CNY Service

 

We have a brand new committee to celebrate and work with – the Service Committee! As a service organization, it’s important we have support and resources for our clubs and members to be successful with service projects that are meaningful to their communities and their members. Read on for an update on their current projects, and scroll all the way down for an outline of the committee’s scope of work and the positions that are available for volunteers.

All are still welcome to join the team! Please use the form below to let us know you want to help!

SUPPORT FOR EPIC DAY OF SERVICE

Click here to submit your club's project to the Epic Day of Service people and then check out the resources they have - like tees and signage!
 
Need inspiration or ideas on what your club could do to participate in an international day of service on May 17, 2025? We've got some ideas and links to support for some of them below. 
 

EASY IDEAS

Plant Trees
There are several clubs with experience in planting trees that you could reach out to for advice - Marcellus Rotary, Tully Rotary, New Hartford Rotary, Glens Falls Rotary. 
The New York State DEC Seedling Sale runs through May 14th. Click here for details on affordable trees for your community.
New York State is also working on an initiative to plant 25 million trees, so consider reporting any trees you plan to their tracker here.
 
Write Cards
Connect with a senior care facility, VA center or rehab to see if their residents would enjoy a friendly note of support and care. They likely get a lot at the holidays, and less this time of year. Ask if there is anything else your club could do to support seniors and veterans too!
 
Community Clean Up
It will have been a month since Earth Day and the litter bugs will have been out doing their dirty work. Plan another community clean-up. Pick up sticks, gloves, garbage bags and safety vests. Wear Rotary attire so people see who is helping beautify their space!
 
Senior Yardwork
Many seniors need help getting their landscaping spruced up for the new season. If you have volunteers who can show up with rakes and trimmers to spend 1-hour getting their beds updated and ready for growth, that could be rewarding and helpful.
 

TEAM UP

Reach out to local non-profits, check with neighboring Rotary Clubs, and scour your community social groups for other organizations (PTA, garden club, etc.) looking for volunteer support for their existing event. We don't always have to come up with the project ourselves when there are many opportunities for meaningful service happening around us. Check out some of these links to places that sometimes need volunteers as a place to start:
 
 

A CNY ROTARY SERVICE DATABASE

We want to know what our 110+ clubs are doing to serve their communities in order to create a new tool for us all to use. Submitting your club's events through this simple form will help us build a list of projects, which we'll then make accessible to everyone. We can then use this database of projects to find inspiration, get a feel for if a project or fundraiser might work in your club and community, and know who you can reach out to for guidance so you won't have to start from scratch. It's Rotary - we've already got a wheel and we don't need to reinvent it every time we want to try something new. We can learn from each other and make an even bigger impact on the world through service!
 
The form is designed to gather basic information about the cost of the project, how many volunteers it will require, who it benefits, and who to contact for more information.
 
Every club is encouraged to complete this form at least once to tell us about your biggest service project. However, there is no limit to how many times you can use the form to submit multiple service projects and fundraisers. The more information you can give us, the better!
If you have any trouble completing the form to submit your project, use the contact form on this page to ask for assistance!
    Enter your email address and the message you want to send.
    fields are required
     

    Committee’s Scope of Work

    Provide resources for clubs to inspire new service, help improve upon existing projects, and encourage more service activities in CNY Rotary, including hands-on consultation from experienced committee members.

    Ensure there is consistent and quality communication to clubs/members about the resources available to them from this new leadership team, including but not limited to submitting articles to the CNY Rotary News Network, maintaining a page on the district website, providing social media content related to service, and participating in regional training events.

    Offer hands-on support for ideation, planning, and logistics, particularly to smaller clubs with fewer human resources or to help overcome skill gaps in executing service events.

    Identify existing resources for reporting measurable service-related activities and evaluate usability. Develop initiatives that will motivate clubs to self-report their service hours and projects.

    Coordinate and communicate with CNY Rotary leadership to keep service at the forefront of what we do, to attract more service-minded members.

    Advocate for service to be a focus as it is vital to a positive club experience, which supports membership, which in turn supports giving of time and money.

    Plan and coordinate CNY Rotary district-wide days of service and regional service events.

    Set goals to evaluate the effectiveness of the committee and growth in service from our region.

    Oversee and collaborate with regional programs (ESRAG, Gift of Life, etc.).

     

    Also falling under this committee are:

    Environment Service Committee
    Books for the World
    ShelterBox
    Gift of Life
    Veterans Services
    Literacy
    Mental Health Services
    Habitat for Humanity

     

    Committee Roles/Teams & Descriptions:

    Chair

    Term: 3 years
    Succession: Vice-chair that serves one year before assuming chair position (chair position subject to executive board approval)
    Duties:
    -Accountability enforcer – ensure all team members follow through on club support
    -Prepare regular reporting for the CNY Rotary board and clubs
    -Hold a monthly meeting with the Service committee
    -Develop and work as a team to implement an overall service strategy
    -Be in communication with the additional service groups and partner programs in our region
    -Offer a Peer-To-Peer bottom-up team empowerment approach where the member is the customer
    Qualifications:
    -At least four years of Rotary experience preferred
    -RLI graduate preferred
    -Complete the following courses in the Rotary Learning Center:
    Conducting a Community Assessment
    Measuring and Reporting Our Impact
    Our Logo: Representing Rotary
    Rotary Action Group Basics
    Increase Your Impact
    Club Service Projects Committee Basics
    Areas of Focus

    Trainer

    Term: 3 years
    Succession: Vice-chair that serves one year before assuming a training position
    Duties:
    -Lead efforts to provide Service training for both club leaders and fellow committee members
    -Collaborates with the CNY Rotary Training Committee and attends meetings as needed
    -Works with the Chair to identify relevant topics for annual training events
    -Identifies and secures qualified presenters for training events
    -Develops training materials/presentations as needed
    -Helps coordinate annual training/meeting in the fall (Oct)
    -Posts updated training materials to the district website
    -Host webinars for clubs and members with training opportunities
    Qualifications:
    -Experience with adult learning or Rotary training preferred
    -Complete the following courses in the Rotary Learning Center:
    Conducting a Community Assessment
    Measuring and Reporting Our Impact
    Our Logo: Representing Rotary
    Rotary Action Group Basics
    Increase Your Impact
    Club Service Projects Committee Basics
    Areas of Focus

    Service Knowledge Bank Team

    Seeking 2-3 people
    Succession: Team leader rotates through team members each year
    Duties:
    -Team leader attends committee meetings or delegates team members as a proxy
    -Establish and manage a database of service projects including verifying and updating information over time
    -Solicit information from clubs to fill in the database
    -Keep the district website updated with service database details
    -Connect with Public Image to promote this resource (can be in collaboration with the Service Communications team)
    -Submit a monthly service project from the region to be featured in the district newsletter and on social media
    -Create and distribute awards
    Qualifications:
    -Able to learn and use database software (whatever is chosen)
    -Complete the following courses in the Rotary Learning Center:
    Measuring and Reporting Our Impact
    Our Logo: Representing Rotary
    Club Service Projects Committee Basics
    Areas of Focus

    Service Communications Team

    Seeking 1-2 people
    Succession: Vice-chair that serves one year before assuming coordinator position
    Duties:
    -Works with the committee to get service information into a newsletter, on social media, and website
    -Work with Chair to create a yearly communications plan, aligning with the overall service strategy
    -Helps other sub-committees with writing articles and/or creating graphics
    Qualifications:
    -High Rotary Brand IQ
    -Complete the following courses in the Rotary Learning Center:
    District Public Image Committee Intermediate
    Our Logo: Representing Rotary
    Club Service Projects Committee Basics

     
    District Service Coordinator

    Seeking 2-3 people
    Succession: Vice-chair that serves one year before assuming coordinator position
    Duties:
    -Day of Service point person
    -Recruit members/clubs to participate in district-wide initiatives
    -Work with the Chair to identify district-wide service opportunities
    -Regularly evaluate the impact of district-wide initiatives and suggest improvements
    -Coordinate with regional service programs to host large events
    -Identify regional needs (responding to local disaster relief for example)
    -Work with Public Image team to promote regional service opportunities
    -District point of contact for any potential CNY Rotary-wide or international service projects
    Qualifications:
    -Complete the following courses in the Rotary Learning Center:
    Our Logo: Representing Rotary
    Club Service Projects Committee Basics

    Community Assessment Advisor

    Term: 3 years
    Succession: Vice-chair that serves one year before assuming advisor position
    Duties:
    -Provide one-on-one support to clubs/members in need of doing a community assessment
    -create and maintain a repository of best practices and lessons learned from various community assessments
    -Promote the importance of an assessment when establishing new service projects
    -Work with the training committee as needed
    -actively collaborate with the Service Knowledge Bank Team
    -Continuously find resources within our membership to help find more advisors.
    -Provide lesson-learned documents at the end of each program year to assist clubs as they enter the new year
    -Work with the chair to conduct regular surveys of members
    Qualifications:
    -Complete Conducting a Community Assessment, Measuring and Reporting Our Impact, and Club Service Projects Committee Basics in the Rotary Learning Center

    Logistical Support

    Term: 3 years
    Succession: Vice-chair that serves one year before assuming a support position
    Duties:
    -Provide technical and logistical support to clubs and members
    -Identify resources for clubs and members to make the logistics of service projects easier
    -Work with training as needed
    -Contribute to newsletter content with helpful tips and guidance
    -Establish best practices for events/service
    -Facilitate connections between clubs doing similar projects or wanting to copy an existing project
    -Coordinate with Knowledge Bank in identifying needs for a project and sharing about projects to be added to the database
    Qualifications:
    -Experience in project management preferred
    -Complete the following courses in the Rotary Learning Center: Club Service Projects Committee Basics