Member Dale Pinkerton came up with the idea to raise money to provide a hot meal for the hundreds of needy families on Butler County. Beginning on November first, we send letters and call possible donors to ask for their help in raising money to purchase ten dollar food vouchers at Friedman’s and Giant Eagle. There are 17 food cupboards in the county and we give some of the vouchers to them to distribute. We also give vouchers directly to the Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, St. Vincent DePaul Society, several churches that offer free meals, and any other organization in need. Average receipts total $15,000.00/yr.

We donate a paperback dictionary to every third grade student in our coverage area. This includes Butler, Moniteau, Butler Catholic, South Butler, Penn Academy, and St. Wendelin. In all, we distribute 1000 dictionaries every year in September as school begins.

Every even numbered year we offer the students from Knoch and Butler in grades 9 through 12 the opportunity to win cash prizes for the best essay on a subject related to the voting system.

This is a program for students in 11th or 12th grade who would like to spend two weeks abroad to learn different cultural habits and then return with their host student to spend two weeks in their home in Butler. Students of Rotarians are eligible for this program.

The Rotary Youth Leadership Award program is for high school students who are selected because they are leaders in their class. The club pays a fee to send them to Westminster College in June for a week of leadership skills and fellowship with other students from the 44 clubs in our district. Students of Rotarians are eligible for this program.

Each year our District in northwestern PA is able to offer a $25,000.00 scholarship to a college student. They will travel abroad to spend one year at a college or university with all expenses paid. The money for this scholarship comes from our district’s combined donations to the Rotary Foundation. Students of Rotarians are not eligible for this award.