East Polk Rotary Club

10/11/2026

🍂 Let’s help stock the shelves for our neighbors in need!

East Polk Rotary encourages you to support the of Commerce’s Community Food Drive benefiting Caring Hands Outreach - Thrift Store & Food Pantry. 💛

🥫 Donate nonperishable food and personal hygiene items at participating businesses through October 29.
🛒 Round up your purchase at Altoona Fareway through October 26.

Check the shared post for drop-off locations and needed items. Every donation helps—and sharing this post helps spread the word!



https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Dvh3YbiaY/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🥫🛒 COMMUNITY FOOD DRIVE FOR CARING HANDS OUTREACH & FOOD PANTRY! 💛✨Together, we can make a huge impact for our neighbors in need! 🤝

Our annual Community Food Drive is just one week in and runs through October 29th! This community-wide food drive to is in support of our local food pantry Caring Hands Outreach - Thrift Store & Food Pantry!

💡 Did You Know?
Did you know that over 50,000 residents (about 10% to 11% of the population) in Polk County face food insecurity, including nearly 1 in 6 children? Every donation—big or small—helps provide nourishing meals and essential items to local families right here in our community. 🌾❤️

📍 HOW YOU CAN HELP: 📦
Drop Off Donations: Collection boxes are located throughout Altoona and surrounding communities-- THIS INCLUDES OUR OFFICE AS WELL! Look for the list of participating local businesses in the image below to find a drop-off spot near you. 🏢

Most Needed Items:🥣 Non-perishable food items (canned proteins, soups, pasta, cereal)🧼 Personal hygiene products (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, diapers)💵 Monetary donations (which help the pantry purchase items in bulk!)

🛒 Round Up at Fareway Stores Altoona:
Special thanks to Fareway in Altoona for hosting a round-up campaign October 5th through October 26th! 💚 You can easily round up your grocery total at checkout to directly benefit Caring Hands! A wonderful way to pay it forward!

💳✨🚚 THE GRAND DELIVERY:
On October 30th at 10:00 AM, we will deliver all collected food items, cash, and hygiene products directly to Caring Hands Food Pantry! 🎉📦

Let’s show up big for our community this October! Share this post, tag a friend, and drop off your donations at a participating business near you. 📲👇

Meyer Chiropractic Clinic, The Duerson Corporation, Truman's Automotive & ADAS Calibrations, Restored Psychiatry and Wellness, Signarama, Bankers Trust Company, Medicap - Central Iowa, Ted's Body Shop, Inc, Bondurant Auto Body, Sylvan Learning, and the Altoona Chamber of Commerce office.

🌾🧡

10/10/2026

If you are looking for something fun to do today and a way to help some deserving organizations, our friends at Evening Rotary Club of Ankeny have just the event for you!

Bingo Palooza - Play for a Purpose starts soon!

🎉 IT’S BINGO DAY, ANKENY! 🎉

The wait is over! Today’s the day we PLAY FOR A PURPOSE! 💙💛

Join the Rotary Club of Ankeny Evening at Uptown Garage for a day of BINGO, prizes, food, fun, and giving back to our community!

🎟️ $20 per session

🚪 Doors open at NOON

🎱 Session 1: 1:30 PM

🎱 Session 2: 5:00 PM

🍀 Come early, grab your lucky seat, and bring your friends!

Every game helps us support three wonderful organizations: Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Foster SQUAD, and the Food Bank of Iowa.

Let’s fill those seats and make a difference, Ankeny! 🎉

10/08/2026

East Polk Rotary members and our AG Jack Bell volunteered yesterday at the Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Program to help over 40 Bondurant Middle School students learn about realistic life scenarios of budgeting their income and expenses. It was a great experience for the students and teachers.

10/04/2026

🎉 Welcome to Pleasant Hill, Nicole Collins!

East Polk Rotary is excited to welcome Nicole Collins, the new Executive Director of the Pleasant Hill Chamber of Commerce - Pleasant Hill, Iowa👏

A special thanks to our club member Laura Redoutey for representing East Polk Rotary and welcoming Nicole in person! 💙💛

We also send our very best wishes and a big thank you to outgoing Executive Director Becca Squiers for her service and contributions to the Pleasant Hill community. Best of luck in your next chapter! 🌟

We look forward to continuing to build strong community connections and working together to make a difference throughout eastern Polk County!

10/01/2026

🎉 5th Wednesday of the month means it’s time for an East Polk Rotary SOCIAL!

We traded our usual Wednesday morning meeting for a fun night of trivia, food, laughs, and fellowship at Fireside Grill! 🧠🎶🍔

And hey—we even pulled off a round win in music trivia! 🏆🎵 Apparently, all those songs stuck in our heads are good for something. 😂

We missed getting Ned, Laura, and Bill in the photo 📸—but they were there joining in the fun!

Rotary is about Service Above Self, but it’s also about friendships, connections, and enjoying time together. ❤️

09/28/2026

World Polio Day is October 24, 2026. It raises the awareness of this paralyzing disease that affects children and with your help we can eliminate it in our lifetime. To donate to this cause visit EndPolio.org or our Rotary Foundation and to learn more about our work visit Rotary.org

09/27/2026

This is just one example of "The Why" Rotary exists and how to helps others.

09/26/2026

🏈🌪️ It’s GAME DAY at Jack Trice!

If you’re headed to the Iowa State game today, stop by the Sukup End Zone – LW Gridiron Grill and say hi to East Polk Rotary! We’ll be working the concession stand and raising funds for our community service projects. 💙

Grab a snack, support Rotary, and help us keep making a difference in our community!

🌭 Sukup End Zone – LW Gridiron Grill

❤️💛 GO CYCLONES! 🌪️

Thanks to the Rotary Club of Ames for including us!

09/24/2026

East Polk Rotary from the Rotary District 6000 Iowa was proud to support this career-readiness event! 💙💛 Our Rotarians, Tom Bylund and Marie Stephenson Pipes conducted mock interviews with Southeast Polk juniors and seniors, helping them build confidence and prepare for future opportunities. 🎤🤝

Thank you to the Altoona Area Chamber of Commerce and everyone who made this valuable experience possible!

Want to make a difference in our community? Join East Polk Rotary—we’d love to have you! 🌟