up to 150 $25 food gift cards for these young people.
 

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Chilly Hilly-Chilly Rotarians!

Tuesday, February 27, 2024
By: Ann Marie M. Kimball
The Island has just hosted the famous Chilly Hilly. The 33 mile route is known for hills and for its winter weather. This is the 57th annual Chilly Hilly, Hosted by Cascade Bicycle club.

More than 2000 riders cycled their way around the Island. Rotarians from our club served as traffic facilitators and guides. Many thanks to the 24 Rotarians who braved the cold and wind to assure the success of this iconic event. Bainbridge Prepares set up first aid at Battle Point park, and again Rotarians were among those volunteers.

Our Helping Hands committee, led by Dick Brown, is our “hands on” group. We volunteer to help at major civic events. This is service above self from the heart, not from the check book. Many thanks to all who braved the cold and wind to make this year’s Chilly Hilly a success!

Giving Back to the Community

Monday, February 19, 2024
By: Ann Marie M. Kimball
Each year, our club makes a pledge to our community. The club's annual auction and rummage sale is, after all, a community event. We work hand in glove with more than a thousand community volunteers, and harvest literally tons of contributions of sale items from our community. Our club is making great strides in this pledge for 2024. The generosity of our commons is strong.

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A Community Event Makes a World of Difference

Saturday, July 29, 2023
By: Vince DiCarolis

A Community Event Makes a World of Difference

"There is nothing like this in the world of Rotary."
"You can't imagine this until you see it!"

"Acres covered with everything you can think of."
“This event benefits thousands in our community and beyond.”


These are just a few comments people made about the amazing Bainbridge Island Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale.

This year's Auction, held  on July 8th, set a new gross revenue record of $824,365.33 for a sale open for just six hours. No one would have ever believed this when it was first conceived by a small group of Rotarians 63 years ago. 


Igniting Magic in the Lives of Our Children

Sunday, May 21, 2023
By: Vince DiCarolis

There is nothing more inspirational than the BI Rotary Club Literacy Program. In truth, it makes us as happy as the children we help.

Led by Rotarian Karen Howard, our Literacy program for children, mentoring kids from Kindergarten through the 3rd Grade, has over 50 volunteers. Working in concert with the Bainbridge Island School District, each week we deploy 24 of the volunteers over four schools and provide over 44 hours in one day of mentorship, touching the lives of somewhere  between 88 to 105 students in one day. What an Impact!

Over the course of the 13 week program we will provide 572 hours of volunteer mentor service to students. 

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BI Rotary Club Awards $50,000 Grant to the BARN

Friday, May 19, 2023

Charlie Averill, head of the Huney Grants Committee, presented a $50,000 check from the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island to the BARN (Bainbridge Island Resource Network).

Pictured here with Charlie and Club President, Vince DiCarolis, are Grae Drake, the BARN's Executive Director, and Sallie Maron, BARN Board President.

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Amazing Story About Piracy, Rotary and Humanity

Monday, April 24, 2023
By: Vince DiCarolis

“Why I will always be a Rotarian"

Why are we members of the Rotary Club?…

Because it enables us to give back to community in ways we couldn’t do alone.

Because we enjoy the fellowship of new friends that we’ll have for the rest of our lives.

Because we are able to help people in other countries that are seemingly beyond help.

Yes, of course, these and many other very good reasons. But as the future unfolds my personal commitments will change. I’ll move to another community or I simply won’t have the time to participate as much……..but I will always remain a member.

Here’s a story to tell you why:



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$170,000 in Community Grants Awarded

Friday, April 7, 2023
By: Vince DiCarolis
The Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island has a long and proud history of providing grants to support diverse community projects, dating back to the Club’s founding in 1947.  This year's grants were announced on April 3rd by Committee Chair Chuck Everett and Co-chair Rosemary Shaw.

This year, the grant total was the most awarded in our Club's history - $170,000!

As a direct result of our last Auction & Rummage Sale, the grants went to 34 different non-profit organizations  on Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County.  For a complete list of this year's recipients go to:

https://bainbridgeislandrotary.org/grant-awards/ 

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Serving Our Community: 2023 Rotary Auction

Thursday, February 9, 2023

The 2022 Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale was a big success. Our return to an in-person event at Woodward Middle School was everything we hoped for.

Building on that success, we are now preparing for the 2023 Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale on July 8 at Woodward Middle School.

Our goals for this event are simple. We want to make the best possible use of the generous donations we receive, re-invest 100% of the net proceeds back into the community and provide a safe, fun event for our local residents.



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Rotary Auction Has a Record Year!

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Thanks to everyone in the community and the scores of volunteers, this year’s Rotary Auction and Rummage Sale resulted in an all time record.  Gross proceeds were in excess of $725,000.

Pictured here, ready to make their Auction purchases are State Senator Christine Rolfes, Governor Jay Inslee, U.S. Congressman Derek Kilmer and Rotary President Vince DiCarolis.

It’s a big win -win for everyone. After expenses every bit of this is given back to the community in the form of Scholarships, Community Grants to needy organizations, World Community Service projects and special non-profit projects….. on and off the island.



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The Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale Returns

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

We are excited to share our plan to return to Woodward Middle School this summer for our traditional, one-of-a-kind community event – The Rotary Auction & Rummage Sale!  The event date has been scheduled for July 2.

For our Auction, the community comes together in a big way….. donating items, volunteering, shopping for bargains and more.

Please know that we are assuming large gatherings will once again be safe, and we’ll make adjustments to follow all public health protocols.

 



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BI Rotary Wins Humanitarian Award

Tuesday, September 20, 2022
All in all, the volunteers logged more than 25,000 hours. The result was that Bainbridge earned the highest vaccine rate in the county, with the vaccine effort reaching over 82 percent of residents ages 12 and up.

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New Grants Given to Local Non-Profits

Thursday, December 29, 2022
By: Vince DiCarolis

With a focus on the youth of our community, the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island presented large grants to two worthy non-profit organizations at our December 12th Club Meeting.

Charlie Averill, the chairperson of our Huney Committee, presented the grants. One for $55,000 was given to the Battle Point Astronomical Association and a grant for $30,000 went to the First Years Children's Center.  Through its many programs, the BPAA supports a child's natural creativity and joy for learning.  The First Years Children's Center not only provides much needed day care, but is the only child care facility on the Island offering infant care.



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