Home Page | Rotary District 5240

Rotary District 5240 is made up of over 3,300 members from: 72 Rotary Clubs located in 4 counties of Southern California; The Rotary E Club of One World which spans over 6 continents; The "National Chapters" of The Rotary Club of Carpenteria Morning which connect local clubs to members in other states and countries. We meet regularly to form bonds and friendships and we also strive to improve lives locally and around the world.

Cayucos Rotary & Interact Picks Up

Each quarter, Rotarians, friends and Cayucos Students gather to help clean the beach by Cayucos Pier. The clean-up has extended to Front Street that borders the beach, and South Ocean Avenue. Participants include middle-school students and Interactors from Cayucos Middle School, school teachers and members of Cayucos Rotary. Debri were picked up and cleared expeditiously. Retailers, visitors and drivers either wave, said "hi" and "honked" their thanks. Sometimes, they joined in.

Rotary Club of Montecito Gives $12,500 in Scholarships

Santa Barbara, CA – In partnership with the SBCC Foundation, Rotary Club of Montecito and its supporting foundation are pleased to announce the awarding of ten $1,250 scholarships to high-performing Santa Barbara City College vocational and career technology students. Rotary Club of Montecito has long prioritized education as a key area of focus by providing financial support to ensure Santa Barbara’s local youth are able to maximize their potential.

Rotary Club of Conejo Valley and Others Help Provide Life-Saving Heart Surgeries To Numerous Children

Recently the Rotary Club of Conejo Valley, collaborated with several organizations, including Rotary Club of Nuevo Leon, Gift For Life, Cardio Chavitos, international surgeons, and anesthesiologists to help perform life saving surgeries on approximately 31 children in Monterrey Mexico. Diego Velasquez, International Service Chair for Conejo Valley’s club, worked together with his club and the various groups to get a Rotary global grant approved to further support this incredible mission. Early November 2018, Rotarian, Diego Velasquez, along with numerous volunteers arrived in Monterrey Mexico amongst the captivating views of the mountains eager to get their project started to help these less fortunate children in dire need. They visited the world class Hospital Zambrano Hellion where surgeries took place and had a pre-surgery meeting with the local Rotary Club of Nuevo Leon, Gift for Life, Cardio Chavitos, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other volunteers. Children checked in and had an emotional, high-spirited meeting with the volunteers. All in all surgeries went very well and these lovely children got a second chance at life thanks to Rotary and the other amazing organizations’ contributions. As Rotarians toured the city after there was a sign on the street that summed up the trip, “Vivir Es Increible”, which means that "To Live Is Incredible!"

Hap Rapp Memorial Track Meet

The Hap Rapp Memorial Track Meet is the oldest community service project of the Camarillo Rotary Club. The Meet began in 1959, when a group of local Rotarians created an organized track and field competition for Camarillo boys and girls at the elementary and junior high school levels. There were only a few schools then, and not too many entrants, but over the years, the Meet has grown to keep pace with the community. The Meet was named the Hap Rapp Memorial Track Meet in 1988, in honor of the late Rotarian Hap Rapp, who devoted so much of his time and talents to the event over the years.

Chamber Expo Membership Drive

Give this a try! Ventura Rotary has now attended its 4^th Chamber of Commerce Business Expo with a booth and has garnered several prospective new (young) members interested in networking and building professional relationships. The Ventura Club hosts an expo booth with a large screen slide show of projects and showcasing the diverse membership as well as banners and personal invitation cards to the next lunch meeting. The professional networking opportunity has enticed several new members and, as we all know, even though the networking is a primary reason for joining, the new members stay once they’ve established personal relationships and develop a passion for the service they are able to help accomplish. So far, the Business Expo booth has initiated 9 new member prospects and 3 new members have officially joined.

Ventura Rotary Re-opens Eye Clinic

The Rotary Club of Ventura is very excited to announced that the Rotary Eye Clinic has re-opened in Ventura. The new clinic opened last summer but had to close for one month to search for a new Optometrist. The clinic serves any member of the community who cannot afford eye care. Every week, the clinic opens its doors at the Salvation Army location in Ventura and a line of people are waiting. The need for eye care is abundant. Two retired optometrists who are members of Ventura Rotary donated all of the equipment to build and establish the clinic. A local optometrist staffs the clinic on Tuesday mornings with the help of Ventura Rotary members who serve as receptionists and eye glass consultants. We are always looking for more volunteers to serve these members of our community. We also always need more eye frames. Come join us! Learn more at https://venturarotaryeye.com

Ventura Rotary Announces Winners of $9,000 Art Scholarships

Five local high school students earn scholarships for their artistic “Perspectives on Peace”

Ventura, CA: The Rotary Club of Ventura, which this year celebrates 100 years of service to the Ventura community, has announced the winners of a new Perspectives on Peace Scholarship program. Five high school seniors are being awarded a total of $9,000 in scholarships, based on their outstanding original art submissions around the theme of “Perspectives on Peace.” They will be honored at Ventura Rotary Club on May 15th, and their artwork will have a special exhibit at the Museum of Ventura Country from May 18th – June 2nd.

Party With a Purpose

When they learned that the Rotary Club of Westlake Village Sunrise was organizing a Fundraiser built upon the theme of Senior Prom, the Rotaract Clubs of Cal Lutheran University and Conejo Valley sprung into action. Embracing the opportunity of selling corsages and boutonnieres to the Prom patrons to raise funds, they accepted Westlake Sunrise’s request for help. Knowing that both Rotaract Clubs had modest funds to work with, their flower supplies were sponsored by Felix Wang of the Rotary Club of Thousand Oaks and their other supplies were sponsored by Westlake Sunrise. Sunrise’s Next Gen Chair Don Martin and his wife, Susan, were educated in Millennials musical tastes when they attended the corsage-making pizza party at Cal Lutheran, with over 10 Rotaractors from both clubs attending. At the Prom Event the following evening, 8 members from both Rotaract Clubs sold the corsages and helped to sell raffle tickets. By the end of the night, they were all dancing together. The 2 Rotaract clubs divided up the near $600 raised from this effort. This project was a success on many levels, especially in the cooperation and teamwork between the clubs involved.

Vocational Off-Site Mini-Meetings

Like many clubs, the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo has long enjoyed holding Vocational Offsite meetings at local businesses. However, as a large club (100+ members), it was difficult finding businesses that were able to host such a large group. So, our Vocational Services team created mini-offsites in order to solve this problem. We now hold Vocational Offsite days where members can sign-up to attend one of several smaller off-site meetings held at members’ businesses. There are usually nine or ten choices, ranging from the Botanical Garden to the local Police Station. The members gather in groups of 10 to 12 and the host business is given the opportunity to education the members about the business. This is a very popular program with our members.

Diversity in Action - SLO Reads

On Monday, April 29, 2019, The Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo, with the help of the United Way of San Luis Obispo County and Rotary Clubs throughout the area, led a project called Diversity in Action – SLO Reads to celebrate "Día", a national library program that fosters literacy for all children from all backgrounds. Día, also known as El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day) is a commitment to include and celebrate all cultures through literacy. Rotarians and other volunteers went to all ten elementary schools in the San Luis Coastal Unified School District and read books of culturally diverse stories to children in kindergarten to 6th grade. The volunteers purchased and donated the books to the classroom libraries and made financial donations to purchase hundreds of additional books. The project was as rewarding to the readers as it was to the children, and the club plans to make this an annual project.

New Business Membership Program

The Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo has implemented a new Business Membership Program for 2018-19. The program allows up to three people from the same business or organization to “share” a membership. One person is the primary member and is an official member of Rotary. They may designate two “delegates” from their organization to attend meetings and club functions in their stead. The program is designed for businesses whose CEO has the desire to be personally involved in Rotary, and involve their staff as well, but may not have the time to attend the weekly meetings. Our first Business Member was inducted on October 22, 2019 – the very busy Superintendent of the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, who is sharing the membership with his two Assistant Superintendents. It is a win for all involved!

Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise Community Service Project

On April 6th, 2019, the Rotary Club of Simi Sunrise got together to form a team of hardworking men and women. Our project for 2019 was to assist The Free Clinic of Simi Valley in getting ready to open their doors for business. The Free Clinic of Simi Valley has provided continuous charitable service since it's establishment in 1971 as a non-profit, volunteer-based community service organization. The mission of the Free Clinic of Simi Valley is to provide medical care, counseling, dental and legal assistance to individuals and families in need, regardless of their ability to pay. This includes those of all ages, ethnicities, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds, who are unable to use traditional sources within the community. Typically, the clients of the clinic are the uninsured and the underserved.

Read Previous Stories...

Rotary District 5240 encourages clubs within the District to submit short articles, "Club Stories," to be published on the District Website and in the District Newsletter. Take advantage of this FREE opportunity to showcase your club's accomplishments. Here are the guidelines and the "how-to" for submitting your stories.

WHAT qualifies as a Club Story?

Club Stories are highlights of District 5240 Club-specific activities. The following examples illustrate activities that qualify as District 5240 Club Stories (upcoming or after the fact):

Community Service Projects
International Service Projects
New Membership Highlights
Club Fundraising Events
Member Award Recognitions

HOW do I submit my Club Story?

After you make sure the story qualifies as a "Club Story," you may submit it by emailing ALL of the following items to stories@district5240.org:

A short summary of the activity, minimum 50 words and maximum 250 words. Please submit as a Word doc and proofread prior to sending. If the content is copywrited/re-used from another source, permission must be granted and please reference the source.
Include 2-3 of the best photographs taken from the activity. If there are individuals included in the photo, please include names and Club titles of each Rotarian. (If there is a YouTube video link taken from the event, please include as well).
Include the contact information of the most appropriate Rotarian that others may reach out to regarding the featured story.

WHERE will my Club Story be posted?

The three most recently published Club Stories will be highlighted on the homepage of www.rotarydistrict5240.org, while an archive of previous Club Stories will be included and available to view under the menu tab, District -> Archived District Stories.

Your story may also be selected for the District Newsletter which goes out to our nearly 3300 active members.

WHEN will my Club Story be posted after I submit?

Depending on the amount of Club Stories in the cue, your article could take as short as 24 hours or up to 2 weeks to be published after all necessary information is received.