Pretoria Water Heater

In 2008 while on a holiday visit to South Africa, one of our Alamo Heights Rotary Club (AHRC) members, Emily Boehm-Boerner, visited a small community on the outskirts of Pretoria that consisted of about 20 “tiny houses” the size of a tool shed arranged in a circle. The residents had water and raised vegetables for sale. They had a communal kitchen and bathroom but no water heater for the residents to be able to take a hot shower. Upon her return , she arranged to have our Club donate funds and in conjunction with matching funds from a Rotary Club in Pretoria had a solar water heater placed in this community to provide a source of hot water.

Cell Phones for Soldiers

For over 20 years beginning in the late 1990s, the Alamo Heights Rotary Club collected used cell phones, turned them in to a recycle dealership and obtained and donated gift cards to be used by US military soldiers to connect with their families and loved ones.

Robbins Academy Computer Lab

The Robbins Academy was founded in 1999 as the Alamo Heights non-traditional high school of choice. Dr. Jerry Christian, the former AHISD Superintendent and member of the AHRC, and the late Diane Tilly*, former English teacher at AHHS and the first lead teacher of Robbins, led the effort targeting those students who were motivated to gain credits towards graduation but had unique needs prohibiting academic success on a traditional high school campus.

With limited funds available, Dr. Christian approached the AHRC to provide the funds needed to equip the Robbins Academy computer lab. The AHRC contributed over $25,000 to accomplish this project. Technology has improved significantly over the years and the original equipment has been replaced with more current items by the AHISD.

*Diane Tilly received the AHRC annual vocational award at Teacher of the Year in 2000.

Alamo Heights Holiday Decoration Contest

This project was started in 2004 by Alamo Heights Rotarian Rick Berchin to conduct a contest to select the best three residences in Alamo Heights decorated for the December Holiday season. The AHRC conducts the contest, obtains publicity, obtains and make the awards. December 2023 will be the 20th Anniversary of this contest that the community will be looking forward to.

Meals on Wheels

Members of the AHRC deliver noon meals to senior citizens who are homebound between 10:30 and 1:30 Monday thru Friday.  Their goal is to extend the Rotary values of service and community by providing much needed meals and fellowship to a select group of senior citizens who lack the funds or mobility to obtain lunch. We have been participating in this nationwide program for over 20 years. The annual March for Meals celebration commemorates the historic day on March 22, 1972, when President Nixon signed into law a measure that amended the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include a national nutrition program for seniors 60 years and older. Continuation of this program ensures we can continue to address food insecurity and malnutrition, combat social isolation, enable independence, and improve health for years to come.