Here’s how you can get involved:

• Make a monetary donation through the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside website and add “HEP Back to School Donation” in the optional note field
• Make a contact-less purchase from our Amazon wish list – select “Klar and Klar attn: Tim Knowles’ Gift Registry Address” shipping option at checkout to have items sent directly to our Immediate Past President, Tim Knowles
• Make a purchase in-store from the below wish list and drop off at one of our approved physical locations: contact Ricki Frayman at rcfmd [at] yahoo [dot] com to learn more.

All donations must be dropped off/delivered by Friday, July 24. 

The post School Supply Drive for Homeless Empowerment Program (HEP) first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

The Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside hosts an an Beer Olympics event in Downtown Dunedin. All proceeds from the event go directly back to Rotary’s mission to eradicate Polio as well as some of our favorite local charities: Homeless Empowerment Program, Chi Chi Rodriguez Foundation and Random Acts of Flowers, to name a few. 

In the process of raising money, we also want our attendees to have fun while enjoying our favorite venues in Downtown Dunedin. In order to ensure everyone has a safe and entertaining evening, we’ve pulled together some tips on how to level up your Beer Olympics experience.

Size Matters

Choosing the right team size is important! Some games, like flip cup, require more teammates for a fair match-up. While other games, like beer pong, only require two players. We usually recommend 2-5 players per team, but the ideal number of players is 4. If you have a larger team, keep in mind that not all of your team members will be active participants at each game station. Never fear! This allows non-active players to relax and enjoy our host venues.

It’s Not a Race

In past years, winners at our Beer Olympics event were chosen based on which teams completed the games fastest. But not this year! All of our games will have a point system – meaning players get to actually spend time enjoying Downtown Dunedin without the need for running or chugging. Slow down and enjoy the night!

Respect Your Referees

Since Beer Olympics is a fundraiser, we rely heavily on our amazing volunteers to help keep the event organized. Our referees and registration team are made up of mostly volunteers who are spending their Saturday night ensuring you have a blast. Sometimes, they don’t know all the answers. But please be patient – they are trying the best they can. At every event, we will also have a Rotarian handy to ensure players get the most out of their experience.

Stay Safe on Sidewalks & Trails

Main Street in Downtown Dunedin will likely have heavy car traffic on the evening of Beer Olympics. As you are making your way between venues, please stick to the sidewalks and the Pinellas Trail. There are multiple crosswalks with pedestrian lights, and we encourage all players to cross at these locations.

Practice Makes Perfect

This year’s Beer Olympics will consist of the following games: corn hole (or bag toss/baggo), beer pong, flip cup, orange pass relay and stein hold. Just like football, it’s important to know who to put in your starting lineup. It doesn’t hurt to practice a few rounds of beer pong the night before the big games, either.

Dress to Impress

Our theme for the 2019 Beer Olympics is Level Up in honor of our favorite video games – and the team with the most creative outfits gets an awesome prize. So dress up in your best gaming attire and join us for a night of fun on the town!

Know Your Coordinates

During the event, you’ll have a group host guiding you between each game location. In the event you get separated from your group or team, here are the five venues for the event:

• Crown & Bull: 319 Main St., Dunedin, FL
• Rosie’s Tavern: 730 Broadway, Dunedin, FL
• Reboot: 248 Scotland St., Dunedin, FL
• Dunedin Brewery: 937 Douglas Ave, Dunedin, FL
• Dunedin House of Beer: 927 Broadway, Dunedin, FL

Respect the Bars & Tip Your Bartenders

Our Beer Olympics wouldn’t be possible without the help of our venues and their amazing service staff. Each location (Reboot, House of Beer, Dunedin Brewery, Rosie’s Tavern and Crown & Bull) contributes to the operating costs of our Beer Olympics to help our club raise money for our community. We urge every player to treat the host venues with the utmost respect – they deserve it!! This includes only drinking in designated areas, no fights and no littering.

On tipping: gratuity is included in your ticket price for one (1) drink at each venue. If you drink above and beyond your included beverage, we recommend tipping your bartenders as you would on any other evening out. They have a long night ahead of them, after all.

Get Home Safely

Last, but certainly not least, make a plan to get home safely – DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! Our friends at Uber and Lyft have setup promo codes for any new users who want a safe ride home during Beer Olympics (more info here). Find a friend to pick you up, walk home if you live nearby or hail a taxi – they sit in the lot to the right of the Beer Olympics registration.

Also, Pinellas County law prevents cars parked at drinking establishments from being towed. The law states that any car parked at a venue where alcohol is served cannot be towed between 9pm and noon the following day.

We look forward to seeing you on August 17!

The post Level Up Your Beer Olympics Experience first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

Clothes To Kids, a charity partner of the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside, was recently featured on ABC Action News for their contributions to families in need throughout Pinellas County.

Clothes To Kids provides children in our community with a new wardrobe (5 pairs of new socks, 5 pairs of new underwear, 5 tops, 4 bottoms and 1 pair of shoes) to help offset some of the financial burden of new clothes shopping. While Clothes To Kids accepts used clothing donations, all socks and underwear donations must be new and in packaging.

Now through July 20, 2017, the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside is hosting a Drop Your Drawers underwear and sock driving benefiting Clothes To Kids.  Watch the recent news coverage on Clothes To Kids and learn more about how they help children in our community.

The post Clothes To Kids on ABC Action News first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

Donate new kids & teens underwear between now and mid-July to help local children in need as they enter the 2017/2018 school year.

About Clothes to Kids

There are more than 52,000 students in Pinellas County that are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Their families are having a hard time providing the basics. Clothes To Kids, a charity partner of the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside, provides a complete wardrobe of 5 pairs of new socks, 5 pairs of new underwear, 5 tops, 4 bottoms and pair of shoes to local children in need.

With your help, 67,500 pairs of new underwear will be given out this year.

Where to donate for the Drop Your Drawers Underwear Drive

Dunedin – Sea Sea Riders Restaurant
221 Main Street
Dunedin, FL 34698
(727) 734-1445
Hours: Sun-Thurs 11:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm

Dunedin – Strachan’s Ice Cream & Desserts
310 Main Street
Dunedin, FL 34698
(727) 733-3603
Hours: Sun-Thurs 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm

Palm Harbor – Strachan’s Ice Cream & Desserts
105 US-19 ALT
Palm Harbor, FL 34683
(727) 781-0997
Hours: Sun-Thurs 12-9pm, Fri-Sat 12-10pm

Palm Harbor – Bell Law Firm, P.A.
3601 Alternate 19 Suite B
Palm Harbor, FL 34683
(727) 287-6316
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

Clearwater – Clothes To Kids
1059 North Hercules Avenue
Clearwater, Florida 33765
(727) 441-5050
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, 1st & 3rd Saturdays 9am-12pm

St. Pete – Clothes To Kids
2168 34th Street South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33711
(727) 441-5050
Hours: Mon-Fri 9am-1pm, 2nd & 4th Saturdays 9am-12pm

What to Donate

NEW underwear and socks – must be in unopened packages – children’s and junior’s sizes.

For More Information

For more information regarding the underwear drive, please contact Dawn Larson-Scott at DawnScott@BouchardInsurance.com or Richard Placey at Richard.Placey@raymondjames.com.

Visit Clothes To Kids online at ClothesToKids.org or on their Official Facebook Page.

The post Drop Your Drawers! Underwear Drive for Clothes To Kids first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

The Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside hosts a biannual Beer Olympics event in Downtown Dunedin. All proceeds from the event go directly back to Rotary’s mission to eradicate Polio as well as some of our favorite local charities: The Backpack Lady Project, Homeless Empowerment Program, Chi Chi Rodriguez Foundation and Random Acts of Flowers, to name a few. 

In the process of raising money, we also want our attendees to have fun while enjoying our favorite venues in Downtown Dunedin. In order to ensure everyone has a safe and entertaining evening, we’ve pulled together some tips on how to make the most of your Beer Olympics experience.

It’s Not a Race

In past years, winners at our Beer Olympics event were chosen based on which teams completed the games fastest. But not this year! All of our games will have a point system – meaning players get to actually spend time enjoying Downtown Dunedin without the need for running or chugging. Slow down and enjoy the night!

Respect Your Referees

Since Beer Olympics is a fundraiser, we rely heavily on our amazing volunteers to help keep the event organized. Our referees and registration team are made up of mostly volunteers who are spending their Saturday night ensuring you have a blast. Sometimes, they don’t know all the answers. But please be patient – they are trying the best they can. At every event, we will also have a Rotarian handy to ensure players get the most out of their experience.

Stay Safe on Sidewalks & Trails

Main Street in Downtown Dunedin will likely have heavy car traffic on the evening of Beer Olympics. As you are making your way between venues, please stick to the sidewalks and the Pinellas Trail. There are multiple crosswalks with pedestrian lights, and we encourage all players to cross at these locations.

Practice Makes Perfect

This year’s Beer Olympics will consist of the following games: corn hole (or bag toss/baggo), beer pong, flip cup, orange pass relay and stein hold. Just like football, it’s important to know who to put in your starting lineup. It doesn’t hurt to practice a few rounds of beer pong the night before the big games, either.

Dress to Impress

Our theme for the Fall 2016 Beer Olympics is 80s Flashback – and the team with the most creative outfits gets an awesome prize. So dress up in your best 80s attire and join us for a night of fun on the town!

Know Your Coordinates

The entire event is held within a small, 4-black radius. However, it’s still possible to get a little lost. So we’ve pulled together a handy map of the five bars participating in Beer Olympics. Feel free to save the map to your phone for later use!

Respect the Bars & Tip Your Bartenders

Our Beer Olympics wouldn’t be possible without the help of our venues and their amazing service staff. Each location (Sea Sea Riders, House of Beer, Dunedin Brewery, Rosie’s Tavern and the Dunedin Smokehouse) contributes to the operating costs of our Beer Olympics to help our club raise money for our community. We urge every player to treat the host venues with the utmost respect – they deserve it!! This includes only drinking in designated areas, no fights and no littering.

On tipping: gratuity is included in your ticket price for one (1) drink at each venue. If you drink above and beyond your included beverage, we recommend tipping your bartenders as you would on any other evening out. They have a long night ahead of them, after all.

Get Home Safely

Last, but certainly not least, make a plan to get home safely – DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! Our friends at Uber and Lyft have setup promo codes for any new users who want a safe ride home during Beer Olympics (more info here). Find a friend to pick you up, walk home if you live nearby or hail a taxi – they sit in the lot to the right of the Beer Olympics registration.

Also, Pinellas County recently passed a law that goes into effect October 1st preventing cars parked at drinking establishments from being towed. The law states that any car parked at a venue where alcohol is served cannot be towed between 9pm and noon the following day.

Best of luck to our Fall 2016 Beer Olympians!

The post How to Make the Most of Beer Olympics first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

Our Beer Olympics games are always a blast – teams dress up to match the chosen theme and bar hop through Downtown Dunedin competing in a variety of events. At the end of the night, after enjoying an evening of competition and drinking, players head home for a solid night’s rest.

At the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside, safety is our first concern. We know that many Beer Olympics attendees may be tempted to drive themselves home after a night on the town, but we strongly urge all players to make designated driver arrangements prior to the event. Whether a sober friend picks you up, you hail a cab in the parking lot next to the event registration or you Uber home – just don’t drink and drive.

Our friends at Uber and LYFT have even setup a special promo code for first-time riders to redeem a discount on rides during the Beer Olympics.

New to Uber? Use promo code DUNEDINWATERSIDE to receive your first ride free up to $15

From now through 12/11/2016, new Uber users can sign up using promo code DUNEDINWATERSIDE to receive up to $15 off of their first rides.

Just visit this link to set up your Uber account.

New to LYFT? Use promo code LYFTDUNEDIN to receive $5 off each of your first 10 rides – a $50 total value

New LYFT users can also use code LYFTDUNEDIN at sign up to receive $5 off each of their first 10 rides. Just follow this link to redeem the promotion and download the app.

Stay safe, Beer Olympians!

The post New Users Receive Uber & Lyft Discounts at Beer Olympics first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

For the past four year, the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside has collected backpacks and supplies for Rob Ditro and The Backpack Lady Project. The Backpack Lady Project is a local nonprofit in Dunedin that provides backpacks stuffed with supplies to students at schools throughout Pinellas County.

On Friday, September 9, 2016, The Backpack Lady Project’s founder, Rob Ditro, was featured on a Fox 13 – Tampa Bay Hometown Heroes segment with anchor Jen Epstein.

In 2016, The Backpack Lady Project was able to provide more than 460 backpacks to over 40 different schools within Pinellas County. Since 2013, the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside has donated 360+ backpacks to The Backpack Lady Project. Donations are collected during a supply drive annually from club members, members of the community and with the help of Rotary district grants.

Watch the segment and visit The Backpack Lady Project on Facebook to learn more about Rob’s efforts.

The post The Backpack Lady Project on Fox 13 Tampa Bay first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

Stephen Koch, President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Tampa Bay

On Wednesday, August 3, 2016, Stephen Koch and Michael Ferrone spoke to the Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside regarding how members and guests can get involved with the Tampa Bay chapter of Big Brothers Big Sister. Koch, the President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Tampa Bay, was joined by Ferrone – who is a new business manager for Cigna locally as well as a Big Brother and vocal advocate for the nonprofit.

Koch and Ferrone shared anecdotes about their Little Brothers and heartfelt stories about the impact volunteering has made on the lives of their mentees. The duo also cited the strong emotional attachment mentors have for their Littles, with Ferrone even admitting that he would love to have his own Little, Tavoris, be one of his groomsmen at his wedding some day.

Big Brother Michael Ferrone with his Little, Tavoris

Koch and Ferrone shared with club members that there are more than 600 kids in the Tampa Bay Area currently on a mentor waiting list. The Sports Buddies Program, in which mentors practice sports and/or attend games with their Littles, is one of the programs that is in dire need of volunteers.

Getting involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay is easy – to be a mentor, the organization requires a time commitment of only 8 hours per month. To learn more about getting involved, read the nonprofits frequently asked questions.

The post Speaker Recap: Big Brothers Big Sisters Tampa Bay first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.

Clearwater Jazz Holiday–the group responsible for organizing Clearwater’s widely successful annual jazz festival—is hosting an upcoming free concert in Downtown Clearwater. The “Giants of Jazz” tribute concert will take place on Monday, August 15, 2016 at Capitol Theatre on Cleveland Street. Co-sponsored by MarineMax, the musical performance will pay homage to jazz greats including Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.

The “Giants of Jazz” concert will also feature special guests soloists from the Bay Area’s Best Young Students of Jazz.

Immediately following the performance, attendees are invited to Tony’s Pizzeria-Ristorante-Bar across the street for a jazz jam during the organization’s monthly High Note Social.

To secure your spot, RSVP to Brenna@clearwaterjazz.com by 8/12/2016.

The post Free Downtown Clearwater Jazz Concert first appeared on Rotary Club of Dunedin Waterside.