
The Vocational Service Committee's major goals are to promote excellence and the highest ethical standards in all occupations, to recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations, and to use members' vocational skills to benefit the community.
The Committee's ongoing projects include the following:
- Promoting literacy in the community by distributing free dictionaries and thesauruses to all of the county's third and fourth graders at the beginning of every school year (a project conducted jointly with the Rotary Club of Charles Town) and by awarding annual Rotary Reads grants to local educational institutions to encourage reading. These grants are awarded in March, to coincide with Rotary International's designation of that month as "Literacy Month."
- Presenting an annual Vocational Service Award to an individual in the community who exemplifies the Rotary motto of "Service above self." These awards are presented in the fall.
- Providing financial support to the Shepherd University Rotaract chapter.
- Mentoring Rotaract students and other young people in the community.
- Organizing an annual Shepherdstown Rotary Club Wine-Tasting Dinnerthat helps provide funding for all of these activities. This dinner is held in late March.