Paul Clayton, the Rotary Club of Goleta’s vice president elect and chair of the Community Services Committee, recently met with his committee to plan and brainstorm ideas for future projects.

Each month, the Rotary Club of Goleta is out in the community volunteering to make the world a better place. Some of the projects this year have been mock interviews at Dos Pueblos High School, helping students prepare for job and college interviews; helping to prepare a sustainable garden at La Patera School; painting picnic benches at the beach; setting up the annual Easter egg hunt at Girsh Park; picking oranges in local orchards for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County; planting indigenous plants at the Butterfly Reserve; volunteering at the annual Special Needs Valentine Dance at the Elks Club; and serving lemonade at the 10-year celebration of the City of Goleta.

The biggest community service project is the Fourth of July fireworks event at Girsh Park. This event helps the club raise money for distribution for local scholarships. Raffle tickets, for some really big prizes, are now on sale, so get a pocket full. All money will stay in the community to help many students attend college.

The committee is working on the months of May and June, and some ideas were to help in some way with the reading program at the Goleta Library, and even start an annual spelling bee contest. Another idea included visiting seniors with animals to bring smiles and social time to people who would enjoy a friendly visit. All kinds of creative ideas were tossed around during the Community Service Committee meeting.

If this sounds interesting and even fun to you, then you should visit the Rotary Club of Goleta. Bringing our community together to include every one, young and old, is important to the Rotary Club of Goleta. We are a group of men and women who come together in fellowship and camaraderie to serve our community. We have fun helping make this a better world for all.

The public is invited to attend one of its bimonthly meetings at 6:30 p.m. on the second or fourth Tuesdays on the month at the Elephant Bar, 521 Firestone Road, for interesting meetings, guest speakers, dinner and fellowship with men and women wanting to make a difference in the world.

Click here for more information about the Rotary Club of Goleta, or contact membership chairwoman Frances Gilliland at franeg@msn.com or Senn at franeg@msn.com.

— Lynn Cederquist is publicity chairwoman of the Rotary Club of Goleta.