Rotary Club announces annual Around the World Gala on Feb. 7

The Rotary Club of Yuma Crossing is planning its annual Around the World Gala, set for Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Paradise Casino Event Center. Dinner service will begin at 6:00 p.m., and tickets are being sold at $150 per person. The club describes the evening as a formal dinner and program intended as its primary annual fundraiser.

For Yuma County residents, the gala is both a social occasion and a civic event. Fundraising dinners like this one are a common way local service clubs generate operating funds and visibility for community projects. The cost of admission and the formal setting traditionally attract business leaders, nonprofit directors, healthcare providers and civic volunteers, creating opportunities for networking and partnership building that can ripple into local services.

Public health and equity considerations are relevant as the community prepares for the event. Large indoor gatherings require careful attention to food safety, ventilation, and accessibility for attendees with disabilities. Ticket price is also a practical equity issue: at $150 a seat, the gala may be out of reach for many households in Yuma County. When community programs lean on fundraising events for essential support, those revenue streams can deepen disparities if outreach and subsidy options are not offered to include a broader cross section of residents.

Rotary Club events historically bring volunteers and donors together to sustain afterschool programs, health screenings, scholarship funds and other services that supplement public funding. That relationship underscores a long-standing policy question for local leaders: how much should vital community services rely on philanthropic dinners versus predictable public funding? For municipal and county decision makers, the balance affects budgeting for public health, social services and educational programs that serve Yuma’s most vulnerable residents.

Organizers have provided online registration and ticketing information through the club’s announcement; residents seeking seats or group tables should contact the Rotary Club of Yuma Crossing directly for details. Community members who cannot attend still have options to engage with the club through volunteering, in-kind donations or attending future, lower-cost events.

As Yuma prepares for the Around the World Gala, the evening will offer a window into local civic life — who shows up, what causes get prioritized and how community resources are mobilized. For readers, the event is a chance to connect with neighbors and local institutions, and it should prompt reflection on how fundraising-driven support fits into a fair and resilient safety net for Yuma County.