Doylestown’s Rotary Club Turns 100 This Year: Here’s How it Helps the Community

DOYLESTOWN, PA—Most people think of Doylestown’s annual car show as a great event to check out cars and trucks and enjoy walking the streets of the borough. What many people don’t realize, however, is that the show is also a major fund-raiser for the Rotary Club of Doylestown.

At this year’s car show, for example, the organization gave away $25,000 to five community organizations like the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the Coalition to Support and Shelter the Homeless and the Maternity Care Coalition. The Doylestown Rotary is also behind a long list of community events, from sponsoring the borough’s annual fishing derby to funding scholarships for students and providing volunteers for community organizations.

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One reason the Doylestown Rotary has such deep roots in town is because of its long history in the area. In May of this year, the Rotary Club of Doylestown celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Helen Amelsberg, the organization’s Immediate Past President, explained that the organization has just under 80 members or “rotarians.” A handful have belonged for decades, and some are second- and third-generation members.

The organization and its members are all about serving the community. Amelsberg said that when members decide whether to embrace a cause or a group, they apply the organization’s “four-way test,” which asks four basic questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

“These are very important questions that we ask every time we're talking about doing a new project,” Amelsberg explained. “That's our motto. That's what we stand by.”

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The car show checks all of those boxes, Amelsberg said. And at the end of the day, the entry fees paid by car owners and the sponsorships purchased by local businesses raise a significant amount of money. (The show is free to attendees.)

After expenses, she explained, all the money raised through the car show is given away to groups chosen by a committee. “It all goes back to the local community,” Amelsberg said, “every single penny.”

The Doylestown Rotary is behind another high-profile event in the borough: the annual fishing derby at Chapman Park. The organization is also behind countless other events and initiatives. It gives money to the Doylestown Fire Company No. 1 (Amelsberg noted that she’s an ex-firefighter), it helps hang ribbons to commemorate ovarian cancer for the Turn the Town Teal event, and it raises thousands of dollars for scholarships.

The group also sends volunteers to work for other community organizations, like helping staff NOVA’s thrift store on weekends. It also works with the Beds for Kids program, which gives in-need children new twin beds and bedding. Amelsberg said that some rotarians bring their children to help with the program, introducing a new generation to community service.

“Children were choosing bedding and choosing teddy bears or cuddly toys to put in the bedding for the child,” she explained. “Then they could choose books and toothbrushes that went in the package. Our kids just loved it.”

New this year, the group held a benefit concert in Doylestown Township’s Central Park to prevent human trafficking. It’s an example of how the group is trying to keep current with the community’s needs.

Amelsberg said that many of the nonprofits come back to the Doylestown Rotary to thank them for their support and to explain how the money is being used to help the community. “We can see that the money we give is actually being used,” she explained.

“There are many people out there that are very needy,” Amelsberg noted. “They're in situations that they shouldn't be in because of life circumstances, and there's something we can do to help. That's what rotary is all about.”

Since 2008, the group has raised $360,790. That money has gone to support 126 programs at 60 nonprofit organizations throughout Bucks County. The group meets once a month at the Water Wheel Tavern, although Amelsberg pointed out that members don’t have to attend every meeting.

“It's very easy to be a member,” she said, “because there are no real requirements. We don't say, ‘You must volunteer for X number of projects per year.’ We just ask that members give what they can. We understand that people are busy.”

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