Our HISTORY

Serving Since 1925

2022 is the 97th year of the Rotary Club of Williamsville, having received its Rotary International (RI) charter on January 1, 1925.

The Club is part of RI’s District 7090, which is one of only five (5) international districts in all of world-wide Rotary. District 7090 extends from Hamilton in southern Ontario, south to Jamestown, NY and east to Holley, NY, with over 2,500 members in 70 Clubs.

Since 1925, the Rotary Club of Williamsville has a proud and demonstrated history of service not only in Williamsville and the Town of Amherst, but also Western New York and the world. The attached 95 Years of Serving the Williamsville / Amherst Community (1925-2020) provides an overview of the financial donations provided by the Club.

Since 1988, its Rotary Club of Williamsville Foundation [a 501(c)(3) non- profit charitable organization], has provided approximately $325,000 in funding to area benefactors such as Kaleida/Millard-Fillmore Suburban Hospital, Gateway-Longview Home, Amherst Meals On Wheels, and others that improve the quality of life in our community. The Foundation’s goal is to annually fund a project or projects amounting to between $10,000 and $15,000, which is dependent upon the success of the investments portfolio. Recent benefactors include the Williamsville Library, the Buffalo-Niagara Heritage Village, the Amherst Seniors Center, and the Summit. These are long term support over a 5-year period.

Although confirmed figures for years prior to 2009 are not verifiable, but since 2009 the Club alone has contributed an additional estimated total annual amount of approximately $20,000 to various local charitable organizations, as well as annual donations to the Rotary International Foundation and to its world-wide endeavor, PolioPlus.

The Club also maintains a garden (Rotary Park) in Glen Falls Park near the Main Street park entrance and the waterfalls of Ellicott Creek. This park also includes pavers recognizing the Club’s Paul Harris awardees. The prestigious Paul Harris Fellow is named after Paul P. Harris who founded Rotary International in Chicago in 1905. In 1957, RI established the award to show appreciation for contributions made by Rotarians and others to their local or international community.

To raise funds to support charitable organizations, the Rotary Club of Williamsville hosts a variety of annual events like the annual Wine Tasting - a wine and buffet dinner March, the Strawberry Festival in June, and, the Annual Classics Car Show in late summer. The Classics car show has been partnered with the Rotary Club of Amherst and focuses its revenue to the Amherst Youth Foundation.

The Club supports Interact, a Rotary program at Williamsville South High School. Student members focus on their particular programs that support charities and most actively work with Full Circle Home, an organization that supports our military. They also wrap holiday presents for local families to send to area servicemen and women.

The Club has actively participated in Rotary’s Youth Exchange Program with in-bound students from Denmark, Spain, Argentina, and France. Local out- bound students have gone to Japan, Taiwan and most recently Germany.

RI programs undertaken by the Club fully support youth leadership training through SLAPSHOT (Student Leadership Award for Students High on Training), a late winter weekend in Ontario, Canada for high school student leaders, 15-18 years of age and through RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award), a 1-week early summer program at the State University of New York – Fredonia, for young adults 19-27 years of age.

Our Club currently has 29 members. Since its inception in 1957 by Rotary International, our Club has awarded 48 Paul Harris Fellows, 19 of which are current members and 2 of which are Multiple Fellows.

At Christmas, members of the Club participate in the Angel Program at Gateway-Longview Home, providing gifts to youth residents. There have also been warm clothing drives that benefit under-privileged children. Excess foods from the Club’s Strawberry Festival and Annual Car Show are provided to the home.

We meet every Monday at 6:15 PM at Dandelions Restaurant, 1340 North Forest Road in Williamsville. This Club meeting includes dinner, socialization, and a program that may include a speaker whose presentation is on an interesting topic. Prior presentations have included: the Amherst Court System; Regional Transportation Planning; Amherst Police Department; Amherst Economic Development; New York State Thruway; Senior Care Issues; Identity Theft & Fraud Issues; Homeland Security and speakers from area organizations. This is a brief sampling of the varied topics presented at the Club’s weekly meetings which is completed by 7:30 PM.

We also have family events at Christmas, Valentines, and the annual President’s Dinner.

96 Years of Serving the Williamsville / Amherst Community (1925-2021)

  • Exploration of Need for Community Hospital (1930-1935)

  • Depression Era: Food and Clothes for Needy

  • World War II: Tin Can Drives; Blood Bank; “Bundles for Britain”

  • Co-Sponsor: Community Polio Victims Swimming Pool

  • Donation of 100 Trees for Main Street (1959)

  • Facilitator: Emergency Medical Services Council (1985)

  • Sponsor of C.P.R. Training for Town Workers (1985)

  • Amherst Drug Court

  • Amherst Museum

  • Amherst Public Library

  • Amherst Senior Services

  • Amherst Symphony Orchestra (Co-sponsor Annual Music Scholarship since 1987)

  • Amherst Youth Program / Amherst Youth Foundation

  • Bornhava (An Early Childhood Center for Children with Developmental Disabilities)

  • Business Award Scholarships

  • Buffalo-Niagara Heritage Village (formerly Amherst Museum)

  • DECA Programs (Distributive Education Clubs of America)

  • Drug Re-Hab Center (Renaissance House – West Seneca)

  • Gateway-Longview Home / annual Christmas Gift Program

  • Health Clinic Construction & Supply in Haiti (Co-Sponsor with Grand Island Rotary)

  • Rotary International Youth Exchange Program (Incoming and Outgoing Students)

  • Rotary International PolioPlus Program – Worldwide Eradication of Polio

  • Maintenance of Rotary Park / 200-feet into Main Street Entrance to Glen Park

  • Make-A-Wish Foundation

  • Mathewson-McCarthy Baseball League

  • Matrichaya School (Ranchi [Jharkand] India) (teaching business school for women)

  • Kaleida / Millard-Fillmore Suburban Hospital

    (see “Community Hospital”, above 1930-1935)

  • Nepal Hospital (India)

  • Northeast YMCA

  • Playground Construction Supporter (Heim Middle & Willow Ridge Schools)

  • SABAH (Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped)

  • Williamsville High Schools – Annual Senior Student Scholarship

  • Rotary Interact Club support at the Williamsville South High School and their annual Christmas gift program to U.S. military families

This is a partial listing of recipients of the Club’s fundraising efforts since 1925.

The Club has three [3] major events per year – annual Wine Tasting & Food, usually held in March-April; annual Strawberry Festival, held 3rd week of June; and, Classic Car Show, a professionally judged event held in late summer at the Northtown Center. The Club may also sponsor smaller fund raising events.

Numerous others have also received donations from the Rotary Club of Williamsville Foundation, Inc., a 501(c) (3) non-profit charity. The Foundation, created in 1982, receives an annual contribution from the Club. The Foundation has an annual aspirational goal of supporting local community projects of about $10,000 to $15,000 per year. Examples of recent projects are: roof replacement for the band stand at Buffalo-Niagara Heritage Village (BNHV); schoolhouse painting at BNHV: Amherst Senior Center support for a new transportation vehicle; a 5-year annual pledge to the Williamsville Public Library; a 5-year annual pledge to The Summit Center; annually, scholarships to local high school students, and many other community venues.