The Granada Hills Rotary Foundation is a 501c3 charitable corporation which exists
to support the Granada Hills Rotary Club. All philanthropic and related activities are
conducted by the Foundation, which has its own Board of Directors. Grants and
contributions from other Foundations, civic groups, and municipalities, along with
individual contributions, fund many of the programs of the Granada Hills Rotary Club
and have allowed us to expand our outreach and satisfy Rotary's motto of
"Service Above Self."
The first project undertaken by the GH Rotary Foundation was the refurbishment and enhancement of the "triangle" at the intersection of Chatsworth Street and Zelzah Avenue in Granada Hills. Under the direction of Carl B. Melnik, OD, the "Granada Hills Veterans' Park" now exists, complete with bronze statue, flagpoles, brick walkway, pergola, and landscaping. Under an agreement with the City of Los Angeles, our Foundation continues to maintain the Park now and into the future. Recognition bricks are available to assist us in defraying the maintenance costs (for details, please contact
The "Rotary Gives Blood" blood drive has been conducted annually for many years. Laine Caspi and Glenn Gomez are the current Co-Chairs for this event.
In that time, thousands of pints of blood have been donated to benefit, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, the Panorama City and Woodland Hills branches of Kaiser Permanente, Cedars Sinai Medical Center and an adjunct of USC Medical Center.
"Rotary Gives Blood" is now the largest, single-day blood drive held in the San Fernando Valley. It has also served as the template for other Rotary Club blood drives. The Foundation's participation has resulted in the event becoming financially
self-sufficient (for details, please visit www.rotarygivesblood.org)
Thanks to the contributions to the Foundation from Granada Hills Rotary members, we have sponsored INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS such as water wells in the Philippines, nutrition programs for undernourished children in Calauag, hurricane relief in Haiti, and educational and
economic programs in India. We have undertaken these projects with contributions from other local Rotary Clubs and matching funds from the Rotary District 5280 Foundation and the Rotary International Foundation (for details, please contact lawrencemclaughlin@yahoo.com)
The Annual Jean C. Seratti High School Scholarship Program has been enhanced by our Foundation and is now self-supporting, thanks in part to a "challenge grant" from Dr. Karen Seratti and matching contributions from local businesses and residents. Scholarships to assist graduating high school students from Granada Hills, Kennedy, Hillcrest Christian, and LA Baptist are provided to advance their collegiate careers. The Program is named in honor of our dear friend and GH Rotarian
Jean C. Seratti, who did so much for our Club over the years.
General fundraising supports our Annual Sportsmanship Program. This
The program recognizes the attributes of sportsmanship exhibited by some of our young people in baseball and softball.
We provide funding for an annual Thanksgiving Project for the disadvantaged. GH Rotary members make
contributions to our Foundation which are used to purchase specific foodstuffs for a local food bank so that there is
sufficient food available for Thanksgiving meals.