Palo Alto University Rotary

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East Palo Alto, CA
Palo Alto University Rotary

Want to do good in your community, make friends and have fun? Join us Fridays at 7:30 AM Welcome to Palo Alto University Rotary!

Invite your friends to learn the latest from Palo Alto's morning club!

09/02/2026

September is Rotary’s Basic Education & Literacy Month! 📚✨

Did you know that having as few as 20 books at home significantly impacts a child’s educational success? Yet in low-income neighborhoods, there is only 1 book for every 300 children, and 61% of children in low-income households have no books at home.

Through PAUR’s LiteracyPlus committee, we’re working to bridge this gap across Pre-K through middle school students in our local community:

📖 Book Access & Speaker Appreciation: Donating curated books through schools, clinics, and our weekly guest speaker book-signing tradition.

🎒 Book Cubbies: Assembling personalized reading cubbies for Pre-K and Kindergarten students at St. Elizabeth Seton School.

✏️ Reading & Math Pals: Connecting Rotarians and volunteers with students for weekly 1:1 tutoring in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto.

"Give a Book. Be a Pal. Change the World."

Want to make a difference in local education? Reach out or visit the link in our bio to get involved! 💙

08/27/2026

Join us this Friday, August 28, for a special program featuring two of our newest members! 🌟

We’re excited to welcome Alteya Stern and Perry Irvine to the podium to share their background, passions, and what brought them to Rotary.

📅 Details:
Date: Friday, August 28, 2026
Time: 7:15 to 8:30 am
Location: Sheraton Palo Alto (625 El Camino Real) or on Zoom

08/20/2026

Join us this Friday as we welcome District Governor Dr. Geeta Kadambi for her official visit to Palo Alto/University Rotary! 🌟

Dr. Kadambi—a scientist, former NASA researcher, patent agent, and founder/CEO of Riddhi IP LLC—brings Silicon Valley’s innovation culture straight to Rotary leadership. She’ll share her vision for District 5170, discuss "Collaborative Impact," and help us induct three fantastic new members into our club family: Maureen Clark, Ashok Kapoor, and Sara Crellin.

📅 Details:
Date: Friday, August 21, 2026
Time: 7:15 to 8:30 am
Location: Sheraton Palo Alto (625 El Camino Real) or on Zoom

08/15/2026

Celebrating Service Above Self 💙✨

Last two Fridays, we were thrilled to honor five extraordinary community leaders as our newest Paul Harris Fellows!
Named in honor of Rotary’s founder, Paul Harris, this award recognizes leaders for outstanding service and dedication to the Rotary principle of “Service Above Self.”

🌟 Meet Our Honorees:
• Mayor Vicki Veenker (Palo Alto Mayor & Founder, Sibling Cities USA) – Recognized for building bridges across regional divides and her partnership with our club. Reflecting on service, Vicki reminded us: “Do what you do, just keep others in mind while you’re doing it.”

• Maria Ormaza-Mathia (El Carmelo Elementary) – Recognized for guiding students toward reading confidence, celebrating 6 years of partnership with our Reading Pals program. 📚

• Harriette Huang (Ravenswood Middle School) – Recognized for elevating 7th-grade math achievement through innovative teaching and collaboration with Math Pals. 📐

• Charlotte Coker (Downtown Food Closet) – Recognized for ensuring over 100 neighbors facing food insecurity are fed daily, alongside our club volunteers. 🤝

• Mora Oommen (Executive Director, YCS) – Recognized for leading YCS with vision, opening doors for our youth service projects, and inspiring young leaders. 🌱

Thank you, Vicki, Maria, Harriette, Charlotte, and Mora, for making a lasting difference in our community!

👉 Swipe through for highlights from the ceremonies!

08/13/2026

🎒 Backpack Build: In-Meeting Service 🎒

This Friday, our meeting is the service! We are coming together to pack backpacks and school supplies for 135 local students—providing supplies for 45 students at each of three local schools: Belle Haven Elementary, KIPP Valiant Middle, and East Palo Alto Academy. ✏️📓

With the help of our partner, the East Palo Alto Kids Foundation, we will fill the backpacks together, slip a handwritten note of encouragement into each, and hand them off to our Community Service Team for delivery. ❤️

📅 Details:
Date: Friday, August 14, 2026
Time: 7:15 to 8:30 am
Location: Sheraton Palo Alto (625 El Camino Real) or on Zoom

08/06/2026

Join us this Friday morning as Palo Alto University Rotary welcomes Mayor Vicki Veenker! 🌟

Mayor Vicki will give an exclusive preview of her State of the City Address, share the inspiration behind her "One Community" theme, and discuss how partnerships between local government, organizations like Rotary, and coalitions like US Climate Mayors strengthen our region.

Beyond her service as Mayor and her work on regional energy, air quality, and public safety boards, Vicki is a distinguished IP attorney, federal mediator, founder of Sibling Cities USA, and co-founder of Women’s Professional Soccer.

📅 Details:
Date: Friday, August 7, 2026
Time: 7:15 to 8:30 am
Location: Sheraton Palo Alto (625 El Camino Real) or on Zoom

08/01/2026

August is Rotary Membership Month! ⚙️✨

Ever wondered what it’s like to take action, build lifelong friendships, and create real change in your community (and around the world)? There’s no better time to find out!

If you’ve been curious about Rotary, here are 4 easy ways to explore membership this month:

☕️ Drop in as a Guest: Come to a weekly meeting! Enjoy a breakfast, hear from our guest speakers, and experience our energy firsthand.

🛠️ Get Your Hands Dirty: Join us for our next hands-on service project or community day. For example, join us on Mondays at Palo Alto Food Closet. It’s the fastest way to see our impact in action!

🥂 🥾Mix & Mingle: Attend an upcoming second Friday socials or Saturday monthly hikes. Meet members in a relaxed setting and chat about what Rotary means to them.

☕️ Grab a Virtual or In-Person Coffee: Connect 1-on-1 with a current member! Ask questions about time commitments, committees, projects, ways to get involved, or how Rotary fits into your professional and personal life.

Ready to take the first step?

📩 Send us a DM or drop a comment below, and we’ll help you find the best way to jump in!

07/30/2026

Join us this Friday as we welcome new member Gerry Stratford to the podium! 🎙️

Gerry will share his background—ranging from 30 years heading a Bay Area design firm to rating golf courses for Golfweek—and discuss the powerful impact youth sports has had on his life.

🌟 Special Highlights: We’ll also hear directly from two of our RYLA campers, Karla Serrato and Sofia Chavez, as they share their RYLA experiences!

📅 Details:
Date: Friday, July 31th, 2026
Time: 7:15 to 8:30 am
Location: Sheraton Palo Alto (625 El Camino Real) or on Zoom

07/22/2026

🪸 Coral Reefs, Communities, and Conservation — The Wallace Line and Beyond 🌿

Join us this Friday for an inspiring program with Dr. Gretchen Coffman!

Dr. Coffman is a restoration ecologist, National Geographic Explorer, and Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore. She will be sharing her team’s groundbreaking "Roots to Reefs" approach—connecting forests, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs to drive community-centered ecosystem restoration across Southeast Asia.

📅 Details:
Date: Friday, July 24th, 2026
Time: 7:15 to 8:30 am
Location: Sheraton Palo Alto (625 El Camino Real) or on Zoom

07/16/2026

🎙️ Speaker Spotlight: Welcome Back, Darren Hau!

This Friday, we are thrilled to welcome returning PAUR member Darren Hau to the podium!

From co-founding a solar startup to designing global Superchargers at Tesla and leading robotics fleets at Cruise, Darren has spent his career driving clean energy forward. Today, he’s leading a startup synthesizing graphite to secure domestic battery supply chains.

Bring your questions for an exciting Q&A session!

📅 Details:
Date: Friday, July 17th, 2026
Time: 7:15 to 8:30 am
Location: Sheraton Palo Alto (625 El Camino Real) or on Zoom

See you there as we explore how clean tech is creating a lasting impact! 🌍

Address

East Palo Alto, CA

Opening Hours

7:30am - 8:30am

Website

https://www.paloaltouniversityrotaryclub.com/

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