BY ISAIAH FRIZZELL
The Hailey Rotary Club, serving the Wood River Valley since 1937, is one of the Valley’s many charitable foundations consistently working to help the community thrive. With a core motto of “Service Above Self,” the organization works to grow donations into actionable responses to everything from high school scholarships to helping eradicate diseases. “The Hailey Rotary Club is comprised of community members who come together on a weekly basis to create positive, lasting change in our community and around the world.” (https://members.haileyidaho.com/list/member/hailey-rotary-475)
Milestone Achieved
For nearly 20 years, Hailey Rotary has given nearly $15,000 per year in college scholarships, but in 2007 the group established its own foundation with the goal of growing large enough to be able to give money, on an annual basis, to charities of its choice. A huge milestone for Hailey Rotary, it has now attained that goal and, for the first time, is distributing its earnings this year.
Recipients of the charity were chosen by members as Syringa Mountain School and The Senior Connection. Each group will receive $25,000. The disbursements are to be made at a rate of $5,000 every year for five years. This enables the receiving party a secure line of income they can count on every year and may thus plan to use accordingly.
“Rotary believes that serving others before yourself is the most important thing,” Jennifer Bowen, expressing the core tenets of the group, said.
Rotary offers a helping hand where it’s needed, which can include anything from painting houses, helping the elderly clean yards before the snow falls, fixing fences or responding to any request for help. Members recently constructed and painted the blue garbage cans you may see along Main Street.
Rotary Rodeo
Every Fourth of July, Hailey Rotary runs the concession stand for the Sawtooth Rangers Rodeo at the Hailey Days of the Old West event. As its biggest fundraiser, the money made there is saved through the foundation and given out as scholarships or donated. Some of the many donees have been the Robotics team at Wood River High School, the Speech and Debate team, the Future Business Leaders of America and The Hunger Coalition. Hailey Rotary also bought a new mound for Nelson Field.
The organization operates within a framework called the Four-Way Trust, as Jennifer Bowen explains: “Is it the truth? Is it beneficial to everyone? Will it build goodwill and friendship? Is it fair? That’s what Rotary is about.”
Bowen has lived in Sun Valley since 1998, being a member of Rotary since 1999. She was president prior to the inauguration of Kevin Lupton several years ago.
“A couple of Rotary clubs might get together and contribute $2,000 each and then our district will do half of those funds and then our international headquarters give another half of that and so we can multiply our funds to do things like dig freshwater wells in Vietnam, which we did 15 years ago.”
Rotary is a nonpolitical, nonreligious, international organization operating in 200+ countries. They are civic clubs that seek to benefit their communities.
Having reached their goal, they are now able to use funds from their foundation to distribute money to local organizations who better the community. The organizations can use the money for anything at all.
Rotary For All
“We chose those organizations this year as we felt they were organizations that aligned with us,” said Bowen. ”We actually were trying to choose one, but couldn’t choose between those two, and so had to split it. We do a lot for our community and really welcome anyone in the community or business owners, because, you know, the more hands, the lighter the work!” Bowen speaks proudly about the group.
Anyone can join and there is another Rotary club in Ketchum, not to mention Twin Falls and farther out in Idaho and across the world.
For more information, to donate or volunteer, visit Hailey Rotary at https://www.haileyrotary.org/