Home Page | Rotary Club of Allentown West

9-11 am Lowhill Food Pantry

Nov 07, 2020

5:30 pm Evening Group Happy Hour

Nov 12, 2020 5:30 PM

10am-noon Lowhill Food Pantry

Nov 18, 2020

Rotary Club of Allentown West
Western Lehigh County
Club No. 5415 District No. 7430

Allentown-West Rotary is a community of friends, working together.

We travel and share experiences with other Rotary Clubs.

Our Happy Dollars are the happiest dollars you will find!

Go to www.purplepinkie.net and register yourself or a team for the 2020 Yvette M. Palmer Purple Pinkie Race to Zero. Although this is the 10th Annual race, it's the first time we're virtual, and you can choose to support the fight against polio in any way that works for you. Ride, run, or wheel your way to success! You can also donate, shop at our online store, and share the opportunity to help with others.

Welcome to Allentown West Rotary!

We’re glad you stopped by; we’re proud of our club and how we serve our local and international communities. On this website you’ll learn a little bit about what we do, but the best way to learn about us is to see for yourself. We invite you to join us at any breakfast or evening meeting to learn more. Be our guest!

Allentown West Rotary focuses on two main areas locally: food insecurity and developing our youth.

Food Insecurity

Despite the many farmer’s markets, supermarkets, food programs, and perceptions people may hold of a particular zip code or neighborhood, there is too much food insecurity in the area we serve. Whether it’s due to temporary circumstances or long-term concerns, there are families who have difficulty putting food on the table every day. AW Rotary has several ongoing programs that address hunger and food insecurity in our communities. Volunteers are dedicated to these programs; stocking shelves in Kingdom Life food pantry, handing out produce at Lowhill Food Pantry, creating snack packs for students in the Parkland and Northwestern school districts. We also provide both funds and volunteers for the Meals on Wheels program.

Developing Youth

Many of our programs are focused on the young people in our communities. They include sponsoring a Student of the Month, giving out scholarships to high school students, sponsoring foreign exchange students, and supporting the Four Way Speech Contest. Camp Neidig, a youth leadership camp, is a highlight of the youth program, and students come back from it full of praise for the skills they’ve gained. In addition, our programs overlap in that some of our food programs directly benefit the children in our schools. For instance, Snack Packing is a way of ensuring that children who receive meal program assistance at their schools will also have food to eat on the weekends when they are not at school. Dictionaries for third graders is a favorite program for many members; some of the children who receive these dictionaries have never owned their own book and are excited to learn they are theirs to keep.

Depending on fundraising and community needs, there are other programs that we will support each year. Community Bike Works is one such program for 2020; funds were allocated and distributed to purchase two bicycles for this wonderful community program.

Purple Pinkie Race to Zero

Every year, Allentown West hosts Rotary District 9430 in the Purple Pinkie Race to Zero; the effort to eradicate polio from the earth. We’re getting close! In 2020, Africa will be declared polio free, and that leaves just two countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where there are any cases of polio left.

But it’s hard work. It requires polio vaccines, and volunteers from many countries who need to navigate difficult conditions and unusual terrains to get the vaccines to the children who need them. Educating parents and getting them to understand the necessity of vaccinating their children requires training as well.

The Purple Pinkie Race to Zero is a major fundraiser that takes place every year. In 2019, over $56,000 was raised, and was double matched by the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation. The event is a huge success in that it is a fun event, surpasses our fundraising goal, and brings us together in fellowship for an important cause.

Having Fun and Making Friends

Let’s not forget one of the best parts of Allentown West Rotary – the people! We get together to socialize, as friends, whether we are fundraising, helping others, or just having fun. Some meetings are “dining out” evenings where we get together as friends, or picnics on a beautiful summer afternoon. We believe our club is the fun club, and we hope you’ll want to get to know us and see for yourself!