By RACHEL BRANT

Staff writer

Silverdale Rotarians are getting down and dirty today at Hospice of Kitsap County’s Care Center.

Rotary Club of Silverdale members are participating in the club’s annual President’s Project from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. The roughly 40 Rotarians are working on the outside landscaping of Hospice’s Care Center in East Bremerton. The 10,000-square-foot, in-patient facility is scheduled to open in a few weeks.

The Rotary Club of Silverdale pledged to donate $100,000 to Hospice during the next five years to help fund the $1 million construction process of the 15-patient room care center. The Silverdale Rotary president chooses the President’s Project each year and Rotary President Steve Slaton decided Rotarians needed to do more than donate just money to Hospice of Kitsap County.

“In addition to writing a check we wanted to put some sweat equity into that,” Slaton said. “I thought it’d be a good idea to augment our check with some hands-on dirty work.”

Silverdale Rotarians continue to raise funds for Hospice of Kitsap County’s Care Center and other community projects through the Great Kitsap Duck Race during Whaling Days. Silverdale Rotarians also have done other landscaping projects throughout the community.

“We like to do both monetary and dirty hands projects,” Slaton said.