Rotary Club of Portsmouth, Virginia

Rotary Clubs are autonomous and determine their own service projects based on local needs and the interests and abilities of members. The Rotary Club of Portsmouth sponsors and participates in a wide variety of local services including:

Paint Your Heart Out, a service that assists elderly homeowners with
exterior painting and yard maintenance.

The Rotary Bookshelf at the Portsmouth Public Library. Each Rotarian donates a book on his or her birthday. More than 6,200 books have been donated in the past 50-plus years.

The Dictionary Project which each year provides a free dictionary to every third grade student in the public and private schools in Portsmouth.

Volunteers for Meals On Wheels·, a program which helps older adults remain independent as long as possible by delivering nutritious and well-balanced meals to the homes of persons 60 and older who are unable to cook for themselves.

Interact Clubs at local high schools. These are student clubs that instill and support Rotary ideals.
STRIVE, a high school level program that promotes achievement in students who are at-risk academically. Each year, our Club awards scholarships to deserving

STRIVE students who attend Tidewater Community College.
Awarding college scholarships to graduating seniors in each of the Portsmouth high schools.

Providing Christmas presents to residents of Holiday House and EDMARC.

Annual recognition of outstanding city public safety employees and recognition of Armed Forces members.

Financial support for many local organizations such as Girl Scouts, Salvation Army, Holiday House, Red Cross, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Special Olympics, Medication Access Program, and many others.

Sponsor various fundraising activities including the Annual Rotary Bar-B-Que to support local needs and international service projects through the Rotary Foundation.