The object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
- The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
- High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
- The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life;
- The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
The Winona Rotary Club is involved with many projects throughout our community and the world. Through our dedication to service, we work with the community to foster growth of individuals and organzations. Below is a summary of our current projects.
| Shadow Program | Each year Winona Rotarians invite high school seniors to our club meeting for the annual "Shadow" Program. After lunch Rotarians and other professionals allow students to "shadow" them in their occupations for an afternoon. |
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| Rotary Readers | One afternoon a month Rotarians go into Winona's grade schools where they read to children. Rotary then donates that book to the classroom. The program encourages reading and establishes a bond between Rotarians and young people. |
| Camp RYLA | Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive training program for community youth leaders. Young people chosen for their leadership potential attend an all-expenses-paid seminar, camp, or workshop to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice. |
| Rotary Scholarships | The Winona Rotary Club grants three higher education scholarships each year; one for St. Mary's College, one for Winona State University, and one for Minnesota State University, Southeast Technical. |
| Dictionary Project | Each year members of the Winona Rotary Club donate dictionaries to every third-grader in Winona County. The idea is to promote literacy to students who are learning about spelling and alphabetical order. The idea started in South Carolina in the early 1990s, and service clubs like Rotary are doing such projects all over the country now. |
| Lake Winona Clean-up | The Winona Rotary Club has a long and rich partnership with the Lake Winona Area. The club's newest project is a cleaning effort of both the shoreline and within the water itself. Each spring, Rotarians will get together — sporting waders and riding in canoes — to clean up the lake. The lake is a vital part of our communities image and we hope to make it more enjoyable for all. |