Flathead Valley Rotary Clubs rally for EPIC Day of Service
Most people want to help their community, but they just aren’t sure where to start.
That’s the motivation behind Rotary Club International’s EPIC Day of Service, taking place May 16, according to Montana Rotary’s District Governor Lucy Smith. Every Rotary Club in the Flathead Valley is hosting a service project as part of the organization’s worldwide initiative, and they invite anyone from the community to join.
While Rotary is perhaps best known in the Flathead Valley for youth football and volleyball programs, the international club numbers 1.25 million members committed to humanitarian service in 122 countries. Rotary arrived in Kalispell in 1919, 14 years after the club was founded in Chicago, and today there are eight clubs in the Valley promoting service in local communities.
The EPIC Day of Service, now in its fourth year, is an effort to unite Rotary’s global members in one unified day of service. Last year, members from seven different countries spearheaded more than 1,200 service projects.
This is the first year Montana’s clubs will participate. For her signature project as district governor, Smith’s goal is for every Rotary Club in the state to take part. All eight Flathead Valley clubs have organized projects, providing opportunities for community members to give back and learn more about Rotary.
In Smith’s view, the EPIC Day of Service is powerful for many of the same reasons Rotary is so powerful: it enables members to accomplish far more than they ever could on their own.
“As one person, what agency do I have?” Smith asked. “Look at all the needs and calamities and tragedies — I don’t have the power to do anything. But when I’m with my Rotary Club, I actually have a connection and a way to do things because it’s not just me. On my own, I’m not going to change the world, but I think together, we have that impact.”
Each Flathead Valley Rotary Club is hosting a unique service project on May 16.
The Kalispell Rotary Club is undertaking spring cleanup and garden bed prep at the Conrad Mansion Museum. Kalispell’s Daybreak Rotary is cleaning up the West Glacier entrance.
Evergreen Rotary is tackling yard cleanup and maintenance for Evergreen Elementary and nearby homes. Whitefish Rotary is collecting trash on Whitefish Stage Road.
Bigfork Rotary is partnering with the Senior Center to complete needed projects like painting and deep cleaning. Columbia Falls Rotary is hosting kids’ games at the Land to Hand Run Wild.
The Rotary Club of Kootenai Valley is planting trees at the Troy Fishing Pond. The Rotary Club of Polson is sponsoring a highway cleanup and Pomajevich Park baseball field workday.
Throughout the year, Rotary clubs dedicate time to projects focused on education and literacy. They volunteer in elementary schools as reading assistants and donate books and dictionaries. For older students, they sponsor scholarships and partner with schools to bridge funding gaps.
The clubs also engage in international projects. Leveraging Rotary’s global network, Flathead Valley residents connect with leadership programs in Mexico, clean water projects in Guatemala and education initiatives for girls in Nepal.
The EPIC Day of Service comes at a time when volunteerism is teetering in the United States. While headlines are quick to announce declining rates of service and civic engagement, the numbers tell a more complex story. After hitting a 30-year low during the pandemic, the rate of adults formally volunteering has since rebounded to 28%, consistent with pre-pandemic levels, according to research data from the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps.
But while the number of people volunteering has risen, the number of hours served continues to decline. For areas like Montana, the most concerning statistic is the closing gap between urban and rural volunteer rates. Historically, rural areas, which depend on volunteers to provide essential services, have seen higher participation. Today, rural volunteerism has declined to the point that there is no difference between urban and rural areas.
Scholars have devoted considerable time to the problem, trying to understand why Americans are spending less time volunteering. The decline of civic organizations and religious affiliation, the rise of social media and increasingly busy lives all surface as possible reasons.
According to Smith, people simply don’t know where to start. In today’s hyperconnected world, people are often more aware of what’s happening across the world than down the street. They are unable to identify opportunities where their individual actions can make a tangible difference in their local community.
EPIC Day of Service bridges that gap, Smith believes. The day is a chance for a wide variety of community members, young and old, to dive into a project and meet like-minded people who also want to give back.
When people do see what Rotary is up to, they’re inspired to join. Contrary to the perception that Rotary is what Smith called and “old white man’s lunch club,” Rotary’s fastest-growing Flathead Valley clubs are made up of high school students.
After learning about Rotary through the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program, students at Flathead and Glacier High schools were inspired to start Interact Clubs, Rotary’s affiliate for students age 12 to 18.
The group of sophomore and junior leaders includes Tyler Wright, Meah Koppes, Cruz Pettymyers, Alyssa White and Olivia Kufa. Their clubs have already seen widespread interest, with around 50 students at Glacier High School and 30 students at Flathead High School.
The Interact Clubs are also taking part in the EPIC Day of Service, with projects they brainstormed and implemented entirely on their own, according to Smith. Glacier High School is kicking off a community-wide donation drive and Flathead High School is putting on a salon day for seniors at Immanuel Living.
“I feel like a lot of my friends or classmates, they really wanted to help out the community. They really wanted to make an impact, and they just didn't know what to do, where to do it, who to contact,” Kufa said.
Through Interact, Rotary empowers these students to take initiative on the service projects they are passionate about right in their local community. Participating in EPIC Day of Service, Smith said, reminds students that they are also part of the community and shows them what a lifelong commitment to service looks like.
“I don't have to come up with a ‘save the world’ project,” Koppes said. “I can just be there to support what's already in the community and make a difference in my own way too.”
To learn more about the EPIC Day of Service and sign up for local projects, visit epicdayofservice.org