Sunrise Rotary welcomes all who have a desire for community service, fun, fellowship and have an interest in growing friendships with other service-minded community members. We invite you to come join us and experience the camaraderie of Sunrise Rotary!
When and Where:
Friday mornings - 7:30 - 8:30 am
New Beginnings Church
214 NE Chipman Road
Lee's Summit, MO 64063
Want to visit one of our meetings?
Contact: Cutter Gale
(816)805-5308
Flag Questions? Contact Carl Froeschle
816-805-5385 cwfroeschle@gmail.com
Club Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1576, Lee's Summit, MO 64063
Who We Are:
Lee's Summit Sunrise Rotary was chartered on March 26, 1999, has 50 members and is known as the 'Little Club that Does' through our outreach to and impact on our community. Sunrise is strongly committed to the ideals of Rotary as depicted in our club vision statement: To Be A Vibrant Service Club That Is Engaged In The Community At Home And Abroad.
Sunrise Rotary has a reputation for local and international service.
Local Service:
Our Feed Lee's Summit (formerly Empty Bowls) fundraiser has raised over $1,090,000 since 2007 to assist local agencies who provide support to the food insecure.
Our Fly a Flag program raises $20,000 annually and funds various projects in the Lee's Summit community.
Sunrise raised over $100,000 to construct a Legacy Park playground for children with special needs.
Through the Adopt-a-Street program, the club takes responsibility for periodically cleaning up trash and debris on 3rd Street between Pryor Road and Forest Park Blvd.
Together, including $5,000 from District 6040 grants, Sunrise donated $50,000 to Pro Deo, which supports youth in the local community through after school, evening, and weekend programs as well as mental health services. With this donation, the kitchen will be named as the Sunrise Rotary kitchen and the facility will serve as Sunrise Rotary's meeting hub upon completion of the project.
International Service:
It has hosted multiple international delegations from Africa, Russia, France, Chile, Australia and the Dominican Republic, expanding our understanding of and appreciation for global medical, construction, education and legal systems. The club has also participated in school literacy programs for children in Central America and has built eight water purification plants at schools in Central Thailand.
Thanks to the Sunrise Rotarians who gave up their Saturday morning on May 9 to make a difference in someone’s life, and the generosity of the Lee's Summit community, we were able to collect three truckloads of essential items for those in need! Wow! So impressive!
On Friday, April 24, Feed Lee’s Summit, in partnership with Rock Orchestra Kansas City delivered the Jukebox Heroes: Tribute to the 60’s-80’s concert to 400 attendees in the R.D. Goppert Center at Unity Village. Concert goers came from Lee’s Summit, the broader Kansas City community and across northern Missouri through Rotary District 6040.
Attendee presence, generosity, and energy throughout the evening—from attending to purchasing raffle tickets, making donations, singing along and dancing—made it truly unforgettable. And ROKC was pure magic! Their extraordinary musical talent left us in awe, and we are all incredibly fortunate to have such remarkable artists in our community. Every day, we hear from someone who says they LOVED the event.
Revisit the evening in photos here.
In conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of Shoes for Orphan Souls, a partnership between Rotary and Buckner International, Sunrise Rotary donated 264 pairs of shoes, 226 pairs of socks and donated $1,305 to the initiative. District-wide 29,492 pairs of shoes, 11,446 pairs of socks, 303 pairs of shoelaces and $25,326 were given to the project, far surpassing prior year totals.
Lee’s Summit high school students at Summit Technology Academy, led by the International Studies program has developed a FIFA World Cup app, Host Ready, which is intended to be a comprehensive guide to hosting international visitors in Kansas City, starting with the World Cup. The app currently features the eight countries who will be staying and or playing games in Kansas City: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Curacao, Ecuador, Netherlands, and Tunisia. The features a short video about the country and contains on pet culture, family dynamics, etiquette, communication, conversation, how to address visitors, dining tips and dietary restrictions, as well as team schedules.
The app was developed with the support of both Lee’s Summit Rotary clubs and the intention is to add other countries as Rotary Friendship Exchanges occur and/or for other future events that bring foreign visitors to the Kansas City area. To access the app, visit www.hostreadyapp.com.
The Pro Deo Youth Center is building a new facility, The Wesley Place, which will be its permanent home serving high school students needing a safe place and community of peers in after school, evening and weekend settings. Sunrise Rotary, combined with $5,000 in Rotary District 6040 grants, has contributed $50,000 to Pro Deo for the installation of kitchen appliances/equipment and upgrades to countertops. Pro Deo will serve as Sunrise Rotary’s meeting hub following project completion.
Feed Lee's Summit Gala Marks Record-Breaking Year in 2025
What began in 2007 as a fun, charitable event supporting a single beneficiary has grown into one of the community’s most impactful annual fundraising traditions. This year, the event reached a new milestone, distributing $159,000 to five local organizations focused on feeding those in need. And, we hit another huge milestone. Since 2007, Empty Bowls/Feed Lee’s Summit has raised more than $1,000,000 to fight food insecurity in our community!
“This year’s record-breaking is a testament to the generosity of our community and the dedication of our partners, sponsors, attendees and volunteers. Key partners, among many others, are Unity World Headquarters, Saint Luke’s of Lee’s Summit, Lee’s Summit Medical Center, Flooring & More, First Federal Bank, Great Southern Bank and Gale Communities,” said David Fritz, President and Co-Chair for Feed Lee’s Summit. “Together, we continue to expand our impact and strengthen the organizations that serve our neighbors in need.”
Mark your calendars for Friday, November 13, 2026!
More information can be found at the Feed Lee's Summit website: https://feedls.org/
