Photo by Glenn Marzano.
PLAYA VENICE SUNRISE ROTARY Have Fun and Get It Done!
Special 8-page section
For Rotarians, it’s about giving back and connecting Hopefully you know the Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club for hosting the Westchester/Playa Santa Tour every December, its annual pancake breakfast at Fire Stations 5 & 63 or its critical role in making sure the Fourth of July Parade is a success and has enough volunteers. But members really want to introduce themselves as a group of extraordinary community members, business leaders and super do-gooders who work, a lot of the time, behind the scenes to lend their time, talent and treasure to support important causes in the community and across the globe. Some of the club’s favorite local projects include the Adopt-A-Family Program where they help families from the Mar Vista Family Center have a wonderful holiday season; putting on hard hats and building homes with Habitat for Humanity and donating their time with Vision to Learn to provide glasses to students in schools throughout Los Angeles. They also love volunteering at the Midnight Mission, at the Rock Roll & Run and The Boys & Girls Club
Rotarians pose at Fire Station 5 in Westchester during their annual summer pancake breakfast.
of Venice. For Rotarian Tracey Thompson Busa being part of the club is a rewarding experience that provides an opportunity to be of service with fun people. Said Tracey, “The joy I get back from being a Rotarian is enormous! Not only have I made close wonderful friends, but I am also a part of an organization that does incredible
work in so many aspects of our community and throughout the world! It’s the perfect combination of philanthropy, fun and friendship!” The club’s combination of caring individuals, enthusiasm for volunteering and an unofficial motto of “Have fun and get it done!” has people joining at record numbers; the club recently reached an alltime membership high of 80 people!
What is Rotary?
And its reputation for “Service Above Self,” a packed calendar of volunteering opportunities, almost weekly social activities and thinking outside of the box, earned Playa Venice Sunrise the prestigious Large Club of Excellence Award at the District Conference for 2018-2019. “The question I am asked often as a Rotarian is: ‘What made me join the Playa Venice Sunrise Rotary Club?’ My simple answer to them is the people. I first explored Rotary just as a conduit for community service projects and nothing more. However, I could not have been more wrong,” said President Elect Jerry Jen. “The members I met were not only welcoming, but they were caring, vibrant, had a sense of purpose and came from all walks of life. Even before joining, I could already tell that this group of like-minded individuals would do wonderful things, and that we would become great friends. Over six years later, I am still a proud member of the club and cherish the wonderful relationship that we have developed through service and friendship.”
L-R: 1. Rotarian Kathrine Russell helps fit students with glasses with Vision to Learn. 2. Rotarians volunteer at WAM. 3. Rotarians pose for a photo after volunteering for Protectors’ Appreciation Week.
People ask us all the time, “What is Rotary?” Rotary is a worldwide nonprofit organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional and community leaders. As signified by the motto “Service Above Self,” Rotary’s main objective is service–in the community, the workplace and throughout the world. You will find members in more than 200 countries with more than 34,000 clubs in the world who volunteer in communities at home and abroad to support education and job training, provide clean water, combat hunger, improve
health and sanitation and eradicate polio. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious and open to all. The Rotary Club of Playa Venice Sunrise is one of 60+ clubs in District 5280, which covers the geographic boundaries of the Pacific Ocean to Downtown and Santa Clarita to San Pedro. We represent the areas of Westchester, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Marina del Rey, Del Rey and Venice, and we are committed to our unofficial club motto of “Have fun and get it done!” Whether we are providing high school students
scholarships, partnering with Rotary International to End Polio Now or collecting supplies for Crutches 4 Africa, we always find time to have a little fun, laugh a lot and put smiles on the faces of those around us. We’re also a diverse club! We have 80 members that range in age from 22 to 70+, we come from diverse backgrounds and careers, and we also have members that hail from as far away as Albania and Germany! One thing we all share however, is that we have a passion for giving back and supporting our community and
Westchester • Playa del Rey • Marina del Rey • Playa Vista HomeTown News
projects that help make the world a better place! For more information about Rotary or how you can help support one of our local projects, please visit our website at playavenice.org or send us an email at playavenice@gmail.com so we can invite you to attend one of our weekly breakfast meetings. The club meets every Wednesday morning at 7:15 a.m. at Whiskey Red’s Restaurant, 13813 Fiji Way in Marina del Rey. We look forward to serving the community with you!
PVS Rotary Special Section
March 2020 • Page 15