The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown was founded April 24, 1987 and officially chartered by Rotary International. In the beginning it had 28 members, and today it continues to thrive with approximately 90 members. Our members embrace the motto of Rotary International, “Service Above Self” in their approach to the Club’s five main avenues of service: Club, Community, International, Youth and Vocational. Our club has a strong portfolio of service projects and an impressive record of philanthropy, examples of which are in the following sections.

From its inception, the Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has played a leadership role in many different kinds of community activities. In its first year, it pioneered the Adopt-A-Highway program locally and funded a major expansion of the Shepherdstown Library’s “Talking Books” program. In 1990, it helped establish the Good Shepherd Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, a non-profit community organization that supports the disabled and elderly. In 2000, it established a special fund that supports advanced training for local firefighters and emergency service personnel. In 2007, it initiated Shepherdstown’s July 4th parade and community picnic, which it continues to sponsor. Since 2013, it has organized the town’s Christmas parade. The Club also regularly assists other community organizations by providing them with financial and volunteer support. This assistance ranges from ending Polio through Rotary International’s programs Polio Plus and Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Disaster Response in the Ukraine, providing clean water through the El Salvador Water Supply Project, supporting education through our Dream Desk Project and the Kenya Street Connected Children Education Project and serving local schools with the World Affairs Seminar, and providing financial assistance and muscle for the installation of ten benches in our own local park, Morgan’s Grove.