Rotary Club of Greenbelt Maryland

09/11/2026

Ice cream lovers of all ages, from 4-ish to 70-ish, turned out for the Greenbelt Rotary’s Club ce cream social at the New Deal Cafe on Thursday evening. There were raspberry, vanilla, chocolate, and non-dairy options to enjoy in cups or cones. We had lots of conversation about our community activities in Greenbelt, which offer something for everyone to benefit and contribute.

We fund, sponsor or volunteer with Springhill Lake and Greenbelt Elementaries; the Greenbelt Pumpkin Festival; Scouting America Greenbelt Venture Crew 746; CHEARS’ Three Sisters gardens in Greenbelt East, Center and West; Greenbelt Grows and its Harvest Hub to transfer surplus produce to food-insecure Greenbelt families; funding prize winners for Greenbelt Middle School’s Black History Month Essay Contest, sponsored by Greenbelt Black History and Culture Committtee; the Greenbelt Outstanding Citizen Award, and our driver educatio program for low-income Greenbelters.

Our next evening event is Thursday, October 8, when Venture Crew 746 youth talk about their epic 100 mile canoe trip in Maine’s Allagash Wilderness – join us in Commnity Center room 114 for refreshements at 6:30 p.m. and their talk at 7 p.m.

The Greenbelt Rotary Club meets every Thursday morning at 8 a.m. at the Greenway Center IHOP. A virtual option is available (though without pancakes!)

Thank you to the New Deal Cafe for making their patio available for our ice cream social.

09/08/2026

Ice Cream!

The Greenbelt Rotary Club is hosting an end of summer ice cream social on Thursday, September 10 from 6 to 7 p.m on the New Deal Cafe patio, so come have a sweet frozen treat on us. Non-dairy options will be available. The club thanks the New Deal for making their space available. The Cafe will be open, so feel free to order a meal from the Cafe and join us for dessert.

The Greenbelt Rotary Club meets every Thursday at 8 a.m. at the Greenway Center IHOP at 8 a.m. Your first breakfast is on us!

09/07/2026

Labor Day is always a good time in Greenbelt! Here are some highlights of the weekends.

We won best car in the parade again! Thank you Mike Templeton for escorting us is style as always. We are looking forward to our car show in 2027 led by President Elect Ricardo Acevedo

Congratulations to Greenbelt Outstanding Citizen of the Year Carolyn Lambright Davis!

Thank you to the Rotary Club of College Park, Maryland for marching with us today!

Congratulations Greenbelt Rotary President 2026-2027 Paul Ricketts on a great year so far.

08/29/2026

It was super to host 11 past Greenbelt Outstanding Citizens on August 13. We wanted to hear their thoughts about community service and celebrate how Greenbelters contribute to Greenbelt, before the 2026 Outstanding Citizen is named at this year’s Labor Day Festival.

Our guests of honor were Sandy Lange (1987), Konrad Herling (2001), Jean Cook (2009), Rick Ransom (2016), Greg Fisanich (2018), Lore Rosenthal and Michael Hartman (2019), Shaymar Higgs (2021), Maggie Cahalan (2022), Cathie Meetre (2024) and Robert Goldberg-Strassler (2025).

Common themes were downplaying their own roles, emphasizing being a catalyst and organizing others’ energy and ideas, collective effort, not knowing what they were doing at first but trusting others, figuring it out and having fun along the way, and unifying the Greenbelt community.

Did you know? As the primary financial sponsor of the award, the Greenbelt Rotary Club President has the honor of presenting the award it to the winner. We’ll see you at next Friday’s 6:30 p.m. opening ceremony!

08/13/2026

Join us tonight, Thursday evening, August 13 to honor past Greenbelt Outstanding Citizens, as we near the announcement of this year’s Outstanding Citizen at the Labor Day Festival next month.

Confirmed attendees include Maggie Cahalan, Jean Cook, Greg Fisanich, Robert Goldberg-Strassler, Michael Hartman and Lore Rosenthal, Konrad Herling, Shaymar Higgs, Sandra Lange, Cathie Meetre, and Rick Ransom.

As a long-standing sponsor of the Outstanding Citizen Award, the Greenbelt Rotary Club is hosting this conversation with past honorees to celebrate community and the varying ways people contribute to Greenbelt. We will also induct the Outstanding Citizens as honorary Rotarians.

The event will be in the Greenbelt Community Center, room 114, with refreshments and conversation at 6:30 p.m., and the talk and induction beginning at 7 p.m.

We inducted Outstanding Citizens Larry Hilliard and Sylvia Lewis earlier this year before they moved out of state.

06/06/2026

What a great day for the Greenbelt Rotary Club’s Greenbelt Garden Tour!

Over 60 persons visited gardens from Greenbelt East to Greenbelt Center to Greenbelt West. They enjoyed the oases they found, the ideas they got, the encouragement they heard from other gardeners, and the garden treasures they found, many that are usually hidden away.

Upload your best photos to our Google Drive: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cCL51cYusL64PxWz8

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite garden! https://tinyurl.com/2jxjahyy

Shared album · Tap to view!

06/05/2026

The Greenbelt Garden Tour is tomorrow, Saturday!
Do you have your tickets?

Get advance tickets now before prices increase Friday, June 5 at 6 p.m.

The tour is Saturday, June 6, 10am-2pm, with 12 ornamental and food gardens at homes and community gardens across Greenbelt East, Center and West, with gardeners present for conversation.

Did you know there’s a vegetable garden maintained by ELEMENTARY SCHOOL students? Come see that one, HIDDEN gardens, huge gardens, a YEAR-ROUND food garden of 50 vegetable varieties, one that produces HUNDREDS of pounds of produce annually, and gardens with ponds, FROGS, art and spiritual and emotional MEANING to their gardeners.

The tour is raising funds for Greenbelt Rotary Club community service activities. Learn about those activities and purchase tax-deductible tickets at https://tinyurl.com/ucyf2n7a. The website contains garden DESCRIPTIONS, ADDRESSES and a MAP. There’s no forecasted daytime rain, so we’re proceeding on Saturday, not our Sunday rain date.

VOTE for your favorite garden! https://tinyurl.com/2jxjahyy

Share your PHOTOS: tag Rotary Club of Greenbelt Maryland or upload them to our Google Drive https://photos.app.goo.gl/cCL51cYusL64PxWz8

Thank you to our sponsors, https://www.shoplillianfarms.com/ and Hampton Nursery.

06/04/2026

Get your Greenbelt Garden Tour tickets now!

Get your advance tickets now before prices increase Friday, June 5 at 6 p.m. The tour is Saturday, June 6, 10am-2pm, with 12 ornamental and food gardens at homes and community gardens across Greenbelt East, Center and West, with gardeners present for conversation.

Did you know there’s a vegetable garden maintained by elementary school students? Come see hidden gardens, a year-round garden of 50 vegetable varieties, one that produces hundreds of pounds of produce annually, and gardens with ponds, art and spiritual and emotional meaning to their gardeners.

The tour is raising funds for Greenbelt Rotary Club community service activities. Learn about those activities and purchase tax-deductible tickets at https://tinyurl.com/ucyf2n7a. The website will provide garden descriptions, addresses, a map, and rain date status.

Don't forget to vote for your favorite garden at https://tinyurl.com/2jxjahyy

Thank you to our sponsors, https://www.shoplillianfarms.com/ and Hampton Nursery.

05/25/2026

Gardening and Food Sharing in Greenbelt – Wednesday, May 27 at 7 p.m.

The Greenbelt Rotary Club will host Greenbelt Grows founder and Greenbelt City Councilmember Danielle McKinney on Wednesday, May 27 at 7 p.m. Join us in the Greenbelt Community Center, room 114, with refreshments and conversation at 6:30 p.m. before the 7:00 p.m. talk.

Greenbelt Grows’ focus is increasing Greenbelters’ access to nutritious local produce, through community gardens, sharing extra produce, and learning about gardening, healthy eating and nature through connections between community members. Curious but intimidated? Start with a single pot, volunteer in one of Greenbelt’s Three Sisters demonstration gardens, or share a plot with a friend. Did you know the city used a grant to purchase a mobile cold storage trailer to boost food access by storing and transporting produce from community gardens, merchants, residents and Farmers Market vendors? McKinney will review current gardening and food sharing initiatives in Greenbelt. Together we can increase access to healthy food in Greenbelt.

The Greenbelt Garden Tour on Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. features 12 Greenbelt home gardens and community garden plots, as a fundraiser for the Greenbelt Rotary Club’s community service activities. Learn about those activities and purchase tax-deductible tickets at https://tinyurl.com/ucyf2n7a. Rain date: Sunday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. See the website for rain status.