Rotary Club Puts Caring First and Foremost
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Service above self.
That is the motto of Rotary International, and the Rotary Club of Crown Point has been a vital part of this community since 1936.
The group of around 70 members holds weekly meetings at Youche Country Club. “We are primarily a group of business professionals who get together and plan how we can best serve our Crown Point community,” says Allan Katz, past president of the club. “We are always looking for more people to join us.”
One of the causes the Rotary Club backs is a Coat-a-Child program, which delivers a large number of coats each year to St. Jude House, a local shelter for domestic abuse victims. Another cause is Shoes for Kids, which distributes shoes in a discreet manner to elementary schools throughout the community.
“Teachers at the schools quietly give a certificate to any child who probably could use a new pair of shoes, then the parent can redeem the certificate at the local Meijer store,” Katz says. “These are the kinds of projects that make it so rewarding to be a Rotary Club member.”
The organization also sponsors exchange programs where professionals from other countries visit Crown Point to interact with American professionals.
“In April 2009, we hosted five young professionals from Turkey as part of a Group Study Exchange program,” Katz says. “They certainly got a good idea of what American living is all about.”
Katz adds that Crown Point Rotary is also involved in a number of literacy programs, including an effort in 2009 to supply every third grader in town with his or her own dictionary.
“We also recently got behind an effort to establish a library on the island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras,” he says. “I actually flew there for the opening, and it was one of the best moments of my life. And it was all thanks to Rotary.”
