Key West Rotary Casino Night to fund Lower Keys scholarships

Every dollar from the Rotary Club of Key West’s Casino Night will be steered back into Lower Keys scholarships, turning a Roaring ’20s party at the Beachside Resort into a funding source for local students.

The fundraiser is set for Saturday, May 16, from 6:30 to 11 p.m., with Rotarian Mike Krause chairing the Casino Night committee. Organizers are leaning into a speakeasy-style evening with art deco decor, jazz-era cocktails, live music from the Key West Jazz Society, casino games, raffle prizes and auction items.

The money matters because it goes directly into scholarships for students who grew up in the Lower Keys, where the cost of living and the squeeze on workforce housing can make it difficult for young adults to keep their roots in the islands after graduation. The Rotary’s scholarship work is aimed at helping those students continue their education and come back as doctors, teachers, entrepreneurs and community leaders.

The Key West Rotary Foundation’s college scholarship program for Key West High School seniors awarded more than $40,000 in one recent year. Over time, Rotary scholarships for Key West graduates have grown from $500 awards to more than $25,000, a sign of how much the club’s fundraising has expanded its reach.

The club’s broader fundraising footprint is sizable. More than $140,000 was raised in the past year to support kids programs, scholarships and related efforts, underscoring how central events like Casino Night have become to local student aid. The Rotary Club of Key West, founded in 1916, is one of the oldest Rotary clubs in the United States and has spent more than a century backing service projects in the community.

That history runs beyond scholarships. The club has sponsored the July 4 fireworks display at White Street Pier since 1976, and its annual Casino Night has become one of the more recognizable fixtures on the civic calendar, with past editions raising money for Rotary charities and Take Stock in Children of Monroe County.

In a county where 10 Rotary clubs operate, including three in Key West, the event reflects a long local habit of filling gaps that government budgets cannot fully cover. For Lower Keys families trying to keep education within reach, the payoff from one night of gaming and music is measured in tuition help, opportunity and the chance for more local students to build a future in the islands.