The Rotary Club of Columbia

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Founded in 1968, The Rotary Club of Columbia embodies the original spirit of James Rouse’s vision as a growing, diverse and welcoming group committed to making our community and the world a better place through our work, our donations and our commitment to service.

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The Rotary Club of Columbia consists of business and community leaders in various professional fields. Members take a sincere interest in the world around them, both locally and internationally.

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Through its various fundraisers over the past years, the Rotary Club of Columbia has donated more than $1 million to community nonprofits, organizations and scholarships. In addition, tens of thousands of dollars have been contributed to international projects to help the most needy around the world.

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Members give more than just money. Members have also dedicated many hours to participation in several charitable events such as Rebuilding Together, Relay for Life and the Loan Closet, which was founded by The Rotary Club of Columbia.

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Internationally, we founded and continue to support a program focusing on mental health in India and have been a strong supporter of the Polio Plus project.

Supporting the Local Community The Rotary Club of Columbia has supported many local organizations since it was first founded. Each year, the Club donates to local nonprofits and organizations and contributes several thousand toward student scholarships.

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A strong supporter of Howard Community College, The Rotary Club of Columbia has sponsored a room in the recently-built Horowitz music hall and, in 2013, with the other seven Howard County Rotary clubs, the atrium in the new Health Sciences Building was sponsored by and is dedicated to Rotary International. In addition, each year, The Rotary Club of Columbia sponsors the Tom Briscoe Family Rouse Scholarship that goes to a Howard Community College student that might not be able to attend college otherwise.

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Some of the organizations that helped with annual contributions include:

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• Bob Davidson Scholarship Program

• Boy Scouts of America

• Camp Attaway

• Columbia Festival of the Arts

• Columbia Pro Cantare

• Counselors Helping (South Asians) Indians, Inc. (CHAI, Inc.)

• Disability Awareness Program

• Domestic Violence Center

• Family Life Center

• FIDOS for Freedom

• FIRN

• First Tee of Howard County

• Grace Episcopal Church

• Grassroots Crisis Center

• HC DrugFree

• Howard Community College

• Howard County Headstart Program

• Howard County General Hospital Department of Psychiatry

• Howard County Police Department

• Howard County Public School System

• Howard County Special Olympics Humanim

• Leadership Howard County

• Linwood Children’s Center

• Mediation & Conflict Resolution Center

• NAMI Howard County, Inc.

• Rebuilding Together

• Recovery Works LLC

• Rouse Scholarship Program, HCC

• The Health Alliance

• The Loan Closet

• The Serenity Center

• Voices for Children

• YMCA Howard County

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Supporting International Projects

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Polio Plus is a Rotary International project dedicated to eradicating polio throughout the world. The Rotary Club of Columbia has been a strong financial supporter of the program as well has club member Raj Saini has been one of the leaders in raising much needed funds. Over the years, several members have also taken part in the International Immunization Day where they traveled to India and helped immunize several hundred children.

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Another major international project has been the Maanasi Project started by club member Geetha Jayaram. Bringing medicine and medical assistance to women with varying degrees of mental illness, the Maanasi Project started in one small village in 1999. The project is now in 187 villages, helping more than 17,000 women, men and children. In addition, Bangalore Midtown Rotary has become a partner in the project.

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Other areas have also benefited from The Rotary Club of Columbia, including the Safe Blood program, building wells in Africa and communities hit by the tsunami in Thailand and the hurricane in Haiti in which the Club contributed funds directly to the people through the local Rotary clubs.

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Also, 100% of the Rotary Club of Columbia membership makes annual contributions to the Rotary International Foundation.

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