Seminole County Rotary Club closing its doors after serving community for decades

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — The Rotary Club of Seminole South is disbanding after serving the community for 54 years.

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The announcement follows a drop in membership. It had 100 active members a decade ago. Now the club only has 20 active members.

The club president Julia Kaufman said they plan to go out strong and on a positive note leaving behind $187,000 to organizations, charities, and local schools in Seminole County.

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“We are going to set up foundations between Seminole State College, Seminole County schools and then some of our really well-known non-profits in the area giving so much back to the community,” said Kaufman.

Over the last decade the club has been struggling to bring in younger members to the organization. Kaufman said their youngest member is middle age.

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“We see that in many non-profits, not only in our organization, but it’s also a service above self. i think Covid had an impact on it - we are seeing a decline in membership,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman added that because they only have 20 active members - currently no one is willing to step into critical leadership roles to keep fundraising efforts going like the Rotary Rising Achievers program.

Since the program began 24 years ago, it has provided scholarships to 434 students who overcame challenges while managing to graduate.

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