Why I Joined the Ithaca Rotary Club

Joining the Ithaca Rotary Club has been one of the most grounding and rewarding parts of my life in the Finger Lakes.

When I moved to Ithaca, I didn’t just want to live here, I wanted to be in a community. I wanted to meet people who care about this place, who show up when something needs to get done, and who believe that small actions can make a big difference.

Rotary is exactly that. I found out about Rotary at the first Business After Hours networking by the Tompkins Chamber of Commerce and in my first meeting I knew it was what I was looking for. 

It’s a global organization built around one simple idea: Service Above Self. But what that really looks like in Ithaca is neighbors helping neighbors through volunteer work, fundraising, and hands-on community projects that make life better right here.

How I’ve Been Involved

Community Cleanups on Route 13

One of the most visible Rotary projects I’ve been part of is the Route 13 Trash Pickup, where volunteers meet up to clean one of the busiest corridors in the county.

Every bag of trash we pull off the roadside protects local waterways, wildlife, and the beauty of the place we all call home. It’s the kind of work that reminds you that community doesn’t happen automatically, people make it happen.

Fundraising for Youth Exchange & Community Grants

Rotary’s impact goes far beyond a single morning of volunteer work.

I’ve helped support and promote fundraisers that benefit:

Rotary Youth Exchange, which gives local students the opportunity to study abroad and experience the world

Rotary Community Grants, which fund nonprofit projects and grassroots initiatives throughout Tompkins County

Whether it’s supporting arts programs, food access, education, or local service organizations, these grants quietly power a lot of the good things happening around Ithaca.

Being part of that process and helping raise awareness, tell stories, and bring people together has been incredibly meaningful to me.

My Role on the Rotary Board

I currently serve on the Ithaca Rotary Club Board in a Communications & Public Relations role.

That means I help shape how Rotary shows up in the community:

Writing and sharing stories about what our club is doing

Promoting events and fundraisers

Making sure people in Tompkins County actually know how much good Rotary is doing behind the scenes

It’s a perfect fit for me taking the storytelling and media skills I use in my own creative work and using them to shine a light on service, generosity, and community action.

Why Rotary Matters to Me

At its heart, Rotary is about relationships.

It’s about sitting down with people from different backgrounds, professions, and generations and realizing you all care about the same thing: making your community stronger.

For me, Ithaca Rotary has been a place where:

I’ve met people who have lived here their whole lives

I’ve worked alongside people who just moved here

I’ve found a shared commitment to giving back

That sense of connection is what I try to bring into everything I do from my music to my videos to my work with local businesses.

Rotary is one of the ways I put that belief into action.