ROTARY NANNY - Great Idea from D5030

FREMONT ROTARY PILOTS A NEW FIRST: A ROTARY NANNY

The Rotary Club of Fremont here in Seattle has inaugurated a change in its meetings that is likely a first for Rotary Clubs around the world: It has hired a Rotary Nanny who will provide child care for the children of members and guests attending weekly club meetings in Seattle. This Halloween will introduce another first: a children’s Halloween party with their Nanny at a regular Rotary meeting.
All the children who regularly attend Rotary meetings are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes to the Rotary meeting.
Fremont Rotary meets each Tuesday evening from 5:30pm through 7pm at a brewery, Hale’s Ales, in the Fremont/Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. Hale’s Ales is located at 4301 NW Leary Way in Seattle.
The Rotary Nanny, a grandmother who actually works as a nanny full-time for families in the Fremont neighborhood, was hired because the club invites its members to bring their young children to weekly meetings, and several do. Among the 22 members, approximately one-third have children or grandchildren under seven years old who frequently attend meetings. For example, the four youngest, and newest members, have four children.
Several of the children are Paul Harris Fellows, a Rotary designation denoting $1,000 has been donated in their names to the Rotary Foundation. The foundation, a not-for-profit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions for the single purpose of doing good in the world, has received contributions totaling more than $1 billion in its 90-year lifespan.
“It’s very important that we give child care at our meetings a try,’ said Jean Withers, president of the club, talking about the Nanny Pilot which began in early July. “Having childcare for our kids means our younger members can choose to join an after-hours Rotary Club, be of service to our community, and still enjoy their children before the kids go to bed. Several members also bring their husbands and wives, and the kids beg to come to Rotary to see their friends.”
‘We have already seen attendance at our meetings begin to peak this fall,” said Withers.
She noted that several enthusiastic members---one the senior member of the group who has no children---have donated puppet theaters and screens to entertain the children. The children eat dinner with the Rotarians and retire to ‘RotaryLand’ with their nanny while adults enjoy a speaker about local or international issues and conduct Rotary business. The children then ring the bell ending the meeting.

“This is just one more way we have integrated children into our Rotary Club,” Withers said. “When we clean up the Burke-Gilman Trail, there are always 3-5 children working along side our members. Do you really think those kids will ever litter?”

For more Information, contact
Jean Withers 206.819.5326