Rotary Club of Sparta receives prestigious awards

Rotary Club of Sparta received several awards at this year’s District Awards Luncheon, which was July 13, as a testimony to the time and effort they poured into their community throughout the 2019-2020 year.

Rotary District 6780 awarded the Sparta club with the Rotary Citation, which recognizes clubs that support Rotary’s strategic priorities by completing specific activities. The Rotary Citation is awarded to clubs that have achieved goals which strengthen Rotary as a whole as well as their individual club. Goals may include increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in the community.

In addition to the Rotary Citation Award, Rotary Club of Sparta received the Star Award, which they have received each of the last 16 years, the most possible, making them a Superstar Rotary Club. The award is presented to those clubs whose contributions to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Giving Fund average $100 per member or more. Contributions to The Rotary Foundation are transformed into grants that fund local and international humanitarian projects, scholarships, and activities, such as vocational training teams.

The club also received the Polio Eradication Award, which is reserved for Rotarians who have provided extraordinary service that has a substantial impact on the ultimate goal of polio eradication. John Downs, one of the club’s members, is passionate about the complete eradication for polio and has made many trips to third-world countries to deliver and administer vaccines to children in the hopes that someday no one will suffer from the disabling effects polio.

The Globe Club Award, which the Sparta group also earned, recognizes clubs that are actively involved in international service. To achieve Globe Club status, a club must do four things:

• Participate financially in an international service project
• Participate financially in the Polio Plus program
• Have a club program that presents an international project
• Have a club program that discusses the Rotary Foundation, Rotary Foundation program, or youth exchange

The final award that the Sparta Rotary Club earned was the YES Award. This award is given to clubs who have contributed to and supported Interact, Rotaract, Exchange students, or sponsored students to RYLA. There are five levels of YES award that a club can collect. These include:

• Sponsor at least one high school student to attend Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program
• Sponsor an Interact club
• Sponsor a Rotaract Club
• Sponsor Youth Exchange program
• Support Literacy Program for Youth of our District such as Imagination Library, Little Free Library, Dictionary Project, Youth Reading Program, and the Four Way Speech Contest