Rotary Club of West Polk County

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Grimes, IA
Rotary Club of West Polk County

At Rotary we promote Service above self in the community around us. Want to learn more? Come visit us. Anyone is welcome.

We meet in the back room at The Food Depot in Grimes, Iowa at 12 Noon on Mondays.

06/09/2026

🚴‍♀️ Ride for a Reason is this Saturday! 🚴‍♂️

Join us on June 13 at 1:00 PM as we roll out from SingleSpeed Brewing Company in Des Moines for a fun, social charity bike ride benefiting Dorothy's House.

This ride is about more than miles—it’s about raising awareness and support for survivors of human trafficking. Dorothy’s House provides safe housing, healing programs, and resources that help women recover, rebuild, and reclaim their lives.

Whether you're an avid cyclist or just looking for a great way to spend an afternoon, everyone is welcome. Ride at your own pace, enjoy the camaraderie, and help make a difference.

💜 Freewill donations will be accepted, with all proceeds supporting Dorothy’s House.

📍 SingleSpeed Brewing – Des Moines

🕐 June 13 | 1:00 PM

Bring your bike, invite your friends, and Ride for a Reason!

06/03/2026

On Saturday, June 13 West Polk County Rotary will host their annual Ride for a Reason bike ride. Come out and join us as we ride to raise awareness for Dorothy's House and the critical work they do to help survivors of human trafficking recover. Dorothy's House provides a safe place, along with programs and resources, to help survivors of human trafficking heal and rebuild their lives.

Rotary International recognizes human trafficking as one of the most serious human rights issues in the world today. As a local Rotary club, we’re proud to support that mission here in Central Iowa by raising awareness, reducing vulnerability, and supporting survivors through efforts like Ride for a Reason.

We invite you to be a part of this effort by making a freewill donation through the QR code in the post image or joining us for the ride. Your support helps raise critical awareness and provides meaningful resources for survivors through Dorothy’s House. Whether you give, ride, or both, you’re helping make a difference in our community.

05/21/2026

Yesterday, the Rotary Club of West Polk County volunteered at Meals from the Heartland to help package meals for distribution in South Africa through Blessman International. Our club, along with about 20 other volunteers during our afternoon shift, packaged over 20,000 meals from 2:30 until 4:30. Volunteers always needed and welcomed—individuals or groups. Meals from the Heartland has a very well organized volunteer system and it is great to meet volunteers from different places, all there helping out a great cause. If you're looking for an excellent volunteer opportunity, check out Meals from the Heartland: https://mealsfromtheheartland.org/ways-to-volunteer/

05/07/2026

Next week we'll be joined by Val Cu***ng from Eyes Open Iowa where she'll talk about their work and the current landscape of adolescent sexual health education, the issues young people are navigating today, how adults can better support them, and how this work connects to families, schools, and communities. If you'd like to join us for this great conversation, come on out to the Food Depot Bar & Grill, May 11 between 12-1 pm.

https://www.eyesopeniowa.org/

04/15/2026

The Club is excited to welcome Andi McIlwee, Treasurer, Annie's Foundation as our guest speaker next week, Monday, April 20 from 12-1pm at the Food Depot Bar & Grill. Join us to learn about the work Annie's Foundation does to protect access to diverse and inclusive books, support readers, and push back against censorship in schools and libraries across Iowa. If you aren't a member and would like to attend, message us and we'll save you a seat.

04/08/2026

Join us on Monday, April 13 from 12-1pm at the Food Depot Bar & Grill in Grimes to hear from Wes Mullins, Executive Director of Capital City Pride (CCP) to lean about Des Moines's annual Pride event and how CCP serves the metro year round.

Wes was born in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Tennessee, where scientists believe Dolly Parton’s local influence made young boys gay. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, and a Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.

Wes has served in nonprofit leadership since 2003 in a wide range of settings from Texas to Oregon, Colorado, Missouri, and now Iowa. A passionate supporter of equality, he is a recipient of the Shel Anderson Award for Human and Civil Rights, and he also performed the first gay marriage in the State of Missouri.

Since 2023, Wes has served as the Executive Director of Capital City Pride, working to further advance the region’s quality of life for LGBTQ+ folks by creating spaces for authenticity, inclusion, hope, and belonging. When times are tough, he likes to remind folks, “Our enduring joy is our protest.” He was recently named one of the Business Record’s Cultural Leader Newcomers of Year and was given the 2025 Pride Center Leadership Award.

Finally, Wes and his husband, Kevin, have been together since 2010, legally married since 2013, and are the proud parents of some spoiled four-legged children.

04/02/2026

Come join us on Monday, April 6th from 12-1pm at the Food Depot Bar & Grill in Grimes as we host guest speakers Chelsea Huisman ICMA-CM, City Manager of City of Polk City, and Jake Anderson, City Manager of City of Grimes, Iowa. Chelsea and Jake will give us some insight into the role of city managers and the impact of their work.

If you are not a member and would like to attend, kindly message us and we'll save you a seat.

03/19/2026

Join us on Monday, March 23, to welcome Chris Snider, professor at Drake University and co-founder of Innovation Profs as he presents, "From Visibility to Relevance: Reaching New Audiences in the AI Era." Chris' presentation will focus on building persona-focused messaging, where people are paying attention in 2026, and the value of mainstream and alternative social platforms—all with a highlight on applying these topics to Rotary.

If you're not a member and would like to attend, DM us here.

03/03/2026

What a great way to kick off Women's History Month at the Rotary Club of West Polk County with Claudia Schabel sharing the work that Iowa Women's Foundation is doing, most importantly around the issues related to childcare, housing, and transportation. Was a really eye-opening discussion about the inequality women and girls face in wages and opportunity and the organizations and legislature IWF helps to support to overcome those challenges. If you'd like to support these causes you can donate directly on the IWF website and/or watch their website for the Annual Luncheon information for October 2026 to get your tickets: https://iawf.org/

Thank you Claudia for spending lunch with us this week!

02/26/2026

Our own Dave Applegate can be seen is this remarkable video strutting his stuff. He is now a legend on at least two continents!

Address

3000 SE Grimes Boulevard Suite 200
Grimes, IA
50111

Opening Hours

Monday

12pm - 1pm

Website

http://www.WPCRotary.org/

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