The Rotary Club of South Bend is a well kept secret. While we have 235 members currently, over the years like many service clubs our membership has fallen dramatically. In order to sustain and increase our membership and our effectiveness we need to be able to get the word out about the numerous service projects our club does not only locally, but throughout the world.

In a nutshell we do a poor job of marketing ourselves. We know there is a large number of young people out there who want to get involved and get their hands dirty, we just need to reach them. With a sustained large membership in recent years we have been able to build two playgrounds in South Bend, Kids Kingdom and Friendship Station, which recently burned down. We have been able to remodel Lincoln and Marquette schools. Additionally we ring bells for the Salvation Army at Christmas, serve meals at the Homeless Center monthly, deliver 80 Thanksgiving Baskets yearly to those in need, along with many other done in a day service projects throughout the year. On a global level, as a club, we have recently sent a team to Guanajuato, Mexico to help local Rotarians there refurbish an elementary school, this will continue in 2011 -2012.

As you can see the Rotary Club of South Bend does more than just meet every Wednesday and listen to a speaker. We get out there and get our hands dirty! But we need more members who want to help our community and our world. With the help of a creative marketing campaign and a new image the Rotary Club of South Bend can continue to provide Service above Self for years to come!