About Us:

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island and the Rotary Club of Silverdale, the 25 members of the Poulsbo-North Kitsap Rotary Club were chartered by Rotary International on November 11, 1976. Our Charter Night celebration was held at the Poplars Restaurant in Silverdale where we became one of 57 clubs in what was then District 502. Our first fundraiser was the Easter Pancake Breakfast. Our first projects consisted of picnic tables for public parks in Poulsbo, Kingston and at Buck Lake in Hansville and bookshelves for the Martha and Mary Nursing Home in Poulsbo.

In the early years our club focus was growth and social activities. As the years passed, there have been many changes - the biggest being the inclusion of women in what was a bastion of male camaraderie. Over the years our club focus evolved from a social club into a pro-youth, international service oriented club which now serves as a model for service clubs in Poulsbo and throughout our Rotary District.

In the year 2005 we maintain a club membership of around 100 people that support wonderful social events including our annual club picnic, a progressive dinner, a combination Founders Night and Annual Christmas Dinner, an occasional Mystery Night and various Spouses Night dinner outings. We shifted from flipping pancakes at Easter and selling Orange Ulius during Viking Fest to our annual Dinner Auction, which grossed over $80,000 in 2005 and selling 1000 dozen roses during our Rotary Rose Day - Freshman Fundraiser.

Community service activities support the Domestic Violence Transition House, Oyster Plant Park and a project in the new Fish Park the annual RYLA summer conference help at PLU and in 1995 our club sponsored and continues to support the NKHS INTERACT Club. During the past 25 years we have awarded annual scholarships that now total well over $100,000, supported the Poulsbo Marine Science Center with over $30,000 during their move to Downtown Poulsbo and established a Middle School computer lab worth nearly $16,000. The Club's single largest fundraising project has been in support of the Olympic College Remote Campus in Poulsbo, where we have pledged and funded $100,000. Currently the club has raised $40,000 for an as yet undermined project in support of the Poulsbo Historical Museum.

We annually sponsor local projects that are detailed in the following pages. These projects address our interest in supporting underprivileged residents of our community the needs of disabled citizens, environmental clean up concerns and awareness issues and numerous other recreational and beautification projects at local parks.

The Club has received numerous awards for our work in the area of Vocational Service. Over the year's we sponsored the Rotary House Project, enabling the NKHS carpentry class to participate in building about 20 houses in the greater Poulsbo area. This program gained recognition at the community the District and also at the National level for the self-sustaining capability of our program and all the benefits that the students and school district gain from this effort. In 2005 this program has come to a close and we are looking for a new challenge in Vocational service. Last year we began sponsoring vocational scholarships to assist deserving applicants in returning to the work force through education in a new career field.

In addition to contributing over $25,000 to the RI Polio Plus program our club has produced over 63 Paul Harris Fellows and 36 Paul Harris Sustaining Members. All these contributions are generated by individual club members to the RI Foundation separate from all other fundraising monies generated by the club and the community. Both the Inbound and Outbound Student Exchange program and support of the RI Group Study Exchange and student and teacher grants continue to be the centerpiece of our International Service work. In the mid 1990's we received RI Foundation matching grants to accomplish several projects in Viet Nam and in the late 1980s we participated in the District 5020 Rotary Soviet Friendship Exchange. Since 2000 we have continued work in Viet Nam in conjuction with Kids First Viet Nam and have completed a joint water project in Honduras and participated in a joint project to work on a medical clinic in St Lucia. Currently we are waiting to commence a $20,000 RI grant project La Guacamaya Medical Clinic in Honduras and are participating with the Kingston Rotary in a new project involving an orphanage in Romania.