The Club was founded on April 13, 1987, and sponsored by the Groton-Ledyard Rotary Club. The initial membership of the Ledyard Rotary Club was 27, under the Presidency of Bob Craft. Our current President is leading the Ledyard Rotary Club into its 38th year. Our club currently has 23 members. See the "Meeting Information" page for current locations and times. The cost is $10.00 for visiting Rotarians or guests. Our address is: Ledyard Rotary Club,12 Van Tassel Drive in Gales Ferry, CT 06335 and our website is: www.ledyardrotary.org

 

The LEDYARD ROTARY CLUB currently has several major fundraisers annually, in addition to the ongoing funds raised at weekly meetings through contributions, "Good News/Bad News," and a raffle. In 2002-2003, a raffle of a 100th-anniversary edition Harley-Davidson motorcycle raised thousands of dollars for our club. A Bowl-A-Thon, held annually in the summer or fall, has raised over $10,000.00 since its inception in the mid-1990s. Prior to the major prize raffle, the Ledyard Rotary Club presented annual spring dinner theaters, complete with gourmet dinners and very professionally performed comedy plays. All chefs, wait staff, actors & actresses, set designers, sound & lighting crew & support personnel were Ledyard Rotary Club members and their families and friends. Plays have included "The Good Doctor" (1992), "Squabbles" (1993), "Bedside Manners" (1994), "No Time Like The Present" (1995), "Wally's Café" (1996), "Greater Tuna" (1997), and "Moon Over Buffalo" (1998). Prior to the dinner theaters, Christmas trees were sold as an annual club fundraiser.

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Over the last decade we introduced the Annual Car Cruise which is very popular and our largest fundrasier each year. We also host a Raffle, named Laffle (L for Ledyard) in which the winner receives $1000 and 2nd place of $500.  This is drawn each December.

 

Funds are distributed primarily to local organizations, concentrating on the Ledyard Schools. Other organizations supported by The Ledyard Rotary Club include, but are not limited to: Adopt A Highway, Easter Seals Rehabilitation Center, Family Service, Focus on Hunger (sponsored by Norwich Rotary), Habitat For Humanity of Southeastern Connecticut, Haitian Health Foundation (Dr. Jeremy Lowney), Ledyard Food Locker (Holiday Food Baskets), Ledyard High School Athletic Booster Club, Ledyard High School Drug and Alcohol Free Graduation Party, Ledyard High School Music Department, Ledyard Interchurch Emergency Fund, Ledyard Public Libraries, Ledyard Transport, Men Against Destruction, People To People, Regional Multi-Cultural Magnet School, Rotary Foundation (Paul Harris Fellow Awards), Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (Ledyard High School students), SIDS Network, Special Olympics (regional, state and international games including one year the games were held at Connecticut College in New London), Student Recognition Awards (Ledyard Middle School and Ledyard High School), Submarine Memorial Parade, and Three Rivers Family Program.

 

The Student Recognition Awards, mentioned above, are one of our club's primary and ongoing projects. These awards are presented annually to students from both Ledyard Middle School and Ledyard High School. The students are nominated by their teachers for outstanding performance in any area. Recipients are selected on any or all of the following attributes: citizenship, scholarship, athletics, music, and attendance. The award consists of a certificate and a check for $50.00 (Middle School) or a certificate and a check for $300.00 (High School). The selected students, their parents, and their nominating teachers are invited to our club for breakfast to be recognized for their achievements. The Johnson Scholarship was established by Ledyard Rotary in 2009 to memorialize Mr. Johnson’s legacy of service, to promote the values and ideals of Rotary, and to inspire and support a new generation of community leaders. Although applicants must be of good academic standing, the scholarship is primarily a leadership and community service award.

 

The LEDYARD ROTARY CLUB also volunteers time and donates funds. Some of the activities our club members have donated their time to include: Adopt A Highway quarterly cleanup (Route 12, Gales Ferry), Erikson Property cleanup (Gales Ferry), Habitat For Humanity, Ledyard Fair, Ledyard Fair Grounds Gazebo Project, Ledyard High School Drug and Alcohol-Free Graduation Party (chaperones), and the Ledyard Memorial Day Parade. We have also changed the batteries in the smoke detectors in Ledyard's Senior Housing complex. At each weekly meeting, The LEDYARD ROTARY CLUB hosts a speaker program. Speakers have included club members and other Rotarians, politicians, students, educators, charitable groups both local and worldwide, Rotarians from foreign lands (Group Study Exchange), health organizations, storytellers, and sports figures (i.e., Norwich Navigators), among others. A club business meeting is held once a month as well.

 

In 1999, LEDYARD ROTARY FOUNDATION, INC. was formed. Since then, thousands of dollars have been raised by our Foundation and given directly back to our community. The Ledyard Rotary Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501 c(3) organization and an affiliate of the Ledyard Rotary Club. All gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible, as allowed by IRS regulations. Dedicated to supporting programs that serve the local community and advancing the needs of Rotary International, the Foundation supports causes that enhance educational opportunities, improves quality of life, access to health care, addresses social problems, advances charitable giving, or provides emergency relief. The Foundation exists primarily for the benefit of Ledyard and Gales Ferry residents but also supports regional, national, and international programs. The creation of this Foundation represented a major step forward in living up to the motto of Rotary, "Service Above Self." Though a small club, we accomplished a lot and had a wonderful time doing it.

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