Presentation

1. The Promise of Vocation
Rotary Club of Gig Harbor, Washington, USA

2. Rotary Club
of Gig
Harbor
Vocational
Programs
Skilled Trades Program
First Tee Program
Mental Health Transformation Project
Women's Prison Program
Cars 4 Change
Star Awards

3. Skilled Trades
Program
• Partnered with School District, Trade
Groups and other Non-Profits
• Created a program that would build
vocational skills
• First project - built a “tiny home” for a
Seattle tiny-home village for homeless
• Provided funds to upgrade the school
shop
• Developed a pre-apprentice program
in coordination with trade groups

4. First Tee
Program Partners:
First Tee
Children's Home
Society
Local School
District
Rotary
First Tee provided the instructors and
curriculum
School district integrated the program into
their physical education program
Children’s Home Society advocated for kids
who needed support to partcipate
Rotary provided equipment, transportation
and scholarships for students to enroll in
the after-school program
”First Tee” is a
25 year old
international
youth
development
program
Goal: enable kids to build the strength of
character that empowers them through a
lifetime of new challenges.
Teaches life skills through the game of golf
and values such as integrity, respect &
perseverance

5. Mental Health
Transformation
Project
• Address the challenge of improving teen
mental health & reducing teen suicide
• Partnered with Boys and Girls Club
• Rotary Provided
• Seed money
• Adult support
• Program Planning
• Program Execution
• Mentoring Program
• Mother/Daughter Program

6. Women’s
Prison
Program
rotarywomensprison@gmail.com
• Re-entry program for inmates within 2 years of release
• Rotary
• Designed and launched the program
• Provided funding
• Provided the instructors
Over 8 years (paused during Covid) the program has
graduated 800 of the 900 students who enrolled
• Rotary subsequently added
• Scholarship program for post-incarceration vocational
training or schooling
• Woman-to-woman mentoring program
• Cars, driver’s license and insurance for some women

7. Cars 4 Change
Goal: Provide reliable automobile
for former inmates
Rotary
• Helped set up a board
• Filed 501c3 paperwork
• Provided some funding
Cars 4 Change Partnered with NAPA
and Westbay Auto Parts
• Finding cars to be donated
to the program
• Provide money for parts
• Provide free labor to refurbish
cars

8. Star Awards
Recognizes non-Rotarians who
exhibit “Service Above Self”
Three local clubs each select a
recipient annually
• Professionally produced video honoring the
service of each recipient
• Desert dash which raises funds to give to
each recipient’s charity of choice
Annual Banquet includes
• A crystal Star Award
• A Paul Harris Fellow
Recipients receive

9. Questions and Ideas