Iowa City A.M. Rotary

06/16/2026

🎤📝 This morning, the Iowa City AM Rotary Club was thrilled to welcome IC Speaks to share their inspiring story and impact in our community.

IC Speaks began in 2019 as an after-school club and later merged with Iowa City Poetry in 2020, creating even more opportunities for local students to develop confidence, creativity, and connection through spoken word and self-expression. Since then, the organization has continued to grow and expand opportunities for youth voices to be heard and in 2026 became a James Gang Endeavor, marking another exciting chapter in their evolution and community impact.

Thank you to Caleb Rainey and the IC Speaks team for joining us and sharing how poetry and storytelling can empower young people, build community, and create meaningful spaces for expression.

We appreciate learning about organizations that are investing in the next generation right here in Iowa City. 💙💛



Learn more about IC Speaks here:

Empowering the next generation of voices, IC Speaks is led by Caleb “The Negro Artist” Rainey.

06/07/2026

🌍 Local Impact. Global Reach. 🌍

At Iowa City AM Rotary, we often talk about the power of service close to home, from supporting local nonprofits through community grants funded by our can sorting efforts, to investing in youth, families, and community needs right here.

Rotary’s impact doesn’t stop at county lines.

Rotary clubs around the world are united through the Rotary Foundation to tackle challenges that no one community can solve alone. Recently, Rotary District 9112 in Nigeria raised $13,000 through the “World’s Greatest Meal” initiative to support PolioPlus — Rotary’s signature effort to eradicate polio worldwide.

Because of decades of global partnership, polio cases have been reduced by more than 99% worldwide. Yet until polio is eliminated everywhere, children everywhere remain at risk.

That’s why what we do locally matters. Every service project, every fundraiser, and every Foundation gift connects our club to something bigger — improving lives in our own community while helping create healthier, stronger communities around the world.

Service Above Self — locally and globally. 💙💛

06/01/2026

🥤🔔 The Sound of Service… and a Whole Lot of Clanging! 🔔🥤

If you’ve ever driven by our can collection site on South Riverside Drive during sorting and wondered what all clanking and chatter is it’s just Iowa City AM Rotary hard at work!

About every three weeks, our members roll up our sleeves for two hours of can and bottle sorting. It’s loud. It’s occasionally sticky and a surprising amount of laughter mixed into the noise.

But all that clanging adds up.

Each year, this effort raises about $10,000, which our club distributes back into the community through community grants supporting local organizations and projects.

Every sorted can becomes a small act of service turning empties into impact and recycling into real change.

Thank you to our members, volunteers, and everyone who drops off cans. Your donations help us continue investing in the Iowa City community.

♻️ Sort cans. Make noise. Create impact. ❤️💛

05/27/2026

The Iowa City A.M. Club was proud to present $800 to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County through our Community Services Grants.

These grant funds are made available through our can redemption collection efforts.

Since 1904, Big Brothers Big Sisters has been enriching children's lives with 1-to-1 relationships with caring adults.

05/26/2026

🌎🔨 Our program this a morning was provided by two members of our club who traveled to Guatemala with Habitat for Humanity to help improve living conditions for local families.

During the trip, they worked alongside six families to replace dirt floors with concrete flooring, install smokeless stoves, and build latrines — improvements that make a tremendous impact on health, safety, and quality of life.

We are proud of our Rotarians for putting Service Above Self into action and helping create healthier homes and stronger communities. 💙💛

05/23/2026

This Memorial Day, the Iowa City AM Rotary Club pauses to honor and remember the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.

Their courage, sacrifice, and dedication to protecting the freedoms we enjoy will never be forgotten. As we gather with family and friends this weekend, may we also take a moment to reflect with gratitude for those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Today, we remember.
Today, we honor.
Today, we give thanks.

Wishing everyone a meaningful and safe Memorial Day. 🇺🇸

05/19/2026

This morning, the Iowa City AM Rotary Club was proud to present a $1,400 community grant to Deb Dunkhase of Open Heartland.

Open Heartland serves immigrant, refugee, and under-resourced families in the Iowa City area by providing essential resources such as food, clothing, and household goods, while also fostering education, cultural celebration, and community connection. Learn more here:

https://www.facebook.com/share/1H5y2LXCoB/?mibextid=wwXIfr

These grant funds are made possible through the hard work of our Rotary members and volunteers who help raise money through our can sorting efforts. Small acts of service can come together to make a meaningful impact in our community.

Thank you to Open Heartland for the important work you do every day!

05/15/2026

Join us for the next Companion Club meeting this Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at Vesta in Coralville!

🕔 Social Time: 5:00 PM
🎤 Program: 5:30–6:30 PM

Our program will feature the Rotary Action Group for Clubfoot (RAG4Clubfoot), founded in 2015 by members of the Iowa City Area Rotary Clubs. Learn how this Rotary-supported global initiative is helping eliminate clubfoot disabilities through the non-surgical Ponseti Method — developed by Dr. Ponseti at the University of Iowa and recognized as the Gold Standard treatment for newborns and young children, with a 90%+ success rate.

It promises to be an inspiring and informative evening — we hope to see you there!

05/12/2026

Today, the Iowa City AM Rotary Club had the pleasure of hearing from Alma, our Rotary Youth Exchange student from Sweden. 🇸🇪🇺🇸

Alma shared her experiences living and studying in Iowa City over the past academic year, including the friendships, memories, and cultural experiences that have made her exchange journey so meaningful.

We are proud to support Rotary Youth Exchange and currently also have an Iowa City High School student studying abroad in Sweden. Programs like these build lifelong connections, understanding, and goodwill across the world. 🌎

As Alma prepares to graduate and return home to Sweden, we thank her for sharing her journey with us and wish her all the best in the future! Rotary truly creates connections that last a lifetime. 💙💛

05/01/2026

Community Involvement! Members of our Club are all smiles after completing the planting of 20 fruit trees at the North Liberty Community Panty. The trees will provide a self-serve community food source. The trees were funded through a Rotary District 6000 Grant.