Locals with the Rotary Club of Cayce-West Columbia have been volunteering their time to the community since 1955 and are celebrating their 70th anniversary this summer.

It is composed of 31 members including 10-15 regular members who attend regularly scheduled events and meetings. This Rotary Club partakes in Happy Feet, hosts quarterly teacher/student recognitions for Lexington County School District Two and participates in the Keeping Midlands Clean campaign on Dreher Road in West Columbia.

The Rotary Club additionally offers a free GED program and scholarship program.

The scholarship program began in 1967 and is awarded to seniors at Brookland-Cayce High School, Airport High School and Midlands Technical College. The Brookland-Cayce High scholarship is given in the name of Ned Funderburk; John Parrish for Airport High; Don Morris for Midlands Tech. Students at these schools have to apply for the scholarship and are scored on a rubric. Each recipient receives $2,000.

Every quarter, a teacher and students from Airport High, Brookland-Cayce High, Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School, Gray Collegiate Academy and the Innovation Center are recognized at a meeting.

On Dec. 1, 50 students were invited to the Happy Feet event, which is also called the Shoe Show and Warm Bodies. All students were given $50 and were able to pick shoes, mittens, coats etc.

The Scooter Scott GED Program is free for students to come and have one-on-one tutoring to excel. This GED program doesn’t require students to come to class; this makes it so they can focus on what each student specifically needs to be successful. The Rotary Club just graduated its 1,000th student; they graduate between 30 and 35 students every year. From the GED program, students go into different fields such as nursing, dental, teaching, the military and more.

The Rotary Club also collects coins for CART and Alzheimer's research trust. CART was founded by Roger Ackerman, a Rotarian in Sumter, South Carolina who passed away in 2018. Every coin donated by Rotary clubs goes to extensive research to find treatment and a cure for Alzheimer’s.

To become a member of any Rotary club, an individual must be invited by a member to attend a meeting. From there, that individual decides if they want to join and attend events. Rotarians are known for their community service, supporting education, protecting the environment, connecting with others and even addressing global problems members say.

Paul Harris, an attorney in Chicago, formed the first Rotary Club in 1905 and brought in men with diverse professions to exchange ideas, form friendships and help the community.

Rotary clubs have grown tremendously over the years. According to Rotary International, these clubs have over 1.2 million individuals and there are more than 45,000 clubs.

For more information on the Cayce-West Columbia Rotary Club, you can call Joseph “Chuck” Hightower at 254-319-5747 or Vincent at 803-851-7836.