Jann Gentry, chair
Community Service

Making Murrieta better

Community service includes the projects and activities the club undertakes to improve life in Murrieta.

Projects planned for the Rotary year include....

  • Field of Honor -- This unique project centers around a mass display of American flags at the city's Town Square Park during Veteran's Day week (Nov. 6-12).  The first event was in 2009 and featured 1,200 flags.  The goal for this year is 2,000 flags.  A variety of activities occur during the week, including a community band concert, Marine Corps birthday celebration, a Rotary Day luncheon, candlelight choral concert and more.  Special sections honor those from the area killed in action in recent wars, Congressional Medal of Honor winners and historic flags.  Proceeds from flag sponsorships support completion of the Murrieta Through Time  history monuments the club is erecting in the park.
  • Day of Caring -- Two events, one a United Way-coordinated activity that finds Murrieta Rotary and other non-profit groups devoting a day to helping other community groups.  The second is a Rotarians at Work Day, during which members throughout the district do special community-help projects.
  • Valentine's Dance for Special Needs Adults -- an annual Valentine's dance for special needs adults, staged in cooperation with the City of Murrieta.
  • Child Spree -- The club raises funds and helps staff the annual back-to-school program operating through the Salvation Army.  In-need kids are invited to an exclusive shopping time at the J. C. Penney department store, during which they select clothes and other school items up to a pre-determined level.  It greatly aids self-esteem.
  • Food for Those in Need -- The club supplies turkeys and volunteers in support of its Interact Club at Murrieta Mesa High School, which coordinates an early Thanksgiving meal for the community.  Members also contribute packaged foods and money each month that is turned over to local food pantries.
  • Children's Dental Checks -- the club's longest-running community service project that coordinates dentists visiting Murrieta schools to do oral exams on all first, third and fifth-graders.  Some pro-bono dental work is done for lower income kids.  The club thanks the dentists and school health aides at a club luncheon.
  • Murrieta Through Time -- the club's Rotary International centennial project.  The project has constructed four large monument structures at Murrieta Town Square that are now being artisically enhanced to reflect important periods in Murrieta's history.
  • Komen Race for the Cure -- The club is sponsoring a team in the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, a large areawide event raising funds to battle breast cancer.
  • Animal Friends Spooktactular -- A joint effort of eight Rotary clubs in the area, this is a Halloween costume contest -- for pets.  It's a fundraiser for the Animal Friends of The Valley, the regional pet shelter.