A special thanks to our community partners in the Rotary Plaza project:
 

Rotary Club of Pacifica
Pacifica Performances
Sanchez Art Center
Pacifica Garden Club
Pacifica Credit Union
Stephen Johnson Photography
City of Pacifica
Parks, Beaches and Recreation Department
North Coast County Water District
 

Interested in volunteering to help create and construct Rotary Plaza?  It's easy, just call Ginny Jaquith at 650-868-0632 to sign up.


See the Photo Gallery for pictures of the Rotary Plaza Phase 1 construction and brick laying.  It's Rotary in action!

Microcredit in Guatemala
 

 The Rotary Club of Pacifica has been active in Microcredit in Latin America for the past 5 years.  Currently, we are spearheading a $42,000 Matching Grant to help low income families in the rural areas  of Guatemala. We have partnered with the Rotary Club of Guatemala City Oeste, the Rotary Clubs of Daly City, Marin Sunrise, and Novato, and a Non-GovernmentOrganization called Namaste Direct to provide training and mentoring in entrepreneurial techniques to the borrowers of small loans ($300 - $500). Most of the borrowers are women, descendants of the indigenous Mayan population whose families live in dire poverty. By helping them build a small business, this project will BRAKE the Cycle of Poverty by helping the women earn enough to keep their children in school (rather
than pulling them out to help support the family). We are also working with Namaste to raise funds to take high school students from Oceana and Terra Nova High Schools, along with students from Hillsdale High, to visit the families in Guatemala.

Dictionaries for Third Graders in December

For the third year Pacifica Rotarians will purchase and distribute over 450 dictionaries to third graders in the Pacifica School District, Good Shepherd School and Alma Heights Academy.  Needless to say all of the children, along with teachers, principals and parents, were delighted with the new acquisitions last year.  This year’s project is chaired by Rotarian Reggie Pomicpic with help from all club members who help label the books and present them to students.  See the photo gallery for presentation pictures.  Here are some quotes from thank you letters Rotary received from happy students last year:
 

“Dear Rotary Club members,

Thank you for coming and giving us each a dictionary.  Thank you for trying to stop polio.  My favorite part of the book is how you can look at planets.  Thank you Mr. Casey, Mr. Crow, Mr. Trecocci and Mr. Pomicpic.”

“Dear Rotary Club,

Thank you for the dictionary and for teaching us about polio.  Some day I might want to be an exchange student.  Instead of looking things up on the computer I am going to look things up in my new dictionary.  Thanks for getting rid of polio in the United States of America”

“Dear Rotary Club,

Thank you for those dictionaries.  I use my dictionary every night.  The dictionary is like a brain full of words!  I will use my dictionary often”
 

”Dear Rotary Club,
 

I am so glad I have my own dictionary!  My mom looked up a lot too.  She was so happy.  My sisters use it from page to page.  I am so thankful.”


This year's Dictionary Project will begin in December. 

Scholarship Coaching Program

This year Rotarians have made a major commitment to Pacifica high school students beginning the awesome preparations involved in applying for college by engaging Dr. Paul Wrubel to coach high school students and their families as they begin the process.

Recently, Pacifica Rotary sponsored an introduction to the college application and financing process at Terra Nova High School attended by over 100 students and parents.  During the evening attendees heard suggestions of how to lower actual college costs, get through the ”intensive and endlessly confusing college funding process”, evaluate college financial aid programs, deal with family financial planning and lot’s of ins and out to attending the college of their choice.  Rotary’s support provided this important information that otherwise would not have been available to the families who attended.

Paul Wrubel, a Stanford Ph.D. is an acknowledged expert on a wide range of college-related issues.  A former teacher, assistant principal, high school principal and school board president, Dr. Wrubel has helped families deal with college costs in a way that upgrades college choices while helping students and families to take advantage of the many financial aid opportunities available for college.
 
 

Rotary Holiday Food Drive

Ahoy Mates!  Each year Food Drive Captain, Yvonne Lorvan, dons her sailor’s cap to navigate the club through its annual food drive for the Pacifica Resource Center.  Port (green) and starboard (red) teams compete to bring in the greatest number of food items which are then donated to the Resource Center for distribution to needy families at Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

This year’s competition generated over 1000 food items for the drive with the Green team soundly trouncing the Red team over the six week collection period.  The results:  the Pacifica Resource Center and the families it serves gain needed food supplies and the Red Team fixes dinner for the winning Green Team members and their spouses!  This year’s dinner event will be held in February.

 This Year's Past Projects

Annual 4th of July Picnic

 The 4th of July in Pacifica is not complete without a visit to Pacifica’s annual 4th of July Picnic sponsored by the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Department at Frontierland Park.  Games, cotton candy, music, entertainment and reading the Declaration of Independence by Uncle Sam and other Pacifica celebrities are important parts of the event.  Rotarians spend the afternoon selling soft drinks and beer to picnickers and telling attendees about the wonderful projects of Rotary.